This was my first time in this part of Mexico and I absolutely LOVED Villa Vera and Isla Mujeres! Even though this was not a luxurious property, I loved it nonetheless. The hotel is clean, well maintained, and very comfortable. I had a room on the third floor with a king sized bed and a private balcony/patio. The balcony had its own small jacuzzi/pool and there was plenty of room for sun bathing. The bathroom was spacious, with a large closet and a built in dresser. There was another jacuzzi tub in the bathroom and a shower with great water pressure. I took my laptop computer with me and was able to access the wireless internet from my room. The wireless is a fee-based service provided for the boats and yachts that use the neighboring docks. There is a desktop computer in the lobby with free internet, but the computer died during a thunderstorm early in the week. I ate at the restaurant twice. I'm a vegetarian so the choices were few, but the food was good and the service was very pleasant. I was able to store perishables from the grocery store in the mini-bar fridge with no trouble. The coffee maker came in handy as well. The staff went out of their way to make me feel welcome, and all problems were taken care of immediately. The maids left towel sculptures on my bed every day--really delightful! What I loved most was how quiet and peaceful the place was. The pool is in the middle of the property and all of the rooms overlook it. On the busiest day, there were seven other people at the pool with me! I was there for a week, and it often felt as if I owned the place! The island is a real gem as well. I loved the fact that it was not built up and touristic like its neighbor across the water, Cancun. In many ways, I felt as if I had stepped back in time. I suggest you rent a golf cart to explore the island. It's easy to see the whole thing in one day. Don't miss the cliffs on the South Point of the island. It is well worth it to pay the $3.00 entry fee to the sculpture garden so you can access the cliff trails beyond it. What a fabulous view! I also recommend a day trip to Chichen Itza with Gray Line tours. It's a long drive, but the bus was comfortable and the guide was phenomenal. One thing you need to know about Isla Mujeres is that the ferry between the island and Cancun does not run between midnight and 5:30am. If you have an early flight home, you will have to make arrangements to stay in Cancun your last night, or hire a private boat to take you across in the middle of the night--for about $150. The ferry is quick and cheap ($3.50 each way) and there are taxis just outside the dock at Isla Mujeres to take you to Villa Vera for about $2.50. There are taxis at the port on the Cancun side, but they are much more expensive. I could go on and on about how much I enjoyed my stay at Villa Vera... Warning: if you are looking for nightlife and endless partying, this is NOT the place for you! If you want somewhere to relax and unwind and enjoy a quiet piece of paradise, book a room here and stay as long as you can! Enjoy!!! :-)

My wife and I spent one week at Villa Vera during the beginning of July. It couldn’t have been nicer. We stayed in a spacious studio. There was a small refrigerator and a coffee maker, which we also used to boil water for tea. The rooms were immaculate and my wife appreciated how the housekeepers shaped animals from the folded towels on our bed.

The air conditioning worked very well. There were two ceiling fans in the unit. We had a large patio outside with a hammock. A third ceiling fan was immediately above the hammock and worked well to cool you down.

The landscaping is gorgeous and there is a big pool with a fountain and a swim in/eat in bar. It was very hot in the daytime and as a result, the pool water was quite warm in the afternoon, but felt somewhat cooler at night.

The restaurant is first class. Because we had no rain, all the meals were served outside. We ate in the shade of a very big tree (I think it is a fig tree). Between the shade and the breeze from the lagoon, it was always comfortable while we were eating. In the morning, we watched the iguanas while we ate.

Villa Vera is on a lagoon that is shares with a marina. A lot of yachts harbor in the marina. Because of the lagoon, you get a nice breeze. It is nice to walk along the marina and see the yachts.

Villa Vera is not on the ocean. It is a $3 cab ride to Playa Norte and the “downtown area”. The cab ride is less than 10 minutes. Villa Vera is within walking distance of the baseball park, with it’s famous “ballpark tacos”, considered by many to be the best tacos on Isla, and of El Veradero restaurant.

Because of its location, Villa Vera has a boat in house that you can charter for private tours or trips to Cancun.

The staff is very friendly. Most speak English well. One of the workers gave us a three hour tour of the island on hour second night after he finished work. He gave us a lot of detailed information and drove us throughout the island.

There is a computer in the lobby with free internet and email access.

I think that Villa Vera would be ideal for families with small children and couples without children. It would not be so great for single young adults.

Cons: Some rooms need serious updating and the front desk staff in general is not too well-versed at introducing the hotel/room features to visitors. Food is a bit overpriced and so-so, but breakfast is quite adequate. Go to town for dinner. Proximity is 2 miles from downtown and about 3 miles from North Beach, but taxis are quite cheap and plentiful.

Pros: To start off, the pool! It is inviting and clean and night swimming 'til 11, when the pool bar closes, is permitted. The grounds are beautiful and well-kept. The staff in the pool bar, grounds, and housekeeping, in fact the locals in general, are just absolutely lovely. There was not one day we were not greeted with a smile and/or "Buenos Dias". There is also free internet access in the lobby. The rooms albeit dated, are spacious with a hammock and seating in their own outdoor patio.

Overall, we had a nice stay at Villa Vera and would stay there again for the $$ value and the wonderful pool. If you prefer to be on North Beach this is not for you. But if you are looking for a good value, VV is the place. If you own a boat even better as they have slips for rent.

As for the people of Isla Mujeres, we can't say enough nice things about them and the town. Muchas gracias por todo!

The small island off the coast of Cancun, Isla Mujeres, was a very cool spot for a vacation. The island is small -- about 5 miles long and 1 mile wide. Some of the beaches, like North Beach are fabulous - soft white sand, crystal blue warm water. Others, like the one associated with Villa Vera were not so great -- murky water and so-so sand. But the Beach Club had a nice bar/restaurant and two pools. The hotel shuttles you there on a 5 minute boat ride, which was nice. We preferred the $3 cab ride to North Beach though.

Villa Vera is not on the beach. It is on a very pretty port that hosts very nice boats. It has one large pool, one small restaurant (we never ate there) and a pool bar (where we enjoyed breakfast and sometimes lunch). The menu was very small, not much to offer.

The hotel rooms were adequate. Nice enough, but aging. We had an issue with very small ants in the bathroom. I've found this to be common in some very warm climates... but I still don't like it.

Service was friendly, but they never seemed to have enough staff on to really accommodate guests. I found this odd, because the hotel is rather small and there were never a tone of people.

Overall, we probably won't visit this spot again anytime soon. It was OK and we liked Isla, but I think there are plenty of other spots we'd try first.