Rancho Encantado

Budget eco resort with spacious thatched casitas set in verdant gardens, overlooking the aquamarine Laguna Bacalar

Laguna Bacalar’s unfeasibly blue water provides a magnificent backdrop to Rancho Encantado: a tropical haven of tranquillity in the south east of Mexico’s Yucatán. An alternative to large resort hotels, it’s a natural and tasteful hideaway, with romantic lakeside casitas, beautifully crafted local furniture and sparkling lake vistas, surrounded by lush gardens and wild jungle.

Couples and families seeking seclusion will appreciate the laid-back pace, which centres around the lake (perfect for swimming or kayaking). The wooden pier, bedecked with hammocks, juts out invitingly over the turquoise water; at night, it’s lit with fairy lights in coloured coconut shells and provides the perfect location for sipping margaritas and watching the moon rise. The spa, a stilted palapa (thatched) hut built over the lake and reached by a bamboo walkway, offers uplifting therapies such as honey, salt and aromatherapy scrubs; after your treatment you can enjoy the bubbles in its tiled open-air Jacuzzi. If you tire of chilling out, you can head into the jungle to visit remote Mayan ruins, encased in undergrowth and undiscovered by the tourist crowds.

Highs

• Lake Bacalar’s calm waters are ideal for swimming
• The lakeside casitas have fantastic views and direct access to the water
• The atmosphere is quiet and rejuvenating
• It's an ideal base for visiting remote ruins set deep in the jungle, many of which have only recently been discovered

Lows

• The garden casitas are within earshot of the nearby road, and all the casitas are fairly simple
• The staff speak little English; it’s a good chance to practise your Spanish
• The dinner menu has a limited choice
• The location means it’s a long journey to get here, but it’s an ideal stopping point on the way to Belize