We've stayed at the Casa Santana twice.
The first time we were there, was April 2007. We were visiting the area to scope out a place to get married and spent 3 days staying at Casa Santana and again, as we liked it so much the first time in December 2007 when we rented the whole house for family during our actual wedding.

Casa Santana is a B&B that feels like a (uber stylish) mexican home. The owner has done an amazing job decorating the place with beautiful local art without it being too over the top.
Everything is extremely clean, comfortable and colorful. I could envisage Frida Kahlo living & painting here.

It is centrally located so you can walk to the historic district in minutes and to any buses for day excursions. And it is really nice to be able to come back and make yourself a snack or cup of tea.

This place is not for someone who likes staying at the Hyatt with a massive chlorinated pool. Nothing about the rooms are generic - thank god. The pool is a dipping pool - great for those intensely hot days or for kids. My niece and nephew 6&8 adored it. Big leaves from the jungle like trees fall into the pool but they generally have someone come every couple of days clear them out and didn't bother any of us. In fact we made a game out of pulling them out for the kids.

The best part of our stay was the unbelievable attention and help both Deborah and Ruben who helps her run it gave us. They were so helpful and accommodating. During our first stay, I got sick. There is nothing worse than being sick away from home in a foreign country. Ruben immediately located a doctor who made house calls and came over to sort me out.

During our second stay, things were absolutely insane for us as we were getting married and had all our family around. Everyone suddenly was counting on us to find them cars/ organize tours, give them local advice, sort out last minute taxis or buses on new year's morning to get them back an airport 3 hours away... craziness. Casa Santana went above and beyond what anyone needed to do to help us resolve every request, issue, problem people had. In fact I am embarrassed at how much we relied on them.

I don't have any complaints but if you twisted my arm to find something that someone might have an issue with, I would say it might be the breakfast. The coffee was great and freshly brewed on a timer every morning.There was always fresh fruit available but some travelers are used to have a selection of things to choose from, and that wasn't really the case here - at least when we stayed. One morning we had lovely local tamales, which I love but might not be to everyone's taste for breakfast. I am sure we could have probably asked for specific things but to be honest, we were actually happier sorting ourselves out and frequently went out for a big breakfast or walked up to a local little bakery a few blocks away and bought ourselves sweet rolls and yogurt from a convenience store.

Again this place is a real gem & bargain. I would recommend it to anyone I know looking to stay in a beautiful B&B in Merida. Deborah is super and Ruben deserves a gold medal for all his help. In my opinion, you would be crazy not to stay here.

We spent a couple of nights in Casa Santana before heading to Tulum. I visited the website and fell in love with the whole look of the place. Usually one can be slightly disappointed as the pictures tend to make it look better but it wasn't the case here. The place is just beautiful, it deserves being featured in any of the main lifestyle/fashion/travel magazines. We stayed in the sort of middle room, and it was just incredible, the attention to detail, everything from the tiles, the amazing walls, the furniture, the mexican antiques, the colours, just amazing.
I would imagine it's probably quite perfect for a family as all 3 rooms could be rented and connect.
Deborah and Ruben were absolutely delightful and helpful, gave us really good tips on places to eat, the ruins etc, but also very laid back.
I will hopefully return to Casa Santana.

I must say, arriving late one night we were thoroughly pleased and delighted to see our new home away from home. we were originally going to stay the minimum allowed but we extended....even though we missed having a t.v.!

Apart from the comfort, beautiful surroundings, GREAT pastries for breakfast: the most important detail is the attention. Ruben and Augustine took very good care of us. You can always find beauty, it´s the personal warmth that makes the difference. We will go back...that is until we buy our own Casa there!

Casa Santana looks like any of the other homes or businesses along Calle 64, which is to say it doesn't look like much. But once inside it is an oasis for the hot and weary traveller.

We visited in late June when tourist traffic is slow, and had the whole place to ourselves, including the pool, the beautiful garden, and the spectacular dining room and sitting room in the main part of the house.

The accommodations are authentic, but with a flair for design and a few indispensible comforts--we used air conditioning in our room at night and the pool upon return from treks in the blistering sun. For our purposes the pool water was perfect, but some might find it too cold.

The location, in one of Merida's central residential neighborhood's, is great. Plaza Santana, just around the corner, offers lively street life, good food, and many other necessities. Downtown is within walking distance.

Ruben, who manages the property, helped us with all kinds of details, from renting a car to finding a remote hacienda he visited as a lad. He arrived each morning to prepare breakfast and help us plan our day.

We have already recommended Casa Santana to friends and will definitely stay there the next time we are in Merida.