There’s a wonderfully paradoxical energy to Chablé, where old and new meet and the historical is shot through with elements of ultimate luxury. It is, after all, built from the ruins of a centuries-old henequen hacienda in Chocholá, in Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula.
The small village, 40 minutes from Mérida, is reached by a single road that gives nothing away about what lies at its end. Then 303ha of low tropical forest open up: 40 casitas set among the trees, a cenote at the property’s centre, fireflies after dark.
Each casita is 200m2, with king-size beds, natural stone floors, locally crafted textiles, hand-carved wooden furniture, floor-to-ceiling windows, indoor and outdoor showers, a private pool with hammocks and sun loungers, and jungle pressing in on all sides.
It is a veritable cocoon of luxury. The World’s 50 Best Hotels currently ranks it No 8 in the world and the best hotel in North America. Having spent time here, it is not hard to see why.
Food is central to why people make the trip. The culinary programme was conceived by chef Jorge Vallejo of Quintonil (No 3 on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants) and is run by executive chef Luis Ronzón, a Quintonil alumnus who has been there since the opening in 2016.
The menus draw on Mayan agricultural traditions, the smoky register of the piib (a traditional Yucatecan Maya earth oven used for slow-cooking), the region’s Lebanese heritage, and produce from the resort’s own ka’anches (elevated wooden vegetable gardens).
Begin the day at La Granja de Abu (Abu’s Farm) — the newest addition to the estate, a working farm where animal care, hands-on workshops, and a weekend brunch kitchen sit alongside each other.
Mornings here are unhurried. The eggs come from the on-site coop, and collecting them yourself before sitting down has a childlike pleasure that makes breakfast taste all the better.
Chilaquiles with fried egg and fresh cheese, quesadillas with chicken tinga, and campechanas from the oven make up the most interesting part of the menu: classic Mexican breakfast dishes cooked to order.
On Friday evenings, Ki’ol, the poolside restaurant, shifts its focus to the grill. Fire Night is chef Ernesto Flores’s show — think bone marrow with garlic confit and chapulines, trout with coconut aguachile and charred fruits, and chamomile-buttered lobster with cauliflower purée. It is a relaxed yet expressive evening that champions fire and what it can do with Mexican flavours.
Ixi’im (“maize” in Mayan) is the resort’s dining centrepiece and occupies the old engine room of the hacienda; its walls are lined with what is claimed to be the world’s largest private tequila collection, 3,435 bottles strong, the oldest a Brindis por México by José Cuervo that dates back to 1845.
The tasting menu opens with a fresh milpa salad of tomato, xilotes, and x’pelon with recado negro vinaigrette. This is followed by particularly stellar grilled broccoli with peanut mole, while the highlight is a glorious venison risotto, with the meat prepared in a piib, the underground cooking technique imparting deep smokiness and sublime tenderness.
It closes, equally strong, with a chocolate tamale with pinole and cinnamon ice cream, paired with Tequila Chablé Extra Añejo. And there’s nothing to stop you from exploring a few of the thousands of tequilas and mezcals on offer — it is, in fact, encouraged.
Between meals, take a bike and explore. The estate is vast, and every turn on the winding roads reveals something more: beehives, the Mayan garden, a spa, a deer sanctuary.
Mérida is 40 minutes away. Chichén Itzá and Uxmal are manageable day trips. But somewhere between the morning cycles, spa, poolside lunches, fireflies at dusk, and the second pour of tequila, the pull of anywhere else simply disappears. You’re at Chablé, and there really is no reason to leave.
From the June issue of Wanted, 2026
