BlueBay Grand Esmeralda spreads across 180 hectares of jungle and mangrove on the Riviera Maya, with more than 500 metres of private Caribbean coastline at the front of it. Its 979 rooms sit in eight low-rise buildings that borrow from Mayan architecture, from Deluxe rooms with garden or ocean views to Jacuzzi Suites and Swim-Up Suites that open straight onto the water. Three swimming pools run to 2,750 square metres between them, with separate children’s sections, a swim-up bar and one pool looking out to sea.

The resort has six restaurants and the bars between them. Festival handles the buffet, Il Cuore di Rossi is the Italian, Don Isi the Mexican, L’Atelier the French, and Jaal-Ha sits under a palapa, with Black and White and the Columpios swing bar for the evening. A full spa, a gym and a kids’ club with a family entertainment programme fill the rest, and the resort’s own experiences programme runs snorkelling, marine life and jet skis off the beach. Playa del Carmen and Fifth Avenue are a short drive up the coast.