Vacation Packages

Merida is an ancient colonial city and the capital of the Yucatan state located to the west of Quintana Roo, abundant with historical churches, architecturally unique buildings, delicious flavors, music, night life, shopping and more. Each night, the Historic Center hosts traditional folk dancers, right in front of City Hall, dancing to live music, in traditional dress. On Sunday nights, salsa and cumbia dance liven up the streets. Restaurants and street vendors are plentiful, as is the shopping. Staying near the Main Square is recommended.

My wife and I had the joy of staying at Casa Mexilio, a great Merida hotel, over the first weekend in August, 2009, and it was one of the most distinctive places we have ever stayed. Located near the town center, nearly 4 blocks from the main square, you will locate Casa Mexilio hidden amongst residences and businesses along one of the commonly urban sections of Merida. All of the buildings in this segment of town have no spaces between them and the only way to quickly differentiate where one ends and the next one begins is the distinction in paint. Each block is consequently rich in unique colors and personal discernible window boxes, signs, benches, and the like.

The main entrance to Casa Mexilio is relatively non-descript, with a few iron gates fronting wooden doors right on the street. Don’t be fooled by the lack of ordainment outside this fine small hotel. Once inside, the hotel is more museum than hotel with antique furnishings, artifacts, books and photos throughout. It really is like stepping back in time. The hotel is a converted home dating back to the late 19th century and is full of its own colorful history as are the buildings and city of Merida that surround it.

The focal point of the hotel is situated directly behind the front desk and service locale where you will find a lush garden and “grotto” like pool with a Jacuzzi. This area always stays pleasant and cool due to the shade of the gardens and secluded location, a splendid place to cool off anytime and very romantic. We went for a swim to cool off before bed one night and the burning scent of copal was a nice affect (this is a indigenous herb and incense well known for its cleansing properties). This area with the trees and plants almost reminds you of being in a jungle cenote except there are stairs and balconies just about everywhere you look. There is even an elevated walkway that connects one of the top sections of the inn. Here are patios, landings and secret garden nooks everywhere; the place begs to be explored.

Our room was wonderful with very high ceilings and quite clean with a comfortable king sized bed, extra pillows, ceiling fan and AC, though we only used the AC for a few hours at night, the ceiling fan was great for air circulation. The furnishings, like everything else we saw while we were there were classic, antique couches, chairs, dressers, bed and wardrobes, really nice touches. Our room also had eclectic tiled floors. I honestly don’t know the actual name of our room, but each one has its own unique appeal with similar furnishings from what we could see.

Our only disappointment was missing a great breakfast! We got up very early…too early for breakfast apparently as we looked around and didn’t see anyone (this was around 7am) so we walked a few blocks to one of the local cafes. Upon our return to the hotel one of the waiters stopped by our room asking if we wanted breakfast. We’ll definitely catch that on our next visit! We will be back to Merida in search of more interesting sites, sounds and flavors and recommend this hotel to anyone, as it is truly a magical place.

Ron Williams is a freelance travel writer living year round in Tulum, Mexico specializing in information about merida hotels, Merida hotel accomodations and life on the Yucatan Peninsula. Feel free to contact Ron directly if you need local tips or information.