The Best Villas to Stay at in Cancun

On the northern tip of party-oriented Zona Hotelera, Fiesta Americana Cancún Villas is a family affair with a dinky children’s pool, playground, complimentary kids’ club and, for adults, a swim-up bar. It’s good-looking, with classic Mexican stucco facades and russet terracotta roofs. You’ll be tempted to stay in, cooking home favourites in your multi-room suite, or eating around the resort restaurants. But make time for the ultimate day-trip: the Mayan ruins of Chichén Itzá.

Forgot to pack your swimsuit? Fear not – La Isla Shopping Village is across the way. You’ll need one – the lake-size infinity-edge pool is irresistible, and kids will love the waterslide. Blue-hued Nichupte Lagoon nature reserve is the dreamy backdrop for suites with kitchens and beds that guarantee the deepest sleep. Bliss out with Mayan-influenced treatments at The Heavenly Spa’s beachfront palapa, or go for local immersion: releasing turtles, swimming with whale sharks, or learning to make a faultless guacamole to impress your dinner guests back home.

This place is a visual feast of modern Mexican-flavoured rooms, tropical-print bed throws and gleaming marble floors. You’ll feel even more special if you splurge on the three-storey presidential villa with a rooftop terrace, overlooking the complex of pools. Mexican and Caribbean food steals the show, but you can also get stuck into sushi – or, if you’re really figure-fussy, special spa-healthy courses. No need to let your eco-conscience slip either: enrol on the environmental awareness programme and you’ll be an expert in the four species of local sea turtle by the time you leave.

Edging creamy-sandy shores, Beachscape Kin Ha Villas & Suites suits golfers down to a tee: Cancún Golf Club is little more than a ball-thwack away. It’s handy for ancient Mayan ruins, too – but if only utter indolence will do, you’ll find the simple suites calm oases, in tones of Caribbean blue and green. The generous palm-edged pool is an easy stroll way, through lush garden, and, when you feel like more exertion, the psychedelic-blue marine shallows are not much further off.

Through Casa Granada 24’s carved wooden door you enter a world of ornate tiles, trickly fountains and high walls. Cool off in the shaded patio’s tiny plunge pool then walk the 10 minutes to plaza-like Parque de las Palapas, packed with street-food stalls. Practice your Spanish with locals as you eat classic Yucatan panuchos (tortilla piled with black beans and toppings), or buy platanos fritos (fried bananas) to dine on, back at the ranch.

Pale walls, Scandi-style light woods, crisp white linen… the interiors of this four-bedroom villa are as clean as the waves just beyond. And with four bathrooms to choose from, there’ll be no fighting over who gets to freshen up first each morning. You’ve got culture practically en suite: the Mayan Museum is opposite. But we say: spray on the sun oil, hit the private beach and bronze until it’s time to shake off the sand for a dip in the pool, and a pre-dinner margarita.

You feel you’re at one with nature at Villa Natural, with views of tropical trees and verdant foliage from almost every arched window. It’s an uncomplicated place that might have been designed by Gaudí, with groovy ’60s furniture, soaring ceilings and whitewashed walls. Keep your pulse low with yoga on the shady terrace or an in-room massage. But do shake a leg for the city’s best sands at Playa Delfines, named after the dolphins you’ll likely spot there.