AS our cream-canopied boat sliced silently through the sparkling emerald waters of lush mangrove to take us to our hotel room, that Disney song A Whole New World kept echoing in my head.

Why? Well, when I was last in Mexico-Cancun, about 15 years ago-I hated it.

I hated the hotels, the commercialism, the whole ugliness of it. Oh yes, and the food.

But the Rosewood Mayakoba Hotel definitely wasn't the Mexico I remembered. This really WAS a whole new world.

Built along a network of lagoons, this spectacular edifice to modernity is mind- bogglingly beautiful. Acres of glass and Yucatan limestone glint in the sunlight as you arrive at reception in the house-sized Jeep sent by the hotel to collect you. It makes you feel very small (not to mention messy-I was in an old sundress and flip-flops). But the mile-wide smiles of the staff waiting to meet us made me forget my embarrassment at looking like a tramp.

I've never been in a hotel where the staff remember your name at once. And they attend to your every need without making you feel bad about being so damned lazy.

MD of the Rosewood, Pablo Graf (he looks like a movie star), told me he'd interviewed 5,000 people to get the 500 staff just right. And they were.

My heart leapt when we were told Arnie Schwarzenegger was arriving with his family-but sank when I found out it would be two days after we left. I asked if other celebs had stayed there since it opened in 2007, and was told Piers Morgan had been there two weeks before. That was the only time I wondered if we'd come to the right place.

But of course we had-128 suites, all overlooking the beach or the lagoon.

Every suite is shaped like giant white cube-a gorgeous tribute to everything natural and ecologically responsible. Inside they're gloriously contemporary- giant beds with cherry-wood headboards, and limestone floors and showers. There are showers outside too.

The spa is 17,000 sq ft of unadulterated luxury that sits on a limestone pool fed by subterranean springs flowing throughout the Yucatan.

Your own private butler is on call 24/7, and every night he leaves beautifully wrapped home-made sweets. Plus there's the two award-winning food restaurants-Casa Del Lago and Punta Bonita-a raw food bar, an organic café and a tequila library that serves Mexican food and tequila.

The food is divine. We feasted on fresh lobster, (just £15) jumbo shrimp and fish "ceviche" style (raw and in lime juice).

We also spent three fabulous days at the Maroma Hotel, a 20 minute-drive from the Rosewood and on 25 acres of a coconut plantation.

It's traditionally Mexican (whitewashed buildings and galleried rattan roofs) but in a 24-carat, knock-your-socks-off way.

We (four friends, The Husband and I) were in the villa Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes had stayed in recently. It was the size of a small castle-way too big for a titchy thing like him.

The ancient Mayan culture is evident everywhere-each building is crafted to ensure proper energy flow, so mind, body and spirit are at peace.

My spirit was certainly at peace after several cocktails and mind-blowing massages and facials at the hotel spa. We also had a "Temazcal", where we were sealed inside a dark brick cavern on the beach-heated to boiling point by lava rocks-to "make our way back to the womb". If it had got much hotter, I'd have been making my way to God. It ended with us running into the sea and smearing ourselves with mud.

One of the best-preserved archaeological sites is around the little town of Tulum on the edge of the Caribbean Sea.

For those of us who prefer to shop there's Cancun, a huge and busy resort. The pretty island of Cozumel is also worth visiting. With its famous coral reefs, it's a divers' paradise.

Playa del Carmen is a gloriously traditional Mexican town bustling with cafes, restaurants and the most magnificent silver shops. But barter-I got at least 40 per cent off everything.

I'll admit I had to be persuaded by friends to go to Mexico again but this magical world with its easy, gentle people, laid-back lifestyle and majestic beauty has seduced me.

As Schwarzenegger famously said: "I'll be back . . . "

Getting there

A CHOICE of packages are available to Mexico including the Riviera Maya and Colonial Cities.

Prices include Thomson flights, seven nights accommodation, breakfast and all taxes from £985pp, terms & conditions apply. To book contact Exsus Travel on 0207 292 5050 or email andrew@exsus.com For info on Mexico, contact stuart.wellarrived@hotmail.co.uk and see www.visitmexico.com

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