Isla Mujeres’
Retreat: Villa La Bella
by Tom Cotroneo
If
How the Villa La Bella Story Began
your favorite vacation dream starts with the letters B&B, then
Villa La Bella, on the island of Isla Mujeres, is certain to make your
heart go bada bing.
Is there a room with a sweeping view of the Caribbean Sea on your
Bed and Breakfast checklist? Villa La Bella delivers in waves of
turquoise. Can you visualize yourself sipping a pina colada splashed
with ultra-smooth Cuban rum? At Villa La Bella, enjoy all- natural
ingredient cocktails served in a freshly cut coconut shell. Now
imagine a bathroom where a palm tree cozily threads its way through
the roof. This island escape is an overachiever when it comes to
exceeding guests’ expectations.
Villa La Bella is the real-life hotelier vision of Curtis and Ashley
Blogin. In 2000, these Virginia transplants turned a week-long Isla
Mujeres getaway into a “this is where we belong” adventure that
continues to this day. The seeds of the Blogins’ entrepreneurial story
sprung from their “love at first sight” vacation.
Ashley Blogin remembers the emotion that took hold when she
and Curtis first rode the 20-minute ferry from Cancun to Isla
Mujeres. “While on the ferry, I remember feeling like I was going
home,” Ashley said. During the course of the Blogins’ stay on
Isla this sensation grew more intense. “Several days into our
vacation we made an offer on the plot of land where our Villa La
Bella now stands,” Curtis said.
The year-long Villa La Bella building process is something the
Blogins can laugh about now. Not only did the construction start
out on the wrong plot of land, there was also the instance of their
architect’s case of mistaken identity, and Ashley’s need to brush
up on her Spanish.
“We discovered that our first architect wasn’t actually an architect. He
was just a wannabe architect,” Curtis said with a smile. Ashley’s “lost
in translation” incident can best be told by Ashley herself. “I received
a very quizzical expression from one of our staff concerning what I
wanted done with our floorin