Cinnamon-perfumed
neck wraps, guava and mango Bellinis, Bulgari green tea toiletries, an
aromatherapy room perfume menu in the hotel reception, salty sea air wafting
through the white muslin draperies around the beach cabanas…I’d go back to
Mexico for the delicious scents alone. And then there were the exquisite tastes,
the beautiful sights, the soft sounds of the sea...Starting with that guava
Bellini, offered to me by a smiling, white-jacketed waiter as I walked into the
deliciously cool reception of the El Dorado Karisma hotel, my two-week stay at
the resort was a feast for the senses.
Technically,
I was actually working: I was on the Mayan Riviera, staying in the smaller,
very deluxe Casitas Royale section of the El Dorado, to research crucial parts of
my latest book, Killer Queens. My hapless
heroine, Lori, on honeymoon with her new husband, the King of Herzoslovakia,
discovers, in the middle of paradise, that being a queen may actually not be
all she expected it to be…and the contrast between her increasingly gloomy
emotions and the sheer beauty and serenity of her surroundings was perfect
dramatic material.
So much so
that it hardly felt like work. I would get up every morning to a breakfast of
omelette and bright tropical fruit. Sitting on the terrace of my swim-up suite,
still in my silk dressing gown, I would write around two thousand words of the
book, and then organise notes on all the amazing experiences I was having in
order to use them for the Mexico-set scenes. My wonderful butlers, Elizabeth,
Pablo and Liliana, organised me with crisp and sunny efficiency.
Everyone made
sure I had plenty to write about for the book: I visited the temple at Chichen
Itza, one of the new seven wonders of the world; swam in a cenote, one of the many underground sinkholes which are like
magical secret hidden lakes in grottoes; and travelled to Tulum, where the
Mayan ruins perch majestically on the edge of a cliff. I ate perfectly-grilled
salmon for lunch at the Maroma hotel, and dined at Le Chique at another Karisma
resort, the Azul Sensatori hotel. A molecular gastronomy 26-course tasting
dinner which was one of the best meals I’ve ever eaten in my life, with
locally-sourced, sensationally inventive food. I toured the resort’s huge
greenhouses and Juan Carlos, the urbane and charming manager, gave me a VIP
circuit of the Casitas, including a view of the two crocodiles, Pancho and Maria.
And of
course, I had lots of time off! Even after writing, I had a good hour on one of
the floating lilos in my private swimming pool, which led to the ‘lazy river’
that circled the horseshoe of low white Casitas suites, which in turn led to the
swim-up bar and the thatch-covered terrace on which I could lounge in the shade
on a double-bed cabana, sipping vino espumoso
and contemplating where to go for lunch. I did
try to hit the gym most days, God knows, which was very important as there are,
quite seriously, more lovely places to lie down and stretch out at the Casitas
Royale than I have ever experienced in my life.
On my patio,
for instance, there was a daybed comfortable enough to sleep through the night
on. Then I had two loungers by my little swim-up pool, and two lilos floating
on the water. Just our own exquisite Casitas garden had hammocks, cabanas and
loungers, such an abundance that nobody ever had to commit the vulgarity of
‘bagsieing’ a favourite place: one would always be available. Along the
stunning white beach were more cabanas, their muslin curtains billowing in the
wind like sailboats, extra beach towels ready-rolled on their mattresses.
Everything
about this holiday-cum-research trip spoke of abundance: all food and drink are
included, which I absolutely love. Karisma calls it ‘Gourmet Inclusive’, and
the bliss of the ‘Gourmet’ part is that it isn’t overwhelming. The portions are
small, balanced, delicious: you’d have to work hard to overeat, which, on a
beach holiday, is ideal. No guilt, no temptation to pig out; from the refined
elegance of the two D’Italia restaurants, to the fresh, bright flavours of
grilled fish at Jojo’s on the beach, I never woke up the morning after the
night before feeling too stuffed to wear a bikini.
The beach bar
in Flamingos, the ‘horseshoe’ in which my swim-up suite was set, opened at ten
am and closed at five pm: perfect timings. Vegas and Cancun are there for people
who want to drink around the clock; the Casitas Royale cater to visitors who
want to relax in the supremely lovely sense that everything is in balance.
Food, drink, exercise – I borrowed a bicycle and had some lovely rides around
the resort – sun, sea, and maybe just one more cucumber Bellini. And possibly
the occasional strawberry popsicle or ice-cream scoop at tea time. Oscar
Wilde’s line about being able to resist everything except temptation is very
apposite when it comes to a lovely cold afternoon ice-cream!
I came home
with the entire Mexico section of the book perfectly worked out in my head, the
words dancing around, eager to be written. It centres around a world-class
massage that Queen Lori has in one of the Sky Massage rooms, built high over the
beach: Felipe, the shaman at the spa, creates a truly moving experience that is
the moment at which Lori realises the extent of the mistake she’s made. The
ceremony before the massage, rose-petals scattering into the water, the burning
of aromatic herbs in a bowl made from volcanic rock, will be even more powerful
than Lori could have imagined, crystallising in her mind the conflict she’s
experiencing. I could never have imagined or written that crucial scene, or so
many others, before my visit to the El Dorado Casitas Royale: it’s a magic
place. And as a writer, it does go to show how essential research is. There’s
no substitute in the world for visiting the place you’re describing, seeing it
come to life before your eyes: the brilliance of the colours, the tastes of the
food, the beauty of the country, the cinnamon-scent of the neck wrap… the
trouble is, though, that in describing it like this I want to live it all over
again!
(You can
enter to win the amazing holiday described by Rebecca Chance in this article
and in Killer Queens by buying a copy
of the book and following the instructions inside.)
