If you haven’t entered any dates, the rate shown is provided directly by the hotel and represents the cheapest double room (including tax) available in the next 60 days.
Prices have been converted from the hotel’s local currency (USD205.00), via openexchangerates.org, using today’s exchange rate.
Wellness has something of an earnest reputation, but at adults-only Nomade Holbox it’s, well, fun. Mayan-inspired soul-soothing sessions, featuring thalassotherapy or breathwork, add a spiritual sparkle to stays; tropical nights at the beachfront bar take things in a more spirited direction. Sleep among the stars in a treehouse suite, unfurl with beach yoga, relish fusion fare at the regenerative farm-to-fork restaurant, or sip punchy cocktails soundtracked with trance-like DJ sets. Because at island idyll Nomade Holbox, play is as prized as restorative downtime..
11.30am, but flexible, subject to availability and an extra charge. Earliest check-in, 3pm.
Prices
Double rooms from £198.63 ($248), including tax at 21 per cent. Please note the hotel charges an additional service charge of 10% per room per night prior to arrival and an additional government tax of $2.75 per room per night prior to arrival.
More details
Some rates include an à la carte breakfast.
Also
Unfortunately, this barefoot, beachfront stay is not suitable for guests with reduced mobility.
At the hotel
Wellness programmes, and free WiFi throughout. In rooms: air-conditioning, free bottled water, Nespresso coffee machine, tea-making kit, a mini fridge, bathrobes, and local bath products.
Our favourite rooms
Forget whatever image springs to mind when you hear ‘treehouse’ – Nomade’s Treehouse Suites give new meaning to the term. These sustainable structures, made out of latticed local wood, are primed for sky-high snoozing and uninterrupted sunset views reflected in the ocean. A less lofty but equally tranquil option is the Ocean Front Suite; its freestanding stone bath tub calls for long soaking sessions, soundtracked by the sea.
Poolside
The crystal-clear sea couldn’t be closer, but if you’re feeling particularly weary (one too many mezcals will do that to you), the beach-bordered pool – an off-the-dec oasis framed by palm fronds – is an even shorter stroll away (open from 8am until 10pm).
Packing tips
Your crystals, journal, and tarot cards – anything to help you meditate and manifest.
Also
Guests tend to gravitate towards the Gratitude Tent, where wellness programmes, like energy healing and yoga, are inspired by Mayan mysticism.
Children
Little Smiths will need to be patient… Nomade Holbox is a blissed-out bolthole for over-18s only.
Sustainability efforts
All-natural Nomade Holbox knows how to keep things green (and we’re not just talking about its luxuriant setting). Solar panels provide 20 per cent of the hotel’s energy; its buildings are constructed out of locally sourced materials, and single-use plastic has been eschewed in favour of paper straws, crystal water bottles, and refillable bath products. The restaurant serves up organic produce from the onsite kitchen garden, plus plants from their regenerative farm on Mexico’s mainland, in a bid to respect the land and its offerings, and support the local community of farmers and fishermen.
Dine sociably at the long table or, for something more intimate, pick a lantern-lit one on the beach.
Dress Code
Beach-to-bar cover-ups, such as chic sarongs and cool kaftans, are all the modesty you need.
Hotel restaurant
There’s a spirituality to things at Nomade, and this sense continues at La Popular, where vaulted arches, woven out of natural materials, frame divine snapshots of the sea. This toes-in-sand spot serves healthy yet hearty breakfasts – chilaquiles, açaí bowls, and eggs any way; lunch is more Mexican in its offering, with tacos, tostadas and ceviches setting taste buds tingling. The menu is inspired by Japanese and Peruvian cuisine, yet things still remain close to home – farm-fresh produce is sourced from the hotel’s regenerative estate on the Yucatán peninsula. This is why the dishes at dinner are more streamlined, focusing on individual grills such as organic chicken, charred cauliflower, and purple sweet potato, to respect the roots (in both senses) of the ingredients.
Hotel bar
The restaurant’s bar takes on the air of a bohemian beach club as the sun sets. Live music sets the mood on the weekend, but mezcal and margaritas flow all week, offering equally transcendental experiences to rival more wholesome wellness pursuits. And, their strong signature cocktails might do more than put hairs on your chest – Shakira-style hip-shaking may ensue after a few Free Ronins (Roku gin, watermelon juice, green tea, lemongrass, and limoncello) or Tito’s Sons (vodka, ginger, coriander, and pineapple). Don’t say we didn’t warn you…
Last orders
Breakfast is from 7.30am to 11.30am; lunch is served from noon until 6pm; dinner is from 6pm until 10.30pm. The bar pours from noon until 10.30pm.
Room service
Dishes from the restaurant can be delivered to your door from 7.30am to 10.30pm.
Nomade Holbox sits serenely on the western end of namesake Isla Holbox, just off the coast of Mexico’s Yucatán peninsula.
Planes
It’s a two-and-a-half hour drive from Cancún International Airport to Chiquilá; the hotel can arrange ground transfers for US$800 for up to four passengers. From Chiquilá, it’s a 30-minute ferry to Holbox (private boats can be arranged on request); once there, hop in a canary-yellow buggy, the island’s answer to taxis, for the 15-minute ride to Nomade.
Automobiles
If you’ve hired a car, you’ll have to leave it in Chiquilá – in the spirit of island life, Holbox is car-free. Instead, opt for barefoot strolls, borrow a bike, or hire a golf cart or electric scooter.
Other
A chopper can fly you directly from Cancún to Holbox’s airstrip, a 10-minute drive from the hotel.
Worth getting out of bed for
Days at Nomade Holbox are dotted with a whole host of chakra-aligning activities, so much so that you might end up floating out at the end of your stay. The offerings include active meditations, ocean-facing yoga, breathwork sessions, cacao ceremonies and sound baths. But the real show-stealer is the Agua Magica experience, which is a Mexican take on thalassotherapy that’s designed for deep relaxation. The hotel can arrange sunrise boat trips and bird-watching forays, plus visits to witness glowing bioluminescence, which is an otherworldly experience (as are the moonlit kayaking trips). You won’t have to travel far for the best sunset spot – Playa Punta Cocos is a 10-minute walk away, on the most western point of the isle, where laidback bars serve up mean margaritas to accompany those golden-hued views. If you’re missing your pooch back at home, fill the paw-shaped hole in your life with a visit to Refugio Animal Holbox, who will let you take their playful puppies for strolls along the shore. Wander along the honeymoon advert-worthy sandbar, where swirling sandy paths meet the turquoise sea, or hike further east to the secluded Punta Mosquito. Here, you may spy pink fluffs of flamingos, mellow manta rays or watchful iguanas.
Local restaurants
For all-day affairs head to Holbox hotspot Luuma; its wicker and wood setting is the backdrop for healthy breakfasts, leisurely lunches, and sundowners that roll into tapas-style dinners. Dinner at Roots Pizzas is a little more laidback, but just as enticing. A word of warning though: once you’ve tasted their crispy crusts and Mexican-inspired toppings, future pizzas may be ruined for you. Island life reaches its peak at Las Hamacas, a beach club-cum-restaurant where the food (highlights include the octopus tacos and shrimp aguachile) is so good that it will tear you away from the turquoise-toned ombré of ocean just beyond.
Local cafés
There’s no short of brunch spots in town, and Painapol stands out with its artfully arranged avocado toasts and other camera-eats-first plates. Clandestino Coffee Roasters has two locations on the island, both equally equipped to caffeinate your days with their high-quality beans.
Local bars
Like moths to a flame, the neon pink sign of Barba Negra lures locals and visitors alike for starry nights, complete with craft cocktails and moreish fish tacos. Under the palapa roof at sultry Salma, both thirst-quenching tipples and live music get the room swaying.
Every hotel featured is visited personally by members of our team, given the Smith seal of approval, and then anonymously reviewed. As soon as our reviewers have returned from this holistic hotel in Isla Holbox and unpacked their crystals and copal incense, a full account of their transcendental break will be with you. In the meantime, to whet your wanderlust, here's a quick peek inside Nomade Holbox…
Where better to base a mind- and body-balancing retreat like Nomade Holbox than Isla Holbox, an ocean-swathed isle where holism meets hedonism. Wellness offerings, such as cacao ceremonies and sound baths, are inspired by Mayan wisdom; as are the rooms, which represent earth, sky and water – three of Earth’s timeless elements (fire, the fourth, is left to the Mexican sunshine). Your first meditative task is to choose between ground-floor rooms with alfresco bath tubs, canopy-shaded treehouses, and ooh-prompting oceanfront suites. In all cases, accompanying jungle sounds and balmy breezes are poised to turn your well-intentioned meditation practice into a surprise snooze… To complement this restful retreat’s welcome dose of spirituality and siestas – evenings err more on the fiesta side of things, especially at the barefoot beach bar. On weekends, local musicians, live podcasts and just-jetted-in DJs set the mood and, if you like something you hear, there’s no need to ask for a set list as a souvenir – Nomade’s online radio station will transport you back to this sandy sanctuary in no time.
