Kiss Country 99.9 Drew and Chuck show
After staying at
Mayan Beach Garden for a week, Drew Montgomery of Kiss Country's Drew
and Chuck Breakfast Club posted his vacation
pictures on his Breakfast Club's website. Originating out of
Ashville, TN, this syndicated country western radio station covers several
southern states.
"Hidden Cancún and the Yucatán"
by Richard Harris, Ulysses Press,
"North of Majahual near the small
village of El Placer, Mayan Beach Garden has four thatched-roof
stucco cabanas with 2 more under construction. Each cabana has a double
bed, a rattan loveseat and storage shelves, terra-cotta tile floors
and a private bath with a shower and a hand-painted sink. There are
solar powered lights and solar-heated water. Daily maid and laundry
service are available for a small extra charge and there's an optional
meal plan. Reservations can only be made via the Internet. Ceiling fans.
- El Placer"
MBG NOTE: this review is from 2004 --
we are not under construction!
Newsletter "Costa
Maya & Lake Bacalar Update" Mexicocaribbean@aol.com
"Where To Stay?
Each time I go down to the Costa Maya I generally try to stay at
a different hotel. This helps me get to know the business owners
and keeps me up to date on the latest happenings in the area.
This time I stayed at Mayan Beach Garden, owned and operated
by Kim and Marcia. This hotel is located about 20 km north of
Majahual in a section known as El Placer. This hotel has been
operational for about a year and the owners have done an excellent job
at making the experience there highly enjoyable. Situated on one
of the most beautiful stretches of beach in the Costa Maya, this place
is extra special. The reef in front of the hotel is relatively
close and provides an opportunity for outstanding diving and snorkeling.
Both breakfast and dinner are provided at the hotel. With relatively
few good restaurants in the area, a hotel that serves these meals is
a big plus. The dinner is top notch also. Served at one
large table, Marcia prepared an outstanding chicken dish using a unique
Yucatan recipe. I can only think of three hotels in the whole
Costa Maya that provide this kind of service. If you're ever in
the area, you really should check this place out. I give it high marks."
Read
the Review by www. LocoGringo.com
Article in "Sac-be," January 2005
"As tourism in the Mayan Riviera flourishes each
year, luxury resorts and a highway of loaded tour buses are slowly taming
the wild frontier of Quintana Roo with its miles of deserted beaches
and acres of impenetrable jungle. The once still coastline is changing
into a bustling vacation destination, and retreats from the crowds are
getting harder to find. However, on a recent trip to the Costa
Maya, a strip of coastline stretching from a few miles south of Tulum
down to Belize reflecting the tranquility of the Mayan Riviera of years
past, my friends and I stumbled upon a secluded hideaway 20 kilometers
north of Mahahual Mayan Beach Garden.
The town of El Placer is an area so secluded there is no signage for
it on the main highway to Mahajual. It was purely by chance that
we took a left turn into the unknown and found a quaint, beachfront
bed & breakfast in what seemed to be the middle of nowhere.
Mayan Beach Garden, owned and operated by Kim and Marcia Bales of Seattle,
WA, is nestled on the undisturbed shore of El Placer Bay.
We pulled in late and with no restaurants nearby and no notice of our
arrival, we wondered about our next meal, but Marcia just smiled and
said she would have dinner ready by seven. My companions and I
enjoyed a simple yet delicious meal of seasoned tacos al carbon wrapped
in thick tortillas that were handmade in Marcia¹s kitchen accompanied
by fresh guacamole and chased with cold, 10 peso beers. For dessert
we enjoyed a moist homemade papaya cake drizzled with caramel sauce
that could have been served in a five star hotel! Framed photographs
of Mexican, Peruvian and Guatemalan ruin sites that Kim and Marcia had
visited decorated the walls in the dining room. The couple told
us that their fondness for ruins had led them to their new home.
We retired to our cabanas and found them charming and most comfortable.
They included king-sized beds with thick mattresses, large walk-in showers
and hand painted sinks. The cabanas are beachfront and operate
on solar power. Kim, an expert builder, designed each to catch the Caribbean
trade winds so
we were very comfortable without air conditioning. I delighted
in falling asleep to the lapping waves rather than to the hum of a window
unit.
The next morning we sat on the beach just outside of
our rooms to watch the sunrise when Ricardo, our hospitable waiter from
the night before, greeted us with a smiling face and a tray of mugs
filled with rich Chiapas coffee. How about that? Bayside service!
That afternoon, Marcia gave us a tour of her favorite snorkeling spot
located on the northern end of the bay. We snorkeled through the
most vibrant coral garden just 150 yards from the shore. Brilliant
pink,
periwinkle blue, bright yellow and orange the reef was very much
alive! We saw skates (similar to stingrays), schools of blue tang,
large parrotfish, and several other species of colorful fish.
We spent a good part of the day swimming around Marcia¹s fantastic
underwater garden. Upon returning from our snorkel trip, my sister,
an avid birdwatcher, reported spotting blue heron, a falcon and a flock
of green parrots while relaxing on the patio in front of her room.
We had all taken pleasure in a quiet day appreciating the natural beauty
of the Yucatan.
The group enjoyed farewell pina coladas on the beach and thanked everyone
for their hospitality before packing up to leave. We all agreed we were
departing much too soon, but we had certainly found a new refuge and
would return. Admittedly, I was torn as to whether or not I should
share our secret haven with others, but Mayan Beach Garden was just
too good to keep to myself. For directions and a list of activities
in the area, go to www.mayanbeachgarden.com. Marcia
has built an extensive website with lots of information covering the
Costa Maya. If you are looking for a place to explore nature with
such activities as a boat trip through the Sian Kaan bioreserve, diving
the Chinchorro Reef, or visiting the local monkey farm, or perhaps you
just want to spend the weekend reading a novel, Mayan Beach Garden is
the ideal retreat for you. "
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