From F.G., New York, NY, who recently traveled to Mexico with her husband and three children.
We started our vacation with a week in Tulum. We rented Villa Behla, which is right on the beach next door to Coqui Coqui. The lovely house is owned by Renaud and Loree Jacquet, who were both so sweet and accommodating. Although we had problems with spotty hot water, that was quickly fixed by Renaud. Our only complaint was there were no shades in the bedrooms. Yes, the house was overlooking the most gorgeous beach and sea, but we would have loved some darkness at 6-7-8 a.m. Overall, though, Villa Behla is perfect for one family and up to three kids or for three couples.
We then went on to Hacienda Santa Rosa, where we spent three days and nights. We had a gorgeous room, and it is a lovely place but too remote. The staff was very sweet but slightly green. We followed Santa Rosa with three days and nights at Hacienda Temozon. The hacienda had beautiful rooms and fabulous grounds. It is located close to Merida and many, many ruins, cenotes and an amazing underground cave that should not be missed. Their food was mostly good but at times odd, and both haciendas had the same menu, so after six days, we were ready for a change. The staff here was also sweet and seemed a bit more seasoned. Our favorite excursions were to the amazing Uxmal ruins and to Merida on market day.
We ended our trip with two nights at Esencia, a very sweet and romantic hotel on the Riviera Maya. They had adorable robes in all three girls’ sizes waiting in the pristine room when we arrived plus delicious, delicious food and a great staff that delivered coffee, hot chocolate and little pastries to our terrace every morning by 7:30 a.m., free of charge (loved this). Esencia also has a really nice spa and a great beach, but it is close to a bunch of other hotels. Our room was one of the furthest from the beach, and we could hear in the distance a very soft hum of the major highway that spans the Riviera Maya (a bit of a bummer).
I would recommend to families doing the same thing but skipping the three days in Santa Rosa and just do Temozon. I have heard San Jose is lovely too. Overall, it was a terrific indulgent and culturally interesting vacation!
Read more about the Riviera Maya.
See a postcard about the Hacienda Santa Rosa.
Read what fashion designer Liz Lange says about Esencia.
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