I agree with both of the most recent reviews. We stayed for four nights and were the only guests staying at the casa. Our presence was not a priority - we had to ask for new sheets and toilet paper and I even found myself sweeping up the room. The house is very charming, the rooms are cute and we had plenty of hot water. The breakfast was very repetitive (two pieces of bread and coffee) and the walk through the bus terminal and tiendas was less than picturesque. We really wanted to support a smaller place but if we would have known, I think we would have stayed closer to the plaza.

I have to agree with the folks from Sydney - after all the crazy good reviews, I thought the Casa San Juan would be a bit more than it was. The rooms are clean and cute, but the bed we slept on was almost comically hard - I'm not sure what kind of mattress it was, but we actually pulled back the worn sheet to make sure it wasn't just foam covering wooden planks). The owner does not speak any English, which is ok because I speak Spanish, but I didn't think he was terribly welcoming in either language. The shower was freezing (which again, was ok because Merida is hotter than heck in June), but the lack of hot water got a little old. The hotel is on a busy street - we didn't find its distance from the center of town to be much of a problem, but I would agree that there are few good restaurants near it (in fairness, I'm not entirely sure there are any particularly good restaurants in Merida at all). I think, overall, Merida was not quite what I expected. From what I had read, I thought it would be very friendly and quaint. We thought there would be artisans in the markets selling handmade products - forget about that - I could have bought the same stuff in a beach shop in Cancun. We thought we'd have authentic Mexican and Yucatan specialties, but no matter what I ordered it always seemed to be basically chicken and rice. Merida reminded me more of Nicaragua than I thought it would, which isn't bad, just not what I anticipated.

Though we enjoyed our 3 days at Casa San Juan, after reading all the 5 star reviews on TripAdvisor.com, I was expecting much more. The common areas were lovely, and sitting chatting with the other guests was very pleasant. However we thought that the bedrooms, though spacious, were plain and basic, and the breakfast was rather boring and repetitive (juice, coffee & breads). Also the location of Casa San Juan isn't quite what we expected - it is a fair walk to the center of town, past a bus station and hardware stores and there are only a few basic restaurants nearby and their cleanliness seemed questionable.

My husband and I recently spent 4 days in Merida, staying at the delightful Casa San Juan. Everything the web page said it would be was exactly as illustrated. The rooms were full of character and clean, and the courtyard was the perfect place to take breakfast or just relax in the early evening.
Manuel was extremely helpful and always pleasant.
I would have no hesitation in recommending Casa San Juan, it certainly made our stay in Merida a most memorable one.