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by _charlotte_
Thunder Bay, Ontario
October 11, 2004
The Roca Mar has a beautiful and modest Mexican decor. The floor is ceramic tiled, some with wave and some with fish patterns. The east rooms have a delightfully private balcony overlooking the wild east side of Isla Mujeres. The ocean below roars you to sleep-talk about white sound.
Ceiling fans and the ocean breeze keep you comfortable without even a thought of air conditioning. The beds are not uncomfortably hard, and there are hammock hooks in the rooms and on the balcony. You can purchase a hammock on the main street two blocks northwest on the cobblestone road.
The hotel has warm water, but sometimes it takes a little while to reach the upper rooms and the pressure is low. It only trickles on you, but it is just fine. Complimentary coffee available in the lobby is great to take back up to your balcony. A nice little Mexican breakfast place, La Cazuela M & J, is just outside the hotel with umbrella-covered tables to let you enjoy the surf sights and sounds with your desayuno.
Oceanside rooms were 650 pesos in 2003. There are more expensive ocean-side suites and less expensive town-side rooms. There is a fair-size freshwater swimming pool and sunning area. The hotel encircles a pretty little courtyard, office, and parking lot. It might not be a parking lot, but the occasional car parks in the courtyard. No one really needs a car on the tiny island, though there are a few. You can easily walk to the Hotel Roca Mar once you disembark from the ferry or negotiate a price with a bicycle cart driver to transport you and your luggage up the hill to the east side of the island.
The Hotel Roca Mar is a 3- to 4-block walk to what might be the best beach of the Caribbean, Coco/North Beach. The paving stone along the east coast takes you almost all the way there. Hear and see for yourself, as they have a great little website: Isla Mujeres Hotel Roca Mar
From journal A Bit of the Yucatan Peninsula