We had a very enjoyable stay in Casa Juanita #3 of Abbey del Sol, Jan 7-14 2012…so much so that we made a reservation to do it all again next year. CJ-3 is an upstairs 2-bedroom apartment with a comfortable living room, 2 comfortable queen beds, beautiful (fully furnished) kitchen, dining room for 6, computer desk, side room with futon, and attractive patio. The three baths (2 with showers) were more than we needed, but they could be a blessing for a large group. We enjoyed the creative, tastefully appointed surroundings. Personal touches were everywhere.
This was our first visit to Puerto Morelos, and we found the town pleasant and to provide excellent value for the money. The number & quality of restaurants are such that there is little need for a kitchen. Breakfasts for 2 are typically 190 pesos + tip, and dinners for 2 are 280-400 pesos, including drinks. It is helpful, though, to have some food on hand when heavy rains strike. If you are not a large group or big eaters, you can get by on supplemental groceries and wines from the local store in the town square. For us, this worked just fine...and it meant we did not need a car. (Jin, the manager, provides airport transfers for a reasonable price.)
Casa Juanita is about a 20-minute walk from town center...or 20 pesos by taxi. If you walk and carry some bread or tortillas, you can feed the tejones on the way (tejones is the local term for coatis).
The beach is quite nice and easily accessible from Abbey del Sol. It gets a bit busy on Sundays, but otherwise you will have more room than you know what to do with. There are lifeguards on duty at the stations a bit closer to town center. There is even some snorkeling from the beach, once you find the right spots. Floating alongside a four-and-a-half foot barracuda (as I did) might be a bit unsettling to some, though. There are comfortable, portable beach chairs available from Abbey del Sol if you prefer to supervise from shore.
Casa Juanita #3 is almost as nice as its on-line photos picture it. We were quite comfortable there, though one of our 3 air conditioners did not seem to be operating at full capacity. WiFi service was reasonably good (we sat right next to the router), with download speeds better than 3 MB/sec....good enough for telephone conversations over MagicJack. We could not do that from Playa del Carmen last November or from Cancun last January.
My wife & I did think that bathrobes would be a nice addition.
