Hacienda San José, the Yucatán Peninsula
If you’re looking for a tranquil escape away from the maddening crowds, filled with birdsong and nature, where your to-do list includes eating and reading by the pool. This retreat is for you.
If you’re looking for a luxurious hotel that is close to the action with loads to do; complete with landscaped gardens, five star service and facilities. This is not for you.
Hacienda San Jose is hospitality as nature intended.
Entering the two kilometre driveway from the highway feels like you’ve been invited to a secret hideaway, where history meets nature…. A place where you have a front row seat to a cacophony of birdsong conducted amongst age-old banyan trees, Jurassic size palms and floating bougainvillea.
Discovering the estate on a relaxing walk, and you’ll find 16th century Mexico greeting you in stone walls, iron gates, old wells, buildings washed in faded blue and orange, and a chimney blackened by toil from another time.
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We booked the roster of activities on offer, from the historical tour with the gracious resident manager, Gabriel (I never knew haciendas were originally factories not dwellings and that there are hundreds of haciendas, many in ruin, across the state); to the tequila tasting (Anejo is my new favourite); a massage at the spa and an early morning birdwatching session. It would have been great to be offered bicycles or perhaps horse riding to explore the area on. Even so, the first three days sailed by.
A day in Merida is worth a visit, (busy, crowded, with beautiful colonial architecture, but a somewhat one-dimensional shopping experience). We stopped for lunch at another hacienda and its Mexican wine list was impressive - the unoaked Casa Madero Chardonnay-Chenin Blanc 2021 was clean and refreshing with lime, lemon, peach and pineapple notes - perfectly paired with spicy Mexican cuisine.
The famous ruins of Chichen-Itzá are only an hour and a half away. One of the most wondrous archaeological sites on the planet, gates open at 8am and for a couple of blissful hours you may have the place (nearly) to yourself - after 10am be ready for a crowded, noisy Disneyland experience. It’s also well worth getting an official guide to avoid aimlessly wandering around.
The cenotes nearby are a popular stop to cool off in after all that walking. These natural water holes have, for the most part, become quite commercialised. It’s still a great experience but with a lot of people around, it’s not quite my romantic idea of floating in crystal clear water cocooned by nature.
Highlight of the afternoon was lunch at the Mayan-colonial town of Izamal. The local favourite restaurant, Kinichi, was a revelation. Creative cocktails (Mezcal, pineapple, habanero and grasshopper salt being one), and taste-busting dishes were worked off with a stroll up the crowd-free Mayan pyramid around the corner. Wish we’d had more time to explore this charming town with its yellow painted houses and horse-drawn carriages.
Having stayed seven nights at Hacienda San Jose we were on familiar terms with the menu by the third night. The menu is ok, (not sure if that’s what IHG aspires to). Expect Mexican and Yucatán favourites plus a burger, club sandwich and a few salads. Considering the isolated location there’s not much option but to dine at the same restaurant from the same menu each day. As a luxury retreat, I’d have expected a dish of the day or perhaps a BBQ once in a while to spice things up a bit. We eventually bored of the menu. The one night we went off piste and asked for a simple grilled fish and vegetables, we were served fish and chips (at nearly twice the price you’d pay at a pub in London).
As a wine lover, the wine list was pretty uninspiring, especially the Mexican wine selection - the wines by the glass were frankly undrinkable or simply not available. Disappointing considering the world-class wine produced in Mexico. And even more perplexing there wasn’t any wine from neighbouring USA. There were a couple of reds from Bordeaux and the Rhône (which after warming them up having been nearly frozen in the fridge), were pretty decent.
The local amber ale - Mastache – became a firm favourite until it ran out (we didn’t drink it all I promise). For a luxury hotel, we were surprised to find a number of items unavailable on the menu… but we were travelling only a year on from the Covid-19 pandemic, so perhaps they were just finding their feet again.
Being open-air on three sides, the bar is in the middle of the forest. So it felt a bit incongruous to find a wide-screen TV playing the same music on a continuous loop each evening…..a different track (or birdsong) would have been a welcome change.
As a spa junkie I was looking forward to a massage at the open casita style spa. I had a Mayan ritual massage complete (similar to a soft tissue massage), it was ok; it was a nice touch to be able to add a short facial to the treatment.
The hacienda’s former water tank is now the pool, and it’s a good size. There’s no need for an iPad or phone (the WiFi doesn’t reach the pool in any case), the birds diving amongst the foliage and skimming across the pool in all their colourful noisiness makes this the place to be for some nature-filled entertainment.
A key highlight is the staff. What a fantastic team - local, super friendly and always ready with a smile (under their masks). Special shout outs go to Naelli and Karina on the front desk for being so kind and super helpful. To the restaurant team, Rodrigo, Mario, Miguel and Hether for being so happy to see us every day (considering they must have thought we had moved in for good as we were there for over a week). It was a touching moment on our last day when they said we’d always have a home at the hacienda.
The average stay seems to be two to three nights and there are no tangible benefits to staying any longer. All guests should feel valued of course but long term loyalty is so hard to find these days, we thought there may have been a treat or special surprise in store for us, sadly not.
Who does Hacienda San Jose suit? It’s so romantic and unique - eco-loving, low maintenance couples and / or families with older children would appreciate the natural aspects of the property.
We would definitely stay again, it’s such a special, magical retreat, but perhaps combine the stay with another hacienda (and if you like wine, bring your own).
Located on the east coast of Mexico, the closest main towns/ cities are Merida (half an hour’s drive) or Cancun, further east which is approximately three hours’ drive away.
