For decades, flying into Cancun on Mexico’s Yucatán peninsula evidenced the truth of the notion that the wages of unchecked tourism is ecological trauma. To cite but one example, the Yal-kú lagoon, just north of Akumal on the Caribbean coast, was once an unspoiled, crystal-clear snorkelers’ paradise of live coral, teeming with exotic aquatic fauna. Though it sat on private land, it was not commercialized and was protected only by a chain across a dirt road. Often, visitors could be alone there. Today, it’s a roadside attraction, surrounded by package tour buses, coral damaged or disappeared, teeming with heedless humans. So, after flying into today’s greatly expanded Cancun International, and fighting through crowds of cruise passengers, all-inclusive acolytes and packs of bros reliving spring break glory days, it was extraordinary to arrive at Belmond’s Maroma resort and be reminded of different glory days, the ones before the coast was branded the Riviera Maya.
Belmond is a collection of hotels, trains and boats anchored atop the luxury pyramid, part of the LVMH conglomerate run by France’s Arnault family, which owns about 75 brands selling fashion and leather goods, perfumes and cosmetics, alcohol, watches and jewelry, as well as many retailers who sell them. So, it may seem out of left field to hear the Arnaults described as eco-conscious custodians of the natural world, but from the moment you turn into the long, gate-guarded dirt road that leads there, Maroma whispers–softly but insistently–that they are.
Signs along the road hint that jaguars and turtles–sacred to the Mayans who once ruled this land–still live here, and they do. And lucky visitors may spot wild coatis, adorable long-nosed mammals, iguanas and spider monkeys in the jungle that surrounds the resort, as well as the house mascot, a macaw just inside the lobby. Endangered olive-throated parakeets and white-fronted parrots nest and breed on the property thanks to a conservation program that identifies and protects nests and hatchlings. There is a caged area on the beach protecting White, Loggerhead, Hawksbill and Leatherback sea turtle eggs, and, within the property’s sprawling new Guerlain spa, a Melipona Bee Sanctuary, housing endangered stingless bees considered sacred by the Mayans of the Yucatán. They are rainforest pollinators critical to the local ecosystem–as well as to an onsite nursery for regional flora–and produce tangy honey used not only in spa treatments but in the hotels’ food and drink, too.
While sustainability claims are common in hotels these days, ranging from signs in Holiday Inn bathrooms urging the re-use of towels to the two Maroma restaurants featuring sustainable ingredients and local foodstuffs, it has gone further as a member of the EarthCheck program, striving to ensure that when Belmond renovated the hotel, incorporating Kin Sol Soleil, a second one built by Maroma’s founder Jose Luis Moreno, it met best practice performance benchmarks for energy efficiency, biodiversity, management of water resources and the use of Mexican-made and sustainable construction materials, as well as more visible locally-made crafts, furniture and textiles. It’s also won UN-endorsed Starlight Certification for protecting the night sky with best lighting practices.
On the last day of a recent visit, I learned about Maroma’s most impressive eco-initiative of all from Javier, Maroma’s boat captain, and Jose, its snorkeling guide, who told me about the hotel’s partnership with Parley for the Ocean in a global initiative focused on ocean conservation. It has begun mapping the Great Mayan Barrier Reef, a program destined to expand internationally. Beginning in August, it trained 56 Maroma employees as Ocean Guardians who have already performed mapping sessions at eighteen local coral reef sites. Which, when you think about it, could be more important than who is designing for Louis Vuitton, Fendi or Dior this season.
