Mérida does not announce itself. A first walk through the centre often leaves visitors slightly puzzled. The streets are low-rise. The colours, while rich, are not theatrical. There is no cathedral square that resolves the city's identity in one image. For travellers arriving with the expectation of an obvious tourist set-piece, Mérida's first hour can register as quiet to the point of underwhelming.

The first thing a guest registers at Four Seasons Langkawi is what is missing. There is no entrance arrival flourish — no scripted greeting, no orchestrated arrival sequence designed to register as luxury. The driveway is restrained. Reception is open to the air. The first sound, after the door of the airport vehicle closes, is the property itself: birds, breeze through the foliage, the distant push of waves against a beach not yet visible.