Hotel Casa del Balam

1 Alan Medina - 5 months ago

The hotel is great: clean, cozy and it’s located in a very good zone in the center of Merida. The staff is friendly and overall we had a great experience.
However, I forgot my swim suit on my room and I called them the very same day to check if they found it. They denied to have found it.
I was left with a bittersweet feeling

5 Tim Spencer - a month ago

This is a wonderful hotel, right in the heart of Merida, and superb value for money. The staff were some of the most helpful and friendly we've come across. The hotel has retained its colonial-style charm, whilst being immaculately clean. We loved the decor, which felt like being back in times gone by - the downstairs area is beautiful, with lots of attention to detail, and a fountain in the central area - we simply loved the character. The swimming pool and its surroundings provided a peaceful and serene setting to relax, and we treated ourselves to massages, which were excellent value and quality. The location couldn't be better, with short walking distance to the historic centre, as well as bars and restaurants. Room size is very generous, the beds were super comfy (we all slept extremely well). The hotel is attached to the Bistrola restaurant, which we absolutely loved too - had a number of meals (breakfast, dinner), stopped for drinks etc - staff very friendly, and great live music at weekends. Can't speak highly enough of this place, and will definitely go back to Casa del Balam.

1 Ian Usher - 4 months ago

We booked to stay here via booking.com, selecting a larger room with a balcony and view over the pool. When we arrived we were given a different room, without an open balcony, and with a view of air conditioning units on a roof. No pool view.
We spoke to reception, but were told "the pictures on booking.com are only representative, but don't always show the room you get"!!
We'd paid quite a premium for a particular room, but the one we booked was not available.
Reception was unhelpful, and whoever they called didn't care at all.
We demanded a full refund, which we received, and then had to find another place to stay. The next hotel we found was cheaper, cleaner, and very well-located.
Won't be coming back to Casa del Balam, and won't be recommending it to anyone either.
Very poor service indeed.

5 Fernando Vargas - 4 months ago

A great place to stay in the Historic heart of Merida. Walking distance to just about every place you would want to eat. It has a colonial touch to it. the staff I found to be really friendly and helpful. The rooms are of excellent size, clean, and kept stocked with room toiletries. The Bistro downstairs offers an array of beverages, food and made to order requests. They have an inhouse "Tour's" service priced very reasonable compared to other local tours competitors. If you are one of those individuals or families that prefer to rent a vehicle; there are 3 rental locations steps from each other next to the Hotel. Come and give Casa Del Balam a try, you won't be disappointed .

1 Carlos Maldonado - 4 months ago

Rooms are clean but very noisy. A/C rambles and makes a lot of noise so it's hard to have a nice sleep.
The bathroom smells bad from the drainage. I booked 4 nights without knowing all this of course so I tried to cancel after 1 night and I was charged the full 4 nights (I paid in advance). So, be aware of making the same mistake as I did and do not pay in full until you are 100% sure you are ok with noisy room and smelly bathrooms.

1 Martin Rouchmann - 2 months ago

By far the worst travel experience of my life, and met the most mean and unfriendly staff ever. We booked 2 rooms and we arrived at 18.30 they claimed that the hotel reserves the right to cancel if you arrive after 18.00. The only mention on both site and confirmations was to inform the hotel if you will be late and we were in an OK window of time and had no one phone connection due to heavy storms.

We reviewed all the paperwork and while there are mentions of informing the staff of late arrival there is no clear statement of the hotel having this right to cancel. We had just arrived after a 3 hour drive with hungry children and no sense of empathy was shown. We had to look for something last minute at high season prices and they could not care less and made it blatantly obvious. They even would ignore when talking. After our persistence to find us something at a similar level, they booked us at what they claimed was a similar hotel at 2 blocks distance and gave us instructions on how to get there as our phones had no connections still at this point. Turns out they gave us wrong instructions and put us on a wild goose chase with small kids and luggage in dark alleys putting us in an unsafe position. We went back to the on the hotel with my kids crying because they were afraid and hungry and the night staff and bellmen sent us to the holiday in for double the price

4 Ruud - a month ago

Good hotel, nice pool, great and insta-worthy exterior. The rooms were okay. However, at the 6th floor we barely had water when showering: so little that at some point the shower even stopped to work at all for a few minutes.

Oh and btw, the indoor restaurant tries to trick you: for example suddenly suggesting that the pool is not eligible for happy hour while the day before it was. Also messed up the bill completely with other couples. Quite messy.