Press Release
The New Etéreo, Auberge Resorts Collection In Riviera Maya Embraces A Love Of Mexican Art And The Environment
Opening its doors today in Kanai, the exclusive new region on Mexico’s Riviera Maya, is the Eteréo, Auberge Resorts Collection. An ode to Mexican art and artisanship fused with wellness and a deep respect for the environment, this latest addition to the Auberge Resorts Collection ensconces guests in a rarified definition of Mexican hospitality.
At the core of the property experience are the pristine beaches and 500 acres of protected mangrove forests which surround the hotel in Kanai, which has become the most anticipated luxury development in the region. Kanai was created to redefine the experience on the famed Caribbean coastline and elevate it into an ultra-luxury experience which, in addition to the Etéreo property, includes a St. Regis Hotel and a soon-to-be-completed Edition Hotel.
The design of the new Auberge Resorts Collection property in both the interiors and exteriors are a curated experience that melds the lush, tropical landscape and the rich culture of the region with a clean and contemporary concept of luxury. To execute on this vision, award-winning New York-based design studio Meyer Davis was brought in to design the environment of the hotel, but the soul of Etéreo’s ode to regional culture is found in the art and design around the property, especially the works of famed Mexican artist, Manuel Felguérez.
Felguérez was an abstract artist known as part of the the Generacion de la Ruptura of the Mexican artists that emerged during the mid-20th century and coincided with the rise of Diego Rivera and the Mexican muralist movement. His art has been on display at major institutions from the Brooklyn Museum in New York to the Petit Palais in Paris, and the Etéreo project was amongst one of the last the artist worked on before his passing in 2020.
The artist’s work, mainly seen through sculptural elements such as wooden lattice screens in guest rooms and architectural plaster, act as a backdrop to the hotel’s design which is outfitted with custom furnishings and textiles by Latin American designers and artisans. Puebla’s Bandido Studio handcrafted the outdoor dining tables, Daniel Valero designed custom rugs and Agnes Studio of Guatemala created the focal pieces in the hotel’s spa. In addition, fine art installations take up prominent residence throughout the hotel where artist Marcela Diaz created a hanging woven rope sculpture while Hector Esrawe sculpted a massive work of steel and glass.
Art is only one aspect of the visual strength of this hotel. The other main aesthetic is of the natural environment within which it lives—the glittering ocean, white sand beaches as well as the lush, tropical jungle (Etéreo itself sits on 9 private acres). These elements are woven into the hotel’s interiors through the use of earthly regional elements such as lava stone, copper and tzalam, a warm, reddish wood similar to walnut and native to the region. The indoors and outdoors are deeply woven together as each room features floor-to-ceiling windows with expansive screens that open to ocean or mangrove views.