My wife and I recently spent a week at Casa del Corazon #1 at Soliman Bay in Tankah, Mexico. It is located about 10 minutes north of the town of Tulum on the Yucatan Peninsula. Upon arriving by rented car, we were immediately met by Geidi and Jose, the caretakers, who whisked our luggage and groceries we had bought to our beach villa. We walked a short pathway through a beautiful jungle setting. The beach villas, 3 of them, were set within the jungle foliage, completely separated from each other, with enough jungle in between to offer acceptable privacy. We were in #1, the closest to the beach, although the other two were just 10 yards or so further back. As we got closer to the beach, a walk of about a minute, we could feel the breezes blowing and could tell immediately that our villa, which was not air-conditioned, would be adequately cool without. The villa itself was two story and slept six, but was not too big for just us. We first slept in the king size bed downstairs, but decided to go for the queen size bed upstairs with the domed brick ceiling (and a second bathroom) and a view of the ocean from slighly above the jungle top. If you're looking for a romantic hideaway, this is it. Given the jungle setting, there were such great bird sounds all day, most especially in the morning. All of the villas have many windows on all sides without glass and with louvered wood slats that open and shut. This allows total ventilation along with the ceiling fans. There is adequate water pressure and adequate hot water. Villa #1 has a large kitchen, unlike the other two. Advise: come to the Villa first before buying groceries because there is so much non-perishable food left behind that you will wind up duplicating items if you shop first, which we did. Previous occupants have left games, liquor, DVD's, CD's, condiments, and lots of books. There is a definite community feel to this villa since people have left some of themselves behind, like hometown magnets on the fridge. Villa #1 has a painted concrete patio that the back of the house opens onto. Five steps more and you are on the beach. A few steps more and you are at your private palapa and a few more steps takes you into the water.

We came to relax. We've been to this area many times and have little desire to do the usual tours, which we have done some of, like Tulum (worth the heat and the crowds once) or Chitzen Itza. Casa del Corazon is the place for relaxation. Fortunately, we didn't encounter any loud radios or obnoxious, loud partying. If you like that stuff, go to Cancun, 1 and 1/2 hours north. Soliman Bay is for laid back vegging. The bay itself is relatively calm and rather warm in the afternoon. It's quite shallow and you can walk a considerable distance out. The snorkeling is quite decent close in. Casa del Corazon provides kayaks for each villa and a 15 minute paddle and tying up to a buoy out by the reef will reward you with even better snorkeling. There's also a pool on the property. It's located right next to Villa #3 and off the back of Villa #2, furthest from #1, but then everything is quite close actually.

Andy and Rosa, the owners of Casa del Corazon, came by on the weekend to hang out. They are warm and welcoming people whose company we enjoyed for the brief time they were around. Their three dogs, who live at the property, seem to know who the guests are and will be likely to curl up on the lounge chair with you or just come by for a little petting.

This is a great place. We've already booked for next year and can see coming back in future years.