Royalton Riviera Spa with Your Teen

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The Royalton Riviera Cancun Resort & Spa, exclusive to Sunwing, certainly knows how to cater to families. You’ll find activities and dining, pools and beach fun but if you’re looking for a way to connect with your teen daughter, a trip to the spa may be in order.

If you have a teen you know they can be a tricky age to impress, floating between the bliss of childhood and maturity of adulthood. The resort’s teen club and activity schedule offers plenty of opportunity for your daughter to hangout with peers, something she will probably crave even on a family vacation, but as a parent you want to connect with your kids too. Plan an afternoon of one-on-one time with your daughter doing something a little more grown-up than just getting your nails done.

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Bring on the massage.

Choosing a body treatment over a salon treatment will not only feel a little more grown-up for your teen, you can both take advantage of the resort’s hydrotherapy pool. A visit to the spa for this experience alone is worth it. Make sure to arrive an hour before your scheduled appointment to take advantage of the hydrotherapy and if you plan a visit for around 5 p.m., you’ll practically have the spa to yourself. Most guests tend to use this time to get ready for dinner.

Additional Reading: My Style. First Spa Experience

After changing into our swimsuits our personal attendant walks us through a system of steam, sauna and whirlpools, bringing us water and towels as we move through each step. Then we walk through a grand entrance to the hydrotherapy pool. The main pool lays in front of you on a raised deck, flanked by hot and cold plunge pools. Lounge chairs lay along the wall with flowing curtains to create a little separation for relaxed guests.

Family Travel Sunwing Royalton Riviera Hydrotherapy Spa Loungers

Image courtesy of Royalton Riviera Cancun

Our attendant directs us to the hot and cold pools, both requiring a little courage to submerge yourself but we do it. It feels like a little challenge my daughter and I talk ourselves through, together. From here we move to the main pool, rotating from various water treatments designed to work on different parts of our body. The loud rushing of water makes it difficult to hold a conversation but my daughter and I exchange little laughs as we find ourselves pushed and pommeled by the various degrees of flowing water.

Family Travel Sunwing Royalton Riviera Cancun Hydrotherapy

Image courtesy of Royalton Riviera Cancun

For lounging guests there is a station with infused water and fresh fruit to enjoy but as soon as we finish our circuit in the pool we are whisked away to the change room to prepare for our massage. Here we strip away our wet suits, placing them in plastic bags provided by the staff and slip on our robes. At my age I’m not as worried about who sees me naked in the change room but for your shy teen there are a few change rooms made available.

Additional Reading: Grand Wailea Spa Grand Hydrotherapy Treat for Mom

Once ready our personal attendant walks us to an oval-shaped anti-room, offers us water and places a warm pad around our neck and shoulders. As we wait for our attendants I can feel my body starting to relax. My daughter is visibly disappointed when it was time to leave the heating pads behind and head down the low lit hallway for our massage.

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The Spa at the Royalton Riviera Cancun does offer a treatment room with a window so parents can monitor any treatment their kids receive but that’s not the same as experiencing the spa together. Instead I would opt to book one of the slightly larger couple’s treatment rooms with two massage tables. We are given a moment of privacy to slip from our robes to lay under our separate blanketed tables. I think my daughter felt a little more comfortable knowing I was in the room with her, enabling her to enjoy the experience a little more.

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The room is dimly lit and relaxing music plays quietly in the background. Our attendants ask before entering the room and quietly introduce themselves. They maintain a peaceful and respectful demeanour during the whole massage, almost causing me to slip away into the whole experience. Before we knew it, our experience is complete. When the attendants leave the room we slip off our tables and back into our robes, feeling relaxed. My daughter commented on a new understanding as to why people book spa treatments when on holidays.

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Our personal attendant walks us back to the anti-room to sit and sip water until we are ready to return to the change room. The only two in the room we talk about our experience and the thoughtful staff, partly to prolong the whole lovely visit. From the look on my daughter’s face and her lack of interest to head to the change room, I figure she enjoyed herself.

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Spa experiences are often seen as extravagant but they are about taking time for yourself, a lesson mothers need to share with their daughters. A lesson mothers need to remember for themselves. Although our shared massage treatment didn’t involve us opening up and sharing deep secrets, it did create an unspoken connection. When your teen feels the desire to spend more time with friends and on social media, it’s important to find moments to together, even on a family vacation. When you’re visiting Sunwing’ exclusive Royalton Riviera Cancun All-Inclusive Resort and Spa, a mother-daughter spa experience can deliver that moment. At least it did for my daughter and me.

Thanks to the folks at Sunwing and the Royalton Riviera Cancun for coordinating this spa experience. As always, thoughts and opinions expressed are completely my own.

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