Zentik Salt Cave Hotel…a unique place to stay in Mexico

Looking for a unique place to stay in Mexico? Love art? Cenotes? Then come stay in this adults-only hotel where you can surround yourself with nature and art, relax in hammocks over the pool or float underground in a salt cave to your heart’s content…

 

Zentik Project Salt Cave Hotel is located in the charming Spanish Colonial town of Valladolid. This trendy boutique hotel flourishes with striking paintings and murals created by internationally famous artists.  But underground, the secretive saltwater cave will surely draw you in.

This alluring space resembles a cenote.

Which is perfectly fitting in this part of Mexico! Here in the Yucatan (and south into Quintana Roo) over 6,000 cenotes exist. These natural sinkholes filled with fresh water pools carved into limestone depressions were created eons ago. There are different types of cenotes, and this one represents a closed cenote. A cave with natural light streaming through a singular opening.

 

Welcome to Zentik, perhaps the most unique place to stay in Yucatan, Mexico

My friend and I arrived in the afternoon and were welcomed with a shot of tequila in little wooden cups. We followed our host down a wooden boardwalk through a garden with trees, colorful swings, a Au Naturale thatched hut, and vivid murals and unusual art created from natural materials along the woodsy path that led to our room on the ground floor facing the swimming pool. What an inviting, peaceful setting!

Along the way we were ushered to the entrance of the salt cave and peeked inside to find a long candlelit staircase leading down to the water.

Our room, one of 12 on the property, had a separate sitting area with a day bed, a table and stools made from tree trunks and walls with bright paintings created by a Mexican artist. Yucatan inspired decor complimented the furnishings. The king sized bed had small henna type lamps, a veneered tree branch for hanging damp swimsuits or clothes and a hammock that strung across the room. The roof over the 2nd floor is thatched to create the look of a Mayan home.

The whole complex is unique mixing nature, Mayan touches and modern or surrealistic art.

 

Our Stay

During our 3 night stay in Valladolid, we ventured out on day trips to see the flamingoes and pink lakes in Rio Lagartos, visit Ek Balam ruins, and swim in Oxman, Choj Ha and Zazil Tunich cenotes. We used the local MexiGo Tours company for our private tours and transfers between Isla Holbox to Valladolid and onward to Akumal Bay on the Mexican Riviera Maya.

We also made time to visit Zaci cenote in the middle of town, the bustling daily market, the town square at night and attend the light show at the Convento. Our days were busy, but this hotel was a blissful respite with its inviting pool and intriguing salt cave pool open at all hours of the day or night. We loved our room, the food, the staff, and the mesmerizing art which was fun to interpret.

 

Zentik Salt Cave Hotel

This salt cave is the reason why this hotel is the most unique place to stay in Mexico. Are you ready to relax and let tensions melt away? Then descend six meters underground through a candlelit stone vault to enter pure bliss. Warm saltwater awaits. Inhale deeply to ingest the salty air, and gently sink backwards to float.

 

 

As you glide deeper into the cave the sound of fresh water falling through a hole in the ceiling will further enhance your relaxation. And if you linger under the waterfall, the warm water will massage your sore neck and shoulder muscles. Ahhhh…

Natural light streams through an opening like it does in Samula, a closed cenote. Dim candlelight illuminating the tiny nooks and ledges scattered around the cave make this such a romantic setting.

The warm blue-green water gets its color from the Chucum Resin (from Yucatan trees) that coat the walls and release medicinal properties. The waist high salt water, heated to 34 to 37 degrees Celsius, is known as Thalassotherpy. The therapeutic benefits of the warm saltwater relieve muscle pain, help improve respiratory, metabolic, rheumatism, blood circulation, osteoporosis and skin rejuvenation.

This was a perfect place to start and end each day. Rarely another soul was there. If my friend and I went together we drifted quietly finding our own peace and privacy. Was wonderful for relaxing, meditating, and floating around with no sounds other than falling water.

 

Spa

Traditional relaxing and therapeutic massages, prenatal, anti-stress, couples massage, and Reiki sessions can be reserved in the adjoining spa on the property. But the one service that piqued my interest was the hydro massage. Would it be similar to the relaxing massage I had while floating on a foam pad at the Blue Lagoon in Iceland or closer to the intimidating invigorating icy cold  massage provided by forceful water jets in Italy? I had no idea. But I was game to find out!

 

Unique Hydro Massage

My friend and I both reserved a hydro floating massage in the salt cave. Our Mayan masseuse led us through a private journey symbolizing our birth into the world and beyond. She asked permission for us to enter the waters (like Mayans do before entering cenotes as they are considered sacred places and portals to the underworld) and asked me to think of something I could give the waters in return–like happiness, acceptance, gratefulness. She explained the process and asked me to simply trust her as she moved my floating body around the water.

 

With eyes closed, nose pinched and ears plugged with plastic, I submitted fully to the experience. When she squeezed my arm twice I knew to take a deep breath as she guided my body under water in a series of gentle waves, or rotated me in the water. The way she bent my knees and guided me into a fetal position with the contractions of the water really did mimic what it must feel like inside the womb. I felt relaxed, calm, and cared for the entire time. At times she used pool noodles under my legs or an inflatable neck pillow when massaging other parts of my body.

At the end she remarked that I was an excellent floater and didn’t resist her movements once (apparently lots of people freak out when they don’t know what’s happening next and tense up). She asked if she could do a few more moves that she never gets to do with people, and I quickly said yes! She dipped my head way back deep and rotated my body and led me under the waterfall in a series of gentle guided movements. I loved every second of this experience and highly recommend it!

She only offers this massage a couple mornings a week (Thursday is one) at 7am or 8am. So find out the dates available and book this in advance before you come!

 

Art

Alebrijes Masks & Sculptures

The hotel organizes workshops for guests to create their own alebrijes–painted cardboard masks– in a local art gallery. In the 4 or 8 hour class, participants learn about the historical traditions and rituals of the masks used during the Day of the Dead before molding a piece and decorating it. Minimum of 2 people, and must reserve in advance.

A striking alebrijes sculpture sits on a wooden platform on the hotel property near the swimming pool.

The sculpture creatively combines 6 animal species significant to the Mayan people. The artist, Rafael Baca, continues to technique from master Pedro Linares who created this artform 80 years ago. This popular Mexican art is similar to papier-mache.

Paintings & Murals

Fifteen different artists have created unique pieces for the Zentik Project Hotel. Murals exist all around the property and paintings decorate the bedrooms. No cookie cutter rooms here!

Our room was decorated by Mexican artist Farid Rueda. A vivid painting of a merman with a corn husk tail and fish emerging from his chest enlivened the sitting nook. And a giant orange owl kept watch over the king sized bed.

A surrealist artist from Ukraine created a fascinating piece outside the spa–interpretation open and fun to guess. Additional surrealistic and graffit type artists decorate the dining room and walls around the property.  Two animated girls with oversized eyes and thin smiles look out over the swimming pool.

 

Artist Leon Alva, who grew up in nearby Merida, creates playful wistful art where “happy dreams come true.”

 

 

Naino Restaurant

Food at this open walled restaurant was delicious and affordable. Having just come from Isla Holbox, where a common price for dinner was 800 pesos, the prices here were shockingly low (150-220 pesos). Food quality was top notch gourmet and artistically presented, often on natural platters. The chef fuses regional Yucatecan flavors with international cuisine that changes with each season. The attached bar serves several specialty cocktails and traditional favorites.

Breakfast is included in the nightly rate. Guests choose an entrée from the menu like omelets or green waffles with fruit, but can add other dishes like a huge bowl of yogurt with fresh fruit and honey for 95 pesos ($4) more. Be sure to try their Mexican coffee! This spiced concoction has cinnamon and cardamom (I’m guessing)…so delicious with the warm milk they provide on the side.

 

Location

Valladolid is located inland in the Yucatan, a 2 hour drive southwest from Cancun. The population is this friendly town is roughly 46,000 people. It’s one of my favorite places in the Yucatan. What makes it such a unique place in Mexico is that this charming town has plenty to offer on its own plus is an excellent base for visiting Mayan ruins and intriguing cenotes! Chichen Itza ruins are 45 minutes west and Ek Balam ruins are 30 minutes north.

Located in the northeast part of this Spanish Colonial town, Zentik Project Hotel is a ten-fifteen minute walk to Zaci cenote and another ten minutes to the town square. From there you can walk down the prettiest street with buildings painted in pastel facades all the way to the 16th-century Convent of San Bernardino about a ten minute walk away. However, the sun can feel intense, draining your energy. Luckily Valladolid has inexpensive taxi rates. We used taxis to get from our hotel to the Convent of San Bernardino in the historic center and home again after the impressive, colorful nightly light show for 40 pesos.

 

Things to do in the Area:

Visit Valladolid’s Market & Convent of San Bernardino

Market: wander through a bustling market that sells everything from leather products, coconut candies, toys, fresh produce, flowers, clothes, honey and raw meat. Fun to see the unusual products from the Yucatan. Ask for directions from the front desk or take a taxi.

Convent: walk through the long arched corridor with stone walls to explore the massive 16th century Convent of San Bernardino. Stroll through peaceful pink arches around the courtyard garden, peek inside the church with its impressive altar, and learn about the Mayan revolt/history in the attached museum.

There’s even a cenote out back.

Be sure to come back at night, around 9:20pm, for the daily light and sound show. It’s a colorful impressive story told on the outer facade of the Convent.

 

 

Visit Cenotes

After floating in the salt cave you’ll be inspired to explore a real cenote. There are 8 to choose from in the area surrounding Valladolid. Each is unique.

Some are closed caves with natural light rays streaming through a singular opening, like Samula or Dzitnup. These often have stalagmites and stalactites, adding to the mystique! Others are semi-open cenotes with a partially collapsed roof and overhanging rock like Zaci cenote in town.

 

Yet others are open cenotes at the bottom of a natural cylinder with vegetation like giant tree roots from a Ceiba tree extending from the ground all the way down to the water, like Oxman cenote.

I spent an afternoon swimming here amid catfish and other tourists. Swinging from a giant rope was popular. But just floating among all the mysterious-looking ceiba roots felt relaxing in an otherworldly atmosphere.

We also enjoyed an unusual dining experience inside a cenote.

MexiGo Tours took us to Zazil Tunich cenote, a large closed cavern about an hour away. Our guide provided an explanation of the Mayan beliefs about cenotes while we admired the massive cave. The experience includes receiving a Mayan blessing and walking through smoke from copal incense before entering the water. But the Mayan shaman didn’t show up. After a brief swim in dark waters, my friend and I ate tasty piib chicken by candlelight inside the dramatic cenote.

 

Transportation & Taxis

Bike to a cenote! You can rent bikes from MexiGo Tours and pedal 20 minutes to Samula or Dzitnup cenotes. Or take an affordable taxi.

Taxis: For comparison purposes, taxi costs are much higher in the Maya Riviera. Expect to pay 1500 pesos ($75) for a taxi to take you 9km and wait 1.5 hours while you visit a cenote from Akumal, Tulum or Playa del Carmen. Or 1100 pesos ($55) without waiting. But in Valladolid? Pay 300 pesos ($15) for a 2.5 hour excursion to a cenote of your choice while your driver waits for you!

Zentik Project Hotel works with a select group of taxi drivers who are trustworthy, dependable and very reasonable. They organized a taxi to take me to San Lorenzo Oxman cenote 15 minutes out of town, wait there 2.5 hours, and bring me back to the hotel for just 300 pesos. My friendly driver spoke perfect English (he lived in Texas and managed a ranch). He was a wealth of information about the area and offered to take me to other cenotes for just 100 pesos more. But I ran out of time, as I promised my friend that I’d get back to visit the Convento before it closed at 5pm.

(Unfortunately due to miscommunication with the receptionist, the Convent of San Bernardino remained closed until 5pm. So I did have time to visit another cenote. I really wanted to see Samula cenote again. Although it’s busy now, Samula was a favorite stop on the photo tours my husband and I used to lead in the Yucatan.)

MexiGo Tours provides private transfers to and from Valladolid. Warm friendly Mayan driver/guides are eager to please, laid back and willing to customize your transfer. They picked us up at the ferry when we left Isla Holbox in an a/c van with icy cold water. We stopped for traditional Yucatean food along the way. And made a detour at Choj Ha cenote, where we swam for 1.5 hours in what turned out to be our favorite cenote of the trip. Later, when we left Valladolid, we stopped at the local market where my friend bought handmade leather sandals before heading to Akumal. Our last detour was seeing the Tulum ruins before he dropped us off at our resort. Killer service. Awesome guides. Excellent prices. Highly recommend!

 

Visit Flamingoes & the Pink Lakes

Rio Lagartos is a nature preserve located 1.5 hours north of Valladolid. We used MexiGo Tours for several tours. Gilberto picked us up at 7:30am and whisked us to our waiting boat captain. Gilberto pointed out green herons, frigate birds, native plants and a horseshoe crab along the way. He led us on a fun slog barefoot through mud with fascinating patterns to watch flamingoes from a distance. Then he brought us to another bank where he dug a hole for us to extract mud to “beautify our skin.”

We saw flamingos at a distance from here. But I had more fun walking across the cracked mud flats…

After rinsing off in the gorgeous turquoise sea, we jetted back to the pier. After delicious fresh fish in a local restaurant, we drove 30 min to the pink lakes.

Daresay the Pink Lake is a unique place in Mexico. But….due to Instagram popularity, there is now a 230 peso fee to “enter.” Which means you walk on the open gravel road beside the pink lake under the watchful eye of an assigned guide who ushers you back to the gate before your 30 minutes are up. Long gone are the photo ops of swimming in the water, doing fun photo shoots or having time to soak up the scenery!

 

They now restrict you to bring anything other than a cellphone. (Gilberto must’ve worked his magic– because I was allowed one camera!)

 

Visit Mayan Ruins

Chichen Itza is a large popular ruin site just 45 minutes away. Since both of us had visited it many times before, we skipped it. But we visited the smaller Mayan ruin site Ek Balam after seeing the pink lakes. Here you can climb the pyramid and see the impressive Monster Mouth. Last time I was there, it was under restoration. So I was happy to see the completed project and listen to Gilberto explain the significance of each sculpture on the grandly carved facade.

 

How long should you stay?

If this is your first time in Valladolid, I’d recommend a minimum of 4 nights. You could easily spend a week just visiting the different cenotes. And another week taking day trips to ruins, nature preserves and appealing villages like the golden village of Izmal. There’s really so much to see and do in the area that you’ll need time to chill between adventures. And what better place to truly relax than this inviting retreat with the refreshing swimming pool, hammocks, salt cave, garden, art gallery? Feels private, peaceful and calming the minute you enter.

Another thing to consider is cost. Everything from lodging, food, taxis, excursions and cenotes are so much more affordable in Valladolid than anywhere along the coast. So it’s easy to extend your Mexican vacation by spending time here without killing your budget. Itinerary planning tip: this is also a good place to recover from sunburns too. Give your skin a break from beach time under a blazing sun.

Plus, now that you know about the artsy Zentik Project Hotel, the hippest, coolest, most unique place to stay in Mexico —once you know about it, how could you pass it up?

 

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