Sanyama Holbox

The rooms were roomy, with lots of space for luggage. There was hot water, a small fridge at the bar, and complimentary coffee and water. The only real drawback was that rooms aren't cleaned regularly during your stay. You can ask for a cleaning, though, and they'll do it any day except Sunday.

This wasn't worth it for us. It's far from most attractions and the beach, and there are many better options. The pool was unusable for my children and family during our stay. Around 8-10 wild raccoons share the pool area, and they leave feces around the pool and on the furniture every day. The owner was easy to reach by text and was “very sorry about the raccoons,” but knew about the morning mess in and around the pool.

The room and property look beautiful, but that's the only good thing I can say about this stay. It was poor value for money, with terrible or nonexistent service, unclean and unmaintained private and shared areas, and a location I didn't enjoy. Someone needs to manage the place properly. Of all the hotels, Airbnbs and bed-and-breakfasts I stayed in during my month in Mexico, this was the worst by far. When I arrived, there was nobody to greet me. They sent me a code for a padlock where the key was kept. I stayed six days, and they never came into the room or tried to clean it. They didn't change the towel, give me more toilet paper, empty the bin, clean the floor or make the bed. The one towel I got had a strange brown stain, and the matelass sheet was too small, so I woke up in the night with half the matelass uncovered. Getting there was a hassle. It's far from everything, and the route has lots of puddles. My shoes and clothes got messy, and I fell a couple of times on the way back. It wasn't quiet either, with construction and machinery noise. Rain flooded the street as it often does in Holbox. With nobody on the property to bring in the matelass from the sun bed, it got soaked, and there was no matelass for the sunbed the next day. There was no reception or other service, no way to order food or water, and no kitchen in the room. Breakfast meant walking at least 10 to 15 minutes through puddles. For water at night, the nearest supermarket was a 15-minute walk away. With the puddles, water and runny sand, the room got dirty within days, and there was nothing to clean with. I ended up using a hand towel and soap to clean the floor by hand. They didn't provide shampoo or conditioner, just a questionable gel. After a few days, the pool looked filthy as h@#ll, so I didn't swim during my last two days. The island recommends not flushing paper because the sewage system isn't prepared for it. That meant the bin would fill up, and nobody emptied it. A week before I arrived, while free cancellation was still possible, I asked to shorten the stay by one night. They said, “no problem we will do it.” Once I was there, I followed up about the extra night, but they said they couldn't cancel it through their system and asked me to change the date myself, for a night that had already passed. Booking wouldn't let me do that. I asked every day without success, then had to contact booking customer support by the end of the stay to get the extra night refunded. Even though they never cleaned my room, the person in charge of cleaning knocked on the last day and asked me to check out before the checkout time because they needed the room. They didn't offer to call a taxi or anything. This felt like a wealthy owner overcharging tourists and trying to manage the place remotely by sending cleaners now and then. It was the worst of both worlds: a hotel room without hotel service, and no Airbnb-style appliances or offerings. I paid more than 100€ a night. A total rip off.

In sunny weather, the setting is really nice, with the pool, loungers and those cocoon or nest-style beds. We weren't so lucky at Christmas 2022. After two days of rain, a huge puddle covered the road by the entrance. That's a common sight in Holbox when it rains, since the dirt roads around the island flood easily. They're a mix of white clay and sand, and don't drain well. I'm not saying to avoid coming when the forecast looks uncertain, just be ready for it mentally.