We stayed at the Hacienda Santa Rosa for two nights in mid-February. The experience was definitely memorable but it's not for everyone. Santa Rosa is a 4-hour drive from Cancun, but it's not too hard to find.  You can spend a whole day getting there if you plan to stop at Chiten-Itza on the way. We took the cuota (toll road) and it was better than most highways in the US. The roads in general are great and easy to navigate. Try to avoid driving at night because the last half hour of the drive is on small, unlit roads. 

Our arrival at the property was great. We were greeted by Daniella, the property manager, who checked us in and gave us a mini-orientation. The resort is an original hacienda (plantation house) which has been restored and now has 11 guest rooms. We were upgraded to room 4 which had it's own plunge pool. The overall room was amazing. Beautiful authentic-looking furniture, 15 ft ceilings with dark beams, luxury bathroom and not a single bug anywhere. The entire stay we were amazed by the cleanliness of the room considering that we were out in the countryside.  The phone didn't work, but we didn't really need it so it wasn't a major problem. While the room was great, the location on the property wasn't. We could hear barking dogs, motorcycles and loud music both nights. Granted we were there on a Friday and Saturday night, but the loud music definitely ruined the ambiance. 

The biggest problem with the resort is that there is absolutely nothing to do. It's great if you don't mind sitting around and reading, but we were bored after only two days. Also, while the staff was nice and polite, we didn't get the over-the-top service that others mentioned in their reviews. The food was good but the menu was extremely limited.  I'm sure the cooks would make you something off the menu if you asked but I wouldn't want to eat all my meals at the same restaurant for more than 2 days. The Hacienda property is extremely picturesque and I had a great time walking around and taking pictures. There is a pool, but we wouldn't use it because it didn't look particularly inviting. A few reviewers mentioned the botantical gardens but we were disappointed to find them all dried up. Maybe it was just the wrong time of year. The last issue that we had was at check-out. We informed the staff that we needed to leave early and we still had to wait a half hour for someone to show up who could check us out. 

We enjoyed our stay and our day trip to  the Uxmal ruins nearby, but we would probably try another Hacienda next time. 

This is one of the best if not the best hotel I have ever stayed at. The level of service is top notch. The only time they say no is when they say no problem. Also great staff like Edgar who gives great ideas of the local areas and what to do. Finally this is a place to relax and go away from the big city or resort style hotel.

My new husband and I spent two nights in Hacienda Santa Rosa on our honeymoon road trip through the Yucatan in November 2010, and the experience was definitely a highlight of our trip. I say experience because the hacienda is much more than just a hotel, it was a whole experience of the location, the hotel and grounds, the staff, and the surrounding community.

Location: The hacienda is located in the very small town (pueblo) of Santa Rosa, which is less than 1,000 people and abuts the property. We came from Uxmal and drove about a little over and hour at a leisurely pace, and afterwards continued on to Mérida, about another hour or so from the hacienda. I would say it is out in the middle of “nowhere” because there are no cities in the near vicinity, although there are pueblos every mile or two throughout the countryside.

Hotel: Hacienda Santa Rosa was a working henequen plantation around the turn of the 20th century. The property consists of two large buildings which house the guest rooms and reception, plus a smaller out-building which has the Spa and a store. The old henequen fields (which are now a botanical garden) are on one side of the main buildings, with a large lawn in front and a garden in back. All around the property is a wall and fence, beyond which lies the town of Santa Rosa. From the pictures on their website, I gather that each room is different so I can only describe our room (number 1) which was the most basic room type and located in the main building between reception and the pool. The room had very tall ceilings (about 25 feet) with wooden walls, giving it a barn-like feel. But the decoration was anything but – very elegant period furniture and modern bath fixtures. The room was divided into two smaller rooms, the bedroom with sitting area in front, and the extremely spacious bathroom in back with separate tub, shower, and toilet areas, plus a large double sink. The two rooms together were very large, and the suite had the original tile floor. The linens, towels, and bath amenities were high quality, and the maid did an excellent job decorating the entire room and bathroom with different flower petal arrangements each day. I almost didn’t want to mess them up! The bed was soft and warm, and we enjoyed using the iPod docking station. There was a nice flat screen TV but we didn’t even turn it on the whole time. The room had ceiling fans and an individual air conditioning unit. Overall we were very pleased with the room, which was romantic, relaxing, and very tranquil.

Grounds: As described above, the two buildings which house the rooms are in an L-formation and surrounded by other smaller buildings, the lawn and gardens. In the corner of the L-shape is the hotel pool, which although chilly in November was so pretty that we had to get in if only for a few minutes. The hotel’s one and only restaurant is on the patio facing the garden behind the hotel, although they told us that sometimes they will set up tables in front facing the lawn and have a bonfire. We took a tour of the botanical garden with Don Victor, the head gardener, who was charming and very knowledgeable. The garden is stocked with local plants and herbs with medicinal qualities, and the plants are used in the hotel kitchen as well as for the local medical clinic. Don Victor carefully showed up each plant, plucking off a leaf or stem and showing us how the plant is used in traditional Mayan herbal medicine.

The Staff: what can I say, the staff is what really made our stay unforgettable. With the exception of the general manager, all the staff from the waiters to the maids to the gardeners and Spa therapists were all local people from Santa Rosa. The Mayan culture is very strong here, and all of the staff spoke Mayan, most as a first language. My husband and I have lived in Mexico for four years but have never had such a close experience with a real, modern, Mayan culture. We spent much of our stay chatting with staff and people from Santa Rosa, including the women in the handicraft workshops which are behind the hotel (embroidery, hammocks, silver filigree – amazing!). As mentioned in a previous post, Starwood has an extensive initiative with their haciendas and the local people to provide not just jobs but also healthcare and other services, all while preserving the culture and the small town way of life.

If you are looking for a one-of-a-kind experience to see the real Yucatan and interact with local people while relaxing in a first-class hotel, then I would definitely recommend Hacienda Santa Rosa.

We spent three nights at the Hacienda Santa Rosa and we definitely plan on going back on our next trip to the Yucatan in December of 2010. It was such a wonderful experience! Well worth the cost for us.

This was our second hacienda experience. We had stayed two nights at Hacienda San Jose last year. Another Starwood hotel. We loved San Jose as well, but Santa Rosa gave us more personal attention, was smaller and warmer in atmosphere and there were so many things for us to do in the area! We were torn between not wanting to leave the hacienda to better enjoy the pool and gardens, and driving or cycling (they have bicycles for the guests) around to discover the wonders of the many villages. We ended up visiting Uxmal, a must, had a meal at hacienda Ochil, biked to little haciendas around Santa Rosa and visited a museum in Santa Elena.

The hacienda is really beautiful. The rooms are all gorgeous and luxurious. We had the least expensive of the 11 rooms and were very happy with it. It did not have its own little outdoor jaccuzi, but it was located right in front of the large pool and we had a beautiful view of the trees around it. I cannot say enough good things about the property and the meals that we had at the restaurant there. Both breakfasts and nightly meals were heaven.

The staff was incredible. From the manager, Daniela, a charming young lady who introduced herself and gave us the historic of the hacienda and of the village around it, to Joel our waiter and Veronica, our cleaning lady, everyone was so attentive, warm and eager to please. They made us feel special.

The Hacienda has a special program that helps the Mayan communities around all of the 5 Starwood haciendas. They make sure that they hire mostly Mayan people, residents of the nearby towns. They also oversee coops which employ more than 230 women who make and sell beautiful handicrafts, such as jewelery made from silver filigree, baskets, embroideries, etc... We went shopping in the village of Santa Rosa and it is difficult not to let yourself be tempted by the beautiful things you see when you know how much your purchases will directly improve the living conditions of these wonderful people. Bravo Starwood Haciendas for this great initiative!