The best part about vrbo, etc. is, if you’re lucky, you’ll get to stay in a place that feels like a home. If you’re really lucky, you’ll get to connect with great hosts in a way that you never could with employees or staff at a hotel. In our case with Villas Marushiña, we were lucky on both counts.
To begin with, Nora, Maria Elena, and Gil are fantastic hosts. They’re so genuinely friendly and were always very quick to respond to any questions we had, even about things not necessarily related to the apartment. We were also lucky enough to have been able to tag along with Nora and Maria Elena one day to a local cenote. This family will always be a fond part of our memories from our trip and we’re hoping we get to see them again someday.
As for the apartment, it was perfect for us. We stayed in the middle floor of 3 apartments in the building and it was very peaceful and quiet. There’s a clean, shared pool in the back and a shared palapa with hammocks on the roof top. A balcony at the front of the apartment overlooked the dead-end street. Only 1 house separated the villa from the edge of the mangrove. All the rooms were very spacious and comfy and the tv had a bunch of channels. The kitchen had everything we needed and more. The refrigerator was huge with a water dispenser connected to drinkable water. There was laundry detergent, dish soap, a new sponge, spices, a blender, gas stove, plenty of cooking utensils…everything! Another thing that was great for us was that the king bed could be separated into 2 twins (we needed 2 beds) and, upon arrival, we found that they had done the work for us and set up the two beds in the room in a perfect way. On the opposite side of the bedroom there is a nice sized closet, extra towels and sheets, an iron and a scale. Safety was never a concern but, even so, the villa had a big wall all around it with a locked gate (like most houses here do) and the door to the apartment had a handy keypad entry so you never had to worry about losing a key.
The location of the villa was also perfect. Just a few blocks east was the beach and a few blocks more got you right to the center square. We took Spanish lessons at a great Language Center (highly recommend) and that was less than 2 blocks away. Everything was close. Overall, Villas Marushiñas was a great place for us. Muchas gracias to Nora, Maria Elena, and Gil for a great stay in Puerto Morelos.