My girlfriend and I stayed at Casa Luna for over a month during the Coronavirus breakout. We were looking for something safe, comfortable, and with excellent management. We found the perfect place.
INSIDE OF THE HOUSE. Huge and Gorgeous. You could fit an entire huge extended family here with so many bedrooms, common rooms and eating spaces. It is beautifully designed and laid out - it seemed as if a professional interior designer had come in and designed every corner of the place. There was no detail that was not taken care of. There are plenty of common spaces and also plenty of private spaces, so if you are here with your own family or multiple families, rest assured that you will have the privacy of your own space as well as many spaces to come together. The style is undeniably and authentically upscale Mexican-Caribbean, with handpainted tiles, aquatic decorations, and furniture made of rich local hardwoods.
The kitchen is enormous and has everything you would ever need - I mean everything - including restaurant-grade storage containers, a full spice rack, a conditioned food storage room, tableware and napkins for every occasion, enough pots and pans to host a wedding reception, and a new stove/oven/appliances and plenty of countertops. I mean wow.
The living room has a very comfortable built-in couch with a Roku TV set-up. I've stayed at a few places in Half Moon Bay and I can say that the internet here is the fastest I've found (consistent 15 - 20 Mbps upload, most places are lucky to have 5 Mbps). It has views of the ocean and a very comfortable indoor dining room right next to it.
The master bedroom is fit for a king and queen. Wake up with views of the ocean and a Seabreeze. There is a bedroom with bunk beds off the master and a private terrace with two Adirondack chairs perfect for morning coffee. The bathroom is huge with a double sink, water jug, large mirror and a huge shower that you enter through a swing-door with views of the ocean.
THE OUTSIDE. Another wow. First, a private pool with all the pool-side furniture you would ever need, including inflatable resting tubes that are perfect for a relaxing afternoon. There is someone on-site to clean it every day. Beautiful views of the pool from the living room. The water gets warmest around 3-4 PM.
Off the living room, there is an outdoor dining room where we spent most of our time. It is covered by a large roof that provides shade throughout the entire day. It is made of that same beautiful local dark hardwood and can comfortably fit 8 people. Every day you have native animal visitors - Pancho the agouti (an very cute small-dog-sized animal that reminds me of a large squirrel), Fred the iguana, multiple birds, and hundreds of hermit crabs who crawl their way from the ocean inland (some are small are as small as a snail and some are as large as a baseball). You feel like you are in the Caribbean garden of Eden. Spending time with the local animals day and night and becoming close to them was one of the highlights. The house is located right next to a park with no development and full of foliage, palm trees, and tropical grass - which leaves you with a feel of a tropical jungle with every view to the right, the perfect addition to your beach-front views right in front of you.
There is an enormous outdoor garden with palm trees, banana trees, and a well-kept lawn. The friendly handyman Humberto put up two hammocks for us in the garden, which was the perfect place to read, rest, or nap. Listening to the waves of the ocean and seeing all the animals coming from the park next to us and from the ocean was quite a surreal experience.
The Decks. To leave the best for last would not be an understatement. There is an infrastructure of 3 levels of decks that just keep getting better and better. The first deck is huge and affords you views of all of half moon bay and the ocean. We did yoga and exercises there during the mornings and at sunset. I couldn't think of a better place to live in the moment and escape life back home. Not only is there a huge platform with lounge chairs, but there are also a built-in couch into the concrete facade on the first deck. The second level of decks is up the stairs and affords you an even better view of the bay. 220-degree views of ocean and coastline. Another two lounge chairs there to take in the views and sip your happy hour drink. If that's not enough, the third level has a BAR known famously in all of Akumal as the "viewing room". A full bar decorated with aquatic paintings from local painters, four bar stools, and a table with four tables made of local woods. The views from this crow's nest are the best in the entire house. You feel like you are in the clouds looking down on an entire Caribbean civilization - coastline, open ocean, and even sunset views from the other side. If that's not enough, there is a huge extension off the "viewing room" with an additional terrace with even better sunset views and an additional card room perfect that seems designed for poker night for the guys. The details and secret nooks of the house seem to never cease.
THE STAFF. The housekeeper Rosa was extremely friendly and even cleaned our clothes for us. She took care of every detail. The handyman/gardener Humerto filled our water every day, and always asked us what we needed - fixing every little thing. The security guard Andres trolled the premises every hour making sure everything was fine. We felt very well cared for.
THE MANAGEMENT. Ingrid deserves her own paragraph. Shakespeare could not have scripted a more perfect manager. Ingrid is kind, attentive, responsive, and will go out of her way to help you. She has the stable affectation of a yogi and the responsiveness of a kind professional with your best interests always in mind. Since we've left Casa Luna we've continued to stay in contact since we've realized she is such a good person, she has the rare quality of equanimity and kindness that you'd be lucky to find in a person, let alone a manager. Whenever you ask for anything, she answers. Whenever you are in doubt, she has the answers. I've stayed at hundreds of rental houses and I have to say Ingred takes the cake for the best manager.
THE LOCATION. Akumal is a hidden gem. Far from the touristy crowded lures of Tulum, Playa del Carmen and Cancun, Akumal sits apart as one of the last vestiges of what used to be a quiet private Caribbean paradise in the Mexican Riviera. The snorkeling in Half Moon Bay or neighboring beaches rivals the best in the world - frequent sightings of turtles, stingrays, parrotfish, and an array of corrals. Speaking of turtles, Akumal in Mayan literally means "place of the turtle" - turtles nest here every year from May to November so you will Turtle nests and hatchlings if you're here during that time. There is also a thriving community of locals living here who are extremely friendly and very willing to share local history and contemporaneous information to further enrich your experience.
As for restaurants, our favorite was Lol-Ha (what a name), which has amazing pozole (rich soup/stew with chickpeas and meat in a tomato-based broth) on Sundays. The locals love La Buena Vida for Happy Hour and First Fridays (must wear a creative shirt). La Lunita has amazing local fish and vegan tacos. Que Onda has delicious Italian food, Taverna has a great menu, and Loncheria right next to the General Store has great breakfast. If you want to go more local, head over the bridge to Akumal Pueblo (town) for some tacos and Margheritas at Tequilaville.
Akumal is beautiful. La Casa Luna is more beautiful. If you're looking for your perfect Caribbean vacation, you don't need to look any further.
Todas las reservas se hacen directamente con el propietario 