Casa Azul

The house is beautifully decorated with Mexican arts and crafts, full of color and very welcoming. Everything a traveler could possibly need is there in the house - a comfortable relaxing living room, large table in the dining room and a kitchen fully equipped for any kind of cooking or baking. Up three stairs from the kitchen and dining room is a bathroom and large bedroom with a queen bed and door leading to the garden. And up another flight of stairs are second and third bedrooms (one with a queen and the other with two single beds) and a second bathroom. The dining room walls are all windows with beautiful views of the garden, which is full of flowers and hummingbirds. Once a week a gardener comes to tend the plants and lawn, and a cleaning person also comes to take care of the house. There is a separate laundry room with washer and dryer. And if you're there in the cooler months, you can make fires in the wood stove in the living room. Cut wood was always available in the house and the fires heated the whole living and dining room area. The house is located in a residential neighborhood two blocks from a church and plaza, four blocks from the crafts market, and six blocks from the main walking street full of shops and restaurants. There are also convenience stores and restaurants within a couple blocks of the house as well as the gigantic central outdoor food market. We had a wonderful stay there and wouldn't want to stay anywhere else on our next trip to San Cristobal.

Casa Azul was such a lovely place to stay for our month in San Cristóbal. The decor, the comfortable indoor and outdoor furniture, the well equipped kitchen, the lovely oasis of a garden (great for yoga!), the cosy fires in the wood stove, the proximity to both the local markets and the downtown, and the prompt attention from Helga to any questions or concerns, all made for an easy and stress-free vacation. (We recommend the nearby El Punto Italian Restaurant on Calle Comitan beside the Iglesia del Cerillo for its pizzas, delicious salads, and ambience - it was our go-to place for dinner - or take-out - after a day of sightseeing!)

We stayed in Casa Azul, for 6 nights, cozy, very clean, great attention from Helga, great bed, nice sheets and pillows, wood for the fire, kettle to warm water in, anything we thought we needed we had, really! you can tell it is a house put together with love. Just two things, I am allergic to cats, there were two roaming the garden, and even though they don't seem to come inside, I believe they have, for I got allergies every time I was in the house, so if you have cat allergies take something beforehand, and; there is no black out in the bedroom courtains, which is nice because it helps get an early start, but if you want to sleep in an need a dark room, there is that to think about.

Thank you so much for letting us use such a lovely place!

Everything about this rental was absolutely perfect! We have spent a lot of time in San Cristobal and this was by far our best experience yet. All the other rentals we have stayed in have been dark, damp and cold (seems typical of homes in San Cristobal), even when it is warm and sunny outside. But not this one! Lots of natural light (sky lights, floor to ceiling windows and French doors out onto the garden). The house is beautiful and well appointed - good quality kitchenware, linens, etc. - probably because the owner lives here part-time. Another fabulous perk was having a washer and dryer. The garden is gorgeous - full of hummingbirds and butterflies. The owner and property managers were incredibly friendly and helpful, as were the gardener and maid (who come once a week). The location is great - near both the artisan and main markets, easy walking distance downtown, but also very quiet (except, of course, for the cohetes, or firecrackers, which are set off for saint's days, etc. and are commonplace throughout San Cristobal - there is no getting away from those!). San Cristobal is such an amazing place, and Casa Azul is like a little slice of paradise in this incredible colonial city.

My next to last day here at Casa Azul in San Cristobal. If I didn't miss my husband so much, I'd ask to stay. This home is a hidden gem. Hidden, like so many homes in Mexico, behind an attractive but plain exterior. However, for those lucky enough to enter, the first step inside reveals not only a large & impressive entryway/foyer, but a view of the private garden beyond the glass wall in front of you. The master bedroom on the 1st floor has both fantastic light (2 large windows and a door out onto the garden) and plenty of space. The bed is comfortable with soft, fluffy comforters that are a pleasure to plop into at the end of the day. The kitchen is well-equipped with more than enough dishes, utensils and pots & pans for a small army. It is open to the dining room/eating area (which also looks out and opens out onto the garden). A wood stove in the living room offers both ambiance and warmth for some of those chilly San Cristobal nights. Upstairs, a spacious bedroom (with windows AND skylights) and half bath, as well as another (unadvertised) bedroom with two twin mattresses and skylights offer some privacy and space for visitors or families (we had three visitors while at Casa Azul). My niece, who comes to San Cris every year to coordinate visits for grad students from Chicago, said she has never seen, much less stayed, anywhere nearly as nice as Casa Azul. While granted, she is a college (PhD) student, I, on the other hand, have a tiny reputation as being a little bit of a princess (undeserved, of course) and I instantly fell in love with the house. The location (El Cerrillo), the house and the city & people of San Cristobal combine to almost guarantee a vacation you'll want to repeat sooner rather than later. PS - if you need spanish lessons (as I did), I'd highly recommend Tierras Mayas. And make sure you have someone tell you when & where the organic/sustainable market is (currently right by the Tierras Mayas language school and taking place on Saturdays). Other things to note: alarm system (not that we felt we needed it for one second), washer & dryer, weekly housekeeping & gardener, shelves of great books, property manager just around the corner who is very helpful in arranging transport to/from airport, etc. AND THE LIST GOES ON & ON ......