Postcard from Riviera Maya, Mexico

“We're not the lone pariahs anymore,” my husband, Jason, sighs happily in the groovy Latin fusion restaurant while feeding tortilla soup to our food-throwing 14-month-old, Ben. It may feel like we’re dining in the latest urban hot spot, but really we’re in one of the restaurants at Azul Beach Hotel, a recently renovated resort in Bahia Petempich in the Riviera Maya, Mexico.

Catering to pariahs — er, I mean, families with toddlers and babies! — the small property has only 147 rooms, sidestepping the mall-like vibe of some of the mega resorts (and better for that inevitable trek back to the room for the sippy cup). And even though it’s as stylish as a grown-ups-only spot, here you can you get Fisher-Price toys sent to your room, which can be equipped with everything from a bottle sterilizer to a stroller.

A version of this article appeared in our August 2012 issue with the headline: Azul Beach Hotel (p. 26).

Toddler-sized white, fluffy spa bathrobes, natch.

A beachfront sky massage in a palapa right on the ocean.

Mom’s Morning, where a fitness instructor leads moms (with their toddlers in jogging strollers) in a running-and-light- yoga circuit around the property. SO was going to go.

In one of the highly-coveted beach beds while the beach butler brings you tacos. You have to line up the day before to book, but it’s worth it.

Foodie fiesta
Azul’s “gourmet inclusive” concept means good food. While they had Ben at the chocolate milkshake he got at check-in, we cheerfully munched our way through the five restaurants, including Asian and Italian options. The breakfast buffet was huge; a snack counter doled out smoothies and jars of baby food. Our beachside waiter had our order of “Two mojitos, and an apple juice straight up!” memorized, and after a fussy toddler refused to eat his dinner, 24-hour room service suggested that they could send up yogurt, a banana and a carton of milk. Well, if you insist!