Grand Residences has climbed back to the No. 1 position on Tripadvisor among hotels and resorts in the Puerto Morelos area, beating resorts with 600 rooms. The beautiful setting, attentive service, the warm hospitality offered by every Grand Residences host and The Leading Hotels of the World® standards receive glowing reviews.

This follows a Tripadvisor Travelers’ Choice Best of the Best 2020 award and a listing in the Tripadvisor Travelers’ Choice Top 25 Hotels in Mexico for Families.

Guests love the Grand Residences luxury vacation experience, dining, amenities and activities and the attention to detail they see from the staff.

At Grand Residences we want every meal to be an unforgettable dining experience and in addition to the a la carte menus for El Faro, Flor de Canela and Heaven there are tempting theme nights with live music for you to enjoy during the week.

Here is the current line up of theme nights and live music. As one of our Royal Care Standard health and safety measures, all theme nights have special a la carte menus instead of buffets at this time.

Monday Italian Night

Dine on a selection of antipasti, pastas, traditional dishes, pizzas and tempting desserts in El Faro.

Wednesday Argentinian Grill

Dine under the stars on prime grilled beef with lashings of chimichurri at Heaven Beach Bar.

 

Thursday Seafood Night

An evening in El Faro enjoying the catch of the day, shrimp, Caribbean lobster and other fruits de mer from the Pacific coast of Mexico prepared to traditional Mexican recipes, or with a Mediterranean or Asian twist.

 

Friday French Night

A selection of classic French dishes to savor with a fine wine in El Faro. Ask your Sommelier Javier Moreno for recommendations. Live music with Jeriko.

 

Sunday BBQ

This is a Grand Residences family favorite, tasty burgers, ribs, steaks and more cooked to perfection on the grill at Heaven Beach Bar. Don’t miss it!

Live music

Tuesday: Live Mexican music by a Jarocho band from Veracruz, dinner, Flor de Canela
Wednesday: Live Mexican music by Cielito Lindo, dinner, Flor de Canela
Thursday: Salsa music by V Trio, Heaven Bar
Friday: Jeriko Duo, El Faro
Jazz Night with The Two, Lobby Bar
Saturday: Live guitar on the pool deck, lunch time
Sunday: Live harp music for breakfast and saxophone at lunch time

Ask your Concierge for more details.

Prized for their fresh flavor and mild spicy factor, Poblano chilies are the basis for Mexico’s classic Independence Night recipe, Chilies en Nogada. You’ll also see them on local menus as the tasty chiles rellenos filled with ground beef, melted cheese or seafood and in a dish called rajas con crema, which consists of chili slices cooked in a creamy cheese sauce. Chef Rentería uses them here in a silky smooth soup with another traditional favorite on the side, esquites. Esquites or corn kernels are cooked with epazote and served with lime juice, mayonnaise, chili powder and crumbled cotija cheese.

 

 

Are you staying with us this month? Check the Activity program to see what we have lined up for you. Join in the yoga sessions, play tennis, learn Spanish and practice your Latin dance steps on the pool deck.

There’s plenty of fun in store for the little ones too at the Kids Club, with games, arts and crafts and beach and pool fun just for them. They’ll love the piñata party too!

Special family activities this month are planned for Earth Hour 2021. Stay posted for more details.

Take a journey in history on your next trip to the Mexican Caribbean by exploring some of the ancient Maya cities that pepper the Yucatan landscape. See temples where priests once performed rituals to honor the gods, observatories where astronomers scanned the night skies looking for portents in the stars and ancient palaces inhabited by mighty rulers. All are wonders of art and architecture, rich in stucco carvings and built to endure the centuries. Here are some of our favorites.

In the state of Yucatan

Chichen Itza

Yucatan’s most famous archaeological site, Chichen Itza is a vacation must. Once a powerful city state, controlling much of the Yucatan Peninsula, it was a vast metropolis and is known to stretch for 20 square kilometers. Only three percent of this historic landscape is open to the public: the area comprising the Great Plaza, the Observatory and Las Monjas. Archaeologists are excavating and restoring many more temples in the surrounding forest.

The Great Plaza is the site of the Pyramid of Kukulcan (famous for the light and shadow spectacle that creates the the figure of a serpent on the day of the spring and fall Equinox in March and September), the Temple of the Warriors, Temple of a Thousand Columns, Tzompantli, Temple of the Jaguars and the Ball court, the largest discovered to date in Mesoamerica. From this sacred square it is a short walk to the Sacred Cenote, the Ossuary, the Observatory and Las Monjas. These majestic temples have earned Chichen Itza a place on the UNESCO World Heritage list.

Uxmal

An hour’s drive south of Mérida, Uxmal is one of the loveliest ancient cities in the Maya World. During the Late Classic period (A.D. 600-900), it was a regional capital, controlling southwest Yucatán and a chain of smaller cities referred to as the Puuc Route: Kabah, Sayil, Xlapak and Labná.

Apart from location, these sites share a unique architectural and artistic style called Puuc. In recognition of their outstanding cultural worth, UNESCO declared them a World Heritage area in 1996.

Highlights at Uxmal are the Magician’s Pyramid, the Nuns’ Quadrangle, a gracious courtyard surrounded by four palaces with magnificent friezes, and the impressive Palace of the Governor which crowns a mound and platform overlooking the site. Other buildings of note are the Temple of the Birds, the Great Pyramid, The House of the Turtles and El Palomar.

 

Puuc Route

Thirty minutes south of Uxmal, Kabah is the second largest site in the Puuc hills and was one of its vassals. It is famous for the Codz Pop, or the Palace of the Masks, a name that does justice to its magnificent façade consisting of 250 masks depicting Chaac, the Mayan rain god.

Seven kilometers south of Kabah is Sayil, which means “place of the ants” in Maya. The principal building on site is the three-tiered Palace, a long building containing 94 chambers, porticos, columns, Chaac masks and sculptures of the descending or diving god, also seen in Tulum on the Caribbean coast.

The smallest of the Puuc Route sites, Xlapak is best known for the Palace, a tiny but richly carved building in a forest clearing.

Ten kilometers to the east of Sayil, Labna is famous for its huge arch, which was the gateway between the ceremonial plaza and a courtyard surrounded by palaces in ancient times. The arch has an open work roof comb and its finely carved façade features Chaac masks, Mayan huts, nobles and geometric motifs.

 

Ek Balam

A 20-minute drive to the north of Valladolid is the ancient city of Ek Balam, which means “black jaguar or star jaguar” in Maya. The city flourished between A.D. 250-1200 and its crowning glory is the façade on the upper level of the Acropolis, the principal building, which features the magnificent stucco figure of an ancient lord thought to be the first ruler of the city. The figure’s ornate feathered headdress resembles wings and has led many people to refer to him as “el angel” or the angel.

 

In the state of Quintana Roo

Tulum

Crowning a cliff overlooking the Caribbean, Tulum is one of the Maya World’s most spectacular sites. “Tulum” means “wall” in Maya, a reference to the sturdy stone barrier that protects it on three sides, the fourth being the sea, but in ancient times the city was known as Zama or Dawn.

An inscription on a stela or standing stone found at the site reveals that Tulum was inhabited as far back as A.D. 564 although it reached its peak during the Post-Classic period (1250–1521) as a port on the sea and land trade routes. The principal building is a temple known as El Castillo; other important groupings are the Temple of the Descending God, Temple of the Frescos and the House of the Columns.

 

Coba

From Tulum on the Riviera Maya coast, head inland to the ancient city of Coba (25 miles/41 km from the coast), one of the Maya World’s largest archaeological sites.

Coba means “waters ruffled by the wind” in Maya and the pyramids and temples at this jungle site are clustered around four shallow lakes. The city reached its peak during the Mayan Classic period, A.D. 250-900, when it was an important trade center. Archaeologists believe that it may have had links with Tikal in Guatemala. The most recent discovery at the site is the identification of the ancient dynasty that dominated Coba and the names of 14 rulers through the study of hieroglyphic inscriptions carved on stelae and wall tablets.

The principal buildings or groups at Coba are Nohoch Mul, at 42 meters, the tallest pyramid in the northern Yucatán, the Cobá group, La Iglesia (another pyramid), Las Pinturas, the Ball Court, Xaibe and the Macanxoc group which has nine circular altars and eight stelae.

Cobá is also famous for the sacbes or Mayan roads that radiate from the heart of the city. The longest sacbe in the Maya World links the city with the site of Yaxuná, near Chichén Itzá and is 101 km long.

 

Kohunlich

The most famous archaeological site in southern Quintana Roo, 60 kilometers to the west of Chetumal via Highway 186, Kohunlich was first reported in 1912 by Raymond Merwin. The name “Kohunlich” is derived from the English words “cohune,” a native palm tree, and “ridge.”

Excavation work has revealed that the city was founded around 200 B.C. and reached its peak during the Classic period of Mayan history (A.D. 200 – 1000). Building work appears to have ceased around 1200.

Kohunlich is famous for the huge stucco masks that flank the staircase of the Temple of the Masks. Archaeologists believe that they depict the city’s rulers who chose to identify themselves with the sun god, Kinich Ahau, to legitimize their rule. Other important groups of buildings are the Acropolis, the Courtyard of the Stelae, the Palace of the King, Merwin Plaza and the elite residential areas known as the 27 Steps Complex and Pixa’an.

 

Dzibanche

Located in the jungle 81 kilometers northwest of Chetumal via Highway 186, Dzibanche is an ancient city that is still revealing its secrets. Discovered in 1927 by Thomas Gann, Dzibanche means “writing on wood” in Maya, a reference to the calendar inscriptions found on the carved lintel of zapote wood above the doorway to Temple VI.

Experts believe that Dzibanche was the largest and most important city in southern Quintana Roo in ancient times and may have been involved in a power struggle with other city-states in the region such as Calakmul in Campeche. The city reached its peak between A.D. 300 and 1200.

The most important groups of buildings are the Temple of the Lintels; the Gann Plaza, which is flanked by the Temples of the Cormorants, Captives and Toucans; Xibalba Plaza, the site of the Temple of the Owl and the North and South Palaces.

An outlying district of the city, Kinichna (“House of the Sun” in Maya) is located about two kilometers north of Dzibanche and is dominated by a temple called the Acropolis

 

In the state of Campeche

Calakmul

Deep in the jungle of the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve in southern Campeche, close to the Guatemalan border, the ancient city of Calakmul was a major Maya power in the Classic period of Maya history. Its rulers had a bitter rivalry with the city of Tikal and were at war with it for almost a century. The study of hieroglyphic inscriptions carved on Calakmul’s many stelae or standing stones has revealed events including battles, victories, alliances and successions.

Climb the twin pyramids for panoramic views of the forest with the Danta Pyramid at the Guatemalan site of El Mirador visible in the distance. The huge site of Calakmul is also famous for the jade masks found in the tombs of ancient rulers buried deep in temples and palaces.

Calakmul is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the surrounding jungle is a haven for wildlife, including spider and howler monkeys, deer, jaguar and puma, ocellated turkey, toucans and the rare king vulture. Due to its remote location, guided tours are the best way to explore Calakmul.

 

In the state of Chiapas

Palenque

Nestled in the forest-shrouded foothills of the northern mountains of Chiapas, the white citadel of Palenque is one of the most beautiful ancient cities in the Maya World.

A major power during the Classic period of Maya history, it reached its peak during the reign of its most famous ruler Pakal (AD 615-683) and his heir Chan B’ahlum. Carved wall panels, bas-reliefs, masks and memorial tablets have provided archaeologists with a wealth of information about their deeds, the city’s history and the Maya universe.

In 1952, archaeologists working at the site announced a major discovery, the tomb of Pakal deep in the heart of the Temple of Inscriptions. The carved lid of the sarcophagus can still be viewed today in the burial chamber. In 1994, another amazing find made the headlines, the tomb of a woman with a burial mask and a hoard of jade covered in cinnabar dust in Temple XIII, next to the Temple of Inscriptions. The Red Queen as she is known is thought to be Tz’ak-b’u Ajaw, the wife of Pakal.

Other important buildings in Palenque include the Palace with its distinctive tower and a courtyard with tablets depicting captive rulers, the Temple of the Cross, Temple of the Foliated Cross, Temple of the Sun, Temple of the Skull and Temple of the Count.

Jungle paths take visitors through the archaeological site and the trees echo with the cries of howler monkeys and the squawks of parrots.

Flights are available to Palenque and to Villahermosa from Cancun. The nearby village of Palenque is a good base for exploring the area and sites of interest such as Agua Azul and Misol Ha waterfalls and the archaeological sites of Yaxchilan and Bonampak in the Lacandon Jungle.

Here is our beach book recommendation for March. Why not write to us and let us know what’s on your bookshelf or Kindle right now?

The Mermaid of Black Conch by Monique Roffey
The Costa Book of the Year 2020 is a tale woven from Caribbean legend and lore by Trinidadian author Monique Roffey.

Centuries ago, a beautiful maiden called Aycayia was cursed by women of her tribe jealous of her beauty and fearful that she would bewitch their husbands. The spell they cast transformed her into a mermaid and she was doomed to swim the Caribbean alone through the ages until she hears a young fisherman called David singing to himself as he waited for a catch off the coast of the island called Black Cove. The year is 1976.

She appears before him several times and he blames himself when she gets too close to another fishing boat and is caught and reeled in by two American fishermen, father and son. The father is determined to sell her to a museum and she is strung up like a billfish and left to die.

In the dead of night David decides to rescue her. She is too badly wounded to release back into the ocean so he hides her. Over time, an extraordinary change takes place as she becomes a woman again.

This is a haunting love story set against a backdrop of island life, of families, friendship, reunions and of loss. Aycayia, David and local landowner Miss Arcadia Rain tell their stories and the narrative is compelling.

If you run out of books there is a bookstore right on the main square in Puerto Morelos. Alma Libre stocks new and secondhand books and is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.