CASA TORTUGA, Soliman Bay

The location was good. On the beach, close to many things. The caretakers were very good.

The road to the casa from the highway was pretty bad. There were folks managing the sargasso full time but it was just uncontrollable at times.

Very secure area on private road with security gate and patrols. Helpful staff available 6 days a week. Beautiful bay sheltered by reef, no motor boats allowed, quiet and peaceful. Some interesting wildlife, including agoutis, lots of iguanas, and both sea and land birds. A very spacious and well appointed house and grounds. Loved the pool. Close to many cenotes and activity parks and two excellent restaurants, Oscar and Lalo (lots of very solid choices and would deliver) and Pandano (gorgeous restaurant with fancier food (and prices)). The drive down from Cancun was actually quite easy, although it did take a solid hour and 40 minutes. There were kayaks, paddleboards, and an assortment of fins, masks, snorkels, and watershoes. The internet service was perfectly adequate for the 7 of us.

The dirt road leading to the beach road where all the houses were was massively full of potholes and took slow, careful and bone-jarring driving to negotiate. We got used to it, but those with back/spine issues in our party found it a painful 5-8 minutes. The week we spent (first week in August) was unfortunately marred by the arrival of a massive quantity of sargassum seaweeed before and throughout the week. It is a natural phenomenon that no one has any control of and it happens all over the Carribean. We knew it could happen and just did our best to work around it. For those of us who could hike down the beach to a part of the bay that was unaffected, it did not prevent us from swimming and snorkeling in the bay, which was very warm, clear and had some good coral areas with lots of fish. Most times of the year, this would not be a concern at all and you would have a sensational beach right at your back door with all the toys to enjoy it. While the air-conditioning in the bedrooms was fantastic, the kitchen living room area just had a few overhead fans and open screened windows. The breeze really didn't penetrate this area and it tended to be quite hot in there. Not somewhere you could happily hang out in, at least for us in early August. Maybe it's better other times of the year. A few standing fans targeting the kitchen and the dining room table could have helped.

Perfect for large parties. Location was great right on the beach.