Vacation Rentals by Owner

Fabulous setting for a relaxing getaway

Guest: Forde
Date of Stay: 02/02/12 Review Submitted: 04/01/12

I couldn't believe the setting & the level of service provided, from the daily maid service to the beach raking/cleaning each morning. The patio makes the place & the ocean isn't more than 20 feet from the patio. Outstanding value!

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Beautiful views, comfortable stay

Guest: Serina
Date of Stay: 01/27/12 Review Submitted: 04/01/12

I loved Half Moon Bay and Akumal. The house was clean and comfortable; it was located right along the beach so the view is just breathtaking. The stay includes fresh fruits, and drinkable water. There is a kitchen full of pots, pans, dishes and everything you might need to cook there on your own. There are also toiletries so you don't have to bring your own. Diana was wonderful and very helpful in answering questions and concerns.

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Relaxing

Guest: Marty
Date of Stay: 01/21/12 Review Submitted: 04/01/12

We had a great time. First time in that part of Mexico. It felt very safe and welcoming. Lots to do.

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Can't wait to return!

Guest: Melissa
Date of Stay: 01/02/12 Review Submitted: 04/01/12

From the first contact I had with the condo owner, Diana, was fantastic! She was so helpful and thorough with every little detail imaginable from driving, to sightseeing, from what to pack, to where to dine! Our accommodations were better than we could have hoped for - clean, comfortable and inviting. All service staff was lovely and quite helpful. Akumal is a very small town and this condo was within waking distance to everything! Charming town - we can't wait to go back!

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Great stay in Mexico!

Guest: Arin
Date of Stay: 12/10/11 Review Submitted: 04/01/12

Condo Half Moon Bay was excellent. The location in Akumal was amazing: right on the beach (a bit rocky in that area, but a short walk/bike ride to a great swimming beach), excellent restaurants, small town feel while being tourist friendly. The condo staff were very helpful and friendly.

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Great place, great location!

Guest: Bethany
Date of Stay: 11/30/11 Review Submitted: 01/04/12

We loved our stay at the Half Moon Bay Condos. We went with a group of friends and had spacious sleeping arrangements and great access to the beach. Surroundings are gorgeous and the condos were very clean and kept up. Would definitely recommend to anyone staying in this area!

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Serene escape

Guest: Tess
Date of Stay: 11/06/11 Review Submitted: 01/04/12

Right on the beach, comfortable accommodations... perfect getaway.

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Pretty awesome

Guest: Keelia
Date of Stay: 10/20/11 Review Submitted: 01/04/12

Our stay at Half Moon Bay was very nice. The condo was clean. Although we did have a small bug problem, but if you keep all food and drinks in the fridge then you will not have any issues. The rooms are spacious. the upstairs unit can accommodate two couples with no problem. The balcony provides and amazing view of the ocean. We were only a bike ride from town where we at at Turtle Bay Cafe for breakfast every morning. Very delicious food!

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Tortugas

Guest: Sean
Date of Stay: 10/19/11 Review Submitted: 10/31/11

We had a fantastic time, summarized perhaps by the several sightings we had of sea turtles, both moms and babies, on the beach directly in front of the condo. Almost every night, it seemed, someone from the management staff would pass by our patio and let us know about tortugas. Seeing three hatching, seeing two egg-layings, were amazing experiences; and yet, were only a small part of a continually fantastic vacation.

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A slice of paradise!

Guest: Joann
Date of Stay: 09/22/11 Review Submitted: 10/31/11

Our first trip to Mexico and we picked a winner! Half Moon Bay was an incredible experience. The first time we came up the front walk and looked out onto the bay, we were overwhelmed. The condo was spacious and comfortable and everything you could want or need was right near by. The addition of a day at Hidden Worlds just made the value even better. After spending an exhausting, adventure-filled day in the jungle it was so relaxing to lounge on the patio at Half Moon Bay. I can't wait to return to akumal for a longer stay!

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Gorgeous Location, Beautiful Condo

Guest: Lisa
Date of Stay: 09/02/11 Review Submitted: 10/31/11

It's hard to go wrong with a terrace on the beach! Could not have imagined a more beatiful location. You could literally walk out the sliding doors, down the terrace steps, and go straight into the bay to snorkel with sea turtles. No complaints about the condo itself- it was tidy and the paintings on the wall were really cute. We loved everything about our stay. Having La Buena Vida a short walk beach walk away was fantastic - we could go grab drinks without worrying about driving!

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Absolutely Perfect and Relaxing!

Guest: Karim
Date of Stay: 06/13/11 Review Submitted: 10/31/11

This was by far my favorite vacation. Great condo, great view, great weather, great food, amazing service and a daily maid service as well as bottled water and the owners are incredibly nice and responsive! They even included snorkeling equipment for us to use and a nice fruit basket upon arrival! I would go back without a doubt!

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Guest: Helen & Joel Marcus
Date of Stay: 07/22/05 Review Submitted: 07/21/05

We were staying at your Half Moon Bay Condo #4 right before Hurricane Emily hit last week. We'd like to tell you how much we enjoyed staying there. As you know, we were supposed to be there July 11-18, but on the 15th were given notice that the condos were to be boarded up in preparation for Hurricane Emily and that we would have to leave by noon the next day. So unfortunately, our vacation was cut short. We are writing for a few reasons: one is to say we sincerely hope damage was minimal and were wondering how your building and the area in general fared. We also wanted to let you know how wonderful Nan and the two men who work with her were, in a variety of ways. First of all they assisted us in navigating the area, finding places, and were very responsive to questions and requests that we had. Second, their recommendations to leave on Friday turned out to be very wise. As we were leaving that morning, and on the flight home, we came across people who had not even been notified by their hotels that a serious storm was coming! It became clear to us not to take for granted the effort the La Bahia condo office made to keep us informed. One of the men also told us, "If you can get a flight today, go, don't wait for tomorrow." He turned out to be very much on target -- we read later that there were long lines in Cancun's airport on Saturday. And of course, the longer we waited, we may not have been able to even get a flight home in time. We also want to thank you for your information packet and the suggestions that Joe gave Helen over the phone -- we took many of them and enjoyed each one. That cave dive at Hidden Worlds was amazing!

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Guest: Stacy Lynch
Date of Stay: 04/04/05 Review Submitted: 04/03/05

Dear Diana and Joe, I am writing to tell you how much we enjoyed Half Moon Bay. It was PERFECT! We were coming to the condo after 5 days of mission work in the jungle. I have been involved in a project creating a school in El Ideal for 4 years. I have always vacationed in Akumal, but not in your wonderful condo. We had 3 families from the mission project in your two condos and the bottom one that the hotel owns. Thank you for sharing your beautiful condo with us.

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Guest: Susie Jennings
Date of Stay: 01/15/05 Review Submitted: 01/14/05

Although it's been a few weeks, and the tan is fading, the happy memories are not! We had an absolutely wonderful time in Akumal, and your house was really perfect for our family. Each family group had a bedroom to call their own; my mom loved the daybed in the upstairs alcove, where the first morning light woke her to get the coffee pot going; breakfast was served upstairs so early risers could enjoy the sunrise and the kids could sleep in a little. The YAKS, as we now call them -- Young Adult Kids (all in their 20's) slept in the living room, on the patio, on the beach---depending on the weather. We were all together, but had plenty of space. There was plenty of everything we needed -- kitchen things, towels, air mattresses, etc. The decor suited us well -- beautiful but not fussy or untouchable. People were also wonderful. Donna took particularly good care of us -- she even brought her own CD player when neither of them in the house worked! When the TVs didn't work, someone was there to repair them the next day -- important to two of the sports fans in our group. Valentina did an outstanding job keeping the place clean and well-stocked, and always greeted us with a huge smile. The meal Octaviana cooked for us was delicious, and fed us for two nights! The location also worked well for us. The little restaurants and groceries within walking distance were handy. We saw plenty of things snorkeling right out in front, but also walked to the lagoon and spent time on the beach in Akumal Bay. We SCUBAd with Akumal Dive Shop, explored the coast north and south, visited Tulum and Coba, explored cenotes, shopped in Playa del Carmen. Our only regret was that we only had a week. The whole coast sure has been developed since we were there in 1993! If you ever need a reference for your house, please let me know. I would be very happy to tell people what a wonderful experience we had. Thanks for letting us share your house! (owners note: Jennings group was a maximum of 13 adults for the xmas holiday!)

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Guest: Nicola Dixon
Date of Stay: 11/29/04 Review Submitted: 11/28/04

Just a note to let you know what a wonderful time we had in Akumal and staying at your condo in Half Moon Bay. While the first few days were pretty hot and steamy, a full day of showers rolled through on Wednesday, cooling things down for most of the remainder of our trip. Even with the kids in tow, we managed to make trips to Tulum (amazing), Yal-Ku lagoon (loved it), Puerto Aventuras (Donna's school, and the touristy Puerto shops on another day), and pretty much all corners of Akumal. We did a lot of snorkeling throughout the area, and also took advantage of the pool. We wished we had more time to stay and play, but unfortunately we all have a little more work to do before retirement (in my case about 25 years -- ugh!) After using the Pack 'n Play, we folded it back up and placed it in the back storage area of the upstairs master bedroom, the one where there is a scuba suit hanging. Any of your future guests with kids who need it will already know how to open and close it, but if you ever have questions yourself feel free to contact me. Thank you so much for getting it. You'll definitely be a savior to future guests with young children. And finally, I have a attached several pics taken during our stay. What a wonderful place! We hope to get back one day soon...Thanks again.

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Guest: Roger Herr
Date of Stay: 08/08/04 Review Submitted: 08/07/04

I just wanted to let you know how much we enjoyed our visit to Akumal and the stay at Half Moon Bay #4. The weather was perfect and the snorkeling was outstanding.  We really fell in love with the little town and vicinity.  We spent a morning at Yal Ku which was spectacular, we went diving one day and think the Akumal Dive Center is a great operation.  Our boys enjoyed going down the street to La Buena Vida where they could sit and drink a soda or beer, in the case of the older one, and meet some young people who were there vacationing in Akumal.  We departed Akumal with heavy hearts but went on to further adventures in Chichen Itza and took you up on your suggestion to stay at Hacienda Chichen which was glorius.  The last half of the vacation was spent in Playacar.  While it was nice being close to the action of Playa del Carmen for the boys we missed the scale and friendliness of Akumal.   We thought your letter was very helpful and I appreciate the time you spent with me on the phone.  If you don't mind I would like to give you a call in the next few weeks to ask a question about future visits to Akumal. 

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Guest: Lia Saroyan
Date of Stay: 03/19/04 Review Submitted: 03/18/04

Greetings Diana. Just want to thank you so much for sharing your lovely home with us. (I know, I paid for the privilege, but...) We had a fabulous time and will definitely come back again. Everything was absolutely perfect! We ended up renting a car and I am glad we did as we made many forays, but also spent a fair amount of time in the lounge chairs, beer in one hand, (or cup of coffee, depending on the hour) book in the other, enjoying the sun, sea, sky, breeze, stars, etc. Valentina is a delight and Mike made sure we had our newspaper daily. You definitely have everything worked out well and we so enjoyed ourselves. I have already spread the word so do not be surprised if you are contacted by some of our friends. We hope to get back in 2007, if not sooner. Again, thanks ever so much. Lia Saroyan and Michael Knapp

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Guest: Jayne Bowe
Date of Stay: 01/04/04 Review Submitted: 01/03/04

We just returned on Wednesday from Half Moon Bay.  We had such a nice time and everything was perfect.  Cancun was fun, but we were glad to get to Akumal.  We spent a lot of time traveling around, to Tulum, La Playa beach, Yal ku lagoon, and the beaches at Punta Piedra and Xpu Ha.  George and I definitely want to go back sometime, just ourselves, and continue the exploration.....I can see why you and Joe love it so much....The kids put the christmas trees together, I put one on the counter and the other on the shelf in the living room.  Thank you again, and I hope you have very happy holidays.

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Guest: Judy Knoll
Date of Stay: 06/13/03 Review Submitted: 06/12/03

Dear Caroline, I want to tell you that speaking for myself and our group, we had a marvelous stay at Half Moon Bay Condo. What a magical place! The snorkling was great, but the diving was supurb! We appreciated the tips sent with the final documents from the owner. I know that we would definately come back! Thank you and your staff for a great vacation.

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Guest: William McNaught
Date of Stay: 05/05/03 Review Submitted: 05/04/03

HMB is absolutely fantastic, no complaints whatsoever. Wish I had taken a decent book about the wildlife in the sea with me, perhaps they should put one in the house? Otherwise, Akumal nice, if Americanised. Shame that the restaurants are so expensive, but I can't complain too much because the food was good. (I am used to traveling in Mexico with a backpack). And anyway the kitchen at HMB really good, we did a lot of cooking. I wrote in the guest book how much I had learnt from using your mexican cookbook....now looking for a copy here in the US. As for turtles, I was waking up super early every day to snorkel with a family of Hawksbill turtle in Akumal bay. If you get there early enough all the fish that come into the bay during the night are still there...rays, barracuda, grouper, skate, giant parrots. At eightish the fisherman fire up their boats and everything disappears. Turtles fabulous though and a lot bigger than I expected.

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Guestbook Comment

Guest: Anonymous
Date of Stay: 04/01/03 Review Submitted: 04/08/03

HI DIANA, THANKS FOR THE LOVELY CONDO. THERE WERE THREE CHILDREN UNDER 3 AND THE SPACES WERE GREAT FOR EVERYONE. THE PARENTS PLAYED IN THE SAND WITH THE BABIES, AND THE TWO GRANDMOTHERS HAD A GLASS OF WINE ON THE SHADED PATIO AND WATCHED. A WONDERFUL FAMILY TIME. THANKS AGAIN. JUDY BELL /BC CANADA

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Guestbook Comment

Guest: Anonymous
Date of Stay: 02/01/03 Review Submitted: 02/21/03

Joe and Diana, we thank you so much for sharing your beautiful condo with us. It was a week we will never forget. Snorkeling for the first time; visiting Tulum and Chitzen Itza (A MUST SEE); Walking down the beach to a little restaurant to have lunch; Going into Akumal and buying beautiful embroidered blouses and wraps; Gringo Dave's Restaurant where we enjoyed good food at a table on a cliff overlooking the ocean at sunset. You can't beat that!! The wonderful evenings on the patio with 6 friends, some wine and good conversation will never be forgotten (All eight of us fit very nicely into the condo with room to spare.....I dream Half Moon Bay. We both have hopes of returning again to paradise.

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Guest: William Banks
Date of Stay: 08/19/02 Review Submitted: 08/18/02

Diana, just wanted you to know that George and I had a fantastic week in Akumal, and that we enjoyed your condo immensely. Everything you said was on the mark, and we took several of your suggestions. We decided to take the open water scuba course to get certified, and that too was a great thing. The dive shop people were great, and we are now both card carrying divers. We enjoyed the Hidden Worlds cenotes, the Oscar & Lalo restaurant and Soliman bay for swimming, Tulum street life and restaurants, and found the Chomak fine and thier atm a godsend. We liked La Lunita and the Lolha, esp. the tango night. The art palapa near by has really nice things, expensive but worth a visit. There was a system in the gulf that kept surf and current fairly high all week, so hmb snorkeling was not good; some nesting going on, but not a lot. We saw turtles and everything else imaginable along the way, and we found Sylvia and the gardener pleasant and able. Akumal truly is a great place, not too hip, not too sleepy, just right. I hope it stays this way, for awhile at least. Thanks again and I hope I can arrange another trip one of these days.

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Guest: Luther Keeler
Date of Stay: 07/04/02 Review Submitted: 07/03/02

Hello Joe & Diana, Just a quick note to thank you again for sharing the HMB Condo with us. The six Texans who spent 7 days (6/5-12) in your little corner of paradise are all still a little dazed after our return to "reality".   The condo was ideal for our little group and we certainly enjoyed the easy walks into to Akumal, the beautiful sunrises, and the great snorkling in the bay and at Yal Ku.  What little rain we had occurred overnight. A truly wonderful, refreshing vacation experience.

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