HotelChatter

Tags: Mexico Hotels / Yucatan Hotels / Hotel Deals / Budget Hotels / → All Tags

What $50 Gets You in Mérida, Mexico

Where: Calle 55 #499 x 60 y 58, Mérida, Mexico

While the hordes flooded into Cancun over spring break/Easter week, other tourists fled to calmer places away from the coast, such as the city of Mérida less than four hours away. Home to a 16th-century church, nightly park concerts, and nearby Maya ruins including Uxmal, this attractive city is also blessed with dozens of evocative hotels with great rates.

We spent some time at our usual haunt, Luz en Yucatan. Voted the "best small hotel under $100" by YucatanLiving.com, this quirky, artsy inn was purchased by two new owners at the end of '06. They have spruced up the place and added four new rooms with decks and hammocks right off the pool.

Still, regular rooms run $40 to $65 and suites cost only $65 to $85. Tom and Donard have kept one unusual rate gimmick that long-time guest love: on the website you plug in your income as "exceedingly," "moderately," or "not at all" successful and you are charged accordingly. Shoestring travelers pay $5 to $15 less than "exceedingly successful" ones. See the screenshot here, then follow the link to their wonderfully weird website to see pics of the rooms.