Any recommendation for a hotel? Recent nytimes article http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/09/travel/things-to-do-in-36-hours-in-tulum-mexico.html convinced us to go for a long weekend without the baby. So looking for somewhere on the water, quiet, close to restaurants/shopping. Seem to be a ton of nice choices so curious if anyone has any personal recs.
Thanks!
Tulum,the view is stunning from the ruins. The ocean is spectacularly photogenic.
Can’t help on places to stay because when we were there, right after the hurricane scrapped cozemel flat, there weren’t any hotels down that far. Now playa del Carmen is all inclusives as far as the eye can see.
It’s a great place to do nothing.
We have rented a house on Soliman bay a few times which is about 20 min North of Tulum. It is a great area the beaches are wonderful. Scuba is really good as is diving/snorkelling in the cenotes. It is very relaxing. The ruins are beautiful and definitely worth the trip. We have gone twice. Make sure to get a guide. I don’t know about a long weekend as that seems rushed. It is a 2 hour drive at least from Cancun airport but every one likes to travel differently. Certainly worth a trip.
George
We stayed in/near Akumal which is about 30 mins North of Tulum as I recall. Plenty of places on the water with good snorkeling. As far as being near to restos you’ll want to be in one of the beach towns. I imagine there are places very close to Tulum. It is a ways from the Cancun airport so you’ll need to decide what is best location wise.
We have stayed at the Barceló Maya Palace several times. The resort is huge ( 5 resorts combined) and it sits on one of the best stretches of beach in Mexico. Tulum is about another 30 miles south. Gran Principe (another large resort) is about half way between, but I’ve never stayed there.
Went with another couple in early November.
We enjoyed out stay at the chic and stylish, yet relaxed, Posada Margarita, on the beach in Tulum. Run by an Italian, with several Italian employees, it was a nice mix of Italy and Mexico. The jungle like grounds are lit by HUNDREDS of candles every evening.
Our favorite meal was at Hartwood, every dish was excellent, with beautiful presentations, in a chic, tropical setting. The ‘no reservation policy’ is a bit of a pain and strange. It really is a reservation policy that requires you to show up around opening time (6ish) and give your name and required dining time. Even though I attempted to make reservations in advance, I didn’t know the real scoop until it screwed us up the first attempt to dine here mid-week. After the first failure I was tempted to blow it off. I am glad we made the effort to drive down to put in our name after returning from the beach, and then return to the hotel to get ready for dinner.
We planned on one dinner at Posada Margarita, but due to the unexpected closing of El Tabano and shopping in the boutiques until past their closing times, we had a second dinner at our hotel. Great pasta and really fresh seafood (we saw the lobster and red snapper come in with a fisherman on the spear from the water in the later afternoon and ate it a couple hours later). My only quibble is the extremely limited menu (which hasn’t changed since they opened 14 years ago), make it difficult to eat here repeatedly during one visit. Also enjoyed the fabulous breakfasts every morning, sipping great coffee and gazing out at the sea.
Fun evening at Cetli, in an old home in the town of Tulum, which was a nice change from the beach area restaurants. Five of our six dishes were excellent and the sixth was good. I expected traditional food, but some of the dishes (especially the awesome salads) were a nice fusion of old and new. Great chili en nogada. Couldn’t ask for friendlier or more attentive service.
Good, not great, dinner at Casa Banana which was a last minute substitute when we couldn’t get into Hartwood. The cocktails were excellent and beautiful. We felt it was overpriced and the automatic tip added to the bill promoted poor, inattentive service in this tourist location. I had planned for it to be just a spot for cocktails, but several locals (who appeared to have good taste) recommended it so it became a back up.
Good lunch at El Carmello, nice fish tacos, shrimp ceviche was just OK with those little micro-shrimp. For some reason, I expected more. No where close to El Cangrejito or Wayan’e in Merida.
OK lunch at Mateo’s, after I couldn’t find a couple of preferred lunch options.
We also had a couple of decent beach lunches at the little hotel next to Posada Margarita, Hotel Playa Kin-Ha, sipping great mezcal and tequila with the sea in view. Friendly staff. Very convenient to walk next door for a change of pace for lunch from Posada Margarita.
The wives loved a vegan lunch at Restaurare (while the guys were drinking tequila and eating seafood at Kin-Ha).
Hartwood is a must. Even if it is a hassle.