5 Best Hotels in Yucatán and Campeche States, Mexico

Housed in a fully restored former residence on Mérida's newly pedestrianized restaurant corridor, this stately boutique hotel has wrought-iron chandeliers and antique furniture that nod to a bygone era, as well as photographs of the modern-day city that anchor you in the present. Each room is unique, though beds with fine white duvets and spacious bathrooms with glass-enclosed rainfall showers are standard. Each of the two top-floor rooms has a private balcony—the perfect spot to drink your welcome tamarind margarita. The pool sits beside a hammock-adorned patio, and the restaurant serves some of Mérida's best meals.

Set on 740 acres, this meticulously restored hacienda is the state's most expensive resort, but it's a splurge-worthy choice—not only does it have spacious, luxuriously appointed, freestanding villas but it also makes an elegant base for exploring Mérida, a 40-minute drive north, as well as area Maya sites, including Oxkintok, Yaxcopoil, and Uxmal. The decor is contemporary with Mexican accents, the spa is world class, and there are delightful details at every turn—from honey made on-site to the world's largest collection of tequilas.

Rustic meets five-star at this elegantly landscaped resort, where winding paths leading to thatched-roof, bougainvillea-draped, white-stucco casitas where accommodations have soothing white-and-beige color schemes, artwork done by the owner, wooden beam ceilings, and hand-painted lamps. Each room also has a lounge area, private balcony, and large bathroom equipped with conch shower heads and stocked with organic bath products. Request a room in one of the back casitas—those in the main building tend to pick up noise from the restaurant below. You can lounge at the small pool or head for a beach bed perched on the sand in front of the hotel. The restaurant serves Creole, Mexican, and Cuban dishes, and there's live music on Saturday nights.

The small group of Decu hotels—there are also four in Mexico City and one in Tulum—entered Mérida with this understated, discreet property situated east of Plaza Grande, in a colonial-style house whose rooms have either colonial or Maya design elements, such as traditional pasta tile floors or walls of chukum (a form of plaster that has been used by the Maya for millennia). Regardless of the aesthetic, all rooms have muted contemporary color schemes.

Rooms at this tranquil, eco-friendly hotel have ocean or garden views, extra large windows, and hammocks, making them perfect for those who want to feel the sea breeze or fall asleep to the sound of crashing waves. Bathrooms have eco-toilets, and shower water is recycled into the garden. There are six categories of accommodations, including two-story cabañas with whirlpool tubs and a beach house that sleeps eight. The pool is directly in front of the ocean, making it difficult to know where one body of water ends and the other begins.