May 16, Villas Sacbe and Maya Villa
I wake early, as always. I like to watch the sunrise on the beach and go for a run. It’s a beautiful morning and promises to be a beautiful day. We have breakfast at Asi Beach Club. It’s a very Italian buffet from 8:30 – 11:30 daily. There are Mexican breads and croissants, yogurts, fruit, cheese and meats, granola, omelettes, and, of course, expresso, cappuchino, latte or American coffee. Although we long to linger and enjoy conversation with people sitting around us, it’s time to get to work.
Today we go through the units at Villas Sacbe and Maya Villa. Both properties are 1 block (short Mexican blocks instead of the longer American blocks) from El Taj Ocean. Guests at any of our 5 properties receive complimentary beach chairs at Asi Beach Club, located at El Taj Ocean and complimentary use of The Gym, located at Porto Playa (1.5 blocks from El Taj Ocean).
Of the 5 properties, Villas Sacbe is the least expensive and smallest. There are a total of 13 units, a small pool and a small Jacuzzi. Terry and I have stayed at least once in every unit here and we love Sacbe. It’s charming.
There are a couple of 1 bedroom units available for rent at Sacbe, a two-bedroom, and a 2 bedroom penthouse. Penthouses also have private rooftops with Jacuzzi, gas grill and lounge furniture.
As we are walking to the properties, Kelly spies my (and all of my girlfriends) favorite store, run by Senora Alicia Zamorano Camiro, at the corner of First Avenue and Calle 14. Although the name is Siete Detalles, we all just call it Senora’s store. She has a wide variety of dishware, pewter, decorations and glassware. I bought wine glasses for each of our condo’s in Playa and everyone loves them. When we walked by the store, Kelly saw the glasses in the window and asked if we could stop and buy some ($8 US). Every girlfriend I have brought with me to Playa has bought some for home. They are cute, colorful, and like nothing you can find at home. Lots of times I’m asked to buy more for my friends and bring them home (Just call me the Schlepper).
We finish up at Sacbe and move on to Maya Villa. The developer, Jack Perlman, has a keen eye for detail and all the properties have his signature wavy balconies, lush landscaping, and the most unbelievably eye-catching nighttime lighting you will ever see. Maya Villa has 13 condo’s – a mix of 1, 2, and 3 bedroom units, as well as 2 and 3 bedroom penthouses. The pool is in the shape of a ghecko and winds around to a wall with waterfalls.
By the time we are done at Maya Villa, we want a little bit to eat.
On Calle 14, across from El Taj Ocean, are two little restaurants.Las Quesadilla’s has excellent and very inexpensive food (Guacamole and chips are $15 pesos or $1.50 US). They’ve got quesadilla’s, taco’s and more. It’s an excellent place whether you eating there or get carryout for the beach or to have on the balcony of your unit. The other restaurant has limited hot food items, but great cakes and desserts as well as coffees, lattes, and expresso’s.
Dinner tonight is at Era Ora on First Ave and Calle 14. It is owned by Anna-Lie and Mario, from Sweden and Italy, respectively. After more than 3 years in Playa del Carmen, they decided to create a place where friends can meet, to have a quite (or not so quiet) drink, delicious lunch or dinner, like part of their family.
We walked as far north on The Fifth as we could go, and then came back to have Italian here. Grilled grouper with salad, rice, and vegetables ($12 US) was the special and we sat upstairs where the breeze kept us cool.
We capped off the night with the torch show at the BlueParrot, just 4 doors south of El Taj Ocean.