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CARIBBEAN
Cancun’s Coolest Eco Escape
At AVA Resort Cancun, green living gets the five-star treatment
By Bruce W. Bishop
To travel or not to travel? Lately, I’ve been grappling with this modern twist on Shakespeare’s eternal question. As someone who writes about beautiful places for a living, I also worry about loving them to death. When I book a flight or check into a hotel, I want to feel good about it—not just in the moment, but afterward too.
That’s why AVA Resort Cancun, which opened in June 2024, took me completely by surprise. I arrived in Cancun under darkness after two crowded flights from Halifax. I’d been to this popular vacation destination twice before; I wasn’t expecting the ride from the airport to the hotel to be so…uncomplicated. Brief. It took all of 15 minutes.
We hadn’t passed any other buildings on the way there, and I discovered the area surrounding the massive family-friendly AVA Resort Cancun is a protected mangrove forest. That felt rather nice, as if I were about to indulge at a private sanctuary away from the Vegas-y feeling of the hotel zone several kilometres away.
Had it found its mojo yet? Could a resort boasting more than 1,600 rooms remain non-invasive with its surroundings?
The entire resort is solar powered. The moment I walked into my suite, I was struck by the hush. There was no hum of machinery, no air-conditioning drone. The lights were dimmed, and the elegant curtains drawn, reminding me that I’d awaken and be immersed in the resort’s guaranteed room ocean views. Everything inside felt clean and light: cool pale plaster walls, polished concrete floors, and subtle design touches in natural textures. This indeed was an all-inclusive resort, but it already presented itself as an elevated experience.
I enjoyed a delicious in-room breakfast on my ninth-floor balcony. Seabirds soared and dipped. I drank in the broad expanse of the sea but what is most striking to observe is AVA Bay, the largest saltwater lagoon in North America, and all you have to do is look down.
It’s an expansive 1.13 hectares and acts as an appealing water playground for both kids and adults to swim, stand-up paddleboard, kayak, or float throughout the day. You won’t see any jellyfish in this saltwater! Over three days not once did the bay appear crowded. A smattering of souls took daily walks on the seaweed-free beach, but clearly the appeal for visiting families is AVA Bay and the poolside attractions for kids of all ages. The eight-year-old in me wanted to climb to the top of one of the two humongous snaky water slides, but I restrained myself.
Instead, I went to the adults-only pool, and an attendant immediately found a chaise longue for me with beach towels. I was soon impressed when a female violinist in swimwear and a gauzy cover-up accompanied two songs on the DJ’s roster by deftly playing her electric “fiddle”—to energetic applause.
One evening, walking back from dinner, I stopped midway along the open-air breezeway. Stars were visible—bright ones, not dulled by city haze. I stood still and thought about how rare it is to find a resort this large, this close to an international airport that manages to tread so lightly on the earth.
Even during the so-called green season, when tropical rains come and go, the resort retained a glow. Tropical flowers looked more vibrant, the scent of wet earth perfumed the air, and I relished the idea that the resort was built to weather the storms. Its hurricane-resistant windows and thoughtful emergency policies made it feel not just responsible, but resilient.
Everywhere, AVA’s signature walls are covered by ivory-coloured Chukum, a plaster made from sustainably harvested resin of the endemic Yucatanian Chukum tree. It keeps the public spaces cool but is also inviting and tranquil.
Also in the public spaces is a wide, changing variety of lively paintings for sale by Mexican artists. One can’t but admire the joyful bursts of colour on the walls, not to mention the riveting larger-than-life sculptures by Gastón Gallardo outside his gallery in the promenade.
Beauty, culture, and a symbiosis with nature. AVA Resort Cancun won me over. ¡Hurra por AVA!
Travel Planner
For resort information, see avaresortcancun.com, and for travel information about Cancun, visit turismocancun.mx
