Our most favorite accommodations in the world (part 1- North and Central America)

1 Comment / Costa Rica, Mexico, United States / By
Image of a yellow villa with blue loungers and an indoor covered pool.
Casa del Sol, Merida (Mexico)
Picture of stairs going down, with a wood railing, tropical flowers, palm trees and a pool in the distance
Hotel La Joya, Isla Mujeres (Mexico)
picture of a balcony, with a table, two chairs and flowers
Airbnb in Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica

table of content

NORTH AMERICA

1. UNITED STATES

   1.1 Ruby Suite (Charleston, SC)

   1.2 The Grand Resort (Warren, OH)

   1.3 This gorgeous, restored house (Columbus, OH)

2. MEXICO

    2.1 Villas El Encanto (Cozumel)

    2.2 Hotel La Joya (Isla Mujeres)

    2.3 The Lodge at Uxmal (Uxmal)

   2.4 Casa Del Sol (Merida)

3. COSTA RICA

    3.1 El Castillo de Amber (Manuel Antonio)

    3.2 Baldi Hot Springs Resort (La Fortuna/Arenal)

   In our years of travel, we have stayed in more than 100 different accommodations around the world, from hotels to cave and tree houses, from apartments to cabins and tents. Most of them ranged from decent to very good, with a handful of complete disasters and a dozen of amazing ones. 

   In this post, I will list all of the accommodations that awed us in North and Central America and the reasons why we loved them. 

   They were all booked via Booking.com, Hotels.com or Airbnb.com

   I am not an affiliate of any of those search engines and I do not receive any commission from them. 

   These are my honest reviews of the places we loved.

I. North America

1. UNITED STATES

1.1 Ruby Suite (Charleston, South Carolina)

 Why it’s one of our most favorite accommodations:

  • very clean, spacious, stylish and cozy
  • very comfortable beds and pillows
  • washer and dryer
  • good location, within half an hour walk to downtown Charleston

Related post: Kid-friendly activities in Charleston that adults can enjoy too

picture of a bedroom, with a bed, dark pink walls, lamps and yellow chairs
Main bedroom (Ruby Suites)
Picture of a living room, with a big portrait on the wall, a fire place, two armchairs, a table and a couch
Living Room (Ruby Suites)
Picture of a kitchen with white cabinets and black appliances
Kitchen (Ruby Suites)
Picture of a kitchen, with white cabinets and black appliances; a hallway, with an orange mat with tribal design and a dining room in the distance
Hallway, kitchen and dining area (Ruby Suites)

1.2 The Grand Resort (Warren, OH)

Why it’s one of our most favorite accommodations:

  • very clean, elegant and stylish
  • good food and drinks
  • amazing indoor pool
  • Roman bath (outdoor heated pool)
  • breakfast sent to the room
picture of a pool at night, lit up by blue light
The Roman Bath at night. Such a fun experience!
picture of an indoor pool
The indoor pool at the Grand Resort
picture of furniture with lamps on and hanging plants
The lobby at The Grand Resort
picture of two children eating on a bed
Valentine's Day breakfast in bed

1.3 This gorgeous, restored house (Columbus, OH)

What makes it one of our most favorite accommodation:

  • spacious, airy and very clean
  • lots of natural sun light
  • simple, but beautiful decor
  • small office, right off of the master bedroom
  • living room, with window reading bench
  • fenced in back yard
  • big washer and dryer

picture of a brown couch and a coffee table with flowers on it
The spacious living room
picture of a table and a window with a bench and two pillows
Dining room with window reading bench
picture of a bedroom with a big bed, a corner mirror and floral wall paper
The master bedroom
picture of a room with a desk, a plant and a fan
The little office with access directly from the master bedroom

2. MEXICO

2.1 Villas El Encanto (Cozumel)

Why it’s one of our most favorite accommodations:

  • lush vegetation, beautifully landscaped gardens, it felt like a jungle oasis
  • 3 pools and a playground
  • private and quiet
  • two happy doggies that loved playing with our kids
  • amazing owner (Martin) who lives on site and is always available to help
  • shared kitchen in each building (I believe there are 4 rooms in total in each building)
picture of children swimming in a pool
One of the pools at Villas Encanto
children's playground
Playground at Villas Encanto
landscaped gardens
Gardens at Villa Encanto
picture of a space that can be used as a reading spot or a co-working space
Reading/co-working space at Villas Encanto
picture of an outside, sitting area
Outdoor sitting area, with tables, chairs and hammocks

2.2. Hotel La Joya (Isla Mujeres)

Why it’s one of our most favorite accommodations:

  • beautifully built on different levels, on a hill, overlooking the ocean
  • waterfront
  • tropical flowers and lush vegetation all around the rooms
  • really good food at the hotel on site
children going down the stairs at a hotel with rock stairs, wooden railing and tropical flowers
Hotel la Joya
Picture of stairs going down, with a wood railing, tropical flowers, palm trees and a pool in the distance
Those gorgeous flowers at Hotel la Joya
pool and palm tree with ocean view
Pool at La Joya
picture of tropical flowers around stairs going up
I just can't get enough of this architecture
picture of people swimming in the Caribbean sea
Ocean view from the pool deck at Hotel La Joya
picture of a balcony overlooking the Caribbean sea
View from our balcony

2.3. The Lodge at Uxmal (Uxmal)

Why it’s one of our most favorite accommodations:

  • built with natural, local material
  • surrounded by gorgeous nature 
  • we woke up every morning to the songs of tropical birds
  • felt like we had stepped back in time and we were visiting an old hacienda
  • two outdoor pools
  • right across the street from the Mayan ruins of Uxmal

Related post: How to spend 3 magical days in Uxmal with kids

picture of a veranda, in a Mexican lodge
Veranda at The Lodge, with the thatched roof
hotel room, with two beds and mosquito nets
Room at The lodge at Uxmal
people swimming in a pool, with tropical nature around
One of the two pools at The Lodge at Uxmal

2.4. Casa del Sol (Merida)

Why we loved it:

  • restored colonial villa
  • simply gorgeous, it felt like we were in a palace 
  • spacious, clean, equipped with everything you might need
  • indoor pool
  • stunning Mexican decor
  • 10 minutes away from center by foot

Related post: 7 days in Merida with kids – best kid-friendly activities

Image of a yellow villa with blue loungers and an indoor covered pool.
Indoor pool (Casa del Sol)
picture of an orange patio, with a metal chair, hanging plants and a statue
Outdoor patio with shower (Casa del Sol)
Picture of a yellow kitchen, with Mexican tile work
Kitchen (Casa del Sol)
picture of an orange bedroom, with bed and a chandelier
Master bedroom that opens to the pool (Casa del Sol)

II. CENTRAL AMERICA

1. COSTA RICA

1.1. El Castillo de Amber  (Manuel Antonio)

What makes it one of our most favorite accommodations:

  • clean, spacious, cozy condo
  • the kitchen opened widely to the balcony
  • balcony overlooking the pool, jungle and the ocean
  • surrounded by wild animals (monkeys, sloths, macaws, geckos)
  • good location (close to a small grocery store, a pharmacy and several restaurants)
picture of a pool, jungle and the ocean in the distance
picture of a balcony, with a table, two chairs and flowers
Balcony at ''El Titi'', the condo we rented in El Castillo de Amber
woman, wearing a red bathing suit, sitting on the side of a pool
Pool at El Castilllo de Amber

1.2. Baldi Hot Springs resort (La Fortuna/Arenal)

Why we loved it:

  • set amidst the tropical rainforest, it felt like a lush oasis
  • 25 hot spring pools, temperatures from 93° to 158° F 
  • the water in the pools is thermo-mineral, fed naturally through springs from the Arenal volcano
  • cold pools, so you can do the hot/cold plunge
  • waterfalls at almost every pool
  • 3 water slides for older kids/grown-ups
  • a little water park, with pool, slide and splash area for little kids
  • a man-made sauna cave that had really fun, colorful lights
  • wild animals all around
picture of a sauna cave, with a waterfall and green light
The man-made sauna cave at Baldi
picture of landscaped gardens and letter ''B'' engraved on a flower pot
Beautifully landscaped gardens at Bali
Picture of two children and a man-made waterfall
Pool with waterfall at Baldi
picture of a small waterpark surrounded by tropical vegetation
The little kids' water park at Baldi
picture of a rock in a pool
The slides pool at Baldi
picture of a pool and tropical flora
Pool at Baldi

   I hope these places have inspired you to travel and check them out for yourself. If you do, please drop a comment and let me know how your experience was. Also, if you have some amazing accommodations to recommend, please do so in the comments. Let’s keep this list going.

 

   If you want to check out our most favorite accommodations in Asia, click here.

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