Mukul, Nicaragua's First Luxury Beach Resort, Opening February 2013

Mukul – the Mayan word for “secret” – will feature 37 spacious accommodations, each with an ocean view, pool and private staff. Other resort amenities include Spa Mukul, with six private spa-treatment casitas; a beach club featuring dining and lounge areas and a swimming pool; and the 18-hole Guacalito Golf Course. Guests will enjoy access to the property’s four miles of white-sand beach and rugged coastline, and 12 kilometers of nature trails on which they can hike or bike to observe the four species of monkeys and other wildlife that reside in the lush coastal forest. Guests can also explore Nicaragua through customized experiences that introduce them to the nature, culture and people of this up-and-coming tourism destination, known as the “land of lakes and volcanoes.” Opening rates at Mukul will start at $550 per double per night, including breakfast, lunch, domestic premium open bar during the day and private ground transportation to/from Managua International Airport.

The Vision of Don Carlos Pellas

Mukul and Guacalito de la Isla are the vision of prominent Nicaraguan entrepreneur Don Carlos Pellas, whose family has roots in the country that date back to the 19th century. The Pellas family businesses include transportation, computers, sugar, ethanol, Flor de Caña Rum and the world-class Vivian Pellas Hospital. Pellas also founded the BAC Credomatic financial network in 1985, which he sold to GE Capital in 2011 in what was the largest business transaction in Central American history.

With Mukul and Guacalito de la Isla, Pellas is establishing his family legacy – a pristine natural sanctuary where guests will enjoy luxurious pampering while connecting to the land, culture and people of Nicaragua in authentic ways, and the surrounding community will benefit from the resulting jobs, schools and improved infrastructure. “We are creating a catalyst that will put our country on the world tourism map,” said Pellas. “Mukul will be a game changer for Nicaragua.”

Pellas assembled a team of proven industry leaders to position Mukul among the most exclusive luxury boutique hotels in the world. The designers included Jeff Jensen, Principal Designer at HKS Hill Glazier Architects, in collaboration with Frank Butler and Song Chia of FAB Studio; SWA Landscape Architects; and Paul Duesing Partners Interior Designers. Their resort projects, among others, include Las Ventanas al Paraiso and Palmilla One & Only Hotel in Cabo San Lucas, and Rosewood Mayakoba and Tucker’s Point Club in Bermuda. The Guacalito Golf Course was designed by David McLay Kidd, named the “hottest architect in golf” by Golf World. The concept and treatments at Spa Mukul were created by Angel Vezina Stewart, who was the founding Spa Director at the Spa at Las Ventanas al Paraiso.

“We are doing everything at Mukul to the highest standards so that we can attract the most sophisticated travelers in the world,” said Pellas. “I want them to feel like guests in my family’s home as they discover the Nicaragua that I love.”

Pampering Guests at Mukul

Reflecting Don Carlos Pellas’ philosophy that guests are not just hotel guests, but personal guests of the Pellas family, Mukul will offer a unique food and beverage policy. Included in the price of a room are a full breakfast and lunch – and much more. Gourmet snacks will be offered during the day around the pool and on the beach. Whether in their private Beach Villa or cliff-side Bohio, or in the Mukul Beach Club or Mukul Spa, guests can enjoy complimentary beverages including soft drinks, domestic beers such as Toña, a selection of fine wines, premium tequilas, vodka and whiskey, along with the Pellas family’s award-winning, four- and seven-year-old Flor de Caña rums.

Accommodations

Mukul was designed as a luxurious yet unpretentious and relaxed private estate by the ocean, with 37 accommodations designed in a style that combines modern elegance with traditional Nicaraguan roots to create a distinct sense of place. Interior designer Paul Duesing worked with Nicaraguan artisans to craft furnishings and decorations that reflect the traditions of the country, including tables made of carved native teak, headboards made of woven sugarcane twigs and rum barrel staves, accent pieces made of sand-casted polished pewter and lamps made of clay from nearby Masaya Volcano.

• 12 one- and two-bedroom Beach Villas, beginning in size at 881 square feet and boasting nine-foot ceilings and walls of glass, face the gently rolling surf of Playa Manzanillo. With stone walls and gardens providing privacy, the white-stucco, red-tile-roofed Beach Villas exude the ambiance of luxurious vacation homes. Mukul’s “carefree luxury” philosophy is embodied by each Beach Villa’s spacious “barefoot chic” indoor-outdoor setting, complete with swimming pool, wrap-around deck, outdoor-lounging palapa and secret garden with an outdoor shower. The impressive 500 square-foot bathroom suites, designed as true sanctuaries for the senses, include separate “his and hers” vanity areas and a “Liquid Temple” wet room with a soaking tub and monsoon shower. The two-bedroom villas are family compounds with their own private show kitchen, pantry and living room.

• Like tree houses nestled in the lush canopy, Mukul’s 23 Bohios perch dramatically on a steep hillside 300 feet above Playa Manzanillo, offering breathtaking ocean views all the way to the horizon. Built of sustainable native teak and pine, each of the 621 square-foot cliff houses features high ceilings and a wall of glass that opens onto a sweeping wooden deck with a private plunge pool. The spacious bathrooms are finished in Nicaraguan travertine marble and boast couples’ “showers-with-a-view.”

• The jewel in the crown, embodying the essence of Mukul’s hospitality philosophy, is Casona Don Carlos, the Pellas’ private beach home. Located adjacent to the Beach Villas, the oceanfront compound features a 20,000 square-foot indoor-outdoor living area with a soaring 80-foot-high palapa ceiling, four bedroom suites, a wrap-around stone terrace and a large private swimming pool. Casona Don Carlos may be booked by guests as two two-bedroom suites when thePellas family is not in residence.

Mukul Beach Club

The open-air Mukul Beach Club will be the heart of Mukul, a gathering place where guests can enjoy snacks by the pool, cocktails and tastings of rare Flor de Caña rums in the split-level bar and lounge, and lunch and dinner either in the palapa-shaded Beach Terrace, the barefoot-dining Parrilla, or Mukul Restaurant, where the décor includes mementoes and photographs chronicling the 135-year history of the Pellas family in Nicaragua.

An outfitter casita by the beach will provide surfboards, paddle boards, snorkeling gear, kayaks and a full variety of water toys for guests. The menus at the beach club will reflect a fusion of cuisines from the Americas and authentic Nicaraguan flavors. Much of the produce will be grown by local farmers; seafood will be selected from the daily catch of local fishermen; steaks will be grass-fed Nicaraguan beef, known for its juiciness and intense flavor. Notable restaurant chefs from throughout the world will join Mukul chefs for special culinary celebrations that will include demonstrations and classes for guests.

Since “family” is at the core of Don Carlos Pellas’ values, the Mukul Beach Club will feature a separate area for children. The Mukul Kids Club will offer a pool, playground and activities specially geared to different age groups. Trained nannies will be onsite to supervise children.

Spa Mukul

In keeping with Mukul’s policy of treating guests as if they are at a private estate, Spa Mukul does not have a reception area and communal locker rooms. Instead, guests are welcomed in one of six luxurious spa casitas, each with a unique decor, theme and sequence of treatments. In essence, Spa Mukul is comprised of six different spas in one location. Guests can reserve a spa casita for several hours, during which they can enjoy a series of treatments and then relax in its private garden, which features palapa-shaded lounging areas and a monsoon shower – all without ever crossing or meeting any other guest at all. Each of the six spa casitas focuses on a different spa experience:

• Secret Garden: Water is the theme in this shadowy, womb-like spa casita where guests float in a pool as a therapist administers a relaxing “Watsu” treatment that combines Shiatsu and stretching. Other treatments include moisturizing wraps and facials. Guests can relax on their own private “island.”
• Hamman: Moorish architecture and tiles create this homage to a traditional Turkish “sweat bath,” where the five-step detox and cleansing treatment includes steam, massage, exfoliation, soaping and relaxation.
• Rain Forest: Here guests immerse themselves in hydrotherapy that involves a salt water soaking pool, a Monsoon shower, a Vichy shower, scrubs, massage and moisturizing wraps.
• Crystal Temple: Quartz crystals and stones shimmer in the dim light of this two-story-high spa casita where guests indulge in healing crystal, light and aromatherapy treatments that include baths and massages. Guests can stay overnight on a roof deck with an ocean view.
• Healing Hut: East meets west in this mountain-view spa casita where guests can enjoy a fusion of the best-known traditional Asian and international healing rituals including Indian Ayurveda, Thai and barefoot Indonesian massages and Chinese reflexology.
• Casita Mukul: Here guests enjoy treatments incorporating ancient indigenous healing practices and traditional Nicaraguan medicinal plants grown on property. Guests can spend the night in the ocean-view garden palapa.

Guacalito Golf Course

Scottish golf course architect David McLay Kidd seamlessly integrated the slope of the land, the rugged arroyos and the lush tropical forest into an 18-hole course that fits naturally into the environment and offers golfers of all levels challenging play as well as breathtaking views. The 18th green dramatically abuts the beach, steps from the waves. In keeping with Guacalito’s commitment to sustainability, the golf course was built with local labor and it is irrigated by a treated-water system. “Playing golf at Guacalito will be not just a sport, but a way for guests to explore the ecology of this unique resort,” said McLay Kidd.

Experiencing Nature at Mukul

A staff of Aventura Rangers familiar with the native flora and fauna will be on hand to introduce Mukul guests to the rich nature found within the 1,670-acre reserve that is Guacalito de la Isla. Guests can learn about the resort’s Turtle Watch program, designed to preserve the native endangered Olive Ridley turtles. They are welcome to hike or ride mountain bikes with the rangers, or on their own, on the 12 kilometers of nature trails, home to wildlife including monkeys, sloths, iguanas and tropical birds.

South of expansive Manzanillo Beach, where Mukul is located, the resort boasts four miles of coastline. Guests are encouraged to discover the pristine serenity of Guacalito Beach, a quiet cove where they can enjoy snorkeling and scuba diving around the tiny but rugged Anciana Island. At the southern end of the resort, Tamarindo Beach offers dramatic cliffs, a white-sand beach and a sense of utter privacy. In the near future, an eco-sensitive marine dock will be the starting point for whale-watching and fishing excursions, underwater photography and other marine workshops.

Experiencing Nicaragua at Mukul

Mukul guests will have the opportunity to explore Nicaragua beyond the boundaries of the resort. The hotel’s concierge will arrange personalized guest experiences that not only introduce them to the sights and culture of the country, but also to its people. These will not be ordinary tourist outings. An excursion to the colorful Spanish Colonial city of Granada might include a visit to the studio of a ceramicist who works with clay from Masaya Volcano to create the custom lamp bases used at Mukul, followed by a private dinner – or even an overnight stay – at the Pellas family’s historic Granada mansion.

Another excursion curated exclusively for Mukul guests might be a helicopter ride over Nicaragua’s spectacular coastline to Ingenio San Antonio, the Pellas family’s legendary Sugar Mill and Sugar Cane Plantation, for a private tour of the Destilería, where the world famous Flor de Caña rum is produced. They might enjoy a personalized bottle of Flor de Caña aged rum with lunch in the Pellas’ plantation house. Fishing enthusiasts can enjoy deep-sea fishing in the Pacific from Don Carlos Pellas’ yacht, the “Little Sugar,” or on overnight stay at his private fishing lodge on the Rio San Juan, where the catch (and release) might be a 150-pound tarpon. Excursions for adventure seekers will include a short helicopter flight to Cerro Negro Volcano, where they can experience the thrill of speeding down from the summit on an “ash board.” Guests interested in native art can travel by seaplane to the remote Solentiname Islands in Lake Nicaragua, to visit an artists’ community known for its primitivist oil paintings and wood carvings.

The Pellas family is committed to responsible travel principles and improving the lives of the people in the community surrounding Mukul, many of whom have been trained for jobs at the resort and provide it with goods and services. Guests are welcome to visit the neighboring fishing village of Gigante, where a number of local beach-side restaurants and small businesses have already benefitted from grants and micro loans through the “Don Carlos Pellas Fund for Tourism Excellence” program. In Gigante, guests can enjoy a truly authentic Nicaraguan experience while promoting the wellbeing of the local community. This could include a fishing excursion with one of the local fishermen who provide the resort with its “daily catch.” Interested guests might also enjoy a visit to a local farm where vegetables are grown for the resort. The visit could include a typical Nica breakfast with the farmer’s family.

Sustainability at Mukul

At Mukul, the commitment to sustainability runs deep. The hotel was built with the use of rainwater catchments, regional materials, timber from sustainable forests, non-toxic paints and energy-efficient windows. The implementation of a gray-water program is ongoing. Environmental disturbance was minimal; builders replanted more than 1,500 trees – including a 1 million pound, 150-year-old Guanacaste, rather than cut them down to make room for construction.