location was great directly at a wonderful beach where the water is very clear and you can snorkel.
What we did not like was the view to the huge hotel at the north end of the island.

This was my second stay here and just as great as the first (a year previous).

Hints--avoid the beach thatch-roof cabanas...I haven't stayed in them but from the description they are NOTHING like the regular rooms (#16-22) in the main hotel. They are also set kind of in the middle of the property in the hammock garden, so there is a lot of foot traffic from guests traipsing around them.

I have stayed in room 16 (on the ground floor) and #22 (directly above #16). Both rooms were identical: bright and cheery with huge sliding glass doors (with treated one-way glass so you don't have to close the blinds if you don't want); a terrace area for hanging beach towels and relaxing before heading out to dinner; a large, spotless and bright bathroom; roomy closet (with a small safe) for unpacking your stuff; a desk area; a small fridge for keeping beer and soda handy for the beach; a very cute courtyard with lots of shade and hammocks--perfect for an afternoon read or snooze.

The location is close enough to the town area without being so close as to hear the noise from bars and the beach is petty quiet as it is separate from the main hotel beach stretches.

The negatives are VERY minimal: the staff are nice but not overly so; you DO have to pay for a beach chair & umbrella (but you have to pay for that at ANY of the hotel beaches); if you are out late you DO have to knock on the lobby door for the late night guy to let you in (I personally consider this a PLUS though, since the locked doors and gates mean no non-guests are wandering around the property).

Both times I have stayed I got a deal for paying American cash. Considering that the next two hotels down the street are over $100/night, this is a REAL steal for a quaint, cute place.

Further notes: I highly recommend renting a golf cart for one day to do a trip around the island and check out: the sea turtle farm (LOTS of turtles to see!), the lighthouse (you can climb to the top); the sculpture garden (pay a buck to actually stroll trough it or just check it out for free from the lighthouse); stop in at Villa La Bella for a drink in their very cute patio (this is also a swankier hotel if you have the extra bucks or want to be further away from the town). Personally, I'd skip the dolphin hoo-ha and zip lining, and instead stop at the Hotel Garrafon de Castilla scuba/beach area (gets a little overrun with cruise visitors, but it is an affordable snorkel spot).

This place is not as advertised. The two rooms I rented, while large, were dark and a bit dingy. The single small window didn't look out over anything. Moreover they were advertised as beach cabanas despite turning out to be multiple units attached to one another that opened onto the (meek) garden rather than to the (very limited) beach. After one night I bailed on the place to find an airy, well-light room just up the street despite the difficulty associated with their two night security deposit reservation policy. That policy alone should have warned me!

We'd read good reviews on this hotel, a.o. in Lonely Planet, but was thoroughly disappointed. The was place run-down and tired looking, the room was much darker and smaller than it seemed in the advert, the cheap breakfast was a 5 minute walk down the street, the courtyard was filled with sad furniture and the beach was untidy and un-inviting. I never expect a hotel to be quite as nice as the pictures promise, but we felt cheated. We checked right out again and walked across the street to beautiful Na Balam, where we had a spacious, pretty room, a fantastic view over the perfect beach and crystal blue ocean, and where the service was amazing. The price difference? 10 USD per night...