AS THE FIRST of the next generation of eco-friendly, non-all-inclusive resorts, Fairmont's superluxe Mayakoba has been one of the most anticipated and scrutinized developments in the Riviera Maya's recent history. The resort, which opened in May, sits on the coast 42 miles from Cancún—very near Clayton Ball's original KaiLuum site. But this is no bungalows-on-the-beach operation. My arrival is greeted by a swarm of valets who relieve me of my Jeep, whisk away my luggage, clasp my hand to a mango cocktail, and announce, "The grounds are yours."

The gleaming marble lobby commands a sweeping view of the resort's 590 over-the-top acres of pools, casitas, fairways, freshwater lagoons, and palapa-topped restaurants. Mayakoba aspires to become the Pebble Beach of the Riviera Maya, and it's already well on its

In Playa del Carmen, the A-list hotels aren't the big resorts. They're the boutique joints tucked off Quinta Avenida, Playa's jumping nightlife district.

way. This coming February, the hotel's Greg Norman–designed golf course will host the Mayakoba Classic, the first-ever PGA Tour event held in Mexico. Within three years, if all goes according to plan, the site will include three adjacent villa-style, high-end hotels, all connected by freshwater lagoons (guests will motor around in electric-powered mahogany lanchas), with shared access to the greens.

Mayakoba is what Dario Flota has in mind when he talks about developments surrounded by jungle. "The law says we must protect 80 percent of the mangroves, so we designed Mayakoba to keep the mangroves intact," Lyn Santos, the resort's ecology manager, tells me during a tour of the compound. It's an intriguing layout. The golf clubhouse, beachside restaurant, and pool are separated from the rest of the resort by a half-mile-wide swath of pristine mangrove wetland that provides habitat for anteaters, crocodiles, turtles, iguanas, and dozens of bird species.

The nature zone seems to be offering the desired storm protection, as well. "Last fall, when Hurricane Wilma hit, Cancún lost 7,000 hotel rooms. Because we had the mangrove buffer, all we lost was wet furniture," Santos says.

A few miles south, in Playa del Carmen, the A-list hotels aren't the big beachside resorts. They're the boutique joints tucked on side streets off Quinta Avenida, Playa's jumping nightlife district. Despite its growth, Playa's cool reputation—more Chateau Marmont than Marriott Marquis—continues to draw a younger crowd away from Cancún. Nobody exemplifies the cultural blossoming better than Alejandro Rueda, Playa's sultan of style. Rueda manages Deseo and Básico, the town's famously hip hotels.

A guest at Hotel Básico, in Playa del Carmen. (João Canziani)