A group of sixteen Austin friends spent a week on Isla Mujeres from December 1st until the 8th recently. My wife and I had been to Isla 3 other times but most folks were on their first trip to this part of paradise. This was our first time staying on the south end away from downtown and we have stayed at Roca Mar in the 1980's and Posada del Mar two years ago.
Even after reading mixed reviews on Tripadvisor, we took our chances and the advice of one couple that got married a few years back at a property near Playa Gaviota and booked the whole complex for the week. We drew straws for room assignments and fairness (random) is the only way to go in this type of plan. We were lucky enough to get one of two beach front cottages with full kitchens in front of the bedroom.
I could see where folks that have never travelled in Mexico away from four star resorts can question the accomodations but if you have stayed with family in Merida or in a more mom and pop setting, you will tolerate little things to get the big picture. The picture here is the water. Your view, the palm trees, the sand, relax. We met Vladimir, the onsite manager and his father (whose name I am blanking on ) and they are great hosts. They are Islenos (which matters) and try very hard to make your stay comfortable. Demi takes care of the housekeeping duties and Cheyo keeps the outdoors looking great.
You will have to learn how to adjust the hot and cold water in the showers, it's actually easy by using what I thought was a spigot to fill a bucket in the shower but is actually the diverter. You get the temperature right while the water runs down on the tile and then turn the handle closed like you were shutting off a hose and voila, you have pressure and temperature. Some folks in the upper apartments (5 to 8) had issues with the water heater turning off when the pilot light blew out with the north wind but Vladimir got it back on track. A simple issue like that wouldn't happen at a four star resort but then you'll have the resort prices and rules.
I highly recommend this place if you are a seasoned traveler willing to live like the locals and have the beach all to yourself!

I rate Playa Gaviota as "excellent", since it was excellent for us. I've read all the reviews about this place before choosing it, and I must admit I was a bit worried at what I would find. But Playa Gaviota exceeded our expectations (which granted, were low!) and we had a perfect, peaceful, and beautiful family vacation there.

We were 7 adults and one baby (~2 yrs old), all part of a family. What we loved most is to spread mats and fabrics on the beach and lounge around all day, reading, relaxing, chatting, and making our own snacks and cocktails. For us -- this place was perfect. The beach is beautiful, although the water is full of seaweed and not nice to swim in. It was OK to dip in to cool off. However, we toured all the beaches on Isla Mujeres during the week of our stay and our beach was one of the most protected (it was very windy during that week). The beautiful north beach was too windy for us every time we ventured out there and we always ended up going back to our private beach and being much more happy there.

So yes, the beach is private. It is walled from both sides all the way down to the water, which takes away the wide open feeling of a big beach, but gives you tons of privacy. It is a white-sand beach sprinkled with coconut trees and plenty of beach chairs, a couple tables, and a couple hammocks. If just the seaweed was not there...

It is true that the owner is not often around, so getting help with any maintenance issues takes time. We stayed in beach units 1 and 2 (unit 2 is the best) and in apartment 3. The apartments are newer and in much better shape, but you can't beat being right at the beach, so we tolerated the crumbling doors and screens, ants, and older slightly run-down kitchen. The toilet broke once during our stay, and it took a day to be fixed. But overall -- the room is provided with everything you need, including filtered water and daily cleaning service (which changed sheets and towels too every day if you wanted!).

We walked to the super market north of there and got lots of groceries, filled up our fridge, and ate many meals right on the beach. The rooms come with a gas range, ,a refrigerator, a coffee maker (bring your own coffee filters! none to be found on the island), a toaster, and a blender, which got lots of use making fruit smoothies with rum. Like others have said in their reviews -- it all depends what you expect. We have traveled in Thailand and remote locations where we had huge bugs in our rooms, no towels, no hot water, and certainly no kitchen or cleaning service, so for us this place was luxury! We did not see any bugs except ants and a small gecko, and there are a couple big iguanas and two dogs that visit the the beach often.

We chose Playa Gaviota because we wanted to be right on the beach, and away from too much hassle and partying. I would recommend this place to any one who likes to stay in more rustic and simple places that give you all you need for a great price.

My husband and I, with our 6 month old daughter, rented the beach house in Playa Gaviota. We went with little to no expectations and were happy with our vacation. After reading some of the reviews on this site, I can imagine there would be few people who would feel the way we do about Playa Gaviota. No offense to those with high expectations, but if you want a North American vacation then go to the Holdiay Inn in Florida.
I'm not quite sure what people expect when they rent a beach house/room on an Island like Isla Mujeres. Of course it's dated, but for $75-$95 a night (maid service incl.) what do you expect? There were ants everywhere, this is true, but it's a tropical country! Again, what do you expect? It just makes me laugh to see what people complain about.

The beach was beautiful, well maintained, and very private. Every morning my beach chair was right where I left it. There were never more than 6 people on our beach at once. We brought our baby monitor and, while she napped, my husband and I relaxed just outside her window in the sun. It was a great place to bring a baby.

My only complaint would be that the ceiling started to crumble at one point all over the counter. My husband told the manager's son (who lives in the rental office), and he told us it would be fixed that day by the maintenance workers. Anyway, my husband ended up doing his best to fix it as the maintenance guys never showed up. We're pretty relaxed people and have travelled enough to know that getting all worked up about something like that defeats the whole point of being on vacation. The manager's son was actually pretty entertaining because he literally just fixes his car all day and hangs out with his friends. It wasn't anything that bothered us (except when our daughter tried to nap during some kind of muffler experiement taking place outside).
:)
I would definitely recommend this place to people who are tired of the all inclusives and want a change. Exploring the Island in a golf cart is an absolute must as is walking to La Bruja for some amazing mexian food. If you're picky and high maintenance, don't go to this hotel...you won't like it.

We loved it and will be returning next year!

We stayed twice at playa gaviota. The resort is a little tired and dated, as someone said before.

The appartments near the street are big with a kitchen and a private terrasse with a nice view. The cleaning lady comes every day except on sunday. Be careful though for the street noise specially on the third floor.

If you rent one on the beach, you will have people from the appartments come to sunbathe or read in front of your door. So there is no privacy.

Also the fridge in the big villa is very old and makes a big noise so you may be awaken during the night by this. Don't forget your insect repellent for night time ;-)

When we were there, the manager had allowed camping on the beach! as there are no facilities, we could ear people talking even at night time and they would wash there dishes or shower right in front of our door using the shower in the garden. You could also see them walk on the beach with there toilet paper ...

Be aware that you cannot swim at that beach, the water is full of seeweeds. You have to go to north beach by taxi which costs 45-50 pesos one way.

You can find better for the same money or even less on the island.