El Dorado Seaside Suites

Reviewed by Spa & Wellness MexiCaribe

Náay Spa at El Dorado Seaside Suites is home to the Balam Experience, a unique evening experience where guests begin with the spa hydrotherapy circuit; enjoying the sauna, steam room, and mud room. In the mud room, clay is applied over the body, and guests relax while seated in individual tiled alcoves in the steam chamber before rinsing off with cool water. Guests then proceed to the experience showers with hot and cold water jets, a cold plunge pool, and a jacuzzi for temperature contrast. The sensorial pool offers jets for the neck and upper back in addition to bubble beds. The journey continues with a temazcal, the Mayan ritual of rebirth utilizing medicinal herbs. Guests enter a small domed structure in which the herb-infused water is poured over hot volcanic rocks brought straight from the fire outside. The aromatic steam intensifies as the shaman leads the indigenous ritual, asking permission from the ancestors, mother Earth, universal energy, and the four cardinal points, then leading the group with affirmations, desires to call in, worries to release, and, above all, gratitude.

After the temazcal, the group gathers, each carrying a candle, to walk into the jungle clearing, scented with copal smoke and lit up with torches, for a spectacular seven-course dinner. Inspired by Mayan traditions and cooking techniques, using local ingredients, each course is served directly from the traditional Mayan kitchen and is explained in Maya before being translated into Spanish or English.

A variety of spa experiences are also on offer at Náay Spa, including massages, facials, body treatments, and beauty treatments. The Golden Pre-Hispanic Mystic Ritual balances the physical body and the spirit with a full body exfoliation and massage, this ritual finishes with a flower-filled jacuzzi bath to relax in, an ideal couples ritual of reconnection.

 
By Sara Jones
Editor