Originally Posted by toomanywords
Has anyone been to these properties in October? My fiancee and I are considering hitting two or three of them for our honeymoon next fall, but we're not sure what the weather would be like. Obviously, if there's a hurricane, we could get trip insurance to cover that, but how much day-to-day rain is there?
I'd say it's similar to the weather in CUN during October. The later in October, the less hurricane chance. (But Hurricane Wilma devastated Cancun on Oct 22, 2005. Though unusually late, it's not unheard of.) A daily afternoon rain shower is likely. When we were there over a long Labor Day weekend this year, it rained from about 4pm-7pm on most days.
We went to both Santa Rosa and Uayamon. We spent two nights in each but in hindsight would have preferred to plan a minimum stay of 3 nights per hacienda. If we were to return for a 4-night trip, we'd probably stay in just one hacienda the whole time. For a 5-night trip, we might switch. For a 6-night trip, we'd definitely switch.
We loved Santa Rosa and would return there without hesitation. The service there was the most personal that we have ever experienced. We also had a great stay at Uayamon, but there were some aspects that let us down (higher food cost, possible food preparation problems, spa closed one day during stay, a lame horse prohibited horseback riding together as a couple, less personal service). Nonetheless, I'd probably still describe our stay at Uayamon as phenomenal.
Both places would be great for honeymooners, but they're not for everyone. There are some incredible luxury characteristics about the haciendas, but there are also some very rustic characteristics that some squeamish people might not handle so well. Bugs, frogs, and bats are not uncommon on the grounds. (And it's possible that some of the above could end up in your room at times, too.)
We also used Cash & Points for our stay. We returned out of Merida on Delta and agree that this is definitely preferable to driving to/from Cancun. (However, we ended up flying INTO CUN since we ironically had to change our plans at the last minute to fly down a day early to avoid a tropical storm here in the States.)
It's almost essential to have good directions and a map before you arrive. I kept very good directions from our visit and have pinpointed the exact locations of all of the haciendas in Google Maps. I also have photos of the menus, wine lists, etc. One day, I'll get around to posting this info. PM me if you need me to expedite my efforts.
Plat treatment was great at both properties for suite upgrades. At Uayamon, we got a Plat amenity of a free bottle of wine at dinner on our last night, and we got to choose from any bottle on the menu.
IIRC, the excellent manager at Santa Rosa is on a contract to be there until around November 2007. I have his business card with email address should you wish to contact him.
benzlotkin, if you don't mind sharing, how are the rates for renting the whole place?