Wander Akumal Beach

This place is absolutely spectacular -- I've just never seen anything like this indoor-outdoor pool with the ocean in the background. What made it exceptional was the combination of that with the work of Chef Karen, who is actually chef not just of the kitchen but also of arranging outings and adventures. She made stunning food for a group with wide-ranging needs and preferences and simply stopped at nothing to make our visit a delight. I strongly recommend asking for her if you book here. Small notes: This place is right on the water but a swimmable beach is a 5-10 minutes' walk, and it sometimes took a while to hear back from the host. But it's a gorgeous house and the delicious creations of Chef Karen make it extra special.

We had a small intimate wedding down by the shore on what we lovingly have called “mermaid rock”. It was magical and everything we dreamed of. Chef Karen was well worth the price and truly this destination was what our dreams were made of. The only downside. The raccoons do not play. They partied harder than we ever did and broke several of our rented dishes that we had to pay for even though we put everything away each night. I suggest leave nothing, even clean dishes on the counters, as they may get smashed.

I have mixed feelings about our stay. Pros: The view is stunning, pool is lovely. The house comfortably fit our large group The staff at the house was very helpful, maid service was very nice to have. We used Karen, the chef Vera recommended for 2 wonderful meals and to stock groceries. Cons: We had a brief rainstorm one night and the power went out, though the maintenance man fairly quickly came over to turn on the generator. This is out of the host's control and I don't blame them for it, but the house is not well sealed and so we had flooding. The roof door leaked out water down to the first level, water came in the door in two bedrooms on the bottom level, and water poured out of the AC units in 2 bedrooms upstairs. People's things and beds were wet from this. I contacted the host but she had nothing to say about this, and it's clearly a structural issue, so my guess is this isn't the first time. Raccoons come in at night and they nibbled on some people's shoes.