Travel in Style: Riviera Maya
Addresses + Outfits
Bienvenidos mis Amigos! I’m back from my vacation in Mexico and I have to tell you about the places we stayed because it was AMAZING! I’m also going to cover what I packed to cope with the heat and humidity without compromising on style. So save this article for your next trip to the Riviera Maya or next tropical getaway!
We started our trip in Playa del Carmen (PDC) and stayed at the Mahekal Beach Resort. This place is truly magical, authentic and intimate. It’s a special place to us. This is where we celebrated our engagement and did our engagement photoshoot. Think of lush palm trees everywhere, bungalows with palapa roofs, a main pool by the beach facing the turquoise water of the Caribbean sea. I mean this is paradise to me! Once again we were absolutely delighted to be there and we will be back for sure! We love that this place operates more like a boutique hotel than a resort. It feels exclusive and intimate. I don’t like big resort ambiance personally. They also offer “all-inclusive” options. You can choose from: all meals included in your booking or breakfasts and dinners like we did. It makes it easy and set you up for a very relaxing vacation where you don’t think about anything. Their food is good and the restaurants very nice.
The location is great too, just 5 minutes walk from the main street (5th street) in Playa Del Carmen, where you have all the restaurants, bars and shops. The Riviera Maya is so easy to go to from the US, especially from the East Coast and Chicago. It’s a short direct flight to Cancun and there is no time difference. Once you land in Cancun I recommend using Cancun Airport Transportation for your transfer to the hotel. They have good prices and are reliable. Mahekal Beach Resort is located south of Cancun about 45 minutes drive form the airport.
After our wonderful stay in Playa Del Carmen we headed to Tulum and stayed at Papaya Playa Project (PPP). I was thrilled to be back in Tulum. PPP is another gorgeous place by the beach but with a different vibe. It's more rugged and bohemian-chic compared to Mahekal Beach Resort. At Papaya Playa Project you’re in the jungle and it’s laidback. Their concept is to allow people to reconnect to nature.
They are part of the Design Hotels and are well-known for their pools on top of their casitas. It’s what we had but changed for a casita with a pool on the terrace level because it was too hot on the roof! PPP is also well-known for its music and epic parties. We were lucky to be there for their full moon party. We had a blast. The location is great too, as they are located at the entrance of the beach hotel zone. You can access the center of Tulum in 10 minutes by scooter or taxi and you have all the beach clubs near by too. Azulik, which is another famous hotel in Tulum Beach is next door of PPP. You can read more about my recommendations and addresses in Tulum here: Destination TULUM.
Now to the outfits part! During the day I was mostly wearing my sarong on top of my bikini, as I spend most of my time at the beach and pool. It was part of my beach essentials with my hat and black sunglasses. My sunglasses are from Valley Eyewear and my hat from Bash.
When I was not wearing my sarong, I was just throwing a dress on top of my bikini either my brown Spaghetti Strap Scoop Neck Maxi Dress or yellow slip dress.
Those dresses are the perfect day to night dresses. You can wear them for diner too. I was just changing my flip flop for a pair of black heels in the evening to elevate the look for diner time. I brought my off the shoulder black ruffle dress too, I wore that with my heels for one of the diners at Mahekal Beach Resort. The white linen pant made it to my suitcase too! It’s the perfect fabric to wear in a tropical hot environment, as it keeps you cool. I paired it with a black tank top, my animal print sandals and voila another great diner outfit!
The long cotton shirtdress is another great dress to wear for the beach or for an excursion like here when I visited the Maya Ruins in Tulum. It keeps it simple yet elegant, especially if you accessorize it with a hat.
In Tulum I wore mostly denim shorts with loose Tank Tops and graphic-print T-Shirts when I was not at the beach or pool. The T-Shirt is by Anine Bing.
In the evening in Tulum I was simply changing my T-Shirt or Tank Top for a long sleeve blouse to make it more feminine (and also to protect myself from the mosquitoes!), then my flip flop for my leopard print sandals by Kurt Geiger, which elevates the look to go for diner while keeping it laidback. I accessorized those looks with my animal print pouch I bought in Indonesia or my black fringe crossbody bag by Rebecca Minkoff. By the way this pair of sandals is very old! I bought them when I was living in London 11 years ago! See when you have a quality piece it lasts for a very long time.
I hope you enjoyed this lookbook and that it will inspire your outfits for your next tropical getaway! Tell me in the comments below where are you traveling next?!
XO from your favorite French Girl on the Stack! 😉