Hi, heading to Isla in late May for the first time in more than 10 years. Does anyone have suggestions for a guest house or small hotel where we might still feel the old spirit of Isla? We aren't looking for the Villa Rolandi type of experience, or anything really luxurious.. more a nice, quaint, clean place _ preferably with air-con and private bath _ where we can wander around town, laze on the beach and just relax. Also, for those of you who've been there recently _ am I gonna be shocked at the development on the island? I've heard garrafon is not much anymore, in fact is it closed for the time being?<BR>thanks!<BR>

Texasgirl, I was just there in March. This was our second trip - we had been there 3 1/2 years ago - and there was definitely a lot more development on the island. We stayed at the south end this time instead of in town (where we were last time around). Our place (Mar y Sol) was very basic and inexpensive. It didn't have A/C and I think that might be a problem in late May. There's lots of accommodation listed on www.isla-mujeres.net, also a very active forum. <BR><BR>I didn't find Isla as charming as last time. Playa Norte is still wonderful for swimming, but I found prices were fairly high (at least when you have Canadian dollars). The park at Garafon, while it looks very nice, costs $15 USD to get in. That's a lot of money in my books. It's only 20 pesos to use the facilities and snorkel at the hotel next to the park - same reef. <BR><BR>I think that Isla still has a lot of fans, and don't get me wrong, I certainly enjoyed my time there.

Susan, thanks for the advice. Yes, I think we will need aircon in late may _ I made my husband go without it at tulum last july and he is still upset! <BR><BR>did you like being on the south end or would you have preferred being in town? i've seen a few places in both areas that sound OK, but wasn't sure if we'd be happy away from town. I had no idea garrafon had gotten so expensive, but then, last time we were there, we hired a little boat in town and they just motored us out there we swam out to the reef, don't think we went through the facilities on the island at all....

I liked both places, in town and out of town. When we were in town, 3 1/3 years ago, we stayed at the Belmar, which is above Pizza Rolandi. It was great in October since it was low season and the island was quiet. Rates were very good back then - I don't know what they would be now. We had a really nice room, with very quiet A/C and nicely tiled bathroom. (BTW, Pizza Rolandi has more or less the same menu as Villa Rolandi, but considerably cheaper. The pasta I had was almost twice as much at the restaurant at the Villa. View may be nice, but not that nice.) <BR><BR>The south end was also nice this time around. I liked being on a beach, although it wasn't a good swimming beach. We usually had no trouble finding a cab or catching a bus into or out of town. <BR><BR>I know there are a lot of places more or less on Playa Norte. They were a little more than I wanted to pay, but they seem very popular. <BR><BR>If it's been 10 years for you, you'll really see some changes on the island.

Maria' Cabanas Del Mar is still good -- on the beach and close to downtown. Media Luna on the Caribbean side but close to town -- very nice and owned by the girls whose parents own Marias. I wouldn't stay south -- too far from the restaurants and lifestyle of the town.

Consider Maria Latisha Apts. In Centro area--down load the location map from Isla-Mujeres.net We toured for the firt time last week. At $35 it seemed very nice--May be $25 in May.<BR>.<BR>A warning--the gate is always locked and the manager is only there for about 3 hours in the morning.<BR><BR>They have AC, TV and small kitchen --not that you will want to cook.<BR><BR>Another choice would be the Francis Arlene at about $5/night more.<BR><BR>We have a 26 page brochure on the island that we e-mail out no charge on request. We just got back 4/14 so it is up to date.<BR>Dan and Ginny

Thanks, all, for the help. We are going to narrow it down to the north end and to downtown, i think. One more question _ In late May, would it be possible to show up without reservations and just choose from what we find available, or will all the best places be taken? We have done that in the past in Playa, but then Playa seems to have a surplus of hotel rooms, especially in the budget to mid-range.

Even in March, when we were there, there seemed to be loads of hotel rooms available. This was very different from 5 or 6 years ago when we tried to go from Cozumel to Isla Mujeres - no rooms to be had (and I called several) - we ended up staying longer on Cozumel. <BR><BR>You should not have any problem in May.

I plan to visit Isla Mujeres in May as well. Danny & Ginny will you please email me a brochure as well.<BR><BR>Thanks!