Mar Adentro Hotel and Residences, San José del Cabo, Mexico

Filled with art galleries, farmers’ markets and an appreciative creative set, San José del Cabo is the calmer, more laid back twin to Cabo San Lucas to the south-west.

Mexican architect Miguel Ángel Aragonés reinforces this mood with his work on the new 205-room Mar Adentro. Set on the edge of the Sea of Cortez in Baja California Sur, the eight-acre resort is an all-white retreat framed by faux canals, saltwater pools, private cinema, and yoga and pilates studios.

All the cube-shaped rooms front the ocean, but what sets the Mar Adentro apart from the pack is a specialist art and music programme. The public spaces are sprinkled with work by established artists and young Turks, while an artist-in-residence programme with Hotel Café provides a vibrant setting for emerging musical artists.

The diversions are plenty including water-pressure massages, oil-infused beverages, clinical aromatherapy and, for those with a more prosaic bent, a beachside food truck that serves fresh fish tacos.