If you want to see Chichen Itza without the mobs of tourists brought in by bus, book a room here and RELAX! Enjoy your meals on the beautiful outdoor terrace overlooking the center courtyard. Our bungalow was cozy and charming with a wonderful stone shower. Grab a guide (ask for Manuel!) early in the morning and spend time enjoying the quiet inside Chichen Itza. The tourists don't arrive until around 11:00. We felt like we had it all to ourselves! The staff at the hotel were friendly and efficient; I only wish we had stayed another night so that we could enjoy an afternoon by the beautiful pool. This was the highlight of our week-long trip to the Yucatan..

I had read that it is important to stay near Chichen Itza to be able to see the ruins early in the morning. That was the best advice I've we had. It is nice and cool in the morning and there really are no tourists there from 8:00 until about 10:30. So once you decide you are going to stay near the ruins, the absolute best place to stay is the Hacienda Chichen. This is the original hacienda that was used by the archeologists from the Carnegie Institute when they were excavating the ruins. It is so lush and beautiful and serene. The grounds are beautifully landscaped and it is very close to the ruins. The rooms are fairly sparse, but the porches provide a great place to hang out, as does the pool. The place also has spa treatments and a fairly good hotel. The service can be slow, but that only meant we needed to slow down. As a comparison to Mayaland which is just a bit closer to the ruins, Hacienda Chichen is smaller, therefore less busy, and much more lush.

While in Chichen Itza, make sure you go to the Dzitinup Cenote. It is so worth the side trip, even if you need to take a taxi. It is other-worldly.

Although this place is close to the ruins it is overpriced. The price for a basic room was close to $200 US did not include breakfast or admission to the ruins. The restaurant food is also overpriced for what you get and service was below average. A better option is to stay in Piste which is a short walk to the ruins and a lot cheaper. Although accommodations, not as nice.

We stayed one night in June 07 and would stay again in a heartbeat. My husband and I traveled with our two sons, ages 7 and 9. First, the cons:

Do NOT book and pay through their 'sister' website that accepts online payments. When it came time to check out, they had no record of us paying through that website. Also, my husband found an online coupon that brought our price down considerably when we booked. They did not accept that special rate when it came time to check out. The full price was still a good rate for the level of acommodations & service, but it was a major disappointment to not receive the coupon rate at check out.

The time of year that we visited, there was some tree that was dropping little seeds that smelled really strange. They were on the pool deck and outside our room. The smell reminded me of garlic, but it had a strange 'wang' to it. I love the smell of garlic, but this was really weird and pungent. The grounds crew tried to sweep them off the paths, but they were pretty abundant. If we were to go again, I would make sure we weren't there while those seeds/fruit were around.

Now the PROS:

The grounds were BEAUTIFUL. If you love gardening at all, you'll find the grounds fascinating and you'll wish you could grow the same plants at home. The trees were just huge and there was foliage everywhere. My kids loved wandering around on the paths.

We stayed in Thompson's cottage and it was perfect. Beautiful furnishings, the air conditioning worked well , and we loved the hammock on the porch.

It was very quiet. We rarely saw anybody else except at the pool and the restaurant.

Even with the major issue of having no record of our payment and the hassle that entailed, we would definitely stay here again. Of course, now that we've seen Chichen Itza we don't have much reason to go back. Too much to see in Mexico for us to do a repeat, but I wouldn't turn down an opportunity to stay here again. :-)