Let me start off by saying: I hate being bad at things. If I’m not immediately good at something new, my gut instinct is to never do it again. Throughout my life, I’ve started and quit so many activities—ballet, gymnastics, diving, horseback riding—and told myself it was because I’m a person who simply gets bored too easily. I suspect this attitude has something to do with “being a pleasure to have in class” all throughout school; I got good grades, never got in trouble, and everything came pretty easily to me. Failure just wasn’t something I was accustomed to.
Rest assured, I’ve been working on adjusting this rigid way of thinking (shout out to my therapist), and when I was invited to stay at Ava Resort Cancún in Mexico for their grand opening, I knew I’d be angry with myself if I didn’t take advantage of some new-to-me activities they had to offer. Sure, sitting by the pool all day is lovely—and impossible to fail at—but I wanted to put my therapy skills to the test. My goal: Try things I’ve never done before, and truly be okay with not being perfect on the first go.
But first, a bit about Ava Resort Cancún
Ava Resort Cancún is an all-inclusive, five-star resort that recently opened in October 2024. It’s located in Cancún, Quintana Roo, Mexico, right on the Caribbean Sea and only a 10-minute drive from Cancún International Airport. An Ava shuttle was waiting for me at the airport when I landed, but any guest can arrange transportation services through the resort.
The property has 1,700 rooms, all of which have oceanfront views (yes, really). When booking, you can choose from three options, with prices starting at $600 USD at the time of publishing:
- Oceanfront king or queen room ($600/night):Features a king bed or two queen guest rooms, a spa-inspired bathroom, and a private terrace with a small spa tub.
- Ava Gala Suite ($1,900/night): Features two bedrooms, two double beds, a living room, a workspace, a master bath, and a private terrace.
- Ava Penthouse Suite ($2,500/night): Features a master bedroom with a walk-in closet and private terrace, a second bedroom with a private terrace, two bathrooms, a living room and kitchen, and a main terrace with a 6-person spa tub.
I was in an oceanfront king room for four nights, which featured the above amenities. While on the expensive side, it was honestly exactly what I would expect for $600 a night—better than any Hilton or Marriott I’ve stayed in. The private terrace overlooking the Caribbean Sea really sealed the deal for me. Even if you were to spend the whole day lounging in bed (which I certainly did not), you still feel like you’re in Mexico, thanks to the massive sliding glass door to the terrace where you can still see the beach.
My Cancún highlights
First up, a breathwork class
If you’re not familiar, breathwork exercises involve a combination of deep and shallow breathing, usually at fast paces, with breath holds in between. Because this type of breathwork activates your parasympathetic nervous system—which is responsible for relaxing your body, per the Cleveland Clinic—it’s supposed to help calm you down. (LOL at me being anxious about trying something meant to be soothing.)
Our instructor, Ben Smith, a certified breathwork and performance coach, had us lie face up on our yoga mats and put on eye masks to create a bit of sensory deprivation (research1 has shown sensory deprivation can help reduce stress, depression, anxiety, and pain). Not going to lie, I was immediately uncomfortable. And even though Smith kept repeating that it didn’t matter how silly we looked or felt, I couldn’t help but feel like I’d be judged for the next hour, even though no one could even see me.
Next, EDM music began blasting—I could feel the bass pulsing in my body. Soon, Smith began taking fast, deep belly breaths that we had to follow along with. It was hard to keep up with, and as the breaths got faster, I thought I was going to hyperventilate. I knew I had to stop thinking so much.
But then I remembered I was outside on a terrace facing the ocean—and while I couldn’t see it at that moment, smelling the salty water and feeling the cool breeze snapped me out of panic. It was a much more calming atmosphere than, say, a workout studio in a landlocked U.S. state. At a certain point, I really did let go of any intrusive thoughts and forgot about how awkward I felt.
We spent the last few minutes of class in corpse pose (Savasana) letting our breathing get back to normal. In my own dark little world, I felt the calmest I had in a long time. (Seriously, I had a spa session the day before and didn’t even feel as relaxed afterward as I did after the breathwork class.) After we took our eye masks off, I had tears in my eyes—sure, most of it was from how bright it was without the masks, but there was a small part of me that felt so moved and changed.
Then, taking a class with Julianne Hough (yep, that Julianne Hough)
If you’re like me, you probably remember watching Julianne Hough on Dancing With the Stars in the mid-2000s. Now, she has her own workout method called Kinrgy, a dance class that incorporates elements of strength training, yoga, and meditation.
Hough taught this class specifically for the resort’s grand opening, and it was on the same terrace overlooking the ocean where the breathwork class had been held. Unfortunately, this also meant I’d be sweating profusely, as it was 80 degrees and humid (though the provided cold towels and cucumber water helped a tiny bit).
I was intimidated as hell to take this class. The thought of dancing in the same space as a professional genuinely made me want to back out at the last second, but it was too cool of an opportunity to pass up. So in I went, taking a spot toward the middle of the pack.
Hough began the class by demonstrating a few key moves that would be repeated throughout and had us follow along. Despite her going through them slowly, I wasn’t picking them up as fast as I wanted to, which I knew would be an issue when we did the moves for real. As I looked around, most people looked like they were naturals. Great, they’re probably looking at me like I don’t belong, I thought. Cue the anxiety.
When the music turned on and we officially got started, the first few sequences were rough for me. It felt as though my limbs and brain weren’t connected as I went from one move to the next, always off by a beat or two. But surprisingly (or maybe unsurprisingly), the same thing happened here as it did in the breathwork class: Somewhere between a grapevine step and a hip thrust, I stopped caring how I was being perceived. I was letting myself have fun, and I felt like a kid again.
Toward the end of the session, we stopped dancing and Hough had us close our eyes and think about everything we were grateful for in our lives. The song “Rise Up” by Andra Day was playing in the background (if you know, you know), and when we all opened our eyes, there wasn’t a dry eye in the class. I went from feeling awkward and embarrassed to feeling such a connection to a bunch of strangers (a mix of resort guests and those specially invited to Ava’s opening) in literally 60 minutes—something I didn’t think would be possible, and it wouldn’t have been if I’d sat the class out like I originally wanted to.
Enjoying the super-expansive food selection
One thing I had no reservations about on this trip? Eating. The resort’s all-inclusive nature means unlimited food and drinks throughout the whole resort for all guests, regardless of which room you choose. There are casual buffets, ice cream shops, taco stations (truly the best tacos I’ve ever had), poolside food and beverage service, and 17 fine dining restaurants (only open for dinner) that offer cuisines like Mexican, Italian, Mediterranean, Japanese, French, and more. Fun fact: All the chefs were trained by top chefs from around the world—and it shows.
Exploring the resort’s activities
Even though I traveled by myself, I genuinely think that Ava Resort Cancún would be great for families and solo travelers alike. There are six pools—one that’s adults-only—with three swim-up bars, private cabanas, deck chairs, sunbeds, and lounge chairs. There’s also the Ava Bay, a 2.8-acre manmade body of water on property where you can do water activities like sailing, paddle boarding, and kayaking.
If you want to break up your poolside lounging, there’s a free gym and a few activities you’ll have to pay extra for:
- A full-service spa
- A golf couse
- Laser tag
- Bowling
- Arcade games
There are also free kids and teens clubs on site where they can make friends and you can have some alone time. Not to mention, you can book private or group excursions outside the resort (for an added cost) to see the ruins of Chichén Itzá, go scuba diving, swim with dolphins, do a jungle tour, and more. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to do any of this due to the short period of time I was there and an already-packed schedule of events *in* the resort, but I totally would have done all of the above if I had the time.
A few notes
While my stay at Ava Resort Cancún was truly lovely, I do have a few notes that might be helpful to consider before visiting. The first is the resort’s location. While it has easy airport access, it’s more than a 30-minute drive from Cancún’s central “hotel zone” and downtown area. This means it’s tough to explore the restaurants, bars, and clubs the city has to offer, as you’d have to pay for a cab or Uber to get there, so it has the potential to feel isolating if you’re there for a long period of time.
This leads me to the fact that because of the resort’s location, the beach isn’t as good of quality as the others in the hotel zone. My shuttle driver from the airport said to avoid going in the ocean because it’s more “swampy” than the other beaches in Cancún. (Hence the manmade bay I mentioned earlier.) So you can walk along the beach, but that’s pretty much it.
I also found there wasn’t much to do in the resort itself, unless you have excursions booked or want to pay extra for the spa, golf, bowling, laser tag, or arcade games. But in terms of entertainment, shows, or live music, you’d need to leave the resort to find it. So although there’s definitely stuff to keep you occupied, I would say that Ava is very much a resort for people who need a break from life and want to mostly just lounge around.
Final thoughts
While I’m not inherently an all-inclusive resort girlie—I’d rather sightsee on my own in a less extravagant way and not be confined to one space—I still had a great time and recommend it to anyone looking for a luxurious getaway who wants to relax by the pool with a taco and margarita in hand.
The resort is definitely on the expensive side, but if you can afford it and enjoy all-inclusive vacations like this, I would say my experience was worth it. The activities I did during my stay got me out of my comfort zone, and I’m proud of myself for trying something new.
Resort rates:
Rooms start at $600/night. The Ava Gala Suite is $1,900/night and the Ava Penthouse Suite is $2,500/night.
Book directly at Ava Resort Cancún or on Booking.com.
Kjellgren A, Westman J. Beneficial effects of treatment with sensory isolation in flotation-tank as a preventive health-care intervention – a randomized controlled pilot trial. BMC Complement Altern Med. 2014 Oct 25;14:417. doi: 10.1186/1472-6882-14-417. PMID: 25344737; PMCID: PMC4219027.
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