This was our second visit to Isla Mujeres and first stay in the La Gloria neighborhood. We returned this year to again celebrate the New Year holiday on the island. The party is the best...the locals are so fabulously celebratory and many go until 8am (!) but we have yet to make it that far, we'll get there!

We loved Zina's -- it was a great find and we'll definitely be back. Zina is very hospitable and has many provisions for her guests in the apartments (snacks & a few beers upon arrival, toiletries, purified water, towels, extra blankets, dishes/silverware, AC, free WIFI, cable t.v., access to skype, the list goes on and on...).

As another reviewer has stated, Zina strikes fine balance between being available to her guests to give advice & recommendations/share her story and giving her guests their privacy. Zina pointed us in the direction of GREAT food and shopping. We sat on her roof with her one night and listened to the the history of Zina's Guest House while we enjoyed Bimbo Dogs (hot dogs wrapped in bacon with various hot sauces and other toppings -- yum!). The name of the lunch place Zina recommended is escaping me but she'll know if you ask her! It is just a few blocks away with a blue awning and has the greatest quesadillas (seriously, the best).

Our favorite restaurant on the island -- El Charco's -- is just a few blocks away. It has the best authentic mexican food I have EVER had and it is super cheap! It is run by the most kind-hearted and adorable couple -- Daisey (sp?) and Raul. Try the alambres, the chicken soup, the empanandas and/or the cuban sandwiches.


I'd recommend trying to use your spanish as much as possible in this neighborhood, I think it goes a long way with the locals. You don't NEED to but I think it is respectful to at least try... I feel that way about all of Mexico though.

It was really fun to sit on Zina's roof and watch the local life. There was a clothing store just across the street that was swarming with local girls buying dresses for the New Year's Eve party. They were practically pulling them off the mannequins! Cute how excited these young girls were for the party.

We loved having having Zina's dog Punta pop around from time to time as we really miss our dog when we travel. She is very well behaved and so sweet!

On New Year's Day, the island and especially this neighborhood really quiet down and many restaurants are closed, so we got a pizza and watched a movie back at Zina's -- that was really relaxing. There is a movie rental place right across the street from Zina's too (most films in Spanish) but Zina has a few in the rooms, too. Oh, and if you find it important, there is cable television here.

If you want a place that is a little separate from the downtown noise, is a little more adventerous and unique, this is a very good choice!

I enjoyed a two week stay in the upstairs apartment at Zina's Guest House in Colonia La Gloria, Isla Mujeres Q Roo MX. This is my annual holiday retreat. I actually have lost count, I think this was the fifth consecutive year I have stayed in the apartment for Christmas and New Year's.

The apartment is very comfortable and clean. I actually cooked several meals in the apartment, mostly breakfasts, but on New Year's Day we didn't feel like going out so I made spaghetti and sauce and a salad and opened a bottle of wine purchased in the neighborhood. On another day, we got a rotisserie chicken from a chicken joint across the street, always a great meal at a good value.

In the apartment there is cable TV and there is a local DVD/CD player (and a video store across the street) There is Wi-Fi (we brought two laptops) and decent connectivity. There is a San Francisco Super Express nearby but it is dingy dreary and dirty, better to take a 13 peso taxi ride to the new Chedauri Supermercado for a nicer experience and much better selection for snacks and drinks etc.

I really like staying in La Gloria: for me it seems less hectic and fussy than El Centro during the busy holiday season. We took advantage of the close proximity to visit Zama's Beach Club three or four times, the taxi fare was very reasonable from the apartment (as opposed to taxi fares from El Centro)

We had a great time once again, it is always a pleasure to visit with Zina, and she continues to be a good resource for local info. It is highly likely we will be staying at Zina's Guest House again (and again)

Having been to Isla Mujeres before, we wanted a different, more integrated experience with the people who live there rather than the regular hotel/North Beach stay. My husband Bentley found Zina's on the internet and it was exactly what we wanted. It was simple, clean and charming with little arty touches like the tiny white lights illuminating the roof and the shell mobile against sheer turquoise curtains with bottom beads adorning a bedroom window. The full bed and single twin accommodated us and our 12 year-old daughter well. She often played on the terrace with Zina's well behaved and sweet dog dog Punta, a delight. We often had breakfast overlooking the coming and goings from our rooftop. We explored the neighborhood, the local hangouts and bakeries and volunteered at La Gloria English School with kids and Cydnee volunteered independently at the local animal shelter run by Alison Sawyer and her husband Jeff Currant, lovely, giving people. We had so many rich experiences from the La Gloria neighborhood where Zina's is located to the markets, nearby El Meco ruines, snorkeling, body surfing good waves, watching sunsets while eating great local fish, and meeting many good people. The key to all of it was Zina and her connections. Zina is an amazing and very interesting, warm person- striking a great balance between being available and respecting your privacy. If we had stayed in a regular hotel we'd never heard the corn vendor, the roosters, eaten at the scrumptious corner taco restaurant, or learn about the intracacies of the island and the good work that folks are doing with the people there. I think it will be a home away from home. Much better than the noise and bustle of moneyed Cancun and the swim up bars of Cozumel. We've already put our deposit down for our week next December. The weather is perfect this time of year and the exuberance displayed by the island residents with their religious alters to the Virgin of Guadeloupe and creative and colorful Christmas decorations make it an especially festive time of year to go. Isla had heart and soul and Zina is the interpreter par excellence. Ten stars, hands down.

The recorder concerts have progressed through the years from practicing the scales and "Mary had a Little Lamb" to Bach's "Joyfull, Joyfull, We Adore Thee". I am often tempted to throw a recorder into my bag when returning to Zina's so I can join in with the impromptu recorder concerts. The neighborhood is always changing but still the same. My stay was three weeks this time and time is the factor in improving language skills. Usage perks up the vocabulary. Zina has been perking up her verb skills at the language class every week and I ordered a cervesa and listened. Highly recommended but I had a hard time commiting to a one hour lesson each week. Maybe next time. My big accomplishments on this trip other than seeing old friends and meeting new ones was buying a cell phone and my biggist accomplishment, a Mexican senior pass for public transportation. It was so easy, photos and copies of rental agreements, passport and power bills. I felt confident enough of my language skills that I walked the short distance from Zina's to the senior center and made my application. When asked my owners phone number for emergency purposes, I whipped out my new cell phone, scrolled down through my contact list and showed it to the processing agent. Zina can attest to the fact that I was beeming when I picked up my pass several days later. I guess the felling of satisfaction came to me because I was starting to assimilate. I love the feeling of community when I stay at Zina's Guest House.