The all-villa Viceroy Riviera Maya is already one of our favorite escapes in Mexico. Now a new chef is ramping up the resort’s cuisine to bring it up to par with its A-list accommodations and incredible oceanfront setting. Jorge Alberto Ildefonso is now the property’s Executive Chef with responsibility for all of its restaurants, bars and catering. The exclusive, romantic retreat has a signature restaurant called La Marea as well as a beachfront Coral Grill and Bar.
Chef Ildefonso, who has more than 10 years of culinary experience in leading hotels and resorts in Mexico, was previously Chef de Cuisine at the Five-Diamond Grand Luxxe in Nuevo Vallarta. Prior to that he served as the Executive Sous Chef at Hotel Villa del Palmar, Loreto, and as Chef de Cuisine at The Grand Mayan Hotel in Los Cabos, both noted luxury properties. He also earned a prestigious Sous Chef designation from the Uniglobal Universidad Interamericana de Puerto Rico in 2007.
“Throughout his career at major resorts, Chef Jorge has prepared and experimented with many of the great cuisines of the world, but at Viceroy Riviera Maya he has gone back to his roots,” said General Manager Pedro Lara. “He has taken dishes from his childhood in Mexico and, applying the insights and techniques he has learned over the years, has re-imagined them with new ingredients, innovative details and exciting presentations.”
At La Marea, Chef Ildefonso dishes up gourmet Mexican cuisine, melding tradition with innovation and new interpretations and techniques. Top dishes include duck carnitas gorditas with roasted tomatillo sauce, local cheese and farm cream; strawberry and mezcal cold soup with jicama, toasted pepita, white cucumber and green apple; and king crab legs in Xcalacoco pipian sauce with carrots, potatoes and coriander leaves. A comprehensive wine list accompanies the cuisine and the beautiful dining room is perched in the palms under a thatched roof with views of the swimming pool and shimmering sea.
The seaside Coral Grill, open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, offers more casual dining featuring a Mexican-Mediterranean menu cooked on wood-burning grills, as well as a stylish bar where creative mixology is practiced using the freshest local ingredients. Tequila tastings are also on offer. Coral Grill and Bar selections can additionally be ordered on the beach in the daytime. The Coral Grill is the staging ground for the resort’s specialty-themed weekly dinners, overseen by Chef Ildefonso, including an antojería of Mexican street food and the popular Beach Barbacoa cookouts.
With just 41 villas on an unspoiled six-acre sanctuary fronting a picture-perfect stretch of white sand beach, the Viceroy Riviera Maya exudes low-key glamour; refined yet relaxed, elegant but informal. The villas feature private patios with plunge pools, chaise lounges, hand-carved stone dining tables and handmade crochet hammocks, as well as indulgent baths with indoor and outdoor rain showers. Accommodations also include Mayan-inspired interior designs with louvered mahogany doors and windows, rich woods, sisal rugs, rattan furniture and canopy beds with hand-stitched 500-thread-count Egyptian cotton linens.
All of the villas espouse the resort’s eco-luxe ethos with natural materials and earthy palettes set off by rich wood, stone, linen and pottery mixed with touches of plant life. Custom furniture and upholstery with finishes unique to the property reinforce the individuality and personality of the resort. There are six villa categories in all, in addition to a lavish two-level 2,900-square-foot presidential residence, a favorite with celebrities and jet setters. The duplex villa is decked out with lounging and dining areas, a guest bath and private swimming pool. A spiral wooden staircase leads to its opulent master bedroom opening onto an oversized, ocean-view terrace large enough to host intimate cocktails or catered meals.
The gorgeous property also features a Wayak Spa offering Mayan-style Temazcal sauna baths, massages, facials, and treatments using natural marine elements. Therapies are combined with native, aromatic herbs and guests are treated in a natural setting designed to soothe and reinvigorate. The spa also boasts a palm-ringed lagoon pool, fitness center, and a private pier with a thatched-roof palapa where guests can enjoy massages and romantic dinners. The resort is located 35 minutes from Cancun International Airport, and three miles from the restaurants, boutiques and nightlife of popular Playa del Carmen.
