aboynamedsue

Is anyone familiar with Casa Maya, a 1BR villa on Half Moon Bay in Akumal? I've read some reviews on TripAdvisor but didn't see any discussion in the Fodors forum. My wife and I are considering staying there this winter and we wanted to see what others thought of it.

parrmt

Have you been to Akumal before? Great spot, but altho the beach is sandy in front of the house ,Half Moon bay is all reef. So you need water type shoes to enter and it really is not a swimming beach per se. Snorkeling is good there b/c of the reef.
For real info from the experts go to locogringo.com and Bill-in-Tulsa.com

virginia

i rented a house on tankah bay through locogringo. it was exactly as shown in the photos. look at the bottom right pic of casa maya to see what parrmt means about needing water shoes. also click on the tiny airplane just under the pics.
you'll see yal-ku lagoon identified. be sure to snorkel there - go early in the am.
in akumal is a restaurant named lol-ha. fun for lunch & cocktails. just off their deck is this live web cam: http://www.locogringo.com/Upload/akumal-beach-cam.html
let your friends know about the site and plan a time to wave to them. i did this recently - we texted to let them know we were on line and could see them. lots of ppl leave a message written in the sand...
for slightly spicier food in akumal try la buena vida.
best grocery is on right heading south in playa del carman - called soriana (sp?). small grocery just outside the akumal arch has basics & is run by nice helpful lady.

aboynamedsue

Great - thank you both for the info. We'd be going there in part for the snorkeling, so a rocky beach out front with decent snorkeling sounds perfect (as well as Yal Ku around the corner). Appreciate the info about the restaurants and grocery stores as well.

sassy_cat

It looks like a nice place very typical decor. I love Half Moon Bay... the snorkeling is good.
I recommend you try Turtle Bay cafe in Akumal for food. Great smoothies, guac, and sandwiches.
We'll be back in November and we'll be staying near casa maya so I'll check it out if you're going after Dec 1st.

aboynamedsue

sassy_cat - Thanks for the restaurant recommendation. We're put down a deposit for a trip in February, so any trip report you could provide about staying in the area when you get back would be much appreciated.

sassy_cat

OK, I'll post a trip report and hopefully check out casa maya.

Here's my old trip report from 2007.
http://www.fodors.com/community/mexi...rt-june-07.cfm

locotogojo

A great reference to have are the Map Chick maps ... lots of info and detailed maps. mapchick.com lots of info on her website too .. nancyjo

gingerbean

I stayed at Casa Maya last October. I loved it! You can't get any closer to the water and the views were amazing. Below is my Flipkey review.

“Casa Maya October 2008”
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4 of 5 stars
A FlipKey verified reviewer
Pawleys Island, SC
Oct 29, 2008

We were not expecting 5 star luxury. The home was very clean, fairly well equipped and fairly comfortable. However, during several heavy rains, the roof leaked like a sieve! We tried to point this out to our housekeeper and one of the maintenance personnel, but apparently they understood little english and we spoke little spanish. I finally pulled out my handy spanish dictionary and wrote down the spanish words for "flood", "roof" and "rain". They finally understood and had someone repair the roof later the same day. The repair method would have been highly questionable in the U.S. -tar mixed with gasoline!
The housekeeper came every day and swept, mopped, cleaned the kitchen and bath, and replaced the towels. She did an excellent job.
The beach was lovely. Unfortunately there was a very steep and high drop-off, from erosion and my husband, who has had one knee replacement and another on the way, was not able to negotiate the incline, and stayed on the patio the whole week. Also, the entry to the water had fairly large rocks - easy to trip on.
The house could use better bedding and more/better kitchen items. The knives were very dull and there was no sharpener. The only glasses were 2 small tumblers,
1 large tumbler and two plastic cups. A few more glasses and some wineglasses would have been
appreciated. Otherwise the kitchen was well equipped.
We enjoyed several of the local restaurants and purchased lots of fresh veggies from the local farmer's market (on Wed. and Sat).
Snorkeling was very nice, right in front of the casa. Saw all sorts of corals and colorful fish. Walk south past the condos and the curve and there is a beautiful "iron beach" at the entrance to Yal-Ku lagoon - beautiful scenery.
Overall, we enjoyed our stay very much.

aboynamedsue

Thank you for the response, gingerbean, as well as the heads up about the farmers market. We went ahead and booked Casa Maya for February and are really looking forward to it.

gingerbean

I'm so jealous! I sure would appreciate being on that patio with a cold cervesa about now.

A few tips:

Be sure to put leftover fruit or bread/tortillas out on the patio at night. We had a mother and baby racoons stop by in the evenings for a snack. One night we had a coati amble by.

The farmer's market has all sorts of exotic veggies and fruits that were just beautiful(and delicious). If you are cooks, you will love the market. I bought tons of cool stuff, for about 3 or 4 dollars.

If you don't rent a car, get a golf cart. They are perfect for running around and it only takes about 10 or 15 minutes to get to "town" from Casa Maya.

If you see a man selling candy at Yal-Ku, buy some - a lot!
It is made by his family in Merida and is exquisite! The coconut pralines and to die for.

The leaky roof and lack of wineglasses were only a minor inconvenience for me. My trip to Casa Maya was a great adventure and one of my favorite vacations.

Enjoy your stay!