Awesome experience

Alvin and Arlene are great hosts and their accommodations provide the perfect opportunity for guests to have privacy or interact with the hosts as they desire. Beautiful views and lovely traditional colors in the guest level are very comfortable. During and after our recent stay Alvin and Arlene continued to share their knowledge and ideas with us as we planned the remainder of our trip on the fly. We also took one of the day trips Alvin offers and would strongly recommend that as well to anyone interested in exploring the valleys around Oaxaca. Casa Machaya was perfect for our family's first week in Oaxaca and we strongly recommend it!

Casa Muchaya

We stayed at Casa Muchaya in 2005 as part of a trip around Mexico and we were made to feel very much part of the family. Our stay was for a week and whilst having the comfort and independance of a seperate apartment which is attached to the main house, we were also made to feel very welcome in Arlene and Alvin's home. When you are a few thousand miles away from home, the family touch goes a long way. As well as being very well informed about the history and geographics of the area, we were also able to do a one day cookery course with a fantastic local Oaxacan cook, within the comfort of their house.

The views from the apartment are absolutely stunning and the apartment itself is spacious, clean and comfortable. Their house is beautiful and is a real tribute to many of the local artists of Oaxaca. I would recommend to anybody who wants to visit Oaxaca that you should join Arlene and Alvin in a few glasses of Mezcal!!! Fantastic!

Casa Machaya

! Que Fantastico ! Mr. and Mrs Starkman went through the extra mile to help us to have a great experience in Oaxaca. The B and B is beautiful, charming, and very clean. The home perches up on the top of a mountain away from the city noises, instead of roosters crowing and Mexican music wafting through the cool air. Thank-You, Mel S. and Family.

2cnd stay at Casa Machaya

After staying with the Starkman's over a year ago, I decided to return to Oaxaca again, this time without my husband, for a more quiet respite. Once again Arlene and Alvin were the most gracious and attentive of hosts, and I was thrilled to be occupying their lovely guest level. For this solo visit it was perhaps more important for me to have their advise and expertise since I was traveling alone. They came through in "in spades." Certainly their home is fabulous for a couple or a young family, but in particular for a woman traveling alone, you want the security they offer and the sense that you are being treated as family but only if and when that's what you are looking for. They are by no means intrusive, but rather simply available to answer questions and as resources if that's what you want. They make it so easy to fall in love with the magic of Oaxaca.

Authentic Oaxacan Experience

What a wonderful exoerience !!Not only are Alvin and Arlene gracious and thoughtful hosts but also they have acquired an intimate knowledge of Oaxacan culture,customs and peoples.which they are more than willing to share with their guests.And they are both fluent in spanish !! Their home is beautifully designed, providing guests with plenty of privacy,with an authentic view of the city of Oaxaca and its inhabitants.The suite of rooms is large and designed to enjoy both the decor of the interior and as well the beautiful patio.Fresh fruits and pastries are provided on a daily basis along with the breakfast essentials.During your visit try to take advantage of Alvin's tours to the awesome historical sites on the outskirts of the city.As an added bonus arrange for Esperanza's cooking lesson ,in the home,for the taste of a traditional Oaxacan comida(dinner).Our three week vacation was one of the best ,if not the best,vacation we have experienced-largely due to the hospitality and attentiveness of Alvin and Arlene.

From Toronto to Oaxaca

Over the years, after vacationing in several of the prime tourist destinations in Mexico, we learned of Oaxaca, and decided to visit the real Mexico.

After viewing several websites of bed and breakfasts in Oaxaca, we were fortunate enough to choose the Casa Machaya Oaxaca Bed and Breakfast, owned and operated by our delightful hosts, Alvin and Arlene Starkman. Alvin and Arlene have created a true home away from home with a welcoming atmosphere, generous breakfast, interesting conversation and advice about Oaxaca and the surrounding area. The views of Oaxaca were magnificent, and the accommodation superb.

We had an opportunity to tour the fascinating mezcal production facilities in and around Oaxaca. Oaxaca City itself has interesting sites including the Central Square (Zocalo), fabulous restaurants and

numerous art galleries, cafes, markets and museums. The magnificent Santa Domingo monastery is a unique building in its own right and is now a state museum with many interesting artifacts. Behind the Santa

Domingo monastery is a stunning garden, and the garden tour was especially interesting.

We are grateful to Alvin who acted as our tour guide and drove us on day trips to surrounding ruins such as Monte Alban and Mitla, and to craft towns, where each town specializes in a specific craft such as woven rugs and tapestries, black pottery, and hand-carved, brilliantly painted wooden figures. And our stay in Oaxaca would not have been complete without enjoying an evening of the remarkable folk dancing represented by the various Oaxacan native groups.

Alvin and Arlene's place was a lovely holiday retreat with a wonderfully self-contained suite, showcasing beautiful Mexican decor. We cannot praise Alvin and Arlene enough for making our stay exquisitely enjoyable.

Absolutely fabulous accomodation

I had the great experience of staying at the casa machaya in January of this year. Everything was great. The b&b flat is spacious and clean and contains it's own patio that overlooks the town and is surrounded by mountains. I would have been happy just relaxing on the patio and enjoying the view, but there is so much of interest to do in the area that I will have to leave that for my next visit. The area is very interesting, and between the markets in the neighbouring towns, the archeological ruins to explore, and the town itself with it's wonderful restaurants, cafes and galleries, there was very little downtime. Alvin and Arlene Starkman are very knowledgable and gracious hosts who will ensure that your trip is as enjoyable as possible. I highly recomment this accomodation and will go again.-

Mi Casa - Su Casa

We spent 6 nights at Casa Machaya and were delighted. It's a gorgeous home, decorated with original Mexican handicrafts and artifacts, built on the side of a hill just outside of the hubbub of the city core. Alvin and Arlene were wonderful hosts and did everything they could to make our stay enjoyable without being intrusive. The accommodation is beautiful...private entrance to a spacious bedroom, bathroom and kitchen. The patio was fabulous, terrific view - great for eating breakfast and planning the day's activities. We can't wait to go back!

Oaxacan solitude

As frequent travelers to Oaxaca City we make efforts to stay in different accomodations each time we go, but after staying in Casa Machaya it is clear that this will be a spot that we will revisit time and again. Pearched on a beautiful hillside in Colonia Loma linda, Casa Machaya boasts stunning views of the surrounding mountains and the towering Cerro San Felipe. The one intimate rental unit is situated on the bottom level of a fantasticly designed and newly built oaxacan casa. It is tastefully decorated with a disticnt oaxacan flavor and contains all modern ammentities you would expect in an upscale accomodation. The fully equipped open air kitchen opens out onto a beautiful sunny terrace where one can relax, take in the incredible vistas, and bask in the aromas of the surrounding gardens. For those looking to escape the bustling and often noisy central, this location can not be beat, it provides a refreshing sense of peace and solitude while still retaining the "Oaxacan Charm" that is found throughout the city. Though definitely located out of the main part of town, we did not find the location to be inconvienient in anyway. Taxis and busses could be easily hailed at the bottom of the hill not to mention the owner, offers to drive his guests to town each day (unheard of). Alvin and Arlene, the Canadian couple who own and operate Casa Machaya, are simply the nicest and most accomodating people we have met. In the three weeks that we stayed with them, they constantly bent over backwards to make sure we were comfortable and well taken care of. We highly recommend Casa Machaya to anyone visiting Oaxaca City, but especially for those looking to get out of town a bit and enjoy a unique not to mention beautiful perspective on the town.

A Oaxaca Dream

We stayed at Casa Machaya for two weeks last summer(2005). It is an absolutely wonderful home with very accommodating hosts, Arlene and Alvin Starkman. The website(-)oaxacadream (-) is very accurate. The views from our balcony were spectacular, the rooms were large and comfortable, actually we felt we were in our own private home. The owners went out of their way to make our stay a cultural experience we had never before encountered. Breakfast was ample and varied and the rooms were clean. Our host's home is really amazing. Book early since they only have a single rental unit. We were lucky they had a cancellation so we were able to enjoy the outstanding hospitality. We definitely will consider another stay at this amazing accommodation.