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Located in the heart of town, this colonial house is uniquely decorated. The ten rooms are simply furnished and face the central patio. Every room is en suite.

Open since 2000, this is affiliated to the Mexican hostel association AMAJ. It has 50 dorm-style beds and a few double rooms. Bright and clean, good shared showers, and an open kitchen.

Texan Ricco Merkle’s long-running hotel is a friendly home from home. The rooms have been going a few years but are comfortable and pretty, and there’s a tiny pool and a rooftop bar that’s a great place for meeting people.

The biggest all-inclusive resort of all, with 2,031 beach-house-style rooms. With such a size, it’s able to offer every possible activity and 10 restaurants – all crowded.

Challenging the cheap hotels of Mérida for value, this AMAJ hostel has bright, airy dorm rooms and a few doubles. There’s also an open kitchen, a lounge space, and cheap Internet access.

Right on the beach at the end of the dirt road out to Punta Bete are these lovely cabañas built by an American couple. Decorated with Mexican textiles, all have kitchenettes and beach terraces, and are exceptional value. There’s also a little bar-restaurant alongside.

This big hotel’s main selling point is that it’s right opposite the bus station in Ciudad Cancún and so is always popular. Despite being in such a traffic-heavy area, it’s sur-prisingly peaceful inside, with pretty gardens, a nice pool, and attractively furnished rooms.

A mid-sized, relaxing resort with a superb beach, fine pool, and pretty rooms. It started up in the 1970s and still has the charming, low-key approach that has won it many loyal customers. Book well ahead.