There are some wonderful small boutique hotels for stay in Merida. Our favorites include:
Hotel Hacienda Merida, Calle 62 #439, between 51 and 53: This is a small boutique hotel a short walk north of the Plaza Grande. I had wanted to stay there but it was totally full. It is beautifully decorated and is extremely quiet.
Next door is the Hotel Hacienda VIP which is also a lovely small property. It also has a small pool and is somewhat more expensive. I will definitely stay here my next trip.
Rosas & Xocolate, Paseo de Montejo 480 at 41st: I loved eating there at its excellent restaurant. It is attractive and supposed to have wonderful rooms, but I found that the location is a little far from the Plaza Grande. I prefer being a little closer in.
Piedra de Agua Boutique Hotel: I stayed there on this trip. The location was perfect, the staff excellent and the outside bar really contemporary with great views of the Cathedral at night. They offer a nice breakfast in the interior courtyard. I could walk everywhere! I had a small room with king sized bed on the front, but had some issues with the cleaning. I was then switched to a much larger room in the back which was really quite nice. There is live music in the outside bar on Friday and Saturday which was a little loud. They were nice to get the band to turn it down. Just bring ear plugs. They need to spend a little to freshen the property and give it a thorough cleaning. But the rate was reasonable and again the location was outstanding at Calle 60 #498, at 59th and 61st.
Hacienda Temozon: Located in the countryside outside of town and a former henequen grower and processor, this Hacienda has been turned into a wonderful boutique hotel and is part of IHG Hotels & Resorts. It is beautifully decorated with lovely outside and indoor seating areas and a nice restaurant overlooking the grounds. There is a great pool and spa in the building where they processed the sisal. You can also see wonderful carriages from the period and the old cars and tracks from the short gage railroad that was used on the property. The rooms are attractive and, in addition to the spa, there are several cenotes or underground caves with water that you can visit. There were actually massage tables set up in one in the cenotes, near the water, which would be a very relaxing experience. I highly recommend this property if you want to get out of the hustle and bustle of Merida and experience the Hacienda lifestyle.
Hacienda Petac is another popular hacienda option. Other properties in Merida in the press include Casa Azul and Casa Lecanda Boutique Hotel.
Casa Mexilio, at Calle 68 #495, is a small boutique guest house. It has 8 rooms and a roof top bar. Casa San Angel Boutique Hotel is another attractive boutique hotel property with a center court located at Remate de Montejo 1 x 49. It has a lovely Pineda Covalin store which sells beautiful ties and scarves, a Fonart Mexican folk art store and Tala Bistro with both indoor and outdoor seating. The NY Times also recommends Coqui Coqui Residences.
I recently read about The Diplomat as a great place to stay. It has been featured in Condé Nast Traveller, AFAR, Jetsetter, and Forbes magazines. I will make sure to book it on my next trip and will report back.
