Hacienda Chichen 2+ hours from Tulum

[LizardLady]

Because someone on this board asked (yeah!)

Hacienda Chichen is paradise inland. A lush, green forest, yellow paintings, and in April will probably be very colorful with all the trees in bloom.

Their website has great photos and mine below will only prove that the owners have kept this hacienda in great shape. I don't have any of the rooms photo-journaled. I can tell you that the rooms are actually separate buildings located down raised cement paths, scattered around the west side of the hacienda. We stayed in Suite Thompson building which also had 2 other occupied rooms and were never disturbed. We even had an enclosed patio with a hammock!!! The pool is simple but beautifully surrounded with greenery, and they serve food and cerveza poolside. Their little souvenir shop donates funds to local schools.

The food was AMAZING! A breakfast fruit plate and a dinner of shrimp mignon with chaya relish that was so good we had it twice while there. Even the chips and guac were great when we ordered from the evening bar/patio.

Chichen Itza is down the road about 1/4 mile. You actually pass by another hotel (names, names, sorry, can't remember). Looked like an overdone Quality Inn, but the top corner room would have had a view of the Observatory in Chichen Itza
The front desk of Haciend Chichen will arrange for a guide who can meet you at their front steps and include a walk around of the hacienda which ihas ruin stones they have found in and around the buildings. (yep, the place was built from scavenged ruins just like the church in Pista town center.) Our guide was local to Pista and for extra $$ and a car ride, took us to another ruins site about 30min away that has yet to be cleared. Ruins in the jungle – it was very Real! (good pollo places in town as well.)

Additionally, the hacienda offers a birding tour in the early morning by a very knowledgeable guide. He was able to local birds by their morning calls. I was not impressed by the spa treatment, but I'm not a great judge since I don't do spa stuff very often. It just seems like a fancy massage that actually wasn't a good massage (IMHO).

I would definitely try to get back there again some day.

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public bathroom (senoras)
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bar at night
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You can't take a bad picture of the Castillo at Chichen Itza
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[Toni]

I absolutely love Hacienda Chichen...we are staying there for a couple of nights in Oct. Oh those bathrooms, thanks for some good fotos and great report. Here are a couple from our trip there last yr.



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[AdGuy]

Beautiful shots! Do you remember the name of the jungle ruin site the guide took you to Lizard Lady?

[LizardLady]

Beautiful shots! Do you remember the name of the jungle ruin site the guide took you to Lizard Lady?

I wrote in my journal that it was called Ya Xuna (mayan name, you can tell by the "X" :) )

Many on this forum are the adventurous type and might want to try to find this place. I'll give directions from my recollection of driving there. Travel at your own risk, this was from memory. Maybe you could ask someone in Pista for something more specific, but here you go.

From Hacienda Chichen, go back through Pista and bear left at the town center church. Turn left at the last road before 'heading out of town'. I recall a painting on the side of a building that was of a Disney Cinderella. I think a 'you missed it' marker would be a big tourist diner place on the left a bit farther down. Typical big lot for buses, costumed servers, parking 'attendent'.
Drive about 25 minutes, through at least 3 villages (topes in and out with souvenirs) and look for blue Ruins sign pointing to the left for Ya Xuna. I believe it was the only blue sign for ruins on the entire road. I can not give a 'you missed it' marker so make sure you have gas in case you end up in the next state ;) . Obviously new road (even for that area).
At the sign, make a hairpin turn left and go back parallel to the main road on a dirt road. The dirt road will peal off to the right and go back about 1 mile. A few other cars were parked between trees on the left. And then you can see a small stone ?temple? stack of rock that you can climb. Very narrow steps, 2 levels high (mayan levels). And then more build structures can be seen when you start to look through the trees, including a ball court. Looks like the archeologist started, then poured asphalt on some of the exposed stone, and left it for a while. Guide said about 1200 structures in the immediate area.

I question myself for writing this all out. I could say I'm just trying to help out others on the forum, but really, it's helping me recall the beauty of whole Mexico vacation. I want to go back. Yep. I could be addict.
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[minniemex]

If I ever get sick of being on the beach this looks to be a beautiful place to visit!!

[beachreader]

That looks very cool! I think Hacienda Chichen is where we hooked up with our guide. My friends were supposed to stay there but they messed up their reservation and put them at the much-less spiffy place in town. They were pretty pizzed about that, and they also messed up their rental car deal. But the hotel itself looked really lovely, very Spanish colonial. I'd love to see inside some of the rooms.

I took pictures of a peacock and a family of iguanas, but nothing very helpful.

[Lynnette]

I've been away for several days, and what a pleasant surprise to find your beautiful pics, LL!!!! We will be staying at the Hacienda at the end of THIS month and I really am excited, now. Gorgeous photos and narrative.....thanks so much for posting!! :)