I admitted that I chose Xbalamque because I wanted to save some money. However, please take my advice that do not book with this hotel regardless what discount rate you get.

1. The hotel staff was rude and very unfriendly. With other hotels, the rule is "service first, then get tips". With Xbalamque, tip has to come first, and you might not even get the service you request.

2. The hallway was so dark as someone has posted in one of the previous comments. The hotel tried to save some electric, so the light was only turned on at the area where you're at. There were mosquitos everywhere.

3. I stayed in room 209, and everything was so terrible. There was dark, brown water [or who knows what it really is] all over the floor next to the toilets. There was a standing shower right next to the toilet, and again, there was brown water all over the floor in the shower. Please see my pictures

4. There was no remote control for the television. Even though there were quite many tv channels, I could not sit in front of the television to change them. Thus, having a tivi in the room was quite useless.

5. The table was so dirty with scratches.

6. No small refrigerator, iron, nor hair dryer in the room at all.


I understand that "you get what you paid for". However, paying $50/night to get a room with services like this is not worth the saving. Last but not least, how the hotel was ranked "4 star" is still a mystery to many others. In this case, it's probably the ranking according to the local residents or its own staff, NOT the hotel standard ranking for tourism.

I would like to warn anyone considering staying at this terrible hotel! first of all the staff is very unhelpful and NO ONE speaks English!moreover we were while relaxing by the pool, someone broke into our room and stole our digital camera - the last thing you want to happen when you are on holidays, isn't it? when we went to report it the hotel staff didn`t even seem to be surprised - they nearly ignored us and after 1,5 hrs wait they just told us that the hotel is not responsible for the belongings you leave in your room!! so, to sum up never, ever stay at this place!!

Hotel X has a great location in downtown Cancun. Perico's restaurant is always a fun night out, and Hotel X is located a short distance from Perico's. It has nice mayan themed artword, and a wonderful pool to enjoy. The hotel also has a restaurant and lounge inside of it, but was never loud in the evening. The price is also nice...under $90 during peak season.

We prefer downtown to the craziness of the Hotel Zone. We are not into crowds, high priced drinks, or all inclusive resorts. We like to experience the local culture, and the downtown area offers that.

If you want to go for a day visit to Hotel Zone and enjoy a beach, it's only a 15 minute taxi ride to get there. Although when we were there, the beach was pretty pathetic due to hurricane damage (perhaps only 10 feet wide).

I booked this hotel for a one night stay post-Holbox island and before an early flight the next day. I booked on travel-yucatan.com as they had the best rates(I think it is also Bestday.com) The posted room rate was $95 and we paid $49. When we arrived, the front desk people were friendly and spoke good English. Our room was clean. The elevator was not working for a short time but was repaired quickly. The decor is very cutesy Mayan, but at least it isn't a concrete box like some. The air-conditioner worked very well and our room was not the least bit musty, which is unusual for rooms in tropical locations. We were on the 3rd floor, so that probably helped. We ate breakfast at the hotel restaurant and it was about $6 for coffee, fruit, beans and an egg dish. It was ok, although a bit cold and the service was not very good, we kept having to look for our waiter when we needed something. I recommend going elsewhere for food unless you absolutely have to eat there. The pool area looked pretty although we didn't have the time to use it. The 2nd floor was undergoing some renovations, but didn't involve any noise. I thought it was a very good value for $49. We had no problems with noise as we were on the back side of the hotel and on the 3rd floor. It is close to lots of good restaurants, the main Plaza, shopping, etc... It does not have electronic key cards, but does have a security button to prevent anyone else using a key to get in once you are inside and a security chain. I felt safe.