Chapeau celebrates 25 – and tells about Hotel Panamera
First of all we want to congratulate the magazine from the Netherlands to its anniversary!
The magic of Tulum: a vibe I haven't felt anywhere in the world yet.
– – – Lien Verwimp
{ Experienced world traveller and true bon vivant }
It was a great pleasure to have the lovely journalist from Maastricht with us. Lien, we are looking forward to have you back.
The publication appeared in Chapeau magazine at the end of April. Click here for the original article. Or read the translated article below.
The magic of Tulum: a vibe I haven't felt anywhere in the world yet
Tulum: you could hardly ignore it in the last year. Epicureans and trendsetters flocked to Mexico to get a taste of what this popular seaside resort has to offer. At lightning speed Tulum grew from a laid-back beach destination to a Valhalla of boutique hotels, spirituality and original catering experiences. It was something I had to see.
There is a hip and a practical reason behind Tulum's success. By the latter, I mean that Mexico chose to open its borders and have few measures in place fairly early in corona time. That made many avid travelers opt for a return ticket to Cancun, which you can fly to from both Brussels and Amsterdam in ten hours, without a stopover). The trendy reason? The unique hospitality concepts: it's hard to choose between the hundreds of hotels and restaurants. All of them have a decoration from the books; some even offer an experience to talk about for a long time. So if you type "Tulum" on Google, the search is long. Is the buzz right and where should you really go? Rescue Lien ;-).
Place in my heart
Admittedly, I was skeptical beforehand. As great as my enthusiasm was to finally discover the place, so were my prejudices. A popular destination comes with a lot of tourists, and I usually avoid them.
You walk around in a kind of dream world where nobody knows stress and you organize your day according to the position of the sun. Welcome to Tulum!
Now, the title gives it away... I fell in love. Yes, there are a lot of tourists. Yes, the place is crowded. Yes, there is a lot of partying. But still: Tulum is a heavenly place to completely unwind. Despite the tourism, it remains wonderfully authentic and there is a vibe that I have never felt anywhere in the world. One that revolves around mental peace, enjoying life and appreciating mother earth. On every corner you can find crystals, book yoga sessions, eat the best local burritos and have Mexican live music humming in your ears.
The perfect balance between luxury and accessibility: Hotel Panamera
Finding a hotel in Tulum is easy and difficult at the same time. Easy because the selection is so large; tricky because you'll be stressed about choice. Are you - like me - someone who appreciates luxury, but wants to experience it in an accessible way? Then you need look no further. After a thorough search, I arrived at the paradise of the earth: Hotel Panamera. Life in this chic beach resort revolves around music, art and culinary experience.
Tulum Beach is one long street, with a distinct party section and a quieter section. The entrance to Panamera is right in the middle of the two. Ideal for exploring both sections on foot. The rather unassuming passage does not suggest that behind this entrance there is a whole new feeling. After all, the hotel tries to evoke the bygone era of Tulum - when it was (already) hip for the happy few. At that time, Tulum was already revolving around a laid-back lifestyle, but the so-called Tuluminati thing wasn't such a thing yet. Tulumi-what? This word refers to the rather woolly part of spirituality in Tulum: lots of smoke, rituals, long robes and hats. In Panamera they leave all that behind and focus on what the place in the heart really is. Many locals also find their way to this boutique hotel with fourteen stylish rooms and a retro jungle pool.
I always seem to seek them out automatically: hotels where you prefer to spend days inside the walls. Panamera is just such a place. You start the day with sunrise yoga on the beach, then feast on a homemade acai bowl, enjoy live music in the beach club (on weekends with bigger events), then eat in their open Mexican-Mediterranean restaurant (also open to non-guests) and end the day on the rooftop. That last one stuck out to me with flying colors. On floor three of Panamera, you can watch the sun set into the infinite jungle while locals provide live background music. Here they take the culinary concept further: the cocktails are top quality and the appetizers are combinations you've never heard of before. Breathing in and out deeply: how fantastic to experience this feeling. Pure tranquility, sí.
Author Lien Verwimp – Translated from Dutch.
