Tulum Mexico: these are the best places to stay
Tulum... Mexico... That's right, guitar music. Tulum... Mexico... The village of all our dreams. At least, it was for years. When we wrote this article for the first time, it was 2017 and we were over the moon. But now, quite a few years later, the hippie village is a bit too American and a bit too commercial for our taste. And yet... Still, you really can't skip it on your tour of Mexico. That's fine, but then definitely stay at one of the accommodations below. And yes, Tulum remains a boho jungle village situated on the Caribbean azure sea – the best places to spend the night.
A pink tower in the middle of Tulum Pueblo, as if someone rebuilt the Tower of Babel, but for yogis and architecture fans. Amidst all the jungle chic from Tulum falls Babel used up immediately, and that was of course exactly the intention.
The Mexican design firm V Taller designed the complex, which opened in 2024. The floor plan is oval and consists of three parts surrounding a central tower. A freestanding staircase over a canal leads to the tower, and at the top there is a triangular opening to the sky.
The color is soft pink, made with mineral pigments. The walls are finished with chukum, the traditional lime plaster of Yucatán, and you also see travertine and organic cotton. There are 59 apartments: Garden units with a private garden and jacuzzi on the ground floor, Nest units on the middle floor, lofts with double ceiling height, and a penthouse with a view. Each apartment has its own kitchen and a king-size bed.
The swimming pool is located in the courtyard, and there is a yoga shala, a meditation area, and a café serving vegetarian dishes and mocktails. A fair note: Babel is an apartment complex with hotel service. So, you can cook for yourself just as easily as you eat out.
In this neighborhood, you'll find the best spots for breakfast, coffee, and a night out, without having to go to the hotel zone. The beach is about eight kilometers away, so take a bike or a taxi.
Papaya Beach: the gem of Tulum. Not only for the extremely pleasant stay, but certainly also because you can enjoy a princely time there even if you are not a hotel guest. Papaya Playa is and remains a favorite, even though we have already been there three times. Or well, one of them. Moreover, it is one of those nice, no-fuss spots with very reasonable prices (relatively speaking, that is). And otherwise, a day on the beach at Papaya Playa is perfectly fine too. Because: the place to be! A party? Yes, every weekend.
The rustling of the palm trees, the thundering waves, a view over the long beach... If you have some euros left, roll them towards Violet House in Tulum. Because let's be honest: it's not a bargain. If you have a few extra bones left, smash them to bits. Casa Violeta was founded by Karla Gutierrez. Karla wanted to get rid of the daily hustle and bustle, lists and to do's and set up a place where people could escape and that became Casa Violeta. And she succeeded: we were completely out of the world. It is luxurious. Chic. Nice. Calm. And more of that.
Handsome. Handsome. Most handsome. That is Nomad Tulum. What a picture. The hotel is boho cool to the max. Cushions on the sand, fringes on lamps, food from a tray on the floor, rugs anywhere and then executed at its very best. This is of course accompanied by an associated audience, so be prepared for the hippest tourists (who are also decorated with frills). So: belly in, chin up and let's strut.
There is also a Nômade on Ibiza these days: Nomadic Temple! Much closer, just as nice.
In a village street, behind a few large doors, you will find the oasis of peace Prana Boutique Hotel is called. Prana only has a few rooms, a restaurant, a shop, a spacious swimming pool to splash around in and a really nice bar. At that nice bar they prepare fish bowls of cocktails that you can take with you to take a dip: prrrima.
Five apartments, a rooftop terrace with a palapa, and a cargo net hanging between the buildings: Casa Kobaab in Tulum is small, adults-only, and is located in La Veleta, the neighborhood between the center of Tulum and the hotel zone on the beach.
The house is modern and peacefully furnished, with polished concrete floors, walls of chukum (the Yucatecan lime plaster), and wooden details. On the first floor are two one-bedroom apartments, each with its own mini-pool. On the second floor are three studios. Everywhere you have a kitchenette and a balcony or terrace with a view of the garden or the pool. That pool is situated in the middle of the garden, next to a flowering tree that is the showpiece of the garden.
A bed on wheels that you roll right onto the terrace, and then you sleep under the stars with the Caribbean Sea just a few meters away. With that trick, La Valise Tulum Famous on Instagram, but the hotel has more to offer than just one viral bed.
The busiest beach club And here you leave the crystal shops behind, and further south begins the Sian Ka'an nature reserve. Hotelier Yves Naman once bought a small beach house here and converted it into a boutique hotel. Since 2023, it has had two wings: the beach side and, across the road, the jungle side with eleven suites surrounding its own cenote.
The design is Tulum at its best: thatched roofs, palm leaves, polished concrete, and raw wood, with furniture and fabrics from local makers. The seafront rooms open onto the beach, and some suites have their own plunge pool, and you shower outside behind a stone wall. The rollaway bed is only found in the Master Suites, so keep that in mind when booking. On the jungle side is a cenote-style pool, the largest at Tulum Beach according to Mr & Mrs Smith, and the spa with Mayan treatments is also located there.
In the morning, you have breakfast at the beach restaurant. In the evening, you cross the road to NÜ, the open-air restaurant among the palm trees, where chef Luis Aguilar cooks local and sustainable food.
It is not cheap. There is coming a destination fee from forty dollars a night on top of that, children up to and including twelve years old are not welcome, and a taxi to the center easily costs thirty to fifty dollars. On the other hand, here you hear the waves breaking at night instead of the bass from a beach club.
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Another one in the list that is simply beautiful and disproportionately expensive: Azulik. A super deluxe eco resort on the bluer than blue water of the Tulum sun. There is no electricity except for a charger in the room because you don't want to be there without a telephone because everything has to be clicked on the most beautiful holiday snapshots at Azulik. Azulik is also only for hotel guests, plenty of celebrities are spotted there, but you can also lie on the beach. Will cost you a few dollars per person. To be fair, you'll be just as comfortable at another beach.
Hashtag takeback for the Be Hotel in Tulum please. The lovely blue-and-white hotel is located on the beach, just like the rest of the village, but just a little further outside the busy 'stripe' and is so wonderfully relaxed that it ignores the rest. And even if Be Tulum is full in terms of rooms (or it is a bit too expensive for you), it is a great tip for a Corona or cocktail at the beach bar. But it must be said, try to get one of the ocean suites with a view of the sea from a lovely oval-shaped bath in your vintage-chic room.
