Taking a Large Group to Akumal
Mike was turning 70 and I wanted to plan something special. Over the years I have brought numerous groups to the Riviera Maya for a variety of reasons - from film crews, to fundraisers, training seminars, to wellness retreats, High School trips to family reunions and more. Some have been simple and low-key others over-the-top gala events. I even did Mike’s 60th here, which included a Mayan ritual on the beach. I say this only to point out this was not my first rodeo! I had a vision in my mind of what I wanted for Mike and for our guests and knew exactly who to work with to make it happen.
The first thing I did was reach out to my friend Laura at Hotel Akumal Caribe and Lol-ha Restaurant and Beach Bar. Secondly, I booked Villa Ak, the only private villa located on Akumal bay and steps away from the hotel and restaurant. I knew some of our guests would love the Big Brother House approach while others would prefer the privacy of their own hotel rooms. The house allowed us an intimate gathering place, which came in handy during the pop-up thunderstorms. It is important to know your group and accommodate their needs whenever possible. Working with Laura and the hotel and restaurant staff made the entire experience from planning to execution a joy. Having a team of professionals who had such respect for detail made it possible for me to also enjoy the weekend.
Hotel Akumal, Lol-ha and Villa Ak are all located on the main bay in Akumal. The beach here is sandy and beautiful, the bay is home to juvenile turtles, perfect for snorkeling, long walks and just soaking up the rays. It can also become quite crowded during certain times of the year. Having the entrance to the bay nearest Villa Ak allowed our group to avoid the crowds and tour groups.
Hotel Akumal is a small boutique hotel right on the beach and close to their gorgeous pool. They also offer very large, sunny bungalows in a garden setting. We opted for Oceanfront rooms, but I have spent lots of time in the bungalows over the years and found they are ideal for groups, as they allow you to have a garden setting almost entirely for your people. Some bungalows and Hotel rooms even come with kitchenettes.
Villa Ak is a gorgeous 6-bedroom villa that offers something most large villas don’t - privacy for each guest. Every room has its own bath and entrance. The only room that you must enter from the main house is the master, which is located on the second floor. I’ll start there. This room is beautifully decorated and has a balcony on two sides. Because of the privacy you can safely open all your window and feel almost like you’re sleeping outside. While you shower in the Imperial Master in Villa Ak, with a double shower head, you can admire the beach and bay in complete privacy.. The toilet and bidet have a door for added privacy and the double sinks are designed to give ample space to lay out all your toiletries, I’m notorious for that! With a separate dressing area this master has everything including A/C, fans and TV.
Just below the master, accessible from the main house, but also with a private entrance to the pool area is the second large bedroom with king bed, TV, A/C and full private bath.
The main living area is uniquely designed using gorgeous wood, windows and stone. It has a half bath, built in reading/gathering nook, TV, Stereo system, huge dining area, bar, and recently renovated full kitchen with THREE refrigerators! The kitchen and dining area was one of the things that sold us on this villa. There is a pass-through window from the kitchen to the covered outdoor pool area as well as the bar that opens to the dining area. You could run a restaurant out of this kitchen. It made meals, snacks and a dinner party for 20 a breeze!
Attached to the main house but accessible from the pool area is the 3rd bedroom with King bed, private bath and of course TV and A/C.
The newest addition to the villa is a separate bungalow that also opens to the pool area. It has a king bed and twin bed in it. The nice feature of this room is the outdoor shower!
Behind the main house is the casita which has its own kitchen, living area and 2 more bedrooms. This came in handy for our guests who wanted to be at the Big Brother House but also wanted some privacy of their own. If you have kids, this is a perfect place to entertain them while the adults are dining in the main house.
The pool area is HUGE with plenty of furniture, hammocks, outdoor dining and a grill. And I can’t leave out the AMAZING roof-top with a view to die for!
OK, so now you are thinking, maybe we want to have our next event here but what can we do? As I mentioned earlier, I found Laura and her staff so wonderful to work with. Together we chose a series of events that people could attend or opt out of to spend more time just enjoying the beach and shops of Akumal.
To begin with we chose to do a Tequila/Mezcal tasting at Lol-ha. I had previously attended several of Lol-ha's wine tasting events and always been blown away by Carlos’ talent for pairing the perfect food with each and every type of wine he selected. His knowledge of wines and pairing is amazing, a true gift and talent. I knew his true loves were tequila and mezcal, so for this event I wanted to let him loose and see what he could come up with. I have been blown away in the past, but this event he knocked out of the park! When you work with Carlos, he gives you the option of working with him to design the menu or just trust him and let him create. In the past some of the events have had a number of dietary restrictions and he has always worked beautifully around them. I am not going to give you the exact menu, because trust me, you could do a tasting every day of the year and it would never be the same, but always wonderful. What I will say is this is the perfect ice-breaker opening event for any group gathering. Carlos educates, entertains and tantalizes your taste buds. My only problem was: how do we top that?
Full, and with just the right amount of alcohol, everyone headed back to their rooms or the villa to hang out and get ready for the rest of the evening’s events. Those who chose not to attend the tasting/pairing enjoyed the villa and had their own gathering with drinks and appetizers that everyone brought for the weekend.
Our friend, Natalie, was performing at Happy Hour at Lol-Ha Beach Bar so we decided to all meet up prior to dinner there for a little singing and dancing.
Dinner that evening was on the terrace of Lol-Ha restaurant, one of the most beautiful ocean-front dining settings you can find on the Riviera Maya. We topped off the evening with cake and Pablo’s singing around the pool, back at the villa. Our friend, Pablo, is a talented musician, who plays at several venues locally whether it is solo or with his dance band, Plagio or his Latin group. If you ever have the chance to hear him be sure to go, you won’t be disappointed. He sang that evening but he also performed at Lol-Ha Beach Bar the next afternoon with his Latin band.
The following day we set up brunch at the villa along with a mimosa and bloody Mary bar. Everyone was free to enjoy and relax and we met back at Lol-Ha Beach Bar for Happy Hour. Following that we had a casual dinner at the Villa which everyone contributed to.
Check-out was the next morning and no one wanted to leave! If you are looking for a special place to have your destination event, I can’t think of a better location. OR, as in our case, if you live 20 minutes away but want to feel like you got away, this is your perfect spot!!! All this fun and only a short drive home!