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Hacienda Petac

Mérida, Mexico

About the home

By Matt Link, Jetsetter Correspondent

This hotel is Jetsetter verified

Our editors have been here and it has met our standards.

History is everywhere here at Hacienda Petac. You can see it in the hand-woven pillowcases, the Mayan tapestries on the walls, the antique farm equipment, the Gothic arches in the buildings and the two sweet Mexican chapels that sit on the property. Set on 200 wooded acres on the Yucatan Peninsula, peacefully removed from the party cities on the Caribbean coast, the 17th-century hacienda is a great place to relax and enjoy Old World splendor. You won’t find an alarm clock or a TV on the premises. They’re not allowed.

Hacienda Petac employs a staff of 23 and includes a full-service thatch-roofed spa, a game room and a library filled with books on Mexican history. A few guestrooms are in a nearby sisal factory that once made rope from yucca plants. The mansion houses the rest, along with the living spaces. Painted in rich local colors, all have tile floors and soaring ceilings.

You can enjoy a swim in the pool and then — after a guided bird walk, say, or a bicycle ride — take a siesta in one of the huge hammocks suspended over the water. At night, a Yucatan guitar trio arrives to serenade guests. The most popular spot on the property, though, is undoubtedly the lovely tiled kitchen, where you can try your hand at regional specialties. Or hire a personal chef to do the cooking for you. Corn tortillas, guacamole, flan, tamales and grilled steaks — after a plate or two, you’ll feel just like family.

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Setting

On the Yucatan Peninsula, 30 minutes south of Merida, the 200-acre property is dotted with historic structures and completely surrounded by forest.

  • Corn tortillas, flan, tamales prepared in traditional kitchen
  • Serenades from Yucatan guitar trio
  • Short drive to historic Mayan sites

Bed & Bath

The villas has five bedrooms, all with tile floors, high ceilings and 11-foot-tall antique wooden doors. There are five bathrooms.

  • Some guestrooms housed in old sisal factory
  • La Ceiba Master Suite has a dipping pool
  • Waterfall just outside Chu Jun room

Common Areas

The 200-acre property is filled with inviting meeting spaces, from the formal dining room to the large covered veranda to the hammocks suspended above the pool.

  • Fully staffed kitchen
  • Game room with billiard and ping-pong tables
  • Library with regional history books

About the area

The Riviera Maya is known for its sugar-sand beaches and Mayan ruins. Nearby luxury hotels offer high-end dining options, golf courses and spas. Built atop the ancient city of T’ho, whitewashed Merida is rich with history and culture, including a vibrant theater, arts, music and dining scene. The narrow streets converge on the expansive Plaza Grande, where families gather on benches to take in the brilliant local dances.

What to do

  • Eat. You can spend days exploring the amazing taquerias in Merida. For a romantic dinner, try the magnificently restored space at Hacienda Xcanatun, on the grounds of the Xcanatun Hotel. The Yucatecan specialties are especially good, and if you call ahead, you can reserve a treatment in the hotel’s spa. Chef Roberto Solis, of Nectar, takes regional dishes and gives them an international spin. The results are breathtaking.
  • Drink. Known affectionately to locals as the “Buddha Bar,” Slavia, in Merida, caters to an upscale martini-drinking crowd. The candlelit space resembles a scene straight out of Arabian Nights.
  • See. Though slightly farther than Chichen Itza (and less famous), Uxmal is one of the best-preserved Mayan sites in the world. It’s a stunning example of the Puuc style of design, characterized by latticed geometrical patterns and frequent depictions of the rain god Chaac, with his trunklike nose. The astounding underground grottoes in the Balankanche Caves are filled with ancient Mayan pottery and shrines. Just 20 minutes north of Merida you’ll find Dzibilchaltun, a Mayan complex founded in 500 B.C. It once housed more than 8,000 buildings. Don’t miss the area’s superb Museo del Pueblo Maya, filled with hieroglyphs, sculptures and ceremonial objects.
  • Cook. For an in-depth lesson on the art of preparing Yucatecan cuisine, enroll in a class at Los Dos, the famed Merida cooking school of David Sterling.
  • Road Trip. It takes nearly four hours to cross the peninsula to resort-filled Caribbean hot spot Cancún, but the region’s white sand beaches make the trip well worth it. And while you’re in the area, check out the famed seaside Mayan fortress Tulum.

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