For three generations the owners of Hacienda Chichen have taken the utmost care to preserve the hacienda's natural environment, its historical legacy and cultural value.  The owners and management are committed to and follow a program of Sustainable Tourism, by encouraging sound ecological practices within the property, and by helping the nearby Mayan communities social, health and education needs.

HACIENDA CHICHEN MISSION & VISION:
SUSTAINABLE TOURISM IN ACTION

Hacienda Chichen and Yaxkin Spa owners founded the Maya Foundation In Laakeech dedicated to the welfare of the Mayan communities nearby Chichen Itza in an effort to bring eco-awareness and eco-friendly economic opportunities  to the young Maya people; teaching them the importance to care for the region's delicate environment.

The hotel, a top wellness destination in Mexico, has a protected private Bird Refuge and Maya Jungle Conservation Reserve. The property is actively dedicated to promote regional sustainable tourism, in an effort to preserve the eco-cultural legacy of Yucatan.  All eco-friendly hotel practices and efforts are directed by Bruce Gordon.

Hacienda Chichen, a green boutique hotel, has a truly impressive waste management program, using a state-of-the-art eco-friendly septic system. This system purifies and recycles used water with the help of bio-digestible tanks and man-made wetlands. For that reason the hotel uses biodegradable amenities, cleaning and laundry products.

This Green Hotel has installed power-saving light fixtures, individual air-conditioning units and ceiling fans in each room in an effort to conserve electricity. Guests are encouraged to turn off their A/C units when leaving their rooms.

• Ask us about helping the Hacienda Chichen's local conservation or social projects. Your support to the Maya Foundation In Laakeech programs is highly appreciated.  We invite you to visit our online Sustainable Travel Guide or contact us   if you wish to help support our endeavors.

We hope you will enjoy the many wonderful eco-cultural activities offered within the property during your stay. Hacienda Chichen Resort & Yaxkin Spa exercise well organized efforts in their operation and administration that have resulted in positive direct contributions to the environment, native cultural traditions, and the community welfare of the nearby towns of Xcalacoop and Piste. Indeed, few hotels and haciendas in Yucatan, Mexico, have dedicated their efforts to “Responsible Tourism” as wholeheartedly. These are some of the practices you will find at Hacienda Chichen:

Construction and Environmental Protection
Hacienda Chichen has a very low construction density, dedicating less than 0.08% to constructed areas within the 300 hectares of privately own property land. Within the vast property, Mr. Gordon has designated over 80 hectares of the land to a Maya Jungle Private Reserve, home to multiple species of native flora and fauna, including 150 different bird species nesting in our Bird Refuge and jungle gardens.

Recycled Material Building Practices
Hacienda Chichen was built by the Spanish Conquistadors using Maya temple stones during the 16th Century, a unique historic example of repurposing. Since then, recycled building materials have been used whenever possible. During the last three remodeling periods, 2000-2006, the designer reclaimed more than a few old furniture pieces and decoration items, as part of the owner’s love for responsible choices and to reinforce the hotel’s Colonial rustic ambiance. This environmentally friendly practice has enhanced our guests' appreciation for beauty and grace even in old recycled and reclaimed materials; it has also reduced the amount of waste commonly found in remodeling projects.

Due to the Colonial importance of the Hacienda, and its historic cottages built during the 1920s to house the first Maya Archaeology Expedition sponsored by the Carnegie Institute under the guidance of Dr. Sivannous Morley, the guestrooms have unique maintenance needs which we must cater to, but always with an eye to reducing waste.

Water Resources and Conservation
Yucatan’s fresh water supply is found underground. The damage caused by toxic waste, oils, and improper septic practices has increased in recent years, especially by some hotels and establishments in the region. According to many scientific studies and the United Nations, shortage of clean water is one of the most serious challenges facing the world during this millennium. Hacienda Chichen owners and administration have taken great care to protect the hotel’s underground fresh water well reserves from pollutants and other damaging agents. The water source purity levels are diligently monitored and the hotel staff continually checks and improves the extensive pluming effect of the property to reduce water waste.

Water Recycling
We recycle all our waste water biologically and through man-made wetlands. The gray water (laundry, showers and wash basin) go to a biologically-filtered tank. This filtered water is then used to water our garden. The black waters go into bacteria biodegrading tanks, an organic recycling system. The sediments and organic processed waste become fertilizers for our gardens and compost pile. The greasy waters of the kitchen go through grease traps and filters with sand, gravel, stone and bacteria - this water, once filtered, is used in our natural rejoyadas (natural sink holes with unique micro-environments) and jungle habitat.

Solid Waste Recycling
Until there is a well managed plastic recycling system in this region, Hacienda Chichen is choosing to decrease the use of plastic water bottles as much as our guests allow it. Guests can request a water glass jar at their bedside with purified drinking water as a courtesy of ours. For guests finding this practice uncomfortable, we place one chilled water bottle in every room’s mini-bar, at a charge, which we hope stays there.

The huge amounts of waste produced by tourism in this region are detrimental to the environment. A large part of this solid waste goes into side-roads and open fields, which create unwanted pollution from methane production, an undesirable gas that contributes to the earth’s greenhouse effect. The best solution is to increase education and awareness among locals and tourists so a program to reduce solid waste goes in effect. We are currently making our guests and staff aware of this challenge, encouraging them to reduce “disposable” non-organic waste such as plastic bottles. A solid waste cleaning program at the Hacienda Chichen property has removed several tons of improper solid waste and clandestine dumping from visitors and locals alike in the area.

Energy Efficiency
Hacienda Chichen encourages its staff and guests to use energy in a responsible manner in an effort to save energy and reduce carbon dioxide, a chief contributor to the man-made greenhouse effect. We encourage guests to use energy-saving choices while staying with us, requesting them to turn off room lights and setting the room’s air-conditioning unit in a responsible manner. We also encourage guests to never leave the room with the air conditioning unit on, thus reducing its impact on global warming. The hotel encourages its staff to ride bicycles to work rather than their motorcycles or cars in an effort to protect the environment.

Wildlife Protection and Reforestation
As mentioned, Mr. Bruce Gordon directs all the Nature & Wildlife Conservation as well as the Reforestation programs at Hacienda Chichen. Under his direction active measures are in place to preserve, conserve, and enrich this land’s flora and fauna habitats. These efforts have increase diversity in flora and wildlife in the area.

Since 2003, Hacienda Chichen has taken special care to grow wild herbs and medicinal plants used by native Maya healers in their communities. To expand the awareness of Maya traditional holistic healing methods, and the benefits of such practices, Yaxkin Spa director Mrs. Beatriz Correa is currently training local females in the art of Maya herbal healing procedures. Soon, their herbal Mayan products will be sold at the Spa; a percentage of the profit will be dedicated to sustain this training and the healing workshops, offered freely to local females selected by the Elder Maya Healers.

In 2005, Hacienda Chichen actively participated in the Annual Bird Festival of Yucatan and sponsored members of its staff to become Local Bird-watch Guides to increase envornmental awareness among locals about the importance of caring for nature and wildlife. Since then, Mr. Gordon and his forest-guards have planted over 2,500 indigenous hardwood trees in the property and reclaimed over 80 acres of unauthorized farmed land. His forest-guards have stopped the illegal hunting of white deer and other endangered species entering the property, an action that has brought increased safety to many endangered endemic species in the region, including families of kinkajous, oscillated turkeys, white tail deer, Morph butterflies and other species.

Maya Culture: Our commitment
In December 2006, Hacienda Chichen dedicated over 10,000 meters of land to be the sacred grounds for the Maya Priests and Elder Healers, members of the non-profit organization Kuch Kaab Yéetel J-Men Maaya’ob, A.C. The main mission and vision of this group of organized Maya Priests and Elder Healers is to restore the Maya Cultural legacy and healing traditions of their ancestors and to preserve the rich legacy of their native cultural heritage. The group organizes various cultural and spiritual activities, educational workshops, sacred ceremonies, and informative lectures to develop general awareness of their ancestral values and practices. Their contribution to the conservation of the Maya Culture enriches the local community and visitors alike. Hacienda Chichen is proud to contribute to and sponsor many of their projects and works consistently to increase the opportunities available to them to share their knowledge with those who value the Maya Civilization.

Local support and social commitment
Hacienda Chichen and Yaxkin Spa employ 99% Maya people and locals including our head of department, our Executive Chef, and other relevant positions in our organization. A portion of our profit is dedicated to training our in-house staff for high level positions within our organization. This practice is coordinated with the help of the Maya Foundation In Laakeech and directly benefits the rural communities.

Working with local people, in 2005 Hacienda Chichen opened Yaxkin Spa, a holistic Spa were Mayan traditional healing practices, native herbal medicinal remedies, and other organic elements are used to purify and renew the energy in each of person in communion with nature.

The hotel sponsors workshops and training programs for our staff to earn additional income directly, such as the Local Bird-watching Guides. The program began in 2004 due to the increasing illegal tree-cutting in the surrounding area. The deforestation in the region was depleting mature trees used for wood-carving souvenirs sold on the tourist routes to Chichen Itza. To minimize the negative impact of this activity, Hacienda Chichen has designated an area to plant mainly Gumbo Limbo trees (the favorite for souvenir carvers) and to train the staff in proper cutting procedures.

Local organic products support
Hacienda Chichen buys many local products on a daily basis, including organic tortillas freshly made in Xcalacoop, delicious bread buns from San Felipe, seasonal vegetables and other food products grown by small families in the nearby towns. This practice is extended to non-perishables produced in the region, all in the effort to support the local economy. Our Toh Boutique sells native Mayan artists’ fine crafts to encourage the traditional arts and crafts of the Maya people for this brings pride and wealth to their families. Profits from sales are used for the property’s Nature Conservation program and the Maya Foundation’s Children’s program which in 2007 built new environmentally sound public bathrooms for the Xcalacoop Elementary Public School and helped safeguard the computer room.

Growing our own organic products
In 2003, our senior staff and local farmer, Filomeno Mex Tun retired from the hospitality service and started Hacienda Chichen's own organic farm. This farm produces most of the hotel's fresh fruits, vegetables, herbs and currently the medicinal plants used at Yaxkin Spa. Guests can stroll each morning in his field at the south end of the hotel’s gardens. It is a pleasure to hear his soft Maya lyrics and songs as he works, and to get his tips on how to grow better fruits and vegetables in your own home.

Wild honey is produced extensively in our land. The staff is welcome to benefit from the wild honey found in our property, as much as from the traditional Maya medicine herbs found in our Nature trails and any other other richness of the land as long as their activities do not destroy the delicate nature of the habitat. In 2008, Mr. Gordon and his forest-guards will start a program of organic pure honey production and bee-hives in the property.

Purchasing policy
Hacienda Chichen's purchasing policies focus on using products that have minimal impact on the environment. All our cleaning supplies are bio-degradable and have low environment impact. We purchase local products, and organically grown food products in the region using a high standard of health and quality criteria. Proud of the beautiful traditional arts and crafts of the Maya people, we buy all our new décor items directly from Mayan communities. This contributes to the conservation of native traditional artful skills while increasing their income opportunities.

The result of all our practices and commitments
Hacienda Chichen Resort and Yaxkin Spa’s socially responsible vision benefits us all by creating an ambiance of shared welfare among the native staff, nature, and our guests. A genuine “family feeling” is felt among us. Guests learn to appreciate the mystical aspects of native people, who in return have the opportunity to express and share their Maya traditions with our guests. This increases the natural joy of learning about each other and this interaction enriches the local community at the same time that the community enriches the visitors’ cultural experience and knowledge.

Visit Yucatan Adventure Eco-Travel Guide