Soho Boutique Holbox — Hotel in Isla Holbox

To put it plainly, Soho Holbox made our trip. When we travel, we look for authenticity, relaxation, and beauty; a great value doesn't hurt, either. Soho Holbox delivered all of this and more, and totally exceeded our expectations. I'm a person who notices things other people might miss - positive and negative. We were extremely impressed by all aspects to Soho, and after observing many other hotels on Holbox, felt that we had chosen the best one - by far.

THE ROOM

We stayed in a courtyard room with a king bed. The room was strikingly beautiful and very clean, incorporating the natural surroundings in the design. It felt like a retreat. The rain shower was relaxing, the bed was so comfortable that we slept like rocks. More practically: we like to have some snacks and drinks on hand, and the mini fridge easily held 12 beers and some fruit etc. The air conditioner was powerful and cold when we needed it to be. The patio off the room provided shade and privacy all day. Being sensitive to noise, I was worried being so close to the pool would be loud, but it was totally quiet and it almost felt like we had a private pool. The cleaning was impeccable (don't forget to tip your room cleaners a minimum of 50 pesos a day!)

THE HOTEL GROUNDS

The grounds of the hotel are all open-air, allowing the natural beauty of Holbox in. Everything was shockingly clean. While there was always staff out maintaining the grounds, it was never intrusive. There is free purified water available in the lobby. The gorgeous courtyard infinity pool is surrounded by a sun deck, outdoor shower, and lounge chairs as well as tropical flora and fauna (and resident iguanas!). It is hardly used - surprising considering how nice it is, but the hotel's proximity to the beach makes it easy spend all day staring at the turquoise-green water. Soho guests have access to a beautiful white sand beach about 300 ft from the hotel. For the record, we walked all over the island and took note of the beaches at the "high end" (read: twice as expensive) hotels, and this beach was far cleaner and quieter. There are several shaded cabanas and loungers for use, free of charge. There is intermittent drink/food service at the beach. Guests also have access to two rooftop pool/lounge areas: one at the Soho itself and one at the Spirit Hotel across the path. The Spirit has a full-service restaurant, a large lounge area (with sunset views) and a rooftop pool. Sitting in the pool while enjoying 2 for 1 Blue Mezcalita cocktails during the daily happy hour was a highlight. The Soho has breakfast included daily, which they say is a continental breakfast. This conjured images of tiny boxes of cereal and stale muffins, but what you actually get is a sit-down breakfast service with several fresh and tasty options. We really appreciated being able to start the day with a relaxing, healthy breakfast, and felt it was a great value add (hotel breakfasts on the island were about $10-$20 per person).

THE STAFF

While all the staff was pleasant, I'm using this area to write a special shout out to Jose, who really stood out. He was kind, professional, engaging. He remembered what we liked, helped us with our Spanish, and gave us restaurant recommendations. Being greeted by his smile every morning reminded me of why staying at boutique hotels is so special: Jose made us feel both like guests in a fancy hotel and friends at a comfortable home.

THE FINAL WORD

I said at the beginning that Soho made our trip. To be honest, we didn't love Holbox as a whole - we found it loud, touristy, and over-priced. Soho Holbox is the opposite of this; a tranquil tropical getaway that gave us what we came to Holbox for: peace, nature, and beauty. Soho is an exceptional value, and if you're looking for a break from the real world, this is a great...

The strength of this hotel is the great built-in spa within the hotel property!

Stay here if you want to enjoy a beautiful spa experience only steps away from your hotel room.

Don’t stay here is you expect to be close to downtown. It’s at least a twenty minute walk to downtown, including if you just need a quick drink from a convenience store, and having to take a taxi each time quickly adds up! Don’t even think about walking to and from the hotel after sunset as the mosquitoes will eat you very quickly (you won’t even make it half way). Hence, I sort of wished I picked any hotel closer to downtown as I believe their premium is worth it just on this fact alone.

Don’t stay here if you want variety with the included breakfast. The complimentary breakfast will have you searching for the rooftop entrance across the street, climb the stairs to be presented three preset breakfast options; omelette or scrambled eggs with either cheese or ham or pancakes. Granted, a bit of fruits and yogurt is included along with the eggs, but it’s pretty basic. Though I’m not complaining when you get to have freshly prepared breakfast on the rooftop overlooking the Holbox white beach! Just don’t expect much nor to have a variety of options. But it will get the job done! Breakfast was 8:30-10:30am and we hung around past that to enjoy coffee on the rooftop WIFI.

Don’t stay here if you are expecting a good pool experience. The two small pools on the property aren’t running all the time so it doesn’t look appealing to get into.

Don’t stay here if you are expecting a view from your hotel room. You won’t see any bit of the ocean - just the hotels in front and behind this hotel.

We upgraded from the Double Room to the King suite and really glad we did because we got a nice balcony and comfortable bed with plenty of different pillow options. We also looked into upgrading to the King suite with bathtub option but glad we didn’t opt for it as the bathtub didn’t look appealing and just took up all the living room space. We wish the rooms were a bit more spacious, with perhaps some living room furniture, otherwise you just get a basic bed with nightstands, TV with basic cable and basic bathroom. The water pressure was good and quickly warmed up. The room AC was great and didn’t need to be run long. The issue mainly was the poor insulating as we heard out downstairs neighbours and likely would have heard whoever was across from us if there was anyone. There was no safe or iron in the room unfortunately.

If beach clubs are your thing, there are three decent options very close by. We checked out “HAU” beach club directly across from this hotel. This beach club didn’t have a minimum, had a generous happy hour (4-7pm), but unfortunately we got diarrhea after their mojitos. Although they were delicious mojitos so it’s hard to regret it.

I primarily booked this place to get a great spa experience and they exceeded my expectations. Thus, based on this experience, this hotel deserves nothing less than five stars.

I also can’t forget to mention the hotel staff were incredibly helpful during our stay. Shoutout to all the concierges and especially including Mateo, Almira and Marianna in the...

The strength of this hotel is the great built-in spa within the hotel property!Stay here if you want to enjoy a beautiful spa experience only steps away from your hotel room. Don’t stay here is you expect to be close to downtown. It’s at least a twenty minute walk to downtown, including if you just need a quick drink from a convenience store, and having to take a taxi each time quickly adds up! Don’t even think about walking to and from the hotel after sunset as the mosquitoes will eat you very quickly (you won’t even make it half way). Hence, I sort of wished I picked any hotel closer to downtown as I believe their premium is worth it just on this fact alone. Don’t stay here if you want variety with the included breakfast. The complimentary breakfast will have you searching for the rooftop entrance across the street, climb the stairs to be presented three preset breakfast options; omelette or scrambled eggs with either cheese or ham or pancakes. Granted, a bit of fruits and yogurt is included along with the eggs, but it’s pretty basic. Though I’m not complaining when you get to have freshly prepared breakfast on the rooftop overlooking the Holbox white beach! Just don’t expect much nor to have a variety of options. But it will get the job done! Breakfast was 8:30-10:30am and we hung around past that to enjoy coffee on the rooftop WIFI. Don’t stay here if you are expecting a good pool experience. The two small pools on the property aren’t running all the time so it doesn’t look appealing to get into. Don’t stay here if you are expecting a view from your hotel room. You won’t see any bit of the ocean - just the hotels in front and behind this hotel. We upgraded from the Double Room to the King suite and really glad we did because we got a nice balcony and comfortable bed with plenty of different pillow options. We also looked into upgrading to the King suite with bathtub option but glad we didn’t opt for it as the bathtub didn’t look appealing and just took up all the living room space. We wish the rooms were a bit more spacious, with perhaps some living room furniture, otherwise you just get a basic bed with nightstands, TV with basic cable and basic bathroom. The water pressure was good and quickly warmed up. The room AC was great and didn’t need to be run long. The issue mainly was the poor insulating as we heard out downstairs neighbours and likely would have heard whoever was across from us if there was anyone. There was no safe or iron in the room unfortunately. If beach clubs are your thing, there are three decent options very close by. We checked out “HAU” beach club directly across from this hotel. This beach club didn’t have a minimum, had a generous happy hour (4-7pm), but unfortunately we got diarrhea after their mojitos. Although they were delicious mojitos so it’s hard to regret it.I primarily booked this place to get a great spa experience and they exceeded my expectations. Thus, based on this experience, this hotel deserves nothing less than five stars. I also can’t forget to mention the hotel staff were incredibly helpful during our stay. Shoutout to all the concierges and especially including Mateo, Almira and Marianna in the...