Hacienda Sacnicte, Yucatan Penninsula

We stumbled upon this dreamy Hacienda quite by accident but it turned out to be the highlight of our visit to the Yucatan. We stayed there on the way back from Merida to Cancun and couldn’t believe our luck. The 10 room Hacienda is situated on the outskirts of the quaint Mayan town of Izamal. It is surrounded by beautiful gardens attended to by a local Mayan couple, Paco and Hermita who live on the property. Bougainvilleas, hibiscus, lime and orange trees, banana and tamarind trees fill the beautiful landscape. The Hacienda itself makes you want to stay there forever. 10 rooms, each with it’s own unique architecture, decorations and finishes, are available for a memorable stay. As it happened, the Hacienda was between groups of European guests when we arrived and we had the entire place to ourselves. We were greeted by Carlos and Orlando, the two local Mayan employees who took care of our every need. Immediately upon arrival we settled in the gorgeous Poppy room in the Hacienda’s main house and sat on the covered porch overlooking the pool and gardens with a tall glass of freshly made Tamarind cooler prepared and served by Carlos. We were taken on a tour of the Hacienda, the grounds and each of the rooms (each with it’s own name), and were shown images of the Hacienda’s history and reconstruction.

A lovely couple, Nadia and Phillipo, Italian and French, respectively, own this lovely hacienda. They purchased the crumbling structure, overgrown with weeds and without its current glory a few years ago and restored it with the help of local craftsmen, builders and artists to a perfect place to invite guests for a memorable Hacienda experience. Architecturally it’s a masterpiece, with natural materials used in beautiful, unexpected ways. Soaring high ceilings, spacious, gorgeous bathrooms, rain showers and huge stone sinks are but few of the features. Comfortable furniture throughout the main house and porch invite leisure and reflection.

The beautiful artwork and most of the wall finishing were done by the Belgian artist Peter Terrin who lives and works in Puerto Aventuras on the Mayan Riviera (terrinart.com). Take note of how they preserved the old murals in the dining room (a chapel in a previous life), to maintain the historical integrity and continuity of the Hacienda (read about it on the Hacienda’s website).

I highly recommend a stay at this dream of a place. And when you are in Playa del Carmen stop by for dinner at Da Gigi, the Italian restaurant owned by Nadia and Phillipo, the Hacienda’s owners, to say hello and enjoy their fabulous cuisine.

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