Xaman Ha Condominium

The grounds are well kept, with a pool, wet bar, lounge chairs, and a sandy public beach just beyond. It’s a gated beachfront property with 24/7 security, yet shops and restaurants are only a couple of minutes away on foot. Our apartment had been remodeled and was in good shape, though the building’s age shows. Each apartment has a reserved parking spot out front, and it’s a vacation rental, so units can differ. There are some pool umbrellas, but not many, and they’re in poor condition. Having a bar by the pool is nice, but guests can get carried away. Some start drinking in the morning and are drunk by afternoon, and people play music on Bluetooth speakers despite the rule against it. Security doesn’t enforce that rule. The bar itself stays quiet, which I liked. Kids were also screaming at the pool early in the morning. It was a good stay overall, but security should uphold the rules.

We’ve stayed at Xaman-Ha for 8-10 years, and the complex itself is lovely: a great pool, ideal location, usually quiet, and easy to walk everywhere. We’ve had good results with other property managers and will go back to them. This year we rented unit 7105, a two-bedroom with a pull-out sofa, through PlayaCar Vacation Rentals. The condo was run down. While we were asleep, the bullnosed granite on the counter came off, and they insisted it was our fault. The linens were stained and threadbare; the cupboards had only a few dishes, enough for four, and the cutlery was sparse and poor quality. The TV was tiny with a terrible picture. PlayaCar Vacation Rentals was difficult to deal with and seemed to want extra money for everything. We paid $280 USD a night for something that felt like a dumpy Budget Motel. I would never rent through them again. Do not use PlayaCar Vacation Rentals.

The complex was lovely, but our three-bedroom unit, 7117, was outdated and run down. We booked it through Five Star Property Management on Airbnb for Christmas week, paying $3200 USD for 6 days. The name feels like a joke; they should call themselves Zero star. The refrigerator failed for four of the six days. We’d already bought $400 worth of groceries before we realized, and my injection medication from home, worth over $10,000 and needing refrigeration, was lost. They finally brought a replacement on day four. I suspect the broken fridge was moved to another unit. The dryer didn’t work either, and the stove worked only intermittently. I spoke to other guests who didn’t have these problems, so it seemed to be specific to our unit. Airbnb told me to be “patient!” I left a one-star review there and it was removed, then the property manager left me a bad review. I don’t care about their reviews of me; I have plenty of good ones. I did get $500 back, but that was a meager amount compared with what I lost. Buyer beware.

The location is great, with a 7/11, the mall, and boats to Cozumel all within a 5-15 minute walk. Staff were great, and we were very happy with our stay. Wristbands made it easy to go between the beach and pool, and private security checks that only guests are on the property. There’s a bar and food area with prices listed in USD, though they accept pesos too. They have happy hour, and that’s when the poolside bar got busiest.