by Josh Chernikoff
When you work for yourself, it can feel impossible to take a day off. You understand that teams rely on you and the more hours you put in, most likely the bigger return you will see. However, our standard of entrepreneurship these days so often includes burnout, 24/7 schedules and a structure that precludes both wellness and moderation. Enter Hotel Xcaret Arte.
Located in Playa del Carmen about 45-minutes from Cancun International Airport, Hotel Xcaret Arte is a wellness-based resort fosters an environment where entrepreneurs can thrive. The adults-only, all-inclusive hotel builds holistic health and wellbeing into the schedules of all who visit. The inclusive concept even offers unlimited access to seven renowned eco-adventure parks, as well as its Xenotes, Xichén, Tulum and Cobá tours.
When you are ready to tackle your workload with a full battery, you can show up to each day as a much better leader, entrepreneur, friend, family member and change maker. My time at this incredible all-inclusive wellness cove was an opportunity to fill that battery again and gear up for the season of work ahead of me.
Sweet Accommodations
With the need for a better work/life balance at the heart of my four-day trip, I found myself enjoying the amenities of my junior suite (one of 900 suites on property), while still taking care of business. On any given morning, I would enjoy the jacuzzi in the junior suite in which I stayed only to hop on a live zoom call to judge an entrepreneurship competition, the Milken Competition.
Only the best and most nutritious foods were available, making it easy to have them delivered to my room and fueling my day with the best sources possible. This meant wellness smoothies, healthier takes on oatmeal cookies and fresh food all within a phone call of ordering directly to my room. Wellness is too often touted as inconvenient, yet Hotel XCaret Arte proved that narrative wrong.
Seven Restaurants on Site
One of the challenging aspects of entrepreneurship is often working longer hours and struggling to take time for yourself. So many fall into bad habits without properly fueling their bodies with the right, healthy foods, but this was made easy at Hotel Xcaret Arte. Whether guests have an allergy or simply a preference, the menu was always flexible without ever compromising the quality of the dining experience.
Mercado de San Juan (one of seven restaurants on site) was a lunch favorite with Chef Juan Licerio building his menu around celebrating traditional Mexican cuisine. While Arenal was a dinner highlight with comfort food served by Chef Orlando Trejo. Other dinner options included Chino Poblano offering a fusion of cuisines from China and Puebla, and Oaxacan Cantina by where guests can enjoy live music presented by local musicians.
For those with Vegan preferences, Apapachoa is the property’s 100% plant-based food outlet.
There was no lack of culinary options for guests and the wide range of restaurants helps build an experience around the food, while promoting health and wellness with every bite. It wasn’t challenging to step away from work for a moment to enjoy what these incredible chefs brought to the table, quite literally, then resume work nourished and with enough energy to tackle the rest of the work day.
A Wealth of Excursion and Activities at Hotel Xcaret Arte
While the cuisine was an extraordinary experience all in itself, the activities set aside to promote mindfulness, meditation and wellness certainly did not disappoint.
At the unique Muluk Spa the signature Muluk Spa Experience with its 50-minute personalized massage followed by a hydrotherapy ritual, was certainly one to remember. Muluk Spa is a mystical and natural sanctuary that offers a holistic experience which leads you on a path to complete rejuvenation through relaxation, stimulation of the senses and health. The thermic contrasts between the jacuzzi, recreational pool, sauna, steam room, cold-water tub and hot water tub all promote reaching a state of not just relaxation, but rejuvenation. At least that was my take-away.
The country’s culture is highlighted through five distinct casas inspired by Mexican traditions, and during my stay, I also had the opportunity to join in an art class. Offered six days a week at Casa de los Artistas the hour-long art classes allowed this entrepreneur the opportunity to reflect on taking my health, wellness and work/life balance more seriously.
Self-guided activities made Hotel Xcaret Arte stand out even more with a breathtaking library and expansive art collection around every corner. There is truly something for everyone and a customizable adventure throughout the stay that doesn’t require paying each bill at every stop, but instead offers an inclusive experience designed to support you as a person on your journey to recharging and stepping away from the entrepreneurial hustle and bustle.
Whether digging into the local cuisine, hopping on a quick work call, stepping into the spa experience or taking myself on an adventure through the halls of this amazing hotel – it was an entrepreneur’s self-care retreat to never forget and one that I will be repeating very soon. More info on Hotel Xcaret Arte.
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About the Author:
Josh Chernikoff is a serial entrepreneur and one of the preeminent coaches in the educational space. As an innovative entrepreneur with two successful exits, Josh boasts 20+ years of experience in education where he has demonstrated proven success founding and expanding several educational tutoring and enrichment companies while serving hundreds of thousands of students. Through it all, Josh has learned that relationship nurturing is paramount to the success of an education company. He has assembled a team of passionate, like minded individuals who are all on a mission to help fellow entrepreneurs make an immediate, positive impact on their personal and professional lives by helping them develop the skills they need to become leaders and grow their businesses.
Born and raised in Washington, D.C Josh and his family recently moved to San Miguel de Allende, Mexico (for now), a small colonial town in the middle of the country. He is also the host of How I Broke That, a show about how events that may seem unfortunate at the time can actually turn into entrepreneurial success. And, he is the co-host of Breaking The Grade, a thought-provoking podcast that follows entrepreneurs as they transform learning and advance equity and impact in the global education space. Josh was a guest of Hotel Xcaret.
