Ecotourism and the Yucatán tourist zone are hardly cozy bedfellows, but that's why this Riviera Maya newcomer is such a welcome addition. It's a luxury resort in the grand Cancún tradition—multiple restaurants, freeform swimming pools every which way you turn, endless cocktails available at the wave of your hand, and enough activities and amenities to keep an ADD family busy for a week—but one that's designed, constructed, and operated to conform to strict standards of sustainable tourism.

Hacienda Tres Ríos is located in a 326-acre nature preserve, and is something of a prototype for environmentally sustainable and responsible development in an area that's heretofore seen the exact opposite. Everything from landscape design to recycling to on-site water desalination is managed by the Tres Ríos "Green Team." To make the backstory more interesting, many of the people heading up the project were responsible 20 years ago for turning Cancun from

Ecotourism and the Yucatán tourist zone are hardly cozy bedfellows, but that's why this Riviera Maya newcomer is such a welcome addition. It's a luxury resort in the grand Cancún tradition—multiple restaurants, freeform swimming pools every which way you turn, endless cocktails available at the wave of your hand, and enough activities and amenities to keep an ADD family busy for a week—but one that's designed, constructed, and operated to conform to strict standards of sustainable tourism.

Hacienda Tres Ríos is located in a 326-acre nature preserve, and is something of a prototype for environmentally sustainable and responsible development in an area that's heretofore seen the exact opposite. Everything from landscape design to recycling to on-site water desalination is managed by the Tres Ríos "Green Team." To make the backstory more interesting, many of the people heading up the project were responsible 20 years ago for turning Cancun from a fishing village into the skyscraper-studded, traffic-choked vacation metropolis it is now. By the looks of it, this resort, which is the first of five slated to go up in Tres Ríos, is their first giant step toward changing the face of regional tourism.

If you're not looking for signs of sustainable tourism, they don't necessarily jump out at you. Nor do the tell-tale signs of the all-inclusive resort. The service is professional and polite, without the ever-present "entertainment staff" element that's the hallmark of other European-owned resorts. The food is inventive and beautifully presented, and far surpasses even luxury all-inclusive standards. The authentic Mexican breakfast buffet served in the upstairs restaurant is huevos-and-handmade-tortilla heaven. Calorie counters can burn off last night's indulgences with a bicycle ride around the property. Guided nature hikes are not particularly high-impact, but they do give a lot of background on the reserve. Learn about the mangrove forests, the 90 native animal species, and the thousands of plants that temporarily reside in the nursery, rescued from the path of bulldozers and waiting to be replanted once the dust settles. After a full day of exploration and sunbathing, snorkeling and sailing, it's a pleasure to adjourn to your spacious, ocean-facing suite. Marble floors are pleasantly cool on bare feet, bed linens are luxurious, and the patio Jacuzzis are sheer bliss, if you're lucky enough to have one.

From any balcony, you're ideally positioned to view one of Hacienda Tres Ríos' key sustainability practices: low-impact construction. All the resort buildings are built atop pilings raised several feet above ground, so as not to interrupt the natural flow of water from the namesake three rivers. This probably also explains the ever-so-twisty footpaths leading from the beachfront to the guestrooms.

Lena Katz is the author of the Travel Temptations series, published by Globe Pequot, including the recently published and SIP: California guides.