Villas Flamingos looks nice at first--cabanas right on the beach, pool, restaurant--but upon completing registration (and paying up front) for our two night stay, the flaws started surfacing.

Service:
Friendly, but incompetent. 1) We woke up to a large animal turd right outside our front door. When mentioning this to the staff at breakfast, they acknowledged it, but didn't clean it up for two days! 2) They sold us their whale shark tour, which they claimed was VIP because you get personalized service (a larger boat, less people, catered breakfast and lunch). But instead, they pocketed the extra money as commission, and we got the same deal as everyone else. We felt cheated by the hotel staff. Nevertheless, we had a wonderful boat captain and guide for the whale shark tour, which made the trip worthwhile.

Room:
Beautiful at first, only to realize the AC didn't really work, there were lizards falling on the bed from the thatched roof, the mattress was infested with bed bugs, and the screens were not effective in keeping mosquitoes out at night.

Location:
Nice. At the far end of the beach. 10 minute walk from town through mosquito hell.

Pool
Overly chlorinated.

Overall, the location is nice, the room LOOKS nice, but the hotel is poorly run and maintained. Also, there is nothing besides your room and a small central bar/restuarant that has gross food. Don't expect any extra ammenities. This place would have been fine if they charged half the price or less. Its a rip-off for what you get. We felt misled.

Important notes about the island: there are no ATMs and no banks. The closest to the port on main land is 20 minutes away. Be prepared with cash since not all establishments accept credit cards.The mosquitoes are viscous along with the sand bugs and flies. All bite and unless you are completely covered in Deet (which only forms a barrier for the mosquitoes) you will be eaten alive (we were there at the height of the bug season).

Isla Holbox is lovely and Villa Flamingos added to our enjoyment of the island. We had a suite with air conditioning; with the heat and bugs I can not imagine any other way (at least in June/July). Our room was very clean and the "eco" toilets did not smell at all. The staff was always pleasant and able to speak English well.

We went swimming with the whale sharks which was a wonderful experience, and horse back riding along the coast is recommended too (go for only one hour...trust me I went for 2) book both activities with VIP representative Willie.

We stayed at Villas Flamingos for four nights around the beginning of April 2008 for our honeymoon. We arrived to the Island through VIP Holbox Transportation arranged by Willi. The van picked us up at requested rental car place (we spent the previous week in TUlum) and it was a pleasant ride. We were glad that we didn’t drive ourselves as the roads were narrow and the turns could have easily been missed.

We were in cabana #4 and we loved it! It was close to the restaurant and had a nice view of the pool and the water. The room it self was spacious and had two beds (I think they were both “full size” bigger than a twin, but smaller than a queen). In the back part of the room was a big bathroom (there wasn’t a door, but that wasn’t an issue). The toilets were compost, but that wasn’t issue as well as they were maintained well by the cleaning staff and didn’t smell. We didn’t have a/c in our cabana, but we had the fan running constantly.

The location of the hotel couldn’t be beat. There are a lot of beautiful hotels on the island, but we were glad we choose Flamingos. The road for the golf carts is behind the hotel so you don’t have the view of people driving. Also there were not boats parked in front in the water, so when we wanted to get into the water we could walk straight out into it. It was about a 15 minute walk into town and we often would walk into town for lunch and/or dinner. Sometime in the days, we would ask the staff to call us a taxi because it was warm and the sun is intense in the mid-day.

The staff at Villas Flamingos were great! Unfortunately, I have forgotten all of their names, but they always greeted us by our names and seemed genuinely happy to see us. We ate their restaurant twice for dinner. (they made excellent cocktails) The food was pricier than restaurants in the Centro area, but it was convenient and fast. Breakfast every morning was included in the rate and was fruit, toast, egg, juice and coffee. Entertainment at breakfast were the iguanas waking up and coming out from under the pool to sun themselves

Somethings that surprised us about Holbox:
~They really are TONS of seashells
~You can walk for a very long distance out in the water and not get fully submersed. The water was very beautiful and calm
~The town is quiet in mid-day and picks up at night
~How calm the dogs are on the island. A few times we were shocked about how they would sleep on the road and wouldn’t flinch when the golfcarts would drive within inches of them
~Holbox isn’t for everyone. It is (currently) not like most Mexican tourist spots and if you need upscale lodging and restaurant, you shouldn’t choose to vacation here.

Getting to Holbox is a bit of a disconnect. It takes at least an hour or more of the generous time estimated. Being fatigued, you climb on a golf cart taxi and take a scrambled but gorgeous ride through the village and beach to the last outpost - the Flamingos.

The 'complex' - ten or so palapa luxury huts are right on the beach. A central hut serves as reception, bar and restaurant. Facing it ,is a beautiful free form swimming pool with chaises &shaded couch pavilions.

Our room, a moderate priced with 2 double beds was in a building with 3 other rooms. We had a beautiful ocean facing patio with lounge chairs and a hammock. The room was rather austere, no interior chairs or tables, but the beds were very comfortable. The bathroom, larger than the sleeping quarter was insanely elegant - double marble fountain sinks, double marble shower and a separate room with a marble composting ( non flush)commode.

Breakfast comes with the room - coffee, juices, eggs, hotcakes or omettles. The service was very thoughtful from young local residents trying hard to learn English and a smattering of French and German.

Semi kind with regards to the room. Housekeeping was presentable, but not stringent. I hate using A/C but a serious lack of screens could prompt its use. A small fridge would've been much appreciated. Our few requests for ice at the reception area were greeted by stoney acknowledgments of a dozen spartan cubes.

Management seems to be in a state of flux or disrepair. We were greeted very kindly and then not remembered at all. I really felt no comfort nor concern about my stay. On our departure, we were neither acknowledged nor thanked.

All in all, a lovely but rather cold spot on a warm island of unlimited charm.