Where to stay on Isla Mujeres?

January 22, 2017 11:46 AM

My dude and I are planning a trip to Isla Mujeres and are looking for an awesome place to stay.

We'll be there for five nights at the beginning of May. I think we'd rather rent an apartment/studio than stay in a hotel room, but we're open to all options. I'd like to keep the price under $200/night. In a dream world, we'd find a place with an ocean-view balcony and a plunge pool, but those are definitely not requirements.

Any suggestions for places to eat/drink/see cool things are also very welcome and appreciated!

posted by frizzle to Travel & Transportation around Isla Mujeres, Mexico (8 answers total)

I was in high school when my family visited Isla Mujeres, but your question prompted me to look up the hotel where we stayed to see if it's still anything like I remembered. Based on anecdata from one Mefite who stayed at Posada del Mar in the early 1990s, it seems to fit your budget (rates are all below $200 throughout the year), plus view and pool requirements.

I remember enjoying the swim-up bar, where my parents may have turned a blind eye to my ordering Cuba Libres, one after the other. I also remember walking into town with my family to haggle in the shops and play pool in a pool hall near the hotel. I also remember my family not being aware of how far the hotel was from the dock where the ferry dropped us off. We opted to walk instead of taking a taxi, and that was a mistake.

Have fun on your trip!
posted by emelenjr at 12:29 PM on January 22, 2017

Definitely rent a golf cart and tool around the island. There's a turtle sanctuary that is pretty cool, and it's a fun little golf cart drive up. Also - there is a surprisingly good bubble tea stand at the turtle place.
posted by rossination at 12:33 PM on January 22, 2017

We LOVED our trip there! It's easy enough to get around on the island - cab rides to and from our hotel (mid-island) from town were just a couple bucks. We rented a golf cart for one day to explore, but found it easier/cheaper to take cabs most of the time.

We stayed at Villa Vera Puerto Isla Mujeres - it was fine, and had a nice balcony and pool, but no real view to speak of for us...
A friend stayed on Isla and rented the shell house on airbnb and lovted it. Enjoy your trip!
posted by RunRunRunRun at 12:40 PM on January 22, 2017

my boyfriend and I spent pretty much the best week of my life renting this place. it was so lovely. There is another apartment right below it that is a bit less expensive, and there are lots of options at islabeckons.com. It's a great place to visit, even if you are not right on the beach, anywhere in the town at the north end is about a 3 minute walk to the water, and the town itself is very picturesque, you'll have amazing views wherever you are. Renting a golf cart to get around the island is great fun. Make sure you visit the turtle sanctuary, and go snorkeling.
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 2:00 PM on January 22, 2017

My partner and I love Nautibeach (condos) for many reasons, and one is because of the cats. If you have a ground floor unit a cat may start seeing what food you have to share. Sharing food with those cats gives you a nearly constant companion when you happen to be 'at home'.

Besides that, it's near plenty of restaurants, the ones on the resort are good and reasonably affordable, and the beach - calm, softly shelving and pretty quiet.
posted by jet_silver at 2:11 PM on January 22, 2017 [1 favorite]

We got a great rate at Cabanas Maria del Mar - steps from the beach right by the swing bar, comes with complementary coffee and toast breakfast (that you eat at the beach bar while staring at the perfect ocean), and it has a pool (just a regular pool - not sure what a plunge pool is). Not fancy but very clean. The middle/south side of the island seemed a little more "out of the beaten path" aka less touristy, with cute restaurants and other things to explore as opposed to beachfront, but we wanted a lot of snooze on the beach/stare at the water time and Cabanas Maria del Mar was perfect for that.

The only area I would actively not want to stay in is the North Beach area directly by/next to the ferry - just because it's very busy compared with everywhere else.

I highly recommend the restaurant Limon - great food and the chef/owner is so kind. We cabbed it there, but if you rent a golf cart you could get there that way also.
posted by sallybrown at 4:20 PM on January 22, 2017

The coolest place to stay on the island is The Seashell House. It's $300, but worth it! Rent a golf cart or a scooter to get around.

I went on a snorkel trip ($30) and later a scuba trip ($80 for 2 tanks if you're certified, $115 if you're not) at Captain Dulces on the channel side. The underwater sculpture museum is really, really cool. Bring a waterproof camera!

The Caribbean side beaches are fun to explore, there's a good spot to swim right across from the seashell vendors down south. On the north side, my favorite beach was in front of Ixchel. You can rent paddle boards and there is a nice bar right there for drinks and snacks.

The food at Zama (a beach club also on the channel side, a bit more north) is excellent, and they even have lion fish ceviche on the weekends. On the north side, we really liked Morgans, and the cocktail lounge up the street with the swings at the bar for interesting margaritas.
posted by ananci at 7:49 PM on January 22, 2017

When I was there a few years ago, we stayed at Rocamar Hotel Panoramico in a room with an ocean-view balcony which according to my old email receipt only cost about $62/night. It was very comfortable and pleasant.
posted by 168 at 5:38 AM on January 23, 2017