This New Jungle Glamping Hotel in Mexico Has Its Own Cenote — and It’s Near Chichén Itzá

LJS Chichikan has air-conditioned suites, a Yucatecan restaurant and a freshwater swimming hole on the property.

You can spend the morning at Chichén Itzá and be back at your hotel in time to swim in a cenote. At LJS Chichikan Eco Luxury Retreat, you can do it without getting back in the car. The jungle glamping hotel, one of the newer places to stay outside Valladolid on Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula, has a private cenote on the grounds.

The hotel includes cenote access when you book with it. That gives you time to see more of Valladolid itself, where the streets around the central square are worth an afternoon on foot. And if you want to see how different two cenotes can be, Cenote Zací sits right in town, below street level and partially enclosed by rock.

What Glamping Looks Like Here

The accommodations come in two main categories. Dakini suites are the smaller option, while Decagome suites have more room to spread out. The standard Decagome comes with a king bed, a bathtub and a separate shower. Suites have air conditioning and private bathrooms, and the hotel lists accessible options in both categories. The rooms use natural materials and warm lighting, with the jungle close outside.

There’s also an outdoor pool and a spa. At XUUX, the hotel’s restaurant, the kitchen uses local ingredients in its takes on traditional Yucatecan cooking. If you’re staying two nights, you can have dinner at the hotel one evening and head into Valladolid the next. Start around the main square, where the stone towers of San Gervasio church rise above the surrounding streets.

How to Pair It With Chichén Itzá

If you’re coming from Cancún or the Riviera Maya, consider staying near Valladolid the night before you visit Chichén Itzá. That puts the shorter drive on the morning you want to get to the ruins early, before the midday heat. Give yourself time beyond the main pyramid to see the Great Ball Court, one of the most striking parts of the archaeological site.

Valladolid is close enough to visit on your arrival day. Check in, head into town for a walk and dinner, and leave the following afternoon open after Chichén Itzá. You’ll have time to get out of the sun, change at your suite and walk over to the cenote. The next morning, you can get in one last swim before heading back to the coast.