If there was a remote chance of writing a not too negative review regarding this property...my last contact with the front desk after check out threw it out the window. My husband and I are easy to please, and being budget travelers, if we have a comfortable bed and a nice, spacious bathroom - those are the non negotiable aspects of a good stay. I decided to give the Sotavento a try after speaking to a previous guest who posted a good review, but it was the wrong choice for us. It certainly depends on the room you get and seems like we got one of the worst rooms around the property: The daily shower was frustrating and quite a fiasco due to an awckward set up for the shower head and the fawcets. Three days on a row I basically burned one of my arms trying to control the hot water: The shower head was on one side - extremely high maybe 8 feet up - and the water fawcets were on the left wall, which meant you had your arms under the running water if you needed to turn the handles. One fawcet closed to the left and I could never figure out if it was the cold or the hot...Because of the set up, it was like being boxed in between one of the walls and the water ,since it came down from so high that we had to stand practically against a wall to bathe..The well deserved shower after a long & fun day under the sun of Cancun became a production if not a three ring circus! This is the first time I write a review that doesn't include plenty of photos of the property. I am only posting 2 pictures with the sole purpose of showing the shower set up. The breakfast was poor with bread and muffins that were dry & old...The staff indifferent and distant and we are Spanish speakers! This was our 2nd trip to Cancun and we chose the property for the proximity to the Isla mujeres Ferry, but it is definitely a limited area for food options. I have to give them credit for cleanliness: they hose down the stairs to the rooms daily with soapy water, they have staff sweeping the common areas around the garden constantly, and they also clean the pool daily. The gardens are pretty and peaceful and you can watch the sunset from the pool area. But the lobby gave us a negative impression upon check in. Nothing like the pictures. Why would this hotel have 3 stars is hard to understand. Only 2 towels daily, and old raggedy, stained towels were the norm.So, to finish my review, I must say that after we checked out, our shuttle was 15 minutes late and I wanted to call to make sure all was well. But our cell phone had no signal and I approached the front desk, explained my need and asked him which phone to use. He told me I had to go to a store next door and use a pay phone because they have to get "authorization" to make local calls at the hotel...This was our goodbye to the Sotavento...Sad to say, that the hotel we had 2 years ago was ten times better than this one, and even though I din't give it a perfect review, considering the amazing ocean views, big bathroom and prime location across Flamingo Plaza, that will be our place when we return to Cancun. Please, friends, listen to my sincere adivise and book a different hotel. Honestly. Don't make a mistake:)

1) There was no window, nor any air hole in the bathroom. I didn't want a view. However, in a tropical country, with high humidity, you do need a air hole/window in the bathroom because, when you do shower after beach, you need humidity go away and you don't want to open the room window, otherwise mosquitoes come in. As a consequence, either you have the bathroom foggy, or you have the room smelling of humidity, very smelly.
2) Bird excrements on breakfast lounge chairs:
the only place where breakfast was served is outside. While the trees and ambiance is southern-nice, it was NOT cleaned. Chairs have old and new bird excrement, and they were not removed in over a week.
3) Breakfast food extremely poor: there was old bread, and cheap jelly, coffee, and orange juice. This haven’t changed over a week. In addition to this, the one “waiter” (in fact, he never served, but just removed staff from tables) insisted on more than one occasion on his tip request.
4) Call at 7.30AM on very first day:
On my first morning, after I arrived at 11PM in the hotel (having had flight delayed and problems picking up the rented car), I received a call at exactly 7.30AM. It was the “expedia representative of the hotel”, proposing me tours and visits around Cancun area. He didn’t apologize for the early call, and was trying to sell me something at 7.30AM of my first morning vacation. Basically, I have had to plug out my telephone for the entire week, cause I was afraid he could call again at that early time.
5) Remote control didn’t work.
Other than that, I had a rented car, and we could park outside the hotel, with no extra charge. In fact, it wasn’t a controlled parking, but rather a quiet street, where we had no problem finding a spot.
The hotel is cheap, and that’s about it. The swimming pool is dirty, but the room was cleaned daily. If you want something cheap, it’ll do. However, if you don’t have a car, expect paying a taxi every single time you get out of the hotel which, in total, can push you to take a slightly more expensive hotel closer to downtown, thus saving taxi fees.

This small, efficient hotel is located on a marina and lagoon across from the ferry to Isla Mujeres. It is in the older hotel zone and quite convenient to buses and everything that you might need. It is in an upscale residential neighborhood which makes it quiet and far away from the wild touristas. The homes/condos that surround this hotel seem to be occupied by year round local residents. The cars in their driveways are quite nice; Navigators, Escalades, BMW's, Jaguars. That tells you something. Perfect for peace and quiet.

You really do not need a car but I had one; and there was always free parking outside of the hotel. The design of the hotel is low rise white stucco with clusters of rooms in a free form style. There are 3 floors and I would NOT recommend this hotel to anyone with disabilities. No elevators and too many steps. You actually step down into the open air lobby which is immaculate. The staff was welcoming, efficient and laid back. I made my hotel/car reservations through Expedia and found it to be a superb value since taxes and fees were included. I was able to book at the last minute and thought that my daily rate for both car and hotel were well below my expectations for high season. You will pay much more trying to book it on your own.

I was a solo traveler and only required that my hotel be spotless, comfortable, safe, secure and quiet. I am not one for all inclusive hotels because I never get my money's worth. I don't drink and find that I can get much better deals on meals outside the hotel. If you venture into the city of Cancun, you will find many great restaurants that have complete meals in the $3-4 USD range. If you really want to splurge, count on spending about $10. The hotel has a reasonable and varied menu if you wish to stay in. I had their ceviche' on the night that I arrived and found it to be quite generous and good.

Continental Breakfast was included in my hotel rate. I am not much for desayuno but when I did decide to have it, it was served in the outdoor cafe' overlooking the docked boats. It was a help yourself table and the waiter was there if you wanted to order additional items from the menu for a price. I found the toast, fresh squeezed OJ, cereal and coffee to be plenty. Sometimes, I skipped it altogether and would save myself for a large mid day meal in town. I was not impressed with the coffee that was made in a huge, industrial coffee maker like you would see at a church gathering.

My "standard" room had 2 double beds, a very firm mattress, HD cable TV and a relatively large bathroom w/shower. It was on the second floor, very private with a balcony and shaded with palm trees. No one could see in and I opened the doors frequently for fresh air. The bathroom was spotless and had a large shower that had been recently retiled and painted. There was a large closet but no hangers or dresser. No big deal to me. I used the second bed to organize my clothing. The floors were tiled which is my preference; and kept spotless by the housekeeper who visited daily. I tipped her daily (about $2USD or pesos) so that she made an effort to keep everything tidy and clean. There are no washcloths and that is to be expected in most foreign countries. I brought my own from the US and threw them away when I left. The hotel provides bottled water daily, so I was all set. There was an ice bucket and if you required ice, you could go to the bar/cafe' to get some. I would have loved a fridge in the room but was fine without it.

Free WiFi was available 24 hours a day in the lobby, so I would often stay in touch after a day of sightseeing.

There is a lovely pool with wooden chaise lounges and lush gardens surrounding it. It adjoins the open air cafe'/bar.

The only glitch was smokers who were below my room for one night. I had to close the sliding door because I could not stand it coming into my room. There is an a/c unit in each room but found that I did not need it during the winter week. You are given a key to turn it on and off.

Oh, the room does have blackout curtains which I love. Overall, this is great value for the money and you won't find a nicer hotel staff anywhere. Beware of the super firm mattresses. For me, it beats a soft mattress on any day.

Thank you, Hotel Sotavento and Yacht Club!!!! I hope to come back again soon.

It was low season and there werent very many people staying here at all. The back near the pool & restaurant is gorgeous with all the vegetation! The dock is also beautiful. Food isn't great (except guacamole) and there isn't much around that you can walk to. Rooms were clean and very roomy. I believe we were in E-5. We checked in early, around 11am and were not charged extra, no questions asked. The hotel is beautiful but got a little bored.