Hotel Review: MBH Maya Bacalar Mexico

We stayed at the MBH Maya Bacalar boutique hotel for two nights as part of a road-trip around the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico and it proved to be one of the highlights of our trip. 

Overall score: (4.5/5)

The view from the room

Lake Bacalar is simply a must see if you are visiting this region and is one of Mexico’s largest and most impressive. It is located near the country's border with Belize and is around 60 km long and 2 km at its widest point. It is famous for its amazing blue color and water clarity, and when the sun is out, it does not disappoint. Interesting is that the lake is fed by numerous underground rivers that also connect into Mexico’s famous cenotes. 

The MBH is effectively a 24-room hotel, split into six smaller buildings, surrounded by nature with private access to the Bacalar Lagoon (lake) and only five minutes drive from the main town (which we did not get a chance to visit). Each building offers four rooms, ensuring a good level of privacy with different levels of luxury according to your booking. High end rooms also feature a clear view of the lake and a hot tub on the terrace (although ours was looking increasingly rusty). Each building also has a rooftop terrace that can be used by that building’s guests offering even more impressive views of the lake and surrounding area.

Some rooms are equipped with outdoor tubs

The hotel comes with fully equipped rooms, a fun small outdoor restaurant and a separate bar near the lake-side that provide excellent food and cocktails in a jungle setting. It was very quiet when we were there and we appreciated that because when the hotel is full the restaurant and lake-side can become a little busy. The food at the restaurant is amazing. I would recommend taking the avocado with crab and the burger, but overall the food was great! In some cases we did feel the portions were either too big or small, so best to ask the waiter in advance.

One challenge we also faced in this hotel, as we did across Mexico, is that although staff are super friendly and helpful, there is a language barrier as few people in Mexico speak English. So brush up on your Spanish! 

All rooms have a lake view

The hotel grounds are set in a jungle and you can take a short walk around the property using the set out paths. On the lakefront the hotel constructed a pier which offers a number of sunbeds, nets to hang in above the water and a swing in the lake. This makes it an excellent place for instagrammers, offering endless photographic possibilities. The hotel also makes bikes available for exploring beyond the property but this will require you to head out to a very busy and dangerous main road, so we decided to skip this.

Overall we loved this place. It was calm and perfect for regaining your senses during a holiday.  There is not much to do at the hotel itself in terms of activities but you can book yourself a day trip on the lake or engage in other activities by using numerous activity apps such as GetYourGuide. 

We gave the following scores to the MBH Maya Bacalar:

Rooms: 4/5

Location: 5/5

Food: 4/5

Service: 5/5