Luxurious Hacienda Temozon, Yucatan Mexico

It’s our fourth day on our road trip through the Yucatan. After two nights staying at the unrestored Hacienda Yaxcopoil it was time for a little change.

With another beautiful sunny day ahead of us we’re eager to move on.  We pack and eat our lovely homemade breakfast of scrambled eggs with Chaya, a Mexican type spinach and crispy tortillas.  We spend an hour or so checking out the working parts to the hacienda, the huge pumps used to bring water up from the ground as well as large pools for storing the water and then miles of irrigation lines to carry it out to all the gardens and fields, all made from cement.   Everything is still in tact, from the kitchen area to sitting rooms and bathhouses.  Of course worn down, but many items have been saved and are on display.  We wander the Hacienda taking pictures until we find our host. Thanking him for our stay we surrender the keys to the guesthouse and say goodbye to this little piece of history.

 

Our next stop, Hacienda Temozon.  According to the map I printed out, the Hacienda Temozon is not far at all, maybe half an hour or so.  Cindy being the excellent navigator she is, directs us south.  We find ourselves driving on narrow roads passing through tiny villages with the remains of small ruins and entrances to what once were elegant haciendas.  This is definitely hacienda country and you can’t help but wonder the grandeur of what this area must have once been. 

We enter a village boasting tall structures, restored in vivid rich colors.  We must be close!  The homes are like all others in Mexico, shacks made of stone and grass, but we come upon a park like setting with a driveway that has a set of rod iron gates that looks that it leads to lush green paradise. Suddenly we don’t feel like we are in Mexico at all.   A young gentleman, clad in his impeccably clean white work attire greets us and checks our name. He instructs us to pull up to the end of the driveway, leave the keys and suitcases in the car and walk up to reception and they will look after us. He opens the gates for us and on a cobblestone path we park the car and make our way to the reception. Greeted by a young lady, we’re handed welcome drinks and brought to a beautiful sitting area. We sit down with her, fill out the usual paperwork and we’re shown our room.  Wow, a five star hotel in the middle of nowhere!  The Hacienda Temozon is one of several Starwood properties in their “Luxury Collection” of hotels.  We are totally going to take advantage of this after roughing it the last few days!!

Opening the huge double doors to our room, we find ourselves smiling with pleasure.  A huge king size rod iron bed with thick lush duvet, an enormous off suite bathroom, with hot and cold running water, fresh flowers strewn throughout the room and a iPod radio so we can listen to music.  A room to die for!!   Our suitcases arrive; we tip the porter and decide what our next move is.

After taking several pictures of our room, we wander throughout the lush grounds, passing the large pool with fountains, the shaded lounge area and inviting restaurant.  The Hacienda has been fully restored with vibrant colors and lush manicured gardens making this place in the middle of the Yucatan an incredible oasis.

We find ourselves walking along the abandoned railroad tracks at the back of the property that were once used to collect henequen to make rope. Cindy wants to keep following the tracks to see where they lead to, but I don’t.  She’s the explorer, not so much myself.  In the back of my mind I’m thinking of drinking cervezas, by the pool in those inviting lounge chairs. We reason things out, since it was very warm and we had no water with us, it was time to get back and enjoy the pool.  J           

On the way back we stumble upon a dry cenote on the property.  They are using it for a spa, with massage tables set up and romantic candles strewn along the pathway and stairs down into it.  The smell is a bit damp and musky, so although it looks really cool, I’m not so sure it’s the place that I would like to get a message done.

Back at the room, we change and spend the rest of the day relaxing along side the pool. As the day progresses into evening we’re back at the room getting ready for dinner. We decide first to take a walk outside the hacienda grounds into town to see what we find. Not a lot happening, except for a couple of ladies representing a satellite company knocking door-to-door trying to make a sale. It’s kind of amusing to see these ladies trying to sell a satellite dish to a family that lives in a one room thatched hut.  There are several small newly built buildings just off the grounds that are selling hand made rope and crafts made by the villagers.  There isn’t a lot on the shelves for purchasing, but its nice to be able to watch them work at their crafts right in front of you. There was also a group of giggly girls wandering the street with their hotel uniforms.  Young chefs, with a bright future!  Nice to see!

Back at the Hacienda we enjoy a delicious, but terribly expensive, relaxing dinner overlooking the pool.   With the temperature cooling off and the mosquitoes taking advantage of our Canadian blood, it’s back to the room to enjoy a comfortable nights sleep.  We turn on the iPod to listen to our music and quickly fall asleep.

 What a great day is was….