Hacienda Xcanatun

We visited the Hacienda with clients for dinner. What a beautiful place. I would love to stay here on my next visit to Merida. The Restaurant was traditionally decorated but very stylish and clean. The staff were excellent throughout with a well polished level of service. I am vegetarian so would like to see a few more options on the menu rather than just pasta. One of our group recommended the mushroom risotto which we requested without shrimp for me. Wow. What a delicious surprise. Best risotto I have ever eaten - with a delicious smoky chilli flavour that was totally unexpected. Great evening, great ambience, great food.

We just wish that they had a not so noisy air conditioning system. I am sensitive to noise and a light sleeper. The noise kept waking me up. Everything else was amazing. The food was excellent. The warm sweet bread in the morning was delightful. We felt at home.

I love local high school nd boutique haciendas and the state is full of them. We stayed at the presidential suite which we found to be not only spacious but decorated with local furniture, arts and crafts in sync with the architecture of the hacienda. The gardens and chapel are lively and the restaurant was very good I highly recommend it

We had long heard of La Hacienda Xcanatun and we finally made a plan to visit for ten days in late February 2017. Merida is one of the safest and economically successful Mexican cities. Like other haciendas (former henequen - aka rope fiber -plantations) from roughly the 19th and early 20th centuries, La Hacienda Xcanatun had fallen on hard times before being finished off by Hurricane Gilbert in 1988. Jorge Ruz Buenfil and Kristina Baker took over what was left of the property in 1994 and spent five years converting the property to a luxurious, 9-acre, 18-room, small hotel. Local materials used included beautiful red/brown and beige limestone tiles. Wrought iron was made on site, taking over a year. Special attention was given to detailing - and it shows. Ask to see the photos of the property before restoration kept at the reception desk. The transformation is amazing. The hotel today is a wonderful retreat from the din of the city and the cold of winter in a warm or hot but inviting climate. Visit from November to mid-March if possible when the temperature is relatively moderate. We enjoyed the restaurant (as do many Merida residents) and ate our meals there on the veranda where the food was delicious and the fans and breeze made us comfortable. Opt for the deluxe or master suites if possible but every room is different. The hotel has two pools, one more for cooling off and the other large enough for short laps. We asked for a quiet room and learned that all the rooms are usually quiet . . . but we think some more than others. From the time of our arrival, the front desk staff and others were extremely helpful. I would suggest a stay of more than one or two days to make the best use of their advice about restaurants in the area, about site-seeing possibilities (we had a fabulous private tour of the area south of Merida including other haciendas and the Maya site Uxmal (a must for any visitor to the area from our point of view). Merida and Progesso are home to a host of innovative restaurants such as Kuuk (you'll need to look at their web site to better understand what awaits you here) to Apoala which features Oaxacan food with a Yucatan slant. We had 5-star massages while there from a woman with 'magic hands'. We agree these were among the best massages we have had in years. Our February visit to Xcanatun was a wonderful respite from the cold and rain of Seattle. Our hosts made us feel welcome and pampered. Put this on your list of places to visit while the dollar is flying high.

While we have been on the property on many occasions we had never stayed overnight. As a very special birthday surprise I booked us in. From the front desk to all of the staff we encountered during our stay the Hacienda was wonderful. Jair was especially accomodating. The grounds are magnificent. Our accommodation was perfect in every detail. We enjoyed our two private terraces in our superior room. It was exceptional quiet. We didnt miss TV! Definitely worth the price. The only unfortunate part was the restaurant which i have reviewed separately.