My husband and I stayed in the Carisa builidng 12-19 April 2005 for one week with an ocean view room. We were on the second floor (I prefer lower floors), which was great since we used the stairs when the elevator was slow. Sometimes it was slow and sometimes it was fine. It was not a big deal for us. The elevator fits 3 people but there are two elevators. The end rooms are smaller than the middle rooms, we had an end room which was fine. There was some music noise from the nearby clubs at night. We could have switched to the Palma builidng which would have been a bit quieter but the music was not that loud and we didn't want to pack up and move. It is a budget hotel but very clean. Our maid was so nice we enjoyed talking to her every time we saw here. There was no maid service on Sundays. We had no problem getting extra sheets, toilet paper, etc. at the desk whenever we needed it. Service was good. It is a private condo hotel. We had a small kitchenette in the room which was really great. No counter space at all but not a big deal. I peaked into the other middle room while the maid was in there and they were bigger with good counter space, I guess they reserve those rooms for those that pay more. We paid around $70.00 a night so we were very happy with what we got. The maid washed our dishes every day (except Sunday). Everything worked fine. We used the fridge, coffeemaker and microwave, tv. (Bring your own ground coffee from home, especially if you like Starbucks quality - - Mexican coffee is horrible). Shower was great, we had great pressure and hot water every day. The toilet was slow but not a problem. The air conditioner was great, just a bit noisy, but no problem. The bed sheets were thin and old, but clean, but we just got extra ones and doubled up the sheets, so that was good. The furniture in the room was old and damaged, but for what we paid for oceanfront, we did not mind at all. There was a room safe under the sink. There was a daily charge for the lock and key for the safe, but it was minimal. The security seemed a bit more lax than at a regular hotel, but we felt safe and usually always saw a security guard on the beach and walking around between the two buildings. The outdoor beach showers were nice and warm and good pressure. The beach was in the regenerating stage but still nice with large and small rocks and boulders, with these beautiful little sand beaches surrounded by giant rocks, so very beautiful with several cozy little beach areas. We snorkeled right from our beach at the hotel around these giant rocks. It was fun and we did see fish of many sizes but not a super great snorkeling spot, just so fun and convenient to do from the hotel. It was nice to snorkel there, then go back to the room to drop off the gear, come right back out to swim at the sandier beaches just a short walk from the hotel. It is a very short walk anyway to bigger sandy beaches to use. Very nice. We walked both north and south to enjoy all the beaches. We walked north for a few minutes and swam at the sandy beach at the NH Krystal hotel. And we walked south for a while and used the really nice beach at the Hyatt Cancun. The location was great and you could walk to the shops Coral Negro and El Zocolo in a few minutes. The bus stop was very close. There was always a guard at the gate of the entrance to the hotel's parking lot. There was a small store on the property for snacks etc. The hotel's swimming pool was nice but needed more attention in cleaning the leaves and a floating bottle in it. But we prefered the sea and beach anyway. So for the cost of the hotel and what we got, we think it was a bargain. If you don't mind an older property with minor faults, this is great. We will stay here again.
