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PRE-ARRIVAL AZUL BLUE
I stayed at the brand-spanking-new AZUL Blue Hotel + Spa. It opened in late December, 2006 and I loved their stress-free concept, which starts even before you arrive. About a week before my trip, I was emailed a pre-arrival questionnaire asking all the basic information they’d need to speed up check-in and more! When I arrived, all I needed to do was hand my butler (yes, butler – more on him in a minute) my credit card. The questionnaire didn’t stop there; as I scrolled down, it became more and more interesting. For starters, the hotel offers to arrange your ground transportation to and from the airport; choices are a Lincoln Navigator, stretch limo or helicopter. Then it asks if you’re allergic to any type of food or if you’re celebrating a special occasion and would like a certain song played. Very thoughtful, eh? Then there’s the pillow, scented oil and natural handmade soap menu. Gotta love that! It keeps getting better; you’re then asked what type of music you want pre-loaded onto your iPod (yes, all rooms come with an iPod). And get this: If I wanted, my butler was available to assist with unpacking and ironing my clothes. Now that’s what I’m talking about! I hate to iron. Note: They iron 2 pieces per guest for free, then there’s a fee.

AZUL BLUE
Tulum used to be a destination for backpackers, but the hotels have now gone upscale. When I pulled into AZUL Blue’s compound, I knew it was going to be nice because even their neon blue signs looked chic. Upon arrival, the doorman was waiting for me with a cold towel and a glass of hibiscus and strawberry iced tea. He took my bags and introduced me to "my butler" who gave me a quick tour of the resort. It was dark, but it looked fabulous and wasn’t overwhelming. There are 96 luxurious suites in six, two-storey villas. Each villa has a butler who is stationed behind a desk in the quad area. Their duties are to cover each villa’s 16 suites. The rooms are huge, with high ceilings and have a double-size hydro-massage tub on either the inside or the outside of your room (Note: these tubs take a while to fill up so plan accordingly). The iPod was docked below the widescreen plasma satellite television (and a DVD player with movies to choose) and playing the music I had chosen the week before. The bedding was first-class (of course), and the sheets were 100% Italian cotton. The marble bathroom had heated floors and my new favorite coconut scented soap was waiting patiently for me to rub all over my naked body — which I did and took the remainder home. There was a basket of fruit near the desk (the rooms have free wireless internet) and a stocked mini-bar which is free for all guests to deplete at no additional charge. You gotta love that! That’s because AZUL Blue is an all-inclusive resort. Is it just me or is there something about a free mini-bar that really turns you on? For me, it’s because normally, I never even open them up for fear of being charged just for browsing the overpriced goodies. But the moment it’s free, I act as if I’m Puff Daddy. Cocktail, anyone?

DINING
While at dinner, my butler ironed my two pieces of clothing. He did a fine job and though tipping is not expected and maybe not even allowed, I did anyway. The food at the hotel restaurants is what surprised me the most. For one, I was expecting some greasy Mexican tacos (which I love and was actually a little bummed they didn’t serve, although my stomach and Buddha belly were happy.) At an all-inclusive, you typically can’t expect more than average food because that’s usually what you get. But that’s not the case here. I guess that’s why the AZUL Blue’s brochure describes it as gourmet-inclusive. A brie and peach quesadilla, anyone?

GLOBE RESTAURANT
There are three main restaurants at the resort, all with open kitchens because Heiner Gellenberg, the German executive chef, who frequently walks around talking to guests, says they have nothing to hide. He even wants to put a camera in the kitchen and have it displayed on plasma TVs around the restaurant so guests can learn how to prepare their meals. The main restaurant is called Globe (open for breakfast, lunch and dinner) and serves a mix of local and global ingredients. I had breakfast there every morning and always contemplated whether I should be healthy and opt for the muesli with fruit or go with the omelet, pecan pancakes, crepes, waffles, French toast stuffed with cream cheese and pink bananas or the Chilaquiles (fried tortilla chips tossed in a green tomato and poblano pepper sauce). What do you think I chose? Just look at my belly. Better yet, don’t.

THE VIEW
The open-air thatched roof restaurant out by the pool is called The View (open for lunch and dinner). It serves sandwiches, crispy pizzas from a wood-burning oven and a whole slew of ceviches. They ranged from Panamanian Mahi Mahi Ceviche cooked with lime juice, pink onions, celery and habanero chili to Jamaican Chicken Ceviche marinated with soy and coconut with red chili and spices. I even took Heiner’s class to learn how to make these myself.

YUZU
Who would’ve thunk that in an isolated Mexican coastal resort that you could get authentic -- looking and tasting -- Asian cuisine? YUZU Restaurant (open just for dinner) serves Japanese, Chinese, Thai and Vietnamese dishes. Heck, they even have a sushi bar and sake parlor. For pre-dinner drinks, I was shooting sake bombs and mojito sakes, trying to figure out what country I was in. With all the travel I’ve been doing, dining at Yuzu really messed with my brain because my body was telling me I was in Mexico but my eyes were screaming Japan. And that was before I walked into the Tinto Lounge where they had tequila tastings.

BARS/LOUNGES
There a four bars and lounges. This includes Tinto Lounge which not only offers wine and tequila tastings, but has daily live piano and music performances. There’s a swim-up bar and once a week they bring in salsa dancers for a fiesta night. All the guests I spoke to were impressed with AZUL Blue’s selection of top-shelf alcohol. However, they did say that the house wines weren’t always the best.

CREATIVE MENU
For those who want something over-the-top, the resort has a sous chef named Jonatan Gomez Luna who trained under Chef Ferrán Adriá of the famed El Bulli restaurant in Spain (it’s one of the most famous restaurants in the world). Jonatan and Heiner can prepare a nine-plate creative dinner that includes liquid ravioli, peanut butter lobster tail, and a test tube concoction called Flavors of Tulum; one of those flavors was coconut sunscreen. Dessert smelled and tasted like Carolina Herrera perfume (it was supposed to). It reminded me of the five-hour creative dinner I had in Torino at Combal.Zero (Here’s the link to that story).



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