When people profess their love of steam rooms and how relaxed they feel afterward, I nod along, knowing I’d prefer a freezing plunge. Sweat soaking, skin reddening, lungs struggling in the thick air — if I want to warm up, a nice spot on the beach will do just fine.
Yet, there I was, seated on a towel in W Mexico City’s temazcal, an igloo-shaped sweat lodge. I could barely think in the stifling heat, perspiration dripping down every inch of my body. A shaman was across from me, making the small space even steamier as she ladled scented water onto volcanic rocks. Streams of sweat were becoming rivers, and soon the rivers became tributaries.
I was starting to berate myself for not enjoying this. After all, this ritual for cleansing the mind, body and soul has been part of Mexican culture for about 1,000 years. “From the pre-Columbian era to the present day, the practice of temazcal has held various spiritual meanings, rooted in its benefits for purification and connection with the essential elements of indigenous cosmology: earth, fire, water and air,” said Cesandari del Valle, Away Spa manager at W Mexico City. “These elements combine to create a therapeutic environment of heat and moisture. At W Mexico City, we honor this tradition by offering our own shaman-led experience, providing a safe space for visitors to release daily concerns, find balance, indulge in life’s pleasures and detoxify the body.”
I was aware of the reported physical benefits of the temazcal, which comes from the Nahuatl word temazcalli, or “house of heat.” Aside from detoxifying, it’s reported to reduce inflammation, improve circulation, aid digestion, reactivate the lymphatic system, clear congestion, strengthen the liver and clean the kidneys. It’s also said to affect you in other ways: it promotes relaxation, helps release negative emotions and restores your connection with Mother Nature.
This was not what my initial moments were suggesting. The tributaries were now lakes, and I was sure my skin was growing more crimson by the second.
As the shaman chanted during the treatment, my usually constantly racing mind began to slow, and before long, it was at a standstill. The shaman saying she could tell I came from a long line of strong women. My inner dialogue before notwithstanding, she was right. I thought of my mother, my aunts and my grandmother — pillars of strength in my family. Suddenly, I forgot about the sweltering heat. After 90 minutes there — more meditative than any meditation I’ve experienced — I left feeling lighter physically and mentally.
W Mexico City is the only hotel in the city to offer a temazcal, and even more unusual, the structure sits inside the spa — most properties have them as standalone buildings. But hotels all over Mexico are reviving this ancient tradition and giving them their own regional touches. Here are other places to try a luxury temazcal experience:
One&Only Mandarina, Riviera Nayarit
Ensconced in the rainforest, the spa’s temazcal offers a chance to undergo curanderismo, or Mexican folk healing. Linda Mariscal, the onsite curandera, or traditional native healer, learned the ancient practice from her great-grandmother and grandmas. Mariscal will lead you through a 90-minute therapeutic, spiritual, relaxing, purification or female ritual, using medicinal steam, plants, herbs and songs.
Zadún, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve, Los Cabos
Settle into the Templo de Calor, the Five-Star Los Cabos hotel’s temazcal, for a purifying 90-minute experience. It begins with an energy-cleansing ceremony and traditional chanting guided by a shaman. Then you will detoxify as the temazcal heats up. Afterward, cool off in the outdoor shower to increase blood flow and stimulate your immune system.
Live Aqua Urban Resort San Miguel de Allende
At the hotel’s Four-Star spa, the brick temazcal hosts a rebirth ritual. A shaman starts with an energy-harmonizing sound bath and then performs a cleanse with copal, a tree resin long used in ceremonies as an offering. This sets the stage for symbolically entering the womb of Mother Earth, which the chamber represents, for a steam bath.
Rosewood Mayakoba, Riviera Maya
You will find a refuge at the Five-Star Sense, A Rosewood Spa at Mayakoba, which sits on its own lush private island, accessible by boat. Inside the stone sweat lodge, the resident shaman pours water scented with herbs and essential oils over volcanic stones, allowing the steam to gradually envelop you. Throughout the session, the shaman will sing mantras and lead you through rituals.
The St. Regis Punta Mita Resort, Riviera Nayarit
As part of the Riviera Nayarit hotel’s recent $45 million renovation, which debuted during its 15th anniversary, The St. Regis added a temazcal. The structure is tucked away in verdant gardens at the newly refreshed spa. After finishing a sweat session, head outside and just steps away you will find a firepit, lounge area and cold plunge where you can continue reflecting.
Maroma, A Belmond Hotel, Riviera Maya
At Five-Star Maroma’s beachfront temazcal, a Mayan shaman kicks off the ritual by touching a conch shell and praying to each of the cardinal points, asking the universe for permission to begin. He then cleanses your energy with copal before you enter the hot dome. Afterward, you will be invited to refresh yourself with a swim in the nearby sea.
The best parts of the Four-Star hotel’s 10,000-square-foot spa are found outside, including seven cocoon treatment cabanas made of branches connected by a tunnel of plants and flowers, an array of pools and a temazcal, the first at a Hilton property. The rituals used here draw on the practices of the Huichol, the indigenous people from this region of western Mexico.
Fairmont Mayakoba, Riviera Maya
At the Mayan-inspired Four-Star spa, the temazcal provides a connection between humans and the gods. As you detox in the chamber, you’ll learn about Mayan cosmogony from the temazcalero. For example, copal is used to cleanse the spirit and recover the memory of your origin and cedar expresses gratitude and blessings. Afterward, retreat to the spa garden’s cold plunge pool.
Hotel Xcaret Arte, Riviera Maya
Four-Star Muluk Spa carves its unique treatment rooms into the rocky hillside’s stone caves, but the sweat lodge sits amid the Riviera Maya jungle. A shaman will steer you through the ceremony, which helps you reconnect with your emotions and ancestors. During the ritual, you will experience phases linked to the movements of the sun and the Earth, the cycles of nature and the stages of life.
One&Only Palmilla, Los Cabos Resort
Everything from the volcanic stones to the desert herbs used in the Five-Star hotel’s adobe temazcal comes from the surrounding Baja region. You’ll listen to indigenous music and inhale the copal incense as a local shaman takes you through the intense healing experience. When it’s over, the shaman will help you hydrate with a detoxifying drink.
Fiesta Americana Hacienda Galindo Resort & Spa, Querétaro
This Galindo, Querétaro, hotel traces its history back 500 years, and it also looks to the past for its temazcal experience. Fiesta Americana honors the temazcal’s traditional representation of a mother’s womb, which is linked to the mother goddess, Toci. When entering the dome, you’re searching for rebirth. Natives used these facilities to purify, believing it cleansed both body and mind.
Banyan Tree Veya, Valle de Guadalupe, Ensenada
This recently opened hotel marks the first Veya, Banyan Tree’s new wellness brand, in the Americas and the second worldwide (the first is in Phuket). Just two hours south of San Diego, it debuted Valle de Guadalupe’s first temazcal among its hilly 16 acres. Inside, a temazcalero will guide you through deep breathing exercises, meditative chants and drumming.
