Casa de los Sueños, Isla Mujeres, Mexico – 877-372-3993

We were fortunate enough to stumble upon Casa de los Sueños on our most recent visit to Isla Mujeres. Although we were not guests of the hotel, we did stop in to enjoy a fantastic happy hour while exploring Isla one day on our golf cart.  Truth be told, we spent the entire morning driving from one end of Isla to the other.  We were cruising along at a good speed when Jared stopped our golf cart dead in its tracks after he saw this “happy hour” sign out front.

We remembered the hotel name from an original inquiry during the planning stages of our trip, but unfortunately no vacancy was available.  From the moment we exited our golf cart and descended the lusciously landscaped stairs into the South Point Sunset Restaurant and Bar, we instantly fell in love with the location, staff, and food!

The laid back atmosphere, unobstructed views, and relaxing island jams provided by the house entertainment at Sueños were exactly what we had been searching for on our Isla adventure that day.  While relaxing at the South Point Bar of Sueños and taking in the tranquil views, you would never know you were only a ferry ride away from the craziness that is Cancun!

During happy hour, we sampled a few delicious dishes from the bar’s tapas menu.  The coconut shrimp, which included three jumbo shrimp fried and a melt-in-your-mouth mango dipping sauce,  was out of this world! Not only was this dish delectable, but the presentation was also quite impressive for an afternoon tapas offering.

Our second and final sampling was two tasty spring rolls which featured a tamarind dipping sauce.  It was such a treat to find incredible cuisine on Isla cooked with such care, skill, and full of the vibrant flavors used by the chef at Sueños.

Before we hiked back to our golf cart and continued our journey along the south side of Isla, we enjoyed one last call at Sueños which was a drink recommended by our waiter Gonzo as a must try, a Mexican Bulldog.  I’m not sure if it was the tequila, but these were some of the best margarita’s we had while on Isla!

We were also fortunate enough to meet a few wonderful new amigos on our visit to Sueños.  In particular our waiter Gonzo who went above and beyond to make our time at Sueños a very happy few hours! After stopping at a few other locations on Isla, and feeling a bit excluded since we were not paying guests of the various resorts but only patrons of their bars, we were so happy to find a location as welcoming as Sueños.  Off the grid locations like Sueños and the kind Isla people like Gonzo are what made us fall in love with Isla Mujeres.

We fell in love with Sueños so much that we returned a few nights later, at the suggestion of Gonzo, for a sunset dinner on the pier.  We weren’t even aware that such an opportunity existed until it was brought up in conversation.  When we arrived for our dinner, everyone at Sueños made us feel welcome.  In particular Gonzo offered to take photos with our camera and help us capture this incredible moment of our vacation.

A romantic stroll down the Sueños Pier

It was very kind of Gonzo to photograph our evening for us.  We really appreciated the chance to have a few uninterrupted moments together, and also to have these beautiful moments captured for us to view over and over again.

When we arrived at our private table on the pier, a bottle of champagne was on ice and beautiful island music was playing just loud enough that you could hear it over the ocean water.  The table and seats were configured in a manner that our view of the sunset was completely unobstructed. Sitting at our table on the Sueños pier made us feel like the sun was setting just for us.

Our dinner was filled with four fantastic courses prepared and paced perfectly.  Prior to dining, we had the wonderful opportunity to select from a number of different menu options while working directly with the Chef.  These selections were made at the original booking of our dinner reservation which occurred a few days prior.  With this option we were able to personalize our experience which really made our dinner a unique one.  Below are the selection we chose for our menu.

Cons:  Location, Location, Location – If you are seeking sand between your toes, Sueños is not the location for you.  It lacks a sandy beach but makes up for it with a private pier featuring palapas and lounge chairs.  Sueños is more of a boutique retreat than a big box resort – for us this was a plus but for some I could see where this would be a negative.  Also, since we were staying at a resort located in Playa Norte, Sueños was located at the farthest point of Isla for us.  This meant a golf cart rental or taxi was required in order for us to access Sueños.  If you are staying in a more central, or even the southern portion of Isla – this would not be a concern.

Pros:  Excellent customer service, incredible cuisine and affordable prices – Our Sueños happy hour and sunset dinner experiences were truly the highlight of our two-week Mexican vacation thanks to Gonzo, our fabulous waiter Louis, and the rest of the staff at Casa de los Sueños.  Even though there were others dining in the restaurant that same evening, Louis went out of his way to make us feel we were the only ones who were witnessing this unbelievable Isla sunset.   Each course was consistently delicious and we certainly did not leave hungry! There was also ample hours of sunlight so that we were able to enjoy the majority of our meal.  Overall, the value far exceeded the price we paid for this amazing experience.  With all that being said, this meal was definitely worth the flight!

After traveling the world, and sadly witnessing the death of customer service as we know it, it is reassuring to know that some people still know how to treat their customers.  Cheers to Sueños and their staff for making our visit a great one! Casa de los Sueños’ staff, service, and intimate venue is among the finest we’ve experienced.  We made memories at Sueños that we will both look back on fondly for years to come.  We look forward to visiting Casa de los Sueños again soon – hopefully next time as hotel guests.

If you’ve had a similar dining experience that you feel was truly worth the flight, please let us know.  We’d love to hear about it! For more information on Casa de Los Sueños, please visit their site