Backpack and Snorkel Hotel Guide for Isla Mujeres - Isla Mujeres Purple Travel Guide
We provide information about the best hotels and vacation rentals in Isla Mujeres. We provide detailed information and we show lots of photos so you know what you can expect.
Table of contents
Where to stay on Isla Mujeres?
Isla Mujeres has many hotel options. Many of them, especially the beach front hotels on Playa Norte, charge an arm and a leg during high season.
Playa Norte on the north side of Isla Mujeres is often rightfully called the best beach in Mexico and it is one of the best beaches on the planet. That’s why most visitors either stay in a hotel on Playa Norte, or within a short walking distance of it.
You can stay for much less money in the southern part of the island. There are very few publicly accessible beaches on which you can swim, and it is therefore a good idea to either stay close to the bus, or to rent a golf cart, or to go to Playa Norte by taxi.
Here is a map with hotels and vacation rentals that are available when you visit:
If you are looking for an all-inclusive resort, be advised that you will not find any Cancun-style all-inclusive mega resorts on Isla Mujeres. Resorts and hotels that are all-inclusive or have all-inclusive options are rare on Isla Mujeres and they have much fewer dining options.
Here are your best options for luxury stays on Isla Mujeres:
MIA Reef Isla Mujeres (book)
5-star family friendly all-inclusive resort in the extreme north of Isla Mujeres near Playa Norte. Some people love it, some people hate itZoetry Villa Rolandi Isla Mujeres Cancun (book)
5-star luxury all-inclusive resort located mid-island; the resort is adult oriented, but allows kids; it is closed until December 2024 for renovationImpression Isla Mujeres by Secrets (book)
5-star luxury all-inclusive adult-only resort located near Punta Sur in the south of Isla MujeresHotel Privilege Aluxes Isla Mujeres (book)
5-star adult-only hotel at Playa Centro near the intersection of Playa Norte that offers regular and all-inclusive packagesHotel Belo Isla Mujeres (book)
5-star hotel located mid-island offering regular and all-inclusive packages
Here are two hotels that we like to stay at: Villa Kiin and Hotel Paradise Suites - we recommend both.
Villa Kiin is a budget hotel directly on Playa Norte, and Hotel Paradise Suites is only a 2min walk from Playa Norte.
You can either take a taxi from the ferry terminal or walk to both hotels. It is an easy 10-20min walk depending on how fast you are.
Hotel Paradise Suites (book)
Hotel Paradise Suites is an easy 250ft walk from Playa Norte, which is advertised as the best beach in Mexico and I believe that is true. As the hotel is not beach front, they contract with a vendor on the beach that provides free beach beds. Food and drinks are for purchase.
Another beautiful (no-swim) beach, Playa La Media Luna is only 1000ft away. The busy downtown area with tons of restaurants and souvenir stores, a bank and supermarkets is only 1 block away.
We stayed there for 5 nights over Christmas. The room is a spacious room with a king bed, a comfortable seating area and a kitchenette. The kitchenette is well equipped with 2 pots, plates, bowls, cups, glasses, utensils, a coffee maker with a permanent filter (so you don't need to buy paper filters), a fridge with freezer, one cooking plate and a toaster are provided. Every day, the personnel makes sure that the fridge has 2 bottles of water, 1 can of Coke and 1 can of Diet Coke in it.
The bathroom has a small concrete closet with several hangers, an umbrella, a safe and a hair dryer. The shower has good water pressure. There is also an iron in the room. The A/C is quiet and efficient. Mounted to it is a clear air deflector so that the cold air does not blow in your face when you sleep. Besides that, you will see that the owner paid a lot of attention to details. The foam mattress comes with very heavy foam pillows (I guess 10lbs). The hotel personnel even left a welcome note with my handwritten name on it. The room has a back door that leads to an enclosed patio that is shared with suite 11.
Outside (in front of) the room is a round beach bed and a table, other suites have 2 chairs and a table. There is also a hammock in front of the room. The beautifully maintained white sand grounds also have a beautiful pool with a light show at night. They are currently finishing a new casita and there is some construction going on, but as much of the work is done, there was no noise.
The hotel has a good small restaurant which is open for breakfast and lunch.
Right across the street is a restaurant that has live music in the evening.
On Sunday, December 24, the shower, which was draining slowly before, clogged up and we told the owner David about it at 11am. He said he would take care of it and, when we came back 2h later, he had it fixed and the shower drained perfectly. David, thank you very much!
The only downside that I can think of is that the wifi signal inside the suite was spotty and sometimes non-existent. The signal and internet speed outside the suite was good, so we just sat on the beach bed or hammock to do our emails and internet surfing.
There is also a flat screen TV in the room, but we did not use it as we spent most of our time on the gorgeous beach.
Inside the compound is also a place where you can get a massage.
David speaks excellent English and the people in his staff that we dealt with - except for the housekeepers - speak good English too.
Long story short: This hotel is an incredible deal and the owner, David, has such an incredible attention to detail and desire to make his customers happy that I whole-heartedly recommend this hotel. I would definitely stay there again!
Villa Kiin (book)
Villa Kiin is the hotel in which we have stayed most frequently in Isla Mujeres. Its location directly on Playa Norte (Mexico’s best beach) and price less than half of other hotels cannot be beat, if you can accept its shortcomings.
The upsides are:
Directly on the northern end of Playa Norte
Directly near some of the best snorkeling spots in Isla Mujeres
A small complimentary breakfast (2 slides of toast, one packet of strawberry jam, one packet of margarine, one glass of orange juice and one cup of coffee per person) are included, even though the reservation does not state that; breakfast is served at Buho’s one block away, directly on Playa Norte. You can add more
Beach towels that can be exchanged every two days
Room cleaning starting on day four
The hotel has a pool
Every room has air conditioning and a ceiling fan
Rooms now have a small fridge, which is not mentioned in the room descriptions
Free drinking water is provided 24/7 on the grounds
The downsides are:
Wifi access only in the lobby. Internet access is OK, but not fast enough for streaming. The lobby is not airconditioned and you may want to put mosquito repellant on in the evening when you sit in the lobby. The lobby is too far away from the rooms, so that you cannot receive any wifi signal in the rooms. Honestly, I think getting off the internet for a few days and only occasionally checking emails is a good thing. But if you need to work during your stay, then Villa Kiin is not for you
If you are lucky, you will get a weak LTE data signal in the rooms once in a while. A more stable, but weak data signal can be found near to pool or on the balconies
The shower does not produce real warm water. It is, however, warm enough to take a shower
There is no room cleaning on the first 3 days
Reception hours are from 7:30am until 10:30pm. If you arrive or depart outside of these hours, you will need to let them know
Villa Kiin is located directly on the beach, but the access doors are locked because other vacationers were trespassing and using the hotel’s grounds to relax, use the hotel's hammocks and chairs and to take showers. This was causing security concerns. Access is only through the lobby, and the gate right next to it. Hotel guests get a wrist band that they need to wear during their stay to identify themselves as hotel guests.
Unless you rent one of the bungalows, you will stay in one of the two three-story buildings. From the rooms you can see the MIA Reef Hotel through the palm trees and, if you stay on the upper floors, you will see Playa Norte with its turquoise waters through the palm trees, too.
Outside the room are a hammock, two wooden chairs, and a small table. On the inside, there is a king, queen size bed, or two single beds, a TV and one or two nightstands, a small bench, a desk, a mirror, a ceiling fan, a fridge, and a quiet and efficient A/C. There is no phone, no microwave, no water heater and no wifi. Adjacent to the bedroom is a bathroom with a shower. Two complimentary small bottles of shampoo and two small bars of soap are provided when you check in and when the room is cleaned. Off the bedroom is a small open closet with some hangers.
Reservations do not state that breakfast is included in the room rate, but the hotel gives out vouchers for a free breakfast in at Buho’s Beach Bar which is directly on the Playa Norte beach and only a 3 min walk from the hotel. The free breakfast consists of 2 slices of toast with 1 margarine and 1 strawberry jam packet, a glass of orange juice and either coffee with a refill or tea.
The hotel provides beach towels free of charge. Beach loungers are not provided but can be rented from vendors on the beach.
Long story short: This hotel is in a fantastic location and provides very good value, if you can accept the downsides. We have stayed here several times and will definitely stay here again.
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