Home for Sale and Rent in Merida, Yucatan, Mexico

Ready to Move Into Beautiful 3 Bed Merida Colonial with Pool

BEST OF THE BEST. This 2,500 square foot house is the best offering in its price category that I know because it is FULLY RESTORED, DECORATED and FURNISHEd, SOLD AS IS including the china, flatware, kitchen equipment, beds and everything you see in the photos. When you walk into your house the beds will be freshly made, fresh towels in the bathrooms, high speed Internet working and the TV onm make telephone calls. You do not have to do anything to this house to live there in quality and relaxation.

Location

The property is located in the heart of Santiago, Merida’s most sought after neighborhood. It is 8 minutes walk to the city's most notable attractions, including Merida's Main Square, and 2 minutes to the Santiago Square with its beautiful church, cinema, shops, pharmacies, taxi stands, bakery, bank and money exchange, the best local restaurants and its food and flower market.

It is also 20 minutes drive or $3.25 taxi to the northern shopping centers with Sam’s, Sears, Office Depot and Office, to the excellent medical facility Star Medica, and 30 minutes to the white sand beaches of Progreso and the Gulf of Mexico.

The house

Upon entering through the front doorway there are two hallways, both of which have retained some of their original pasta tiles, high ceilings and curved archways. The front door is covered with an ornate custom wrought iron gate which can be secured allowing the door to be left open during the day for ventilation. Double over-height doors lead off of both hallways to bedrooms, and the windows have been decoratively treated to ensure your privacy.

The first bedroom is located at the front of the house off of the first hallway and has a large, wrought iron covered window which looks out onto the street. This room shares a common bathroom with the second bedroom which is accessed through the interior hallway through a stained glass door. This shared bathroom opens to both bedrooms and is decorated with exquisite Talavera tiles. You will also find linen storage here with extra blankets, towels and even a hair dryer! Both this bathroom and the one adjoining the master bedroom have open showers with accents of river pebbles, pasta tiles and polished concrete flooring. Like the first bedroom, this room has a double sized bed and remotely-controlled air conditioning should you require. All of the rooms have ceiling fans which provide excellent air movement which is adequate for most guests. This center room offers a sofa and armoire nestled in a serene setting located directly off the second hallway.
Through the hallways and past the two bedrooms you will find a great room with a kitchen and lounging area. Here, a luxurious sofa centers around a cabinet which houses the television and stereo. Plenty of throw cushions and flexible seating make this a perfect lounge area.

There is also a computer desk and information area where you will find important telephone numbers, a calender and information regarding favorite activities and eating establishments.
The kitchen is large and bright with ample counter space, modern appliances and a double island where you can prepare, serve and even eat with ease. Everything is available to accomodate from two to six guests comfortably whether serving a light snack, or full meal.

From the kitchen and lounge area, two large fold out wooden doors lead you into the spectacular dining area located beside the pool and enclosed by fully screened custom wrought iron arched doorways. The custom table easily sits six comfortably and the candle feature and candles create a wonderful ambiance to while the evening away in the company of good friends.

At the back of the house is the pool area adorned by elegant archways and pillars. Fully filtered and featuring a beautiful water fountain, it is the perfect place to spend sunny mornings, lazy afternoons and warm evenings. And because the property is surrounded by high walls, your privacy is assured so the wearing of bathing suits is at your discretion! There is ample outdoor lighting, tropical plants and a lovely little table and chairs. Yoga mats are also provided for your personal practice.
The third bedroom is located at the back of the property, separated from the house by a lovely portico. This bedroom contains a queen sized bed and a walk-through closet. It also has a large armoire, ceiling fan and air conditioner. In addition, there is an adjoining bathroom from which you can literally step out and into the pool!

Beautiful custom made wrought iron doorways, majestic columns and cool concrete and tile floors.
3 Bedrooms, 2 with double sized beds and 1 with queen and ensuite which is separated from main house by a lovely portico.
2 Bathrooms with exquisite Talavera tiles.
Modern kitchen appliances including a 6 burner gas stove.
Washer and dryer.
Ceiling fans throughout.
Remote controlled air conditioning in bedrooms and sitting areas.
Well-lit tiled and filtered pool with water fountain.
Tropical plants.
Television with cable
High-speed wireless internet
CD player and I-Pod docking station
Enclosed poolside dining area.
All towels, bedding, dishes, cutlery, etc.
Purified bottled water dispenser.
Yoga mats and accessories for your health and well-being.
Safe, on-street parking.
Quiet, secure and friendly neighborhood.
A local property manager to greet guests on arrival and available for household emergencies.
Cleaning and cooking available as an extra service by arrangement with the property manager.

MY RECOMMENDED BLOGS ON MERIDA are lawsonsyucatan and bestofyucatan

December 2011 NEW YORK TIMES

“36 Hours in Merida”
YUCATECANS are fiercely proud of their culture, sprinkling their Spanish with Mayan words and quick to recount the stories of resistance and revolution that set this region apart from the rest of Mexico for centuries. Somehow, those tales seem a little distant now in Yucatán’s capital, Mérida, a languid city of pastel mansions and evening promenades. The city, now one of the safest in Mexico, is an architectural jewel, and has one of the country’s largest historic centers outside Mexico City. Block after block of houses dating to the mid-19th century and earlier are in the midst of a restoration boom, and the city’s cultural and restaurant scenes are flourishing.
Friday
3 p.m. YUCATECAN FEAST
Sample Yucatecan cuisine at the Hacienda Teya (Mérida-Cancún Highway, Kilometer 12.5; 52-999-988-0800; haciendateya. com), a 17th-century plantation that switched from cattle to henequen, used for making rope, at the end of the 19th century, and is just a 15-minute drive from downtown. From the colonial dining room, with walls that are filled with old photographs of Mérida in the early 1900s, the view stretches to the brilliant flamboyant trees that fringe the expansive grounds. Try the classics: sopa de lima, a fragrant chicken and tortilla soup flavored with lime juice (54 pesos, or about $4, at 13.7 pesos to the dollar); cochinita pibil, tangy slow-roasted pork marinated in citrus and a paste made from achiote seeds; or poc chuc, grilled pork marinated in sour orange juice (both 124 pesos).
5 p.m. PROMENADE IN THE PLAZA
In the late afternoon, the whole city, it seems, congregates in the leafy Plaza Grande under the towers of Mérida’s austere 16th-century Cathedral of San Ildefonso. Have a sorbet at Sorbetería Colón on the north side (along 61st Street), then wander into the Governor’s Palace next door and take in the giant paintings depicting Yucatán’s violent history by the 20th-century Mérida-born artist Fernando Castro Pacheco. The Casa Montejo (506 63rd Street, 52-999-923-0633; ) on the south side, now a cultural center and museum, is the city’s oldest building, erected by Don Francisco Montejo, Yucatán’s conquistador, in the 1540s. Look for the carving of two Spanish conquistadors standing atop the heads of Indians on the facade. The four front rooms have been sumptuously restored to late-19th-century splendor. The gift shop sells excellent handicrafts. As night falls, walk north a few blocks to the small church of La Tercera Orden on the corner of 59th and 60th Streets, built by the Jesuits in 1618. You may catch a wedding or a quinceañera Mass.
9 p.m. MOJITOS BY STARLIGHT
The outdoor bar at the Piedra de Agua hotel (498 60th Street, 52-999-924-2300; ) has a spectacular view of the brilliantly lighted cathedral towers. Local groups play jazz and blues on Fridays. The specialties are mojitos (48 pesos) and lemon daiquiris accented with basil leaves (55 pesos). Try a pizza topped with huitlacoche, Mexico’s signature corn fungus (120 pesos).
Saturday
9 a.m. CURBSIDE BREAKFAST
The Loría family have run the Wayan’e street stand for 20 years (92E 20th Street at 15th Street, Colonia Itzimná, 52-999-927-4160). They serve savory tacos and tortas throughout the morning, scooping fragrant fillings like smoky chicken fajitas and scrambled eggs with acelgas (Swiss chard) out of clay pots to customers seated at a stainless steel counter. All dishes are from 8 to 12 pesos.
11 a.m. FROZEN IN TIME
During the henequen boom, when the agave plant was turned into rope for the world, Yucatán’s aristocratic landowners built magnificent houses, many of them now luxury hotels. But Hacienda Yaxcopoil (Federal Highway 261, Kilometer 186; 52-999-900-1193; ), about 20 miles south of Mérida, has been preserved as though in amber, a noble near-ruin where yellowing photos of the family that has owned it for five generations hang askew on the frescoed walls. For a fee of 50 pesos, you can wander through silent rooms offering a glimpse into the past, from the figurine of St. Geronimo in the chapel wearing a Yucatán straw hat, to French porcelain bathroom fixtures coated in dust. Mario Alberto Huchín Tun, 65, will give you a tour in Spanish; he is the third generation in his family to work on the hacienda. Take a taxi or hire a car service with a bilingual driver. Try Ralf Hollmann at Lawson’s Yucatán at 521-999-947-7599, .
2 p.m. A YUCATECAN DINER
At Chaya Maya (481 62nd Street at 57th Street, 52-999-928-4780), a woman in traditional Mayan dress makes corn tortillas in the window as families pile in. Try the house specialty, Los Tres Mosqueteros, or The Three Musketeers, which combines three classic Yucatecan dishes: relleno negro (a black sauce made from burnt chiles and spices) over pork; papadzul (an egg dish); and pipián (a sauce with a pumpkin seed base) over turkey, all for 70 pesos.
3 p.m. GOODS TO RELAX IN
El Aguacate (604 58th Street, 52-999-928-6429; ) sells hammocks for every budget. A finely woven cotton or nylon hammock, which takes about two months to weave, will cost about $175, but the cheapest one is about $20. (The store is in Mérida’s tiny red-light district, which is safe by day.) Back near the center, shop for a guayabera, a Cuban shirt worn untucked. It was a favorite with early 20th-century Yucatecan grandees, who would go to Cuba to stock up. After the Cuban Revolution, Yucatecans began making their own. A polyester-cotton blend at Guayaberas Jack (507A 59th Street, 52-999-928-6002; ) costs about $30, and an embroidered linen model popular with Mexican presidents sells for about $170.
7 p.m. FINE FOLK
Every Saturday, the city stages a free show for tourists and locals alike, featuring folk dancing, comedy, mariachi, marimba and romantic trova music (1 Paseo de Montejo at 49th Street, 52-999-928-1800; ). You can watch from the street or have a drink on the terrace of the Hotel Casa San Angel. For more information on cultural events, check “Yucatán Today,” the city’s free bilingual monthly tourist guide, .
9 p.m. CHOCOLATE DELIGHT
At the restaurant inside Mérida’s newest boutique hotel, Rosas & Xocolate (480 Paseo de Montejo at 41st Street, 52-999-924-2992; ), try the catch of the day prepared on a fried tortilla accompanied by prickly pear salad (180 pesos) or duck served with singed corn, local sausage, melon compote and a chile and raisin sauce (220 pesos).
11 p.m. SMILIN’ IRISH
An Irish pub seems as though it would be out of place, but Hennessy’s Irish Pub (486A Paseo de Montejo, 52-999-923-8993; ) is Mérida’s hippest night spot. The photos of the Irish countryside and ’80s classics on the soundtrack seem a little off, but the outdoor terrace on the Paseo de Montejo fills up.
Sunday
9 a.m. RIDING DOWN THE AVENUE
Grab coffee at Café la Habana (corner of 59th and 62nd Streets, 52-999-928-0608), then explore the Paseo de Montejo, lined with Beaux Arts-style mansions, most of them built with henequen money. The most stunning is the Palacio Cantón, which houses the Regional Anthropology Museum (485 Paseo de Montejo, 52-999-923-0469; admission: 41 pesos). The street is closed to traffic to make way for cyclists between 8 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. every Sunday. Bikes are available for 15 pesos an hour from municipal offices at the corner of 62nd and 63rd Streets or along the avenue. For a map, go to /biciruta/.
Noon TWO-STEP BACK IN TIME
Mérida’s old-time dancers go to the temporary stage at Santa Lucía Park, at 60th and 55th Streets, where they dance Mexican danzón and cha-cha-cha to live music under a canopy. The dancers’ moves recall a bygone time of smoky dance halls, and they dress the part.

Local Activities:
Golf
Tennis
Theme Park (Amusement Park)
Zoo/Wildlife Park
Shopping
Sightseeing
Restaurants
Kayaking
Sailing
Boating
Waterskiing
Parasailing
Jet Skiing
Shelling
Swimming
SCUBA diving
Windsurfing
Biking
Wildlife Viewing
Hiking
Fishing & Deep Sea Fishing
Spelunking
Fitness Center/Gym
Health/Beauty Spa
Antiquing
Cinemas/Movie Theaters
Live Theatre
Museums
Horseback Riding
Cenotes (Google them if you don't know what they are -- not to be missed).
The most renowned Maya archeological sites are an hour away.