Hotel Xbulu-Ha

I've been coming to this hotel for over a decade. I've tried over a dozen places on the island and it's hard to find a better value if you are looking to be walking distance to Playa Norte. The manager clearly cares, each visit I notice improvements. Rooms are clean, there's a safe, good water pressure, efficient AC, hot water, beach chairs you can borrow and free (good!) coffee available in the morning. Wifi works well. Note that the rooms don't have their own balconies and mattresses are pretty firm, in case these are deal-breakers for you. I enjoy the common areas downstairs and at the front of each storeys (with a sea view), I always end up meeting nice people. Many are returning guests. Staff is also very nice. Kudos to everyone at Xbulu-ha. See you again soon.

The rooms were very clean, everyone working there were very nice people. Perfect location, nothing fancy but perfect for just resting, sleeping and changing clothes for all the activities around the island.

Looking for a good value in lodging, stopped in, took a look at rooms, decided to stay. We essentially were looking for comfortable bed, good a/c, wifi, ceiling fan, shower. The rooms had this plus closet space, safety box, minifridge, tv (did not use) and small seating area in a very compact, yet comfortable room.A place to come in after spending all day at beach, showering, go to dinner, sleeping (hotel closes doors at 1030pm. you "rent" a key for entry, they return deposit when you return key). Place was perfect. No pool. No restaurant. Impeccably clean, comfortable mattress, cold a/c, nice water pressure. Small area in lobby with a place to prepare sandwiches, fruit boxes, table to eat, silverware, microwave, coffee pot with courtesy coffee in the a.m. 1 block to the Malecon side of Isla, about 2 mins walk. About 5 min walk to Playa Norte. 1 block from Juarez Ave, the pedestrian street with ships/restaurants. Courtesy chairs, towels for beach. Lovely friendly people, as life was here 20 years ago. Highly recommend.

I was really impressed during my 9 day stay in a junior suite. Newly remodeled with excellent amenities for a really great price. Included beach towels and chairs are a huge bonus. It was very quiet at night and within walking distance to the ferry, beaches, nightlife and anything else needed including a grocery store. It is run very well by friendly people who really keep a good eye on the place. I felt very safe as a solo female traveler. I recommend booking directly with the hotel for the best price.

I had reserved a room at Hotel Marcianito, I'm not sure what happened but I was brought to Hotel Xbulu-Ha, which was a short distance away. |I was greeted with smiles and friendliness. The woman at the reception desk had no idea what was going on; however, after speaking with the woman from the other hotel, she put me in room immediately, Again, she was very friendly and accommodating. After receiving my key, I was brought up to my room #9, it was very clean and smelled good. The room had a queen size bed, which was very comfortable for me. It was a nice space with a TV mounted across from the bed. The bathroom was clean and the stand up shower was roomy with good pressure and the hot/cold water was excellent. There was lots of space to put my clothing and bags. There was a small sink and mirror outside of the bathroom and a decent size refrigerator. |I wish that I was staying there longer but I had reservations for another hotel. Hotel Xbulu-Ha is located steps away from everything a person would need, from the supermarket, pharmacy, laundry, food, tattoos, beach, everything. For those who like to be away from the tourist strip, this hotel is away from it. I recommend this hotel. Thank you for making my stay comfortable.

Great place to hang your hat for the night on Isla. Close enough to walk. Far enough from the hustle and bustle. Quiet. Great AC and ceiling fan. We stayed in Room 12.

If you're NOT looking for a luxurious full service hotel, you will enjoy it. This was a PERFECT place for us. Book directly rather than 3rd party. The prices are better. Gabriel was very responsive via Email and accommodating with any changes. He even let me know that I could check-in one day earlier because of someone's cancellation. The cleaner/maid always did a great job. A very clean facility. They let you use the beach chair and sand toys for kids. Thank you so much for that. We took our foldable canopy from the US and I cannot describe how helpful that was. With a small child, the walk to the beach took about 13 minutes. Get there before 10:45a because it gets packed. The ferry was about 8 minutes. All walkable. Good restaurants and a super market nearby. Having the full kitchen was a game changer. It can be a little noisy with other guests in the common space and the street, and WIFI was not usable if I sat on the bed. It was OK near the window. (Closer to the antenna.) When going back to Cancun on a ferry, leave early because there will be a long line. Overall, I loved Hotel Xbulu-Ha and our vacation was awesome because of them!

Xbula-Ha is our “Go To” hotel. We have stayed there many times and have never been disappointed. Rooms are clean, good hot water, great bed, good air conditioning, staff is friendly, lap top size safe, location is well within walking distance to the beach, close to the “main drag”, yet far enough away to be away from the congestion and noise. There is a grocery store close by. The door to the hotel is secured at night, we feel very safe and Alex is the night staff person who is available if needed. The hotel is well looked after, regular maintenance keeps it fresh looking and Eric is quick to fix any problems that might arise. Xbula Ha has many patrons that return year after year. We have also enjoyed our stays at the sister hotel, the Marcianito which offers clean rooms in a good location at a very good price.

Don't expect the front desk to be open, and when open, to be polite or to be responsive to simple requests. And, don't plan on using the stairway after dark without your own light. You're on your own here, whether you want some more hangers or to be able to come down from your room without falling. Yesterday morning, my shower hot water turned, and stayed, cold after only two minutes. The toilet does not flush completely. You have to come back later and flush it again. Room and linens are very clean.

We spent 5 nights here at the end of our 2 week trip though the Yucatan Peninsula. It was the beginning of high season so most of the other hotels were jacking up their prices and were filling up but at $54 US/night it seemed like a good deal when we booked online. PROS: Good location on a quiet street just a block away from Hildago and 5 minute walk to the beach Good a/c and ceiling fan Flat screen TV with 100 satellite channels and some in English Safe for valuables in room Very clean Good wi-fi signal in room They provide towels for the beach CONS: The room was tiny The double bed what just that, a double (usually in Mexico a "double" is a queen sized) The bed was very firm, I woke up with back pain every morning The bathroom was really claustrophobic and the toilet did not give you much room to maneuver The toilet took several flushes to work No drinking water provided I guess it was an OK place but, next time I visit the island, I'll spend a few more $$ and stay somewhere nicer

Great hidden hotel ran by nice family. 10 min walk to playa Norte! Great food options nearby as well as tour companies.

So pleasantly surprised with this experience! For such a reasonable price, you can get everything you need. The accommodations are modest but they're by no means shabby or unclean. You also get everything you could possibly need. We stayed in the newest part of the hotel (they apparently just very recently added a third floor). The facade of the hotel didn't seem too promising at first glance. Fortunately, the rooms proved to be much better than the exterior which was under construction. The room was spacious, had an eating area with a table and a couple of chairs, had a king-sized bed, had a full-sized fridge, had a decent-sized standing shower bathroom and had a kitchen sink with a drying rack (and a couple sets of flatware are also provided!) It's perfectly set up for both short-term and longer-term stays. The air conditioning was also great and remote-controlled. They encouraged you to turn it off when you weren't in the room which was perfectly fine because their rooms didn't get too warm and it didn't take long for the room to cool. When you leave for the beach, they offer to let you use their beach towels. You can get them on the second floor of the hotel where the ladies doing the hotel laundry hang out. Every day, the room was tidied up really well (and that's WORK because goodness gracious did sand get everywhere while I was there!) The front desk people were also very accommodating. Their manager (I think he was the manager) spoke English really well. Some of their other concierges who would work shifts were not as good but if you speak basic Spanish at all, it was enough to communicate with them. If you do not -- please get a book to be able to communicate even just a little with locals. You are in Mexico after all ;) Overall, I'd recommend this place. The location is perfect. It's next to an elementary school a block away from the craziest part of the downtown area and just a few blocks away from Playa Norte. If I go back to Isla Mujeres, I'd stay here again!