In a message dated 7/25/2003 1:10:05 PM Central Standard Time:

This is just a quick note to let you know how much we enjoyed staying at the villa.  Stephanie and I wished more than once that our kids could have been there with us to share the luxury with us.  Next time we will bring them. Not only do they enjoy diving like we do, but they also love to eat.  Thanks
to Feliciana, our whole week was full of wonderful meals.  (We ate dinner out twice and decided that we should have stayed in!)  My compliments, too, on Joel and Angelica.  We got to meet Joel and only spoke to Angelica on the phone, but they were both very attentive and helpful.  Joel remembered the
coconut ice cream (my favorite) when I did not, and because of him I got to enjoy some on our last evening there.  Overall, this was a very memorable trip.

I also appreciate the recommendation of Careyitos Advanced Divers.  Ricardo and his guys (Tony, Cielo, Felipe, Roger and Aaron) all went over the edge to make sure we had a good (and safe) time.  They know the reefs and we learned a lot diving with them.  They took care of all of our rental equipment and air fills so all we had to do was cross the street and step onto the boat.  Magnificent.  We felt like VIPs.  We told them how much we appreciated all they did for us, but I wanted you to know, too.  (If you
talk to Ricardo, tell him I mentioned every one of his crew by name, and didn't mention Aaron's spectacular, world-class guacamole once.  He'll appreciate that.)

We'll be in touch when we start planning our next trip to paradise.  We wish you all the best.

Scott 

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In a message dated 4/23/2002 5:38:36 PM Central Daylight Time, andrea@footloosesports.com writes:

Thank you so much for allowing us to stay in your villa last week - we had an incredible vacation and I do not believe the pictures on the web site do it justice. Feliciana was a great cook - I think we all gained a pound or two - the house was so clean, spacious had an aura of tranquility associated with it - the snorkeling was the best anywhere we went - we did not even bother with Chankanaab - Club de Sol was a little funky but the staff was so nice and pleased to see us every day that we were very comfortable there. So thanks once again

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Letters of Recommendation
September 9, 2000
Dear Jim and Aldara,

Thank you so much for sharing your beautiful home with us! This was our first dive vacation and our first time to Cozumel. I have to say, everyone who went on this trip seems to be saying the same thing "when are we going back!" The entire trip was amazing!

We all agreed sharing your home was much more comfortable then staying in separate hotel rooms would have been. We loved that we could dive all morning and return to rinse off our gear in your Scuba room, by the way, because of seeing your Scuba room, we are all entertaining the idea of one
day putting a similar room in our homes. Plus, it was really nice walking into an air conditioned house with a refrigerator full of beers everyday!

Please thank Feliciana and Joel for being so great. Feliciana's cooking was amazing. We had originally planned on eating out more, but after sampling Feliciana's cooking we ate most of our meals at the house. Feliciana's delicious Mayan cooking was a wonderful bonus to the trip. Joel was very
accommodating as well. We were definitely on vacation, we drank mas cervesas, and Joel always had another case ready for us, day or night.

The island was so beautiful, above and below water, that we ended up buying an underwater camera while we were there. Some of the best underwater shots we took were right in front of the house. Other pictures were taken at 130 feet and because of the water clarity, were just as amazing. We took
pictures of huge grouper, sea turtles, giant parrot fish, sharks, eels, octopus, toadfish, wrecks, tons of lobster, schools of thousands of fish we had no idea what they were, each other, etc., the list could go on and on. Basically, we took a lot of pictures.

Anyway, you guys have seen all that stuff before so I won't go into to much detail. We just wanted to say "WE HAD A GREAT TRIP!". From the first time we walked into the house and found cold beers in the fridge. To the first time at Palancar Reef. To the first time some of the group broke the 100 ft
mark. To the first time we drove in a topless jeep through a rain storm to get to the Bob Marley bar. To the very last night when we sat on the deck at Villa Dzul-Ha, watching the sun go down, smoking our Cohiba cigars drinking our last Coronas and talking about when we were going to come back
again. "WE HAD A GREAT TRIP!"

Thank you,
Abraham Lee

Editorial notes: 
(1) "Joel" is manager of hotel Club del Sol, next door. He and his wife "Angelica" are our House Managers.
(2) The following is a copy of the follow-up questionnaire supplied to me by a travel agency from a satisfied client. The original is a handwritten note, and is available by request. These comments are typical of all of our guests:

1. Were you satisfied with your accommodation ?
Yes__X___ No_____ "Couldn't have found a better place!"
2. Were your acommodations clean and neat?
Yes__X___ No_____ "Immaculate!"
3. Was the staff at your accommodation helpful and courteous?
Yes__X___ No_____"The cook/housekeeper 'Feliciana' was wonderful!"
4. Would you recommend this location to your friends?
Yes__X___ No_____ "DEFINITELY!"
Please make any additional comments or remarks since we are constantly trying to improve our services.

"The location of this property is perfect. 4 mi. south of town - within walking distance of 2 major hotels and a nature park. The snorkeling is terrific right in front of the house. There is a little restaurant/bar across the street that serves lunch and drinks. The cook/housekeeper, Feliciana, kept everything neat and clean. She was an excellent cook and we highly recommend that people eat all breakfasts and dinners (there is no lunch served) at the house. Feliciana cooks a variety of Mayan food that is better than you could get at a restaurant, and the price of the meals is very reasonable!

"The bedrooms are large - bathrooms with showers. . . a nice 1/2 bath on 1st floor. Close enough to town yet away from noise. Close to the beaches which are all located south of the house.

"We hope to go back someday. We couldn't have found a better house! I cried (no kidding) all the way to the airport!"

The following is an e-mail we received from an obviously satisfied client:

Hey there Jim,

It not only took me a while to get back to reality here, but it also took me some time to email you and let you know what a great trip we had. Firstly, and most importantly Feli was great, I know only words in Spanish, not complete sentences, but somehow we communicated just great. She is really fun, and heck yeah she makes awesome margaritas!!! We even took her with us on a glass bottom boat/snorkel tour, we finished it up with a beer or two and lunch at Club Del Sol. It was our treat, and I think she really enjoyed herself.

Secondly, the pictures of your villa on your site do not do it justice at all Jim. We walked in the front door, mouths open, and ran around like kids looking all through the house. WOW, what a shower downstairs. Man, just thinking again of the house makes me sure miss it.....already. I
think we all could have used a couple or three more days.

It rained a little down there while we were there, and it was great. I had almost forgotten what rain looks, sounds, and smells like.

Jim, great restaurant recomendations.......we took your advice on one night and ate at..........hhmmm, can't remember the name, you know the one past harbor that the two brothers own? You were right, my friend ordered the steak and said it was great. Most of all, I loved the ambiance, you were so right, what a romantic place, it was heaven. AND< it was raining while we ate there. We definitely hated to leave on Friday, your villa is incredibly beautiful!!!!! What's the history on it....did you build it? How long
have you owned it? We all talked one night and wondered if you had ever had any problems in the past with really horrible renters. I would think most would be honest, and take care of your place as if it were their own, are most people like that?

Well, I didn't really plan on writing a novel here, I just kind of got carried away because we had such a wonderful time...and you know Jim....we spent a lot of time there at the villa, probably more than some. Laughing, kicking back, talking, and enjoying the scenery. Great place, I will return. Feli is wonderful, I am smiling right now as I am typing this just thinking about that smile of hers beaming from the kitchen.
Look forward to returning to your casa Jim.

Most sincerely, Marla

Nov 1, 2001

Things have finally slowed down enough that I thought I'd drop you a note as a follow-up on our trip. 

The house is beautifully maintained!  I was a partner in an El Paso ad agency for over 20 years and we bought property and built a two-story residence at El Cid in Mazatlan.  Let down your guard for a couple weeks and the humidity can turn everything to a rusty-non-working state.  Not your place.  Workers were constantly there working on the grass,  dusting the eves, etc., etc.
 
Your restaurant recommendations were great so there were no empty stomachs in Cozumel!  The Veranda was a wonderful as you described and we said hello to the owner for you.  It wasn't very crowded (not only off season, but a local merchant told us that the American's weren't coming after 911 and that his business was down 70%

YOUR TV:  I WANT ONE OF THOSE!  Fantastic set and a great selection of stations.  We felt guilt being in Cozumel and watching TV (though it was mostly CNN and trying to keep up with the hurricane which shifted south and hit Belize).  The US weather channel only mentioned it a couple times an hour though.  We asked Feli (we speak Spanish that sometimes passes for Spanish) about it and her response was wonderful...something like, "Maybe it will come, maybe not.  No problem."

SNORKELING.  Did you all ever pick the right place for a house!  We tried the national park and other locations....but it still came back to the fact that Dzul-Ha has the best beach snorkeling on the island!  What a wonderful experience.  We will forever be comparing any other snorkeling experience in
the years to come (I was checking airfares to Belize yesterday) to the one right in front of your home.

In terms of early October weather..... every day we woke and the sun was out we ran to the ocean because (from our experience in St. Martin) we knew that it could be rainy-cloudy 3-4 days in a row.  As it ended up, we only had ONE real rain day (and maybe a second on-and-off rain).

It was perfect-plus and we thank you for allowing us the use of your wonderful home.  We hope that we'll be welcome to use it again in the future.

We left a bottle of wine with a note which we hope you'll have time to enjoy. 

Thank you very much for the experience.

Sincerely 

Brad & Pat Cooper