FlyerTalk Forums - View Single Post - Hacienda San Jose, Yucatan [Master Thread]
Old Jun 19, 2009, 9:48 am
  #5  
Sam P. Goodman
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: SMF
Programs: Bonvoy Titanium, SPG LTP
Posts: 1,522
San Jose

Mrs. G and I just spent a couple of nights at San Jose almost a year to the date after our first hacienda trip (Campeche and Santa Rosa). This year was a two night add-on to a week in Cancun. We drove on the cuota (toll road) and it was probably about 3 hours each way. The drive was easy and painless. We hit Chichen Itza on the way in and picked up a great chicken lunch at a local hangout in the town of Piste.

I’ll preface this by saying that our expectations were pretty high after last year’s stays, especially since I’ve since moved up from Gold to Platinum. Our experience at San Jose was very nice, but I think it lacked the special feeling we got from Campeche and Santa Rosa last year. That could be because of our inflated expectations or because the novelty of the first time makes it more special.

Check-in was smooth, but unenthusiastic. We were upgraded from a standard room (used my Plat gift for one night and a promo free night for the other) to a junior suite. I inquired about a better upgrade and was told that the Mayan Villas were being renovated since this was their low season. They didn’t mention the presidential suite, which was showing availability online, but they put some other guests in their later that day. No platinum amenity was offered at that time and my Spanish, while passable at times, isn’t that good so I didn’t push it.

The room (#103) was cute with 20 foot ceilings, timber framed ceilings, wood furniture, and a nice sitting table in the middle. The bathroom was decent sized with all the usual hacienda accoutrements ^ and a door that opened out to a small sitting area with an outdoor bathtub/plunge pool. The room was not as big as our suite at Santa Rosa, but the furnishings felt better suited for it and it felt like a more comfortable space, but our junior suite at Campeche is still our favorite of the hacienda rooms we’ve stayed in.

We ate two dinners and two breakfasts on site and all were excellent and reasonably priced. Breakfast entrees ran about $100-$140 MXN each and dinner entrees ranged from $180-$350 MXN, with most in the low to mid $200s. Our waiter at dinner, Alberto, exemplified what we loved about the haciendas the first time around. He was personable, caring, and willing to endure our attempts to conduct conversations in Spanish even though I think his English is pretty good. He always addressed us by name and also served as a bit of a concierge making recommendations for activities and restaurant recommendations. We had a couple of different waiters at breakfast, both of which were fine, but neither seemed to exude the enthusiasm or personality we had come to expect and enjoy.

We ran into the Resident Manager several times and he was very friendly and welcoming. He told us we could have our choice of a complimentary bottle of wine at dinner or a small gift from the shop as our Platinum amenity. After further investigation, the gift from the shop was a small sisal angel, which we already had from our last hacienda trip so we took the bottle of wine.

We took a day trip to Izamal and walked the city and ate lunch there, per Alberto’s recommendation. It was probably a 30-40 minute drive and reminded us a small version of Campeche with its colonial architecture and yellow buildings. The convent is beautiful and a local man gave us an impromptu tour of it. There are also some ruins in town. While they don’t compare to the magnificence of Chichen Itza or Uxmal (or we would have all heard of them), they provide an interesting perspective of the town. Izamal was definitely a worthwhile excursion for a few hours.

There were two other couples staying at San Jose our first night and three others our second night. It appeared that several rooms were getting some off season deep cleaning by the staff. We enjoyed our stay very much, but I think we both preferred Santa Rosa (and Campeche for that matter). The service at Santa Rosa was amazing across the board and everyone seemed like family welcoming you into their home (Mrs. G was even greeted with a fresh bouquet of flowers). The porch at Santa Rosa serves as a bit of a hub and since it houses the dining and office and is adjacent to the pool, it seems to lend itself to more interaction with the staff and that “family” feel. San Jose is more spread out, which makes for more quiet time, which I’m sure many prefer.

I’m happy to try to answer any questions. I think we’ll probably try Temozon in a couple of years…

Last edited by Sam P. Goodman; Jun 19, 2009 at 10:30 am
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