ZIMAPAN, MEXICO: ROYAL TREATMENT AT THE ROYAL SPA
by Anne Dimon
Just when you think you've never going to get there (it's a two hour drive from Mexico City), striking mountain scenery announces that you're nearing the Royal Spa. Located at the edge of the town of Zimapan, tucked into the hills and valleys of the Sierra Gorda on the oldest route in Mexico, the European-style spa is considered one of the best in Latin America.
As a prelude to each and every treatment guests are required to visit the Humid Lounge, (one for men, one for women) - a treatment in itself. Here, with the kind assistance of a spa concierge, guests are guided from shower, to steam room (to open the pores and rid the body of toxins), to an ice water dip (to close the pores), followed by a warm whirlpool, then a steam bath, a visit to an aromatherapy room for inhaling eucalyptus-scented oxygen, and finally a reflexology foot baths. Only then is the body ready to be wrapped, massaged, polished and pampered at the hands of Romania experts. Treatments here are as good as any I've experienced anywhere in the world.
Accommodations for spa guests are located in the historic 44-room, Spanish-style hacienda built on a site dating back to the mid-1500s when King Carlos V of Spain, built a small castle here for his nephew. In the 1700s it was a small inn and rest station for weary travellers. About 30 years ago the site was rebuilt and restored to capture the atmosphere and reflect the tradition of a 16th century Spanish castle. Rod iron, marble, period furnishings and a sweeping lobby staircase are of few decorative features. Guest rooms face an interior courtyard landscaped with trees and a fountain.
Some public rooms still have their original furnishings and materials. The bar, for one, has stone floors, heavy oak chairs and tables, wood paneling and a massive wooded counter. At the back, what looks like an instrument of torture is an ancient winepress. A former secret passage takes visitors to three small, private sitting rooms each with a washroom and self-serve bar. A jewel box of a chapel has been newly restored with walls hand painted in Toltec and Spanish designs. The setting for more than a few local weddings, the chapel contains religious artifacts dating back to the 1700s. The spa was added about 10 years ago in a new building just behind the hacienda.
Before, between and after treatments, guests can lounge by the outdoor pool, work out in a well-equipped gym, hit the tennis courts, soak in one of the largest whirlpools in the country, or take one of several arranged and tours. Nearby you'll find the 16th century town of Zimapan with its small baroque church, the ghost town of Encarnation abandoned at least 40 years ago when the local mine dried-up, and the ancient Toltec ruins of Tula are two hours away.
Wrapped in the serenity of this quiet mountain setting, it's easy to rejuvenate the body, refresh the soul and revive the senses.
For more information: www.royalspa.com.mx
