Wednesday, May 1, 2024

Airbnb experience in Yucatan, Mexico

We recently had the privilege of residing at an Airbnb in the Centro neighborhood of Merida from February 1st to February 29th, 2024.

The area is a perfect location for shopping, dining out, and having easy access to the arts and culture which are in abundance in the Yucatan.  

Although we enjoyed our time, we were not happy with this Airbnb because they did not deliver the advertised amenities. We trust that this blog post will help future Airbnb customers. By the way…we had shared this information directly with the owners and their property manager before we wrote this blog post and reviewed them on Airbnb with a 3-star rating. I have decided not to list the name of this Airbnb or its owners in this post.  We also shared with the owner that we would consider renting their property again if all the below issues were addressed to our satisfaction. 

Here is the list of issues we had.

1- The lack of hot water was a major problem. We never had hot water in the kitchen, and the hot water in the shower was sporadic.

2- The power button on the microwave oven was broken and recessed. The only way to turn the microwave on was to put our pinkie finger inside the power button opening to touch an internal switch to start it.

3- Their 2-slice toaster only toasts one slice at a time, with you having to hold the toasting button down while you toast the one slice.

4- There were four each of bath and hand towels, along with two beach towels. However, they did not have washcloths, so we purchased two of our own.

5- We purchased several small kitchen items to make our living arrangements more comfortable; a large colander to drain pasta, measuring cups, measuring spoons, whisk, and spatulas.  

6- There are no screens on the patio door in the living room or bedroom window, although the listing indicates mosquito netting was available.  

7- There is a restaurant/club down the street that opens at 1:00 pm and closes at 3:00 a.m., and you can hear very loud music in the building. Although the owner has no control over loud music in the community, we recommend bringing earplugs, and adding this on their listing so that others are aware and could bring/purchase earplugs.

Within two weeks of starting our stay, we spoke with the owner and their property manager about our concerns. However, nothing changed.

We identified some opportunities for additional amenities: 

1 - Adding a small shelf safe that can fit laptops and other small valuables.
2 - Adding a peephole would provide another level of security.











Monday, April 1, 2024

FLAMINGO PRIVATE TOUR - Bucket List Worthy!


We have been talking about taking this tour for a couple of years.  Our schedule finally aligned with the best time of year to see these gorgeous flamingos, so we immediately booked with Travelezza for our private tour!

Friday, March 1, 2024

Mariachi Oro Del Caribe Mexicano Band

We recently hosted a destination birthday party right here in Puerto Aventuras, Mexico.  It was a fabulous event complete with family and friends, from both near and far, swag bags with everything Mexico in them, magical decorations, gift table, exquisite food, and a fun and lively Mariachi Oro Del Caribe Mexicano mariachi band.  The event was held at the Puerto Aventuras Beach Club and Hotel the El Xenote Restaurant, and all I can say is WOW!!!

Thursday, February 1, 2024

The Cozumel Trolley & Tour Company

After our underwhelming experience with the Cozumel Buggy Tour, we decided to try something different.  This time we selected a 3-hour excursion with The Cozumel Trolley & Tour Company.  

Monday, January 1, 2024

Cozumel Buggy - DON’T WASTE YOUR TIME OR MONEY

We happened to see this buggy tour while shopping in Cozumel and it looked fun. We also read several reviews on Trip Advisor and thought we would give it a try. Let me be perfectly clear.  This blogpost is about the Buggy Tour located at: Av. Rafael E. Melgar 1. Av. Claudio Canta 77600 Q.R. Mexico.  Their email address is: info@gtriviera.com. And their phone number is: +52-987-141-0097.  When you use Google to search for Cozumel Buggy Tour, several will be listed.  But this is the one we hired and am writing this review about.  I certainly don’t want to write a negative post about the wrong company.

Friday, December 1, 2023

A Cat Deterrent that Actually Works

DISCLAIMER: This post was submitted by PlayaWeatherman.

If you have spent much time in Mexico, I am sure you have noticed a LOT of cats walking about. There are many feral (stray) cats and unfortunately plenty of cats that are allowed by their owners to roam about the community (this is dangerous for them since there are predators and illnesses that they can catch).

Wednesday, November 1, 2023

Va-y-Ven (Come and Go) Bus Service in the Yucatan

Va-y-Ven Bus
While visiting Merida we often use Uber and/or Didi for our major mode of transportation.  However, there are times we love to take the Va-y-Ven bus service.  It’s fast, convenient and most of all cheap; average cost is around $12 pesos (one way).