THE FACTS ABOUT HOTEL SECRETO

Mexico Yucatan

Scott Boyan's story is the ultimate office daydream. As associate editor on a Boston magazine, he was sent on assignment to Mexico's Isla Mujeres, a small island off the coast of Cancún ringed with near-perfect beaches and turquoise-blue seas. There, on a blind date, he met the girl of his dreams. The couple honeymooned on Santorini, which provided the inspiration for the Hotel Secreto. Two years on, the hotel is not so secreto anymore. A sleek cubic building, it contrasts sharply with the backpacker accommodation and simple homes on the island. Its nine bedrooms (six with canopied, four-poster beds) are decorated with palm-fringed mirrors, conchuela floors embedded with tiny shell fossils, and colourful art by the Mérida artist Juan Trejo. Floor-to-ceiling windows open onto balconies overlooking the free-form infinity pool and beach. Breakfast is a casual affair served around a communal dining table, where you can help yourselves to muffins, fresh orange juice and coffee, and swap plans for the day with fellow guests. In most cases this will amount to no more than a snooze by the pool, a cocktail on the rattan sofas in the outdoor lounge and a stroll along neighbouring Playa Los Cocos, famous for its broad, palm-tree-studded beach and driftwood bars. There is no restaurant at the hotel, but meals can be ordered in from local restaurants for those unwilling to stir from their peaceful haven. CONTACT Hotel Secreto, Punta Norte, Isla Mujeres (00 52 998 877 1039; fax: 877 1048; www.hotelsecreto.com). Doubles from US$150 B&B