UncleJed

I'm not expecting spotless pools outside in the middle of the jungle. I *am* expecting, especially with the rates there, that places make it look like they are making some effort.

Puerta Campeche and San Jose most certainly *did* keep their pools clean. Cleaner, in fact, than I would expect for an outdoor pool in that location.

A few bugs are fine, and you'd be fooling yourself to not expect to have them join you in the bathroom, or at dinner, or wherever else you go. I only commented about Santa Rosa because there literally were hundreds at the pool, and quite a bit of debris on the bottom.

Don't get me wrong - I really enjoyed our stay at SR, and SJ was outstanding, but it doesn't mean there isn't a little room for improvement.

boolean64

These all sound like amazing properties. I had a question regarding the surrounding area. We're looking to do a guys weekend in the yucatan...see some ruins, drink some cerveza, hike (to the extent the weather allows). I'd prefer to use points and avoid the uber-tourists in cosumel and cancun. I am worried that these places are too isolated and/or romantic for what we want to do. Thoughts?

Thanks in advance.

schriste

During my stay at the Santa Rosa everyone there was a couple. Everyone was also subdued and quiet. My wife and I enjoyed our stay under these conditions. Nothing wrong with staying at the haciendas for visiting the ruins or hiking… the Haciendas are isolated… not sure what your intentions are… but if you are thinking Spring Break comes to the Haciendas… I’m sure glad I did not run into your group during my visit.

sbtinme

Sorry, Boolean. I'm with schriste on this one. It's not completely clear what you mean by "guys weekend." If that means you and a long time college pal getting together in your late 40s to do some hiking and catching up, then this sort of place could work if you had significant enough interest in the local area.

However, as schriste outlines, if you mean 6 male friends getting together a few years out of college to get nutty for a week of hard hiking and hard partying, I think you'll feel out of place and be unhappy with these reserved properties. Folks seek out these places for calm and unique experiences.

Sorry if it feels that we're ganging up on you; it's just not completely clear what you're suggesting here.

boolean64

No worries...I could see how my comments could be a bit unclear. For the record, it's four of us who've known each other for 20 years and go on a trip every year to catch up since none of us live in the same place. We might end up playing cards in one of the rooms or on a patio...but certainly not looking for (nor want to create) a wild party scene.

This sounds too romantic though...I guess I'll keep looking for other options. For future reference, I would appreciate it if someone would answer my question about the hiking. My wife likes to hike too.

Thanks.

sc flier

I wouldn't say that the Haciendas are limited to a romantic environment. They are generally meant to be quiet and relaxing places, though. As long as your activities aren't going to disturb someone else that might want a romantic environment, I think the Haciendas might be fine for you.

Some Haciendas are more intimate than others. And some people may not find them romantic at all since they are amidst an environment of creepy crawly critters. (Frogs, bugs, bats, etc.) I would think that Santa Rosa might be considered the most romantic/intimate of the 5 properties.

If you're hiking interest is to go in the parks around the ruins, they are a great destination. But if you want to hike directly from the Hacienda, there's probably not much to get excited about. The Haciendas are not located directly at the ruins, but ruins are a short drive from each. My Google Earth maps might help you put them all in perspective.

Sam P. Goodman

We just returned from a seven night trek to the Haciendas. We were limited on time and didn’t want to do too much hopping so we limited our stays to two of the Haciendas. We chose to do 5 nights at Puerta Campeche because of it’s location in the city followed by 2 nights at Santa Rosa. This was kind of a “bonus” trip for us this year so we tried to keep costs down by redeeming for all 7 nights. We also visited Uayamon and had lunch there after our trip to Edzna. I studied up quite a bit before this trip and looked at a ton of pictures and trip reports, but none of it prepared me for the spectacle that is the Haciendas. They really are amazing. Here’s a report on our experience. Note that I’ve included a lot of activity and dining info not directly related to the Haciendas, but I think it can be helpful if planning a trip to the Haciendas we visited.

Puerta Campeche
We flew into Merida and arrived around 7 p.m. I had some concerns about making the drive down to Campeche (a couple of hours) at night, but it really wasn’t bad at all, thanks in part to some guidance from SCflier prior to our departure. The directions on the haciendas website are pretty accurate (with the exception of the kilometer readings on the last stretch which led to us missing a turn that we probably wouldn’t have missed during daylight). Finding our way around town the first night proved a little challenging as it was difficult to read signs in the dark. Otherwise, the trip was uneventful. We arrived around 10 p.m. and were had to park about a block from the hotel because of road closures, which turned out to be a result of the Mexican Tourism Board shooting promotional video at the Hacienda. We were greeted with apologies over the inconvenience and they took our car keys and moved the car for us.

We had booked a standard room with points and were upgraded to a junior suite (room #2) located behind the main lobby and office. At first glance, the room was pretty average looking, but then we saw the bathroom, which consisted of two rooms, one with a large shower and toilet area and the second with a glass ceiling and two lounge chairs. Huge, colorful, and very comfortable. We didn’t see any other room types while there, but I can’t imagine wanting or needing anything more.

There were a lot of personal touches throughout our stay. Welcome drinks and cold towels were presented to us on arrival. There was a hand written welcome note from the manager in our room upon arrival and another accompanying a small bottle of Mayan liqueur. Before our departure, we received a third note with a handcrafted bell as a farewell gift. We were consistently greeted by name by all the staff, even those who we were encountering for the first time. A plate of fresh fruit in our room was regularly replenished.

We ate dinner at the hotel restaurant twice and were impressed with the quality, variety, and pricing of the menu. A lot of excellent seafood selections and a very tasty Arrachera steak. Prices were around $10 for appetizers and $15-$25 for entrees. The restaurant was very alive on Saturday night when we arrived. When we ate there mid-week, we were the only people there (and according to our waiter, the only guests at the Hacienda that night). We also had one breakfast there that was decent, but we found that we could do much better (in terms of food and prices) at one of the local restaurants.

Campeche is a fun place with some nice sights, delicious food, and very friendly people. Staying in town allowed us to venture around, shop, eat, see the sights, and then escape to the privacy of the Hacienda. We really enjoyed being some of the only tourists in town. In our five days, we maybe saw a dozen couples of tourists and one tour group from Italy. As for restaurants in town, we liked Marganzo and La Parroquia. We found La Pigua to be a bit stuffy with mediocre service. We went to a Piratas (baseball) game on our last night in town, which was a blast, but unfortunately thunderstorms moved in and cancelled the game in the second inning. The stadium was nearly empty (even before the rain) and we felt a bit silly with our $7.50 seats directly behind the plate and not a soul near us. Great 80 cent tacos at El Pota at the ballpark. I’d recommend a stay in Campeche that overlaps the weekend as the town square comes alive in the evenings on Saturdays and Sundays with musical performances and food vendors.

Touring from Campeche
We ventured over to Edzna during our stay, which is probably about an hour drive (well worth it). It’s a pretty simple drive, but we did take one turn too early and ended up driving through the village of China. Edzna was impressive and not touristy at all. There was one other family there when we visited. Climbing to the top of the Acropolis was a definite highlight. On the way back, we decided to stop at Uayamon for lunch. We were greeted by a staff member who recognized our umbrella from Puerta Campeche and he immediately radioed the restaurant to prepare a table for us. He gave us a tour of the grounds and led us to the restaurant. The menu was more limited than Campeche’s, but similar in pricing. We had salads and split a seafood rice dish. A nice meal. I was surprised by the seclusion of the rooms at Uayamon. Most of the units appeared to be stand alone with some being two units in a small house-like structure. They are spaced apart in a dense jungle setting. It was raining pretty heavily there, which is pretty common for this time of year from the sound of things.

Sam P. Goodman

Santa Rosa
We redeemed for Santa Rosa as well, but this time we paid an extra 1,500 points per night to secure a junior suite. We were greeted by several staff members and given welcome drinks and cold towels. One of the staff members also presented Mrs. Goodman with a bouquet of fresh cut flowers. We were led to room 9 (junior suite), which was a bit disappointing after our junior suite at Campeche. While our room at Campeche was bright yellow and the bathroom bright blue, this room was more rustic and all white. It also had two queen beds and seemed to lack anything that would lead me to call it a junior suite. We didn’t say anything as it was still a very nice room. As luck would have it, the man who checked us in returned after only a couple of minutes and apologized, saying he took us to the wrong room and that we were actually next door in room 10 (the lone suite at Santa Rosa). This room was quite a bit larger and nicer than 9 and had a fruit basket, welcome note, and fresh flowers everywhere. Rooms 8, 9, and 10 are in the old machinery building furthest from the main building and share a huge pool that stretches the length of the building. They also have some of the tallest ceilings I’ve seen in a hotel room (20-25 feet, I’d guess).

Santa Rosa is a huge property and is surrounded by a small village. Others have complained about noise from the village, but we didn’t find it to be a problem. There are roosters crowing and dogs barking at times, but I’d chalk it up to charm. Two nights wasn’t quite enough time for us as we used the property as a home base for touring the area and didn’t feel like we had enough time to enjoy the Hacienda. As great as the service was in Campeche, the service at Santa Rosa seemed even more attentive and more personal. We felt that part of this was due to the fact that most of the staff were local villagers whose sense of pride in the Hacienda really showed.

The restaurant had a nice selection of dishes including local items like Pibil (think pork Carnitas) and Queso Relleno. Prices were similar to Campeche, which is impressive since they don’t really have any competition for your business. Variety was good, but I could see it being a little limiting if one was staying there for much longer than 3 nights. The setting on the porch of the main building can’t be beat. Our first night there, we were one of three couples. The second night, there was a group of 8 journalists on site, but the place still seemed empty.

Touring from Santa Rosa
We drove to Oxkintok (ruins) and Uxmal on our way to Santa Rosa. Oxkintok is far less impressive and smaller than Uxmal or Edzna, but still made for a fun stop. We were the only people there other than workers. The road to access the ruins is in bad shape. We almost turned around because we thought we had to be on the wrong road. After Edzna and Oxkintok, we were disappointed with the commercialized entrance to Uxmal. It was reminiscent of Mt. Rushmore or a zoo entrance with the concrete buildings, shops, and restaurant, but once we passed all of that we were blown away by the size of Uxmal. Once again, not many tourists around.

Our second day at Santa Rosa, we drove to Celestun. SCflier had mentioned that the short way there included a questionable road and when we asked about Celestun at Santa Rosa, they said that road was bad and we had to take the long way, which is quite a bit further (about 2 hours each way). We had a great lunch on the beach in Celestun at Los Pampanos and took a 1 hour boat trip to see the flamingos and mangroves. The boat guy at the marina started at $85 for the hour, but we ended up at $50. On our way back to Santa Rosa, we were tempted by the signs saying 25km to Chunchucmil and tried the short road, but after one kilometer of non-stop pot holes and mud puddles and a crocodile in the middle of the road, we wisely turned back and took the long way home. Unless you have a jeep or some other off road capable vehicle, I wouldn’t recommend trying this road. Other than the road to Oxkintok, this was the only bad road we encountered.

Summary
These properties are extremely different from each other, but each provided a very special experience that left us wanting more. Puerta Campeche provides a more modern interpretation of Hacienda life in the city while Santa Rosa is rustic village luxury. We will likely be going to Cancun on a timeshare trip next June and are in the process of figuring out how to extend our trip to add about four nights at San Jose (or possibly a combo with Temozon). Feel free to PM me with any questions.

l etoile

You can certainly explore the ruins ...some of which you may be the only visitor at all day ...and kind of hike around there and even go inside some of the structures. The other really cool thing to explore - either with the guys or your wife - are the senotes in the area. Some are fairly secretive; some are quite well known. If you find a dive shop, you can dive in some of them, which is pretty amazing.

sc flier

We dove in a cenote when we were staying at a resort near Playa del Carmen -- south of Cancun. It was worth doing, though we won't do it regularly. I'm skeptical of finding trustworthy places to scuba dive in cenotes near the Haciendas, but someone is definitely welcome to prove me wrong.

Sam P. Goodman, great trip reports! Makes me really want to go back! Your room at SR may be the same one that we stayed in. The room with 2 beds is their only one with 2 beds other than the Mayan Villa that has a cool hanging bed and a day bed in a separate room. (The GM at the time said that he'd put us in the villa when we return.)

http://www.haciendasmexico.com/santa...mmodations.php

$50 per boat for a 75-minute tour at Celestun seems to be right. $75 for the longer tour, but the short tour covers all of the main attractions.

I'm glad I gave caution about the short road to/from Celestun. Too bad it's degraded to this point. But how often do you get to tell people that you turned back due to a crocodile in the road?

zloneill

There's not anywhere really exciting to hike in the Yucatan, as the whole peninsula is almost completely flat. There also aren't any real trails that you can just wander off on on your own. (Actually, I can think of one--in the Ria Lagartos nature reserve on the gulf coast.) It's a little more swashbuckling down south on the Guatemalan border, around the ruins of Calakmul--just walking around there (it's a huge site) is a good adventure.

If you head down into Chiapas, the terrain is more mountainous, and there are more tour operators geared toward hiking trips.

Thunderroad

What an excellent, informative thread! Going to one or more of these haciendas sounds like exactly the kind of vacation my wife and I like. A few questions:

1. What would the weather probably be like in January or February?
2. Do any of the properties have excercise rooms with bikes, treadmills, whatever? They're so small that I'd guess not, but just thought I'd ask.
3. If we tried to get to them on UA or AA (Star Alliance or One World) points, what are the best airport options? I imagine Cancun, but any others?
4. I realize none of them are on the beach. But are any near enough to nice beaches for day trips? And if so, any specific beaches you'd recommend?
5. For that matter, if we wanted to combine a hacienda visit with a few days at a beach, any specific beach-side hotels you'd recommend, be they Starwood, another chain (we have points with a few) or otherwise? As with the haciendas, we probably would prefer a small property, but would be open to larger options.
6. Does anyone know of an online map that shows where these hotels are with respect to each other and to airports in the region?

Thanks for any info and advice.

sc flier

Yes, try my Google Earth mapping files of all Starwood properties. (Well, minus a few brand new ones that came on with short notice.) Also see the maps on http://www.haciendasmexico.com

CUN is the closest major airport. Merida (MID) is closer, but is served by fewer airlines. Air service to the city of Campeche (CPE) is very limited (only a Mexican airline, but they do fly from CUN). If you want to fly into one airport and out of another, that's an option. We flew into CUN and out of MID. Just make sure that your rental car agreement allows for a one-way rental without extra fees.

I believe that this very thread discusses a couple beaches that are accessible as day trips. Otherwise, your main options are back at Cancun or the many beaches south of Cancun such as Playa del Carmen or the island of Cozumel.

I doubt that any of the rooms in any of the Haciendas have treadmills, etc. There's an old Stairmaster nearby to all of them. And at least some of the Haciendas have bikes that you can ride outside. (Not necessarily very nice bikes, though.) Horses, too.

Sam P. Goodman

Nice...

Thunderroad

LOL!!