Area Daily: Maroma, Luxury Resort on the Riviera Maya in Yucatan, Mexico

If retreat and escape are the order of the day, we have a luxury resort for you that is THE perfect place for laying around and rejuvenating. The Maroma, on the Riviera Maya, 30 miles south of Cancun on Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula.

Started as an architect's dream house in the early 80's, its barrier reef location makes for almost cartoonishly blue crystalline water and one of the world's best beaches, with a dizzying array of aquatic pursuits.

Rooms are outfitted in an understated Mexican style, with tile floors, exposed beams, and touches of stucco. Some feature terraces, ocean views, even pools and gardens. The mahogany and leather furniture, as well as much of the artwork, are made on premises, in the hotel's own workshop.

As this is an experience for the truly dedicated layabout, the Maroma features an embarrassment of spa and pampering treatments, available in the spa, in-room, or on the private beach. The more familiar massage, yoga, and facial/body treatments are joined by the Temazcal, a volcanic steam bath/mud treatment which is said to be capable of producing "deep emotional release" or even visions.

Once you are thoroughly relaxed there are a number of more active pursuits in which to engage: snorkeling, scuba diving, deep sea fishing, sailing, windsurfing, parasailing, and swimming. And for guests who prefer quiet contemplation of the sea to actual physical contact with water, the resort offers volleyball, horseback riding, and, for those truly determined to avoid relaxation, golf.

Beyond the grounds lie the remains of the Mayan civilization. Here it is possible to study the ancient archaeological treasures and ponder the spiritual and astronomical aspects of the temples and pyramids, before returning to the spa to celebrate the concept of zero (pioneered by Mayan mathematicians) by doing nothing at all.