Hotel Maya Balam

The way they handled our stay was unbelievable. We were trying to sleep when someone came in to clean at 5 in the morning, apparently unaware we had checked in. About half an hour later, the boss came pounding on our door, thinking we were intruders. They came back again an hour after that. There was some mix-up with the night guard, but still, no way. The room had mold and bedbugs, too. We got so fed up that we skipped Calakmul and headed back to Campeche after just 11 hours. Three years later, we’re still talking about the worst hotel we’ve ever had in all our years of traveling.

The reception staff were friendly and helpful, but the room was very basic, with bare lightbulbs, and not especially clean. The floor felt sticky, there were marks on the sheets, and the little furniture was dusty. Water barely came out of the faucet, and the Wi-Fi was pretty much unusable. There’s no free drinking water here, which was a first for me in Mexico. The walls are thin, and dogs and roosters in the neighborhood take turns making noise.

Check first whether the Calakmul park and ruins are open. It was closed last Monday, though Balam is nice too. The room itself was okay and clean, with a good TV, but we had no water at first and the Wi-Fi was bad. Dogs and the AC kept us up, and there’s nowhere to relax. The whole town seems mostly geared toward truck drivers.

We’ve stayed here twice now, and the beds are comfortable, the AC works well, and it’s handy to have coffee ready in the morning. You can also order a good breakfast before heading out to climb the ruins. Everyone working here is helpful and nice. The roosters and dogs get noisy now and then, but somehow that adds to the charm. For an affordable, clean, comfortable room, I’d stay here again.