We just got back from beautiful Mérida, Mexico in the Yucatan peninsula where we were scoping out Mexican destination wedding venues for our upcomming nuptiuals and needless to say, we absolutely fell in love with the region. While Mérida is still considered off the beaten path, it’s noticably showing up on more people’s radar. The biggest draw for tourists now to Mérida are the colonial homes, colorful buildings, and 300-500 year old beautiful haciendas that are spread throughout the Yucatan that have been rennovated into private villas or hotels.
Those reasons also drew us to the Yucatan and the secret is out … we picked a hacienda as our wedding venue that had been built during the 17th century, one which I have been obssessing over for at least a year. I won’t give away the name now, but will in an upcomming post about our Mexico destination wedding planning process as well as a general post about some of the haciendas we visited.
If you want to experience Mérida, you don’t have to plan a destination wedding to stay in a beautiful colonial style accomodation or spend thousands of dollars on a private villa because there are vacation rentals on Airbnb and hotel sites that are so perfect and idealistic from the architecture to the decor at extremely affordable rates ranging from $50 for one bedroom houses to $300 a night for a six bedroom hacienda.
The Airbnb we checked into is in the Colonia Centro neighborhood in Mérida which is about a 40 minute walk or 10 minute Uber / Cabify ride to Mérida Centro / Santa Ana where all the shops, bars and resturants are. Basically, this is in a residential area and not in the touristy area, but is near enough to where you want to be.
When you arrive to your Airbnb, sometimes you may feel underwhelmed with what it looks like in-person, but with this rental we were rather impressed that it looked exactly like the photos. Definitely an Instragram-worthy Airbnb. The photos drew us in, but the experience kept us hanging out at home.
Details of the Airbnb’s Key Ammenities
- Bedrooms: 1
- Bathroom: 1
- Livingroom: Yes
- Dining area: Yes
- Kitchen with gadgets: Yes
- Backyard: Yes
- Pool: YES
- AC: Yes
- Ceiling Fan: Yes
- Wifi: Yes
Like most homes in Mérida, our Airbnb looked small and unassuming from the streetview, but once inside, it’s like, “whoa.” The ceiling is extremely high with ceiling fans throughout the house and each area is partitioned with as tall dark wooden doors which were pretty dramatic but simple at the same time. It’s hard to say which room or area of the house was my favorite … could it be the living room with the hammock? the bedroom with the turquoise chest? or the backyard adorned with tropical plants, cacti and the GORGEOUS pool? I guess I will have to go with the backyard and pool where we spent most the time while we were at home.
A key feature of homes in Mérida are the pasta tiled flooring made with concrete as a way to keep homes cooler in this tropical climate. They are gorgeous! They started using these types of tiles in the 1890s and they’re still rock solid today. You can learn more about them on everythingplayadelcarmen.com. Our Mérida Airbnb had pasta tiles as well and I’m sure it made a huge difference in the temperature of the house.
Overall, we felt like we were in our own private oasis. Do I recommend this Airbnb? YES, absolutely. We loved it so much that we asked our photographer if she’d be ok with our taking our engagement session in the house. However, this isn’t the place for you if you want to be where all the action is as far as trendy resturants or bars.
FYI: One thing you need to be aware of is that this particular host requires tenants to pay for their electricity usage during the stay. We knew about this as it is clearly stated on their listing. They base the rate on what’s on the meter and for us was about $8 per day. We left cash for this but you can also pay with a credit card over the phone.
Want to check this place out for your trip to Mérida? Here is a direct link to the Airbnb listing.
If you’re booking through Airbnb for the first time, I’d appreciate it if you use my referral link! Just click go here: https://www.airbnb.com/c/saksu5?currency=USD
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