By Don and Daisy, SCNA members
September, 2007

“Crazy,” you say?

“You’re going to Cancun at Spring Break? Nobody in their right mind goes to Cancun at Spring Break!”

“Yes,” I agree, “unless you’re going for ‘hidden treasure.”

With passports in hand (mandatory as of January, '07), we endured the red-eye flight to maximize beach time on our first day at Hidden Beach Resort, an all-nude facility. This is one of those rare facilities that you can be nude all the time, everywhere! Located approximately one hour south of Cancun, it is a five star nudist resort operated by Karisma Hotels and Resorts.

I should let you in on a little secret here. The Yucatan Peninsula’s “Spring Break Craze” doesn’t exist south of the city. Subsequently, you find many resorts at ¾ capacity all along the Mayan Riviera coastline. You must seriously consider staying here at least once in your lifetime. We arranged our transfer from the airport through Lomas Travel. They maintain an office right on the premises at Hidden Beach. They are very handy for arranging any tours or traveling needs you may have while there. Their driver met us at the Cancun Airport at 5:30 a.m. and whisked us away at light speed to begin our adventure. It should be noted here that we have been to Cancun four times (once was a visit on a cruise ship), and we have yet to actually visit inside the city of Cancun.

We arrived at the resort by 7:00 a.m. Though we planned on storing our luggage in the lobby until our room was ready at 3:00 p.m., we were delighted to find that Claudia, the hotel concierge, already had our room ready for us and promptly escorted us to our room.

Hidden Beach (HB) only has 42 rooms, all with an ocean view. The manicured grounds are constantly being worked on to keep its aura of perfection. We chose a swim-up suite as this involved no stairs and an uncompromising view of the swim-up river/ beach/ palm trees/ ocean right outside our patio door. We had anticipated this delightful foray into a sensual delight for the last 10 months. This intimate beach resort is incomparable in today's world of sprawling mega resorts. The wait-staff (most we recognized from our visit last year) seemed genuinely delighted to see us again, and soon had our names memorized for the duration of our stay. For us forgetful types, their name tags made it easy to keep their names straight in our minds. We were soon enjoying the all-inclusive cuisine available only at a five star resort. This means our price included room, meals, 24/7 room service, maid, daily activities, and full access to next door's resort. Though El Dorado Seaside Resort boasts no less than four restaurants of its own, we never felt the need to put on clothes to go over for a meal. We much preferred the friendly, intimate atmosphere of our home-away-from-home. It’s no wonder HB enjoys such a high rate of return of loyal customers.

What makes this beach location so great? Primarily the palapa, a simple, thatched-roof dwelling, open on all sides, and draped with gauzy, white accent curtains. Underneath the roof, a king size bed is "floating on ropes," creating a gentle, rocking motion in the oft caressing Caribbean breezes. The thick vinyl mattress, bolster and pillows make this the perfect spot to wile away your exotic travel days.

Day 2 Wednesday- A nude day trip on a super catamaran. Rum punch, soft drinks, sandwiches, friendly crew, music, dancing, snorkeling. We swam within 10 yards of a barracuda and also got to hold a giant star fish. We played on a private stretch of white sand beach. Daisy got a sand exfoliation and loved it! Later, Daisy flew on a Spinnaker (picture parasailing, but you’re sitting on a swing). Every night had a theme at the disco bar. Many evenings had a show out by the pool area. The only show we missed was a fire show scheduled for the one night it rained on us. The storm was polite enough to wait until we had finished our evening meal before it broke loose. The torrent of tropical rain and wind, accompanied by lightning, was actually a show in itself. By morning, sunny skies had returned with smooth tropical breezes, and all was right with the world again.

Day 3 Thursday- Recovered from the catamaran adventure. Palapa time. Again. Food, drink, exploring, more palapa time.

Day 4 Friday- One should be flexible when making plans for the tropics. Though we had plans to travel all the way up to Cancun and "feed the sharks while being submerged in an acrylic tank," we figured out this would require a 12 hour commitment of time (travel time, activity and shopping time). Feeding the sharks was only going to take 15 minutes... or... we could spend the day being spoiled out on the palapas again. Guess which option we chose? Day 5 Saturday- Happy 17th Wedding Anniversary! Today we went to Puerto Aventuras, a new condominium/ marina community combined with an interactive marine facility called Dolphin Discovery. http://www.dolphindiscovery.com/puerto_aventuras/ This complex was absolutely breathtaking! We had been clued into this location by another couple at the resort, as this place had not shown up on our radar for places to go. We got to swim with manatees, sea lions and dolphins. Their tropical island also featured sloths, Tamarin red-handed monkeys, Cotton Top Tamarins (sour old men, white-faced monkeys), macaws, iguanas and parrots. A riot of color everywhere. Some of it on my shoulders as I forgot sunburn protection that day. I paid the price, but it was worth it.

When we got back to the resort, a private, candle-lit table was waiting for us at the edge of the sand with a gorgeous view of the Caribbean sea. There was a full moon, with scattered clouds and a mild, breezy atmosphere. I had the lobster tail dinner (best I’ve had since I was 18 years old) and Daisy had the mahi-mahi. Exquisite. For dessert, we had chocolate covered strawberries. The chocolate (both dark and white) was delicately designed to look like tuxedoes dressed on each strawberry. Day 6 Sunday- We spent the day recouping from swimming with mammals. More palapa time, food, drink. In the evening was a tribal Mayan ceremony performed right at tableside. Amazing drums, footwork, and fire dancing. Day 7 Monday- Check out time noon. However, once you have your luggage delivered to the lobby, you can return to the beach or restaurant until your ride arrives to take you to the airport. Being an all-inclusive resort, tipping is not necessary. However, if you have a favorite attendant (or in this case, several), a few dollars goes a long way with these hard-working people. Daisy and I had an incredible time at this resort. We created memories that will last a lifetime. Though we have other locations to explore and adventures to plan, I sincerely hope we make it back to this hidden treasure at least one more time.

A side note: Exotic Travel Club is a timeshare/membership program that offers up to 30% off retail prices to its members. This equates to getting your vacations at wholesale pricing. Daisy and I were willing to sit through a 90 minute presentation on this last trip, and saved about $1,200 off the cost of our stay. It was low key with no pressure. Exotic Travel Club is not for everyone… only for those that wish to travel smart and add that something “extra” into their vacations. If you consider any program like this you should really analyze your travel needs before committing to any package deal. Also note that these are Mexican contracts (no changing your mind later), and if you decide to purchase, you should probably have a lawyer (familiar with Mexican law) review the contract for you. On this trip, we met several folks that were very happy to be in this program. A Google search on the Internet will give you a more complete picture.

Hidden Beach Resort’s website is http://www.hiddenbeachresort.com.