First, the location: Holbox is a 26-mile-long island off the northeast corner of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, two hours north of Cancun, plus a 30-minute ferry ride – but worth every minute to get to this paradise on earth.
What makes it so special? Isla Holbox is in a unique oceanic spot where the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea converge. The water is a sea glass green, the beaches are magnificent, and there’s almost something magical in the air. It’s a laid back place with no cars – just golf carts, bikes, and 4×4 taxis to get around.
There’s a choice of accommodations from rustic to splendid, including the lovely boutique hotel, Villas Caracol. It’s in a great beach location with a super-friendly staff, nice rooms, a pretty pool, and delicious meals in their Las Hamacas restaurant & beach club, which is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Opened for six years now, part of Villas Caracol’s charm is that it’s a family-owned operation, not part of a conglomerate hotel group. The 15 rooms – junior and master suites – are spacious, light, and airy, and they’re decorated with local materials.
The marble bathrooms are enormous with great amenities. The upstairs rooms have nice balconies, and those on the ground floor have small garden terraces. Some of the master suites have a private pool or Jacuzzi. Of course, they also have all the things you’d expect: WiFi, a flat-screen TV, a well-stocked minibar, and air conditioning.
There’s a useful tote bag with beach towels and sun hats, as well as biodegradable sunscreen and bug spray, as protecting the natural environment is taken very seriously there.
In addition to lounge chairs right on the beach, there are protected, open-air “lounge rooms” for private relaxation. So, Villas Caracol is very popular with couples, especially honeymooners!
The luxury there is really in how you’re treated by the oh-so-friendly, very attentive staff. Nothing is too much to ask, and everything is done with a smile. A magnificent room in a stunning location is nothing without this kind of delightful service.
Rooms are about $300 a night, which includes a sumptuous breakfast. The peace and tranquility you’ll experience at Villas Caracol is worth every penny!
Jacquelin Carnegie is a journalist covering "cultural tourism" - travel with an arts & culture focus - for The Artsy Voyager. She reports on international travel destinations for consumer magazines, travel websites, and business publications. For Frommers.com, the website for the respected travel guides, she wrote monthly columns on Paris, France and New York City. For the luxury lifestyle magazine, Accent & Forum, she concentrated on arts & culture. Besides traveling to 35 countries on writing assignments, Jacquelin has lived in Switzerland, Italy, and Mexico, bringing an international perspective to her reporting.
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