Our Thanksgiving week at Casa MarCaribe was a 3-generation family trip of ten, ages 2-74. (Should have been 14 of us; sadly four could not join us due to last minute Covid.) The dirt road in is a potholed mess, but the house makes up for it! It's spotless and roomy; the bedrooms are comfortable and cool with room AC. We lucked out with gorgeous weather to enjoy the pool, kayaking and a calm ocean just steps from the house-- just the ticket for young children. We visited Coba and Tulum Mayan Ruins, Dos Ojos cenote. While enjoying some great lunches and dinners out, we also found that Tulum's Chedraui grocery store provided all the food/beverages we needed for delicious Mexican home cooking. Kitchen wasn't as equipped as we'd have liked -- and there was no microwave as advertised. But everything else-- perfecto! Candy and Fernando were always helpful, and set up at-home Covid testing for us. Highly recommended!

I don’t even know where To begin. The family before us their review was pretty spot on! It’s unfortunate that we didn’t see it until our 3rd night there. The owner was defensive when I brought up the issues which only made it worse. When I spoke to her on the phone a couple days prior to our arrival there was no mention about how terrible the seaweed was. In fact her words included a promise of a white sandy beach and clear blue water. No where did she say the smell of dead seaweed from the front AND back of the house was so so bad that it legitimately will wake you up at 3am on the dot every morning. She also states in her listing that there is AC ( I made sure to SS it before she changed it) in the house. Well that’s not entirely true. Only the bedrooms will have AC with the exception of the 2nd master room ..... the AC was not functioning. The lack of AC wouldn’t have been an issue if we could move passed the smell of what I would imagine dead corpses in order to keep the windows open. Also , the house isn’t quite the same as pictured. The pool isn’t even the same! If you’re going expecting a relaxing time under the palapas ... well you’ll have to go to the neighbor and make friends and maybe they will allow you to use theirs... since that’s what is pictured in the listing. The seaweed I understand is not in her control. But the rotting seaweed is. And I feel it’s something she should have mentioned when we spoke on the phone. This trip turned out to be a big disappointment and not at all what was sold to us

I’m not quite sure how to review this home. The pictures definitely paint it in a very good light. There are parts of the home that are nice, like the pool and the living area/ eating areas that looks out on the pool. We went with another family and it was nice to have two sides of the house that were identical so we all had our space. However there is so much that was in disrepair and things that really made our stay difficult. For starters, only the bedrooms are air conditioned and the air conditioner in one of the master’s was broken upon arrival. It was nearly 100 degrees and 95% humidity while we were there. If you were anywhere outside the bedrooms in the home it was absolutely miserable, even with the “sea breeze” coming in from the windows. Also, I know the owners cannot control the seaweed, but just as a warning, the seaweed was not just annoying because you can’t swim in the ocean, but the smell is rancid and completely overwhelming. They have people attempting to shovel it up, though it doesn’t even make a dent in the amount of seaweed, and they just end up taking it to a giant pile in front of the house. So there are piles of seaweed in front of the house and on the beach and the smell was truly terrible. Even if the home was amazing, I would never go back just because of the smell and you just cannot escape it, since you have to leave the windows and doors open because of the absence of air conditioning. It was just too hot to not have the entire home air conditioner. The kitchen is just ok, though it was nice to have 2 refrigerators. The groundskeeper and the housekeeper were great. There were a lot of other things in the house in disrepair, but I can overlook most of that. The biggest problem was the heat and the smell. We won’t be staying here again and wouldn’t recommend this property either.

This house is absolutely gorgeous! We had a group of 10 and it was very comfortable! Highly recommend the private chef service, the food was delicious! We loved the semi private beach and access to kayaking. My friends and I were able to spend a couple of hours stargazing on the rooftop. Everything was just perfect! Fernando and Candy helped us with anything we needed, they were so sweet and extremely helpful. The hospitality was just fantastic!!! We would definitely recommend and definitely go back.

Nancy was so easy to work with and so pleasant. We had a problem with the water pressure and Nancy immediately tried to solve it and offered us a discount. Highly recommend hiring the chefs. They are terrific.

I loved, loved everything! Super safe. House staff very accommodating. Super clean

Absolutely beautiful place. Views were amazing, the bay is calm and peaceful, and the house fit 14 of comfortably. Will definitely be coming back!

THIS PLACE WAS AWESOME!! My Buddies and i stayed at Nancys home for a week and it had to be one of the most relaxing weeks of vacation i have ever been on! the beach is beautiful, chef Susan was and her assistant Fernando were both 10/10 and were there to help with any concerns we had at all hours of the day! the home is actually about 30 min from Tulum, but the home speaks for itself! be careful for the security guards as they could take their job a little too seriously but this vacation was luxury at its finest thanks to Nancy! would recommend this home to anyone looking to see Tulum, and the beautiful cenotes!

The villa is roomy and had a lots of space for 16 of us. The location is unbeatable, right on the sandy beach with the palm trees surrounding the property. The kayaks were great, our group enjoyed using them. The ocean is just gorgeous, with no waves. There was some seagrass by the shore and on the beach, but it was tolerable, and it was promptly removed from the beach by the stuff.The chief's services were great as well. We were provided with tasty Mexican food, and it was fantastic.

Our stay at Soliman Bay in Villa MarCaribe included six couples in our thirties. We each had our own bedroom and attached bathroom. We would highly highly recommend going with the chef services. Not only is it cost-effective but the food is excellent. Our chefs Guillermo and Miguel were amazing. They prepared three Mexican-style meals per day. We chose the menu the day prior. They were also willing to mix a cocktail of the day for us. We were extremely happy with this service and again would like to recommend it. If you are someone who enjoys excellent-quality food than there is no doubt that you should choose this service in order to eat great local food without spending an astronomical amount at local restaurants. If you love teal, warm ocean water with amazing views and top-notch accommodations; relaxing beach strolls; water sports and pool or ocean swimming than this is your place. Nancy, the owner in CA was easy to work with and the caretakers are onsite and responsive to our requests. Cheers and hope you enjoy your stay as much as we did!

The Good: The Chefs - Get them! They were great! The location - 10 min drive away from the town of Tulum (and ruins), and 15 mins away from the 'hip' part of town. Hammocks - Enough said! Chamico's - Best seafood right down the street from the house! Amazing hut on a beach serving fresh ceviche, fish, and lobster! Hotel Jashita - Another great hotel/restaurant down the street. A little more upscale than Chamico's, but worth it. Book early, as they fill up. The So-So: The House - Lots of little touch ups needed here and there. Broken screens, jammed doors, chipped/peeling paint - The place just needs some TLC. The House is huge, and each bedroom has a bathroom. The AC in each room worked. As stated in the ad, there is NO AC in the main part of the house, so it leads to a lot of stale/stagnant air during the summer months. Some of the rooms smelled a little moldy, but maybe that comes with the territory. The Ugly: Seaweed - Apparently the area is being hit with a LARGE swell of seaweed. There was so much of it that you had to wade through a lot just to get into the ocean. I don't think it's typical, but it's a good question to inquire about. The seaweed sits on the beach for days at a time, and starts to rot, so you have high temps, mixed with rotting seaweed, which all adds up to a great odor-ific party. To the point of several guests feeling nauseas during a strong breeze. Owner Communication - It was fine before the trip. Some emails took a while to answer, but she was accommodating. Once the issue with the seaweed started, the emails because very accusatory/defensive. We just wanted a clean beach. Several other houses on the bay had people cleaning up the beach daily, but for some reason, ours did not. After dealing with the smell for 5 days, we decided to take matters into our own hands, and shovel it up ourselves. We never got an apology or 'thank you' for the clean up, only requests for photographs to prove my friends were doing it themselves, and then a response that 'seaweed is an act of nature, and not covered as stated in the agreement.' This was after several polite emails requesting that something be done to help with the seaweed. For the amount we paid for a week, we'd expected to have a little more assistance to clean up the area. In the end, we were offered a small refund (<3% of the total). We wouldn't recommend this house to any friends based on lack of accountability/communication with the owner.

We frequent the area because it is easy travel for us and predictible. We live in the northern U.S., so it is a great winter getaway. The weather has always been close to perfect. The Cancun airport is easy, as is the travel from the airport to this home. We always rent a car. There is a decent grocery store in Tulum, but there are many great restaurants closeby. Our favorite little joint between Cancun and this home is Turtle Bay Cafe in Akamal. My daughter thinks they have the best smoothies anywhere hands-down (perhaps just nostalgic, but they are good!) We eat at most restaurants without concern (but we always ask if they use purified water/ice). We are a little more careful cooking with food/water when at home (use iodine to clean everything). This is an absolutely Lovely Home. Everything was as it looked in the photos. We visited and stayed with only four of us(2 adults, 15 yo and 11 yo). It would be a great spot for multi-family gatherings or other larger group. The description says 6 bedrooms, which is accurate. However, two of the rooms also have separate sitting rooms with a couch that converts to a comfortable bed, which is separated from the main bedroom by heavy curtains, so each could be easily used for another sleeping room. The private outdoor space makes this home even more special. We did not use it, but the roof top deck is huge and would be a great place for a party. It is very convenient to have the pool, hammocks, paddle boarts, kayaks and life jackets all availbale for your use. it is very peaceful. The caretakers on-site and owner, (Nancy in CA) are both responsive and good to work with. The wi-fi is a little hit or miss. Also, there are lot of weeds off shoreline, so you need to paddle out a distance to swim. It is a calm bay, which is great for boating, snorkeling. Don't anticipate riding waves here. There are several fun activities in the area if you are looking for adventure. We love the beach at Tulum. There are some good restaurants there. We prefer the ruins at Coba over Chichen Itza. We also recommend the 4 in 1 tour with zip lines, skycyle, cavern rappal and cave snorkel and XPLOR. We did the XPLOR Fuego (night time with fire) and would highly recommend it (avoid the lines & the heat and it is fun to do at night). I would pick the latter if just picking one. Enjoy. It's a beautiful place!

My family of 10 ranging in ages from 26 to 76 rented both sides of Villa MarCaribe for 4 nights. With 6 bedrooms and 6+ bathrooms, we were all afforded our own privacy, as well as, many common gathering areas. We tended to gather in the kitchen and livingroom on one side or on the large patios by the pool. This villa has air conditioned bedrooms and large windows and fans in the common areas to allow the sea breezes throughout the downstairs. We were greeted by the onsite caretakers, Elena and Pancho, who brought us delicious margaritas when we arrived. In the mornings we hiked around the ruins of Tulum, Coba, and Muyil. Our afternoons were spent shopping in Tulum, and snorkeling and kayaking in Soliman Bay, and then relaxing around the beautiful beachside pool or swinging in the hammocks under the beach palapas. One afternoon we went north to Akumal Bay (Turtle Bay) to check out the turtles in the bay. We were delighted with all of the sea life there! An afternoon downpour didn't deter us from having a fantastic time! Each evening we chose to use the large BBQ grill for our dinners. We shopped in Tulum at the Bodega which is actually a WalMart. The prices there were cheaper than at the San Francisco grocery store. Due to the make-up of our family, we didn't have Elena cook for our family. We really wanted to, but we have a lot of picky eaters and getting together one menu to appease everyone would have been impossible!!! Each of the kitchens both had plenty of dishes, glasses, silverware, etc. for us to cook, prepare, and store our meals in. We did eat out at Oscar Y Lola's and really can't recommend it. It had extremely high prices and the majority of my family didn't like their dishes. They did like eating lunch at Urge Taquito in Tulum. They absolutely loved the fish tacos. A word of warning though....their meats are all breaded and fried, but they were delicious. The villa has 2 kayaks with backrests, 1 without, and 2 paddle boats. The paddle boats were tried, but parked after a quick spin, too much work for a vacation!!! The villa has a large supply of life jackets and fins. We didn't see any masks. The coastline is covered with seashells so seashell hunting is a must! The bay is gorgeous on sunny days. Unfortunately we had a couple of rainy days, but we didn't let the rain stop us from snorkeling in the bay. All in all, this home was an awesome vacation rental. I couldn't be more pleased and would love to return.

We just rented Casa Kristie & Jihae-it was perfect for our large family group. The pics on the internet do not do it justice. It is comfortable, well equipped and appointed with lovely art work. The location is awesome! The pool, kayaks ,hammocks are great amenities . The caretakers are excellent and helpful. We would highly recommend this rental.It is exceptional!