Apr

Merida Is Magical at Casa Mexilio

Merida is an ancient colonial city and the capital of the Yucatan state located to the west of Quintana Roo, abundant with historical churches, architecturally unique buildings, delicious flavors, music, night life, shopping and more. Each night, the Historic Center hosts traditional folk dancers, right in front of City Hall, dancing to live music, in traditional dress. On Sunday nights, salsa and cumbia dance liven up the streets. Restaurants and street vendors are plentiful, as is the shopping. Staying near the Main Square is recommended.

My wife and I had the joy of staying at Casa Mexilio, a great Merida hotel, over the first weekend in August, 2009 and it was one of the most distinctive places we have ever stayed. Located near the town center, about 4 blocks from the main square, you will discover Casa Mexilio squeezed in among residences and merchants along one of the typically urban sections of Merida. All of the buildings in this section of town have no spaces between them and the only method to quickly differentiate where one ends and the next one begins is the difference in color. Each block is consequently full in distinctive colors and personal distinguishable window boxes, signs, benches, and the like.

The main entrance to Casa Mexilio is somewhat non descript, with a few iron gates fronting wooden doors right on the street. Do not be fooled by the lack of ordainment outside this fine small hotel. When inside, the hotel is more museum than hotel with antique furnishings, artifacts, books and pictures throughout. It sincerely is like stepping back in time. The hotel is a modified residence dating back to the late 19th century and is detailed of its particular interesting history as are the structures and city of Merida that encompass it.

The main courtyard of the hotel is located directly behind the front desk and service area where you will find a lush garden and “grotto” like pool with a Jacuzzi. It always stays nice and cool due to the shade of the gardens and sheltered location, a great place to cool off anytime and very romantic. We went for a swim to cool off before bed one night and the burning smell of copal was a nice touch (this is a local herb and incense noted for its cleansing properties). This area with the trees and plants almost reminds you of being in a jungle cenote except there are stairs and balconies almost everywhere you look. There is even an elevated catwalk that connects one of the top sections of the hotel. There are patios, landings and hidden garden nooks everywhere; the place begs to be explored.

Our room was wonderful with very high ceilings and quite clean with a comfortable king sized bed, additional pillows, ceiling fan and AC, though we only used the AC for a few hours at night, the ceiling fan was great for air circulation. The furniture, like everything else we saw while we were there were classic, antique couches, chairs, dressers, bed and wardrobes, really nice touches. Our room also had eclectic tiled flooring. I honestly do not know the actual name of our room, but each one has its own distinctive appeal with similar furnishings from what we could see.

Our only disappointment was missing a great breakfast! We got up very early…too early for breakfast apparently as we looked around and didn’t see anyone (this was around 7am) so we walked a few blocks to one of the local cafes. Upon our return to the hotel one of the waiters stopped by our room asking if we wanted breakfast. We’ll definitely catch that on our next visit! We will be back to Merida in search of more interesting sites, sounds and flavors and recommend this hotel to anyone, as it is truly a magical place.

Ron Williams is a freelance travel writer living year round in Tulum, Mexico specializing in information about merida hotels, Merida hotel accomodations and life on the Yucatan Peninsula. Feel free to contact Ron directly if you need local tips or information.

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Merida Is Magical at Casa Mexilio

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