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Please see Palenque for other available Palenque hostels and accommodations.
Please see Palenque for other available Palenque hostels and accommodations.
The Hostelz.com Review
Maya Bell is set in the jungle, which makes for a really wonderful romantic setting. However, because it is more or less just a campground, lighting is poor, bathrooms dirty, and nature is abundant. To get there take a collective before six and ask to be dropped off at Maya Bell. After six, a cab is your only option.
If you are unfamiliar with the campground, arrive before dark as staff just kind of hands you your hammock and sends you on your way. Bring a flashlight and bug repellent. If you don’t have them, stay somewhere else. A mosquito net would be a great idea, but if you bathe in bug repellent before sleeping you wouldn’t have to have one. In addition, if you are not familiar with hammock-hanging/sleeping, you may find it better to pay the big bucks for a room (but even renting/hanging a hammock is relatively expensive).
There are no cooking facilities, minus places for campfires. There is a sink for washing dishes, but it may or may not be working, leaving people to wash dishes in the bathroom sinks. There is a restaurant that serves reasonably priced food, but you get what you pay for -- the meals aren’t fabulous, but they are edible.
Bathrooms are defiantly campground style -- bring your own toilet paper, soap, and don’t enter without shoes. Most of the showers work, but there is no hot water. Private rooms have bathrooms, which would be nicer than having to trek through the campground. You can rent lockers, but they are far from where you will sleep, other than that there is no secure place to leave belongings.
The atmosphere is cool, but if you are looking for a goodnight sleep you may find it difficult. There will inevitably be cool people playing drums and singing for most of the night. Plan on getting up early too. Since you are in the open air the sun rises bright and early, as do the animals and maybe the people around you. Large groups tend to stay here -- a mix of locals and tourists. If there are large groups, single travelers may find it hard to meet people.
If you are unfamiliar with the campground, arrive before dark as staff just kind of hands you your hammock and sends you on your way. Bring a flashlight and bug repellent. If you don’t have them, stay somewhere else. A mosquito net would be a great idea, but if you bathe in bug repellent before sleeping you wouldn’t have to have one. In addition, if you are not familiar with hammock-hanging/sleeping, you may find it better to pay the big bucks for a room (but even renting/hanging a hammock is relatively expensive).
There are no cooking facilities, minus places for campfires. There is a sink for washing dishes, but it may or may not be working, leaving people to wash dishes in the bathroom sinks. There is a restaurant that serves reasonably priced food, but you get what you pay for -- the meals aren’t fabulous, but they are edible.
Bathrooms are defiantly campground style -- bring your own toilet paper, soap, and don’t enter without shoes. Most of the showers work, but there is no hot water. Private rooms have bathrooms, which would be nicer than having to trek through the campground. You can rent lockers, but they are far from where you will sleep, other than that there is no secure place to leave belongings.
The atmosphere is cool, but if you are looking for a goodnight sleep you may find it difficult. There will inevitably be cool people playing drums and singing for most of the night. Plan on getting up early too. Since you are in the open air the sun rises bright and early, as do the animals and maybe the people around you. Large groups tend to stay here -- a mix of locals and tourists. If there are large groups, single travelers may find it hard to meet people.
— Exclusive Hostelz.com Review
August 2005
Maya Bell Details
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Location/Contact| Address | Km 6 Highway Palenque-Ruins, Palenque, Chiapas, Mexico |
| Website | www.mayabell.com.mx |
| Telephone | +52 1916-348-4271 |
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Hostelz.com Guest Reviews
Try to avoid it!!! the hotel staff KNEW english but they were pretending they didin't. They were rude, arrogant and unwilling to help us. There was only one guy pretending to be friendly because he was trying to f*** girls as the "handsome singer". The pool was more dirty than public toilets in Mexico city! They didn't cleaned it although it was August! The rooms were a tragedy! Not only they were not clean but we also found cockrοaches and we are sure that they were not from the jungle!!!!
Overvaluated, just because it is close to the ruins, but there are many other hotels close to it. Avoid this hell!!!!! — panagiotis , greece (2011-08-21) I named my daughter after this campground! Me and me wife stayed here 10 years ago and witnessed a lunar eclipse during our stay we were no moved by the event that later we named both our children after the experience. great place to hang out and meet really cool people. 2 thumbs up! — Mike&Jessica , Canada (2011-01-11) Loved It I loved maya bell! My boyfriend and i were traveling in Mexico with some friends and we stayed in the palapas and in the rooms. We met so many neat people while staying here. You just feel so free! I would recommend it to wandering travelers! We loved listing to the locals play music at night up in the jungle. You follow the noise and you will find it! We made friends for life, and we will never forget it! — Avvy C , USA (2009-11-25) Good alternative place I stayed one night in Maya Bell. The room was very clean. The place is great. The live act was very good. Maya Bell is rather a strange view in this beautiful resort. This is not what Europeans have in mind when they visit an alternative place. I think that the fake alternative (with his jewelry) who hardly consumes a thing and harasses people should keep his mouth. — Dirk De Moor , Belgium (2009-11-17) Great place to camp right by the ruins Lots of fun with one nasty exception. Maya Bell has a freaky, fat, dirty, burned-out, bald, older hippie guy that peddles jewelry supplies and gemstones from a Palapa in the campground and appears to low-life full time there. This animal lurks around in the shadows. Looks/acts like "Uncle Fester." This creep haunts the place and will harass single women. Other than this serial creepster, we really liked the place. Great people from all over the planet, good food, excellent entertainment in the bar every night, clean rooms, reasonable prices. Walking distance to the ruinas. You can camp in a tent, RV/camper, swing in your hammock in a Palapa, or rent a room -- all good. — Honest John , USA (2009-08-11) Great for folks who like backpacking and chicken buses -- I do! This goes back a while to 1990 but the pics in this site show it has not changed much. From a vegetarian restaurant near the entrance to Palenque
I wandered in the near total darkness down the road toward Mallabel, a campground near the ruins. I could not see beneath my feet. The howler monkeys screamed resonant painful cries; the crickets droned; and huge, slowly blinking fireflies pulsed on and off. The air is thick but clean. Palapas are "claimed" on the road. If it's empty it's yours. Otherwise make sure you ask if you can share a hamaca hookup. There's a cantina with beer and an adequate menu and lots of socializing. I stayed a week. Be careful about walking off the trails in the surrounding jungle. In six foot you are lost. I fell into a ruin hidden by jungle. — John Deegan , USA (2009-08-09) Unfriendly staff, even if you do speak Spanish. I stayed at Maya Bell several times over the years. I can't say that it seemed the friendliest of places. — Nick Williams , English (2009-07-19) Unfriendly Staff I was in Mexico in March. There were a few people but mostly just staying one night for a tour. So no party at nights. The staff is very unfriendly. They can't speak a word of English so they can't help you with any questions. And they don't even try to be nice. But my question is, who pays their salary? Food is only self-service. People around are nice. Not recommendable! — Kat (2009-04-28) Great place, even better when mushrooms are in season Close to the ruins. Lots of Euro Hippies. nice pool area. I took a backpack and tent. when the rains got really strong I bailed out to one of the little rooms. A tent site is 30 pesos per day ($3), the clean rooms are 300 pesos a day. You will meet lots of cool people if you go with a tent or hammock. No police shakedowns or druglord gangs, which makes it a great destination these days. — Jack Boots , usa (2007-06-03) I've stayed twice. You should know that they also have small rooms available with beds, fans, and screened windows. Some with private baths, even. It is a lovely place and people of many nationalities stay. The food was wonderful during my visits, and the massages were lovely too, and not terribly expensive. Just remember -- if you need to get back to town you really must plan to leave by 4 to 5 p.m. It's very difficult to get a ride back to town otherwise, as the Maya Bell is located very far down a secluded road that takes you to Palenque. Seldom will even a taxi venture down this road in the evening hours. Have a wonderful time! — Gabriella , USA (2007-04-16) this is the right place to relax and forget your problems. hang yourself on a hammock, take it easy, and enjoy the calm and tranquility of this place. there is also a swimming pool to cool off, if you are not too lazy to stand up from your hammock. you can choose between palapa (roof in which you put your hammock), camping with your own tent, or cabana with real bed, but my choice is palapa for sure! i met very good people here and is a place i'll never forget! — francesco trionfetti (2006-11-16) I have camped in the Mayabel several times over the years and have always been transported to another time. The campground is inside the park and surrounded by ruins, deep jungle and spectacular cascading falls. The autumn is always best thanks to the rain. The camp is clean and secure with good bathrooms and showers, and a good palapa restaurant which is very cheap. There's usually some acoustic instruments being played and all around the peaceful place. Howler monkeys and tucans amongst other critters will be regular visitors. — Terry Somers (2004-08-16) Mayabel is super cool.. In my opinion, close to being Paradise. The restaurant people are not too friendly. Besides them, Mayabel is great. — Anonymous (2004-02-07)