If you haven’t heard of Tulum, I’m going to assume you live under a rock. Or at least you’re not on Instagram! Because while your uncle or your boss or your college age nephew are in Cancun, Mexico, YOU should be in Tulum.
Tulum is a small beach town 90 minutes south of Cancun. If you’ve visited Cancun, you probably don’t have the best impression of this area. While Cancun is full of high rise, all-inclusive hotels with tourists from middle America, Tulum is made up of tiny, boutique hotels full of chic 20-somethings.
I almost didn’t cross Tulum off my bucket list because I was so convinced that it wasn’t going to be as great as the photos I’d seen on Instagram or the stories I had heard. But after spending 4 days and 3 nights at Tulum’s Mezzanine Hotel, I can tell you Tulum is as great as it looks. If not better!
Tulum was once a destination for the yoga obsessed and while it’s no longer a run down, yogi town, it does still have yoga at its roots. Almost every hotel, including the Mezzanine Hotel, offers some sort of yoga option. There was even a yoga mat in our closet and flyers to book private yoga instruction.
The Mezzanine Hotel is part of the only real hotel “chain” in Tulum. You won’t find a Marriott, Hilton or Best Western in this part of Mexico. As I mentioned, all of the hotels are boutique. Most, if not all, don’t have more than 20 rooms.
The Mezzanine Hotel is part of the Colbri Boutique Hotels chain including Le Zebra, El Pez and Mi Amor in Tulum. Upon check in to any of these hotels, you are given a “passport” encouraging you to visit each property with a free drink ticket included! During our stay we hit all of them except for El Pez.
The Mezzanine Hotel is off the major strip of hotels in Tulum which I actually loved about it. It was less than a 10 minute cab ride to the main drag and it was MUCH quieter. There were less people walking the beach or just around the grounds of the hotel in general. We only really saw people around the hotel at night when they came to try the popular thai restaurant at the hotel.
The Food
If you read about where to eat in Tulum, the thai restaurant at the Mezzanine Hotel will be on every list. And it really was great thai food! It felt a little weird to eat thai food in Mexico but after eating burritos and tacos all day while we were out exploring, it was nice to come back and change it up with some dumplings and drunken noodles for dinner.
We ordered the pad thai and the drunken noodles “tourist style” which meant the least amount of spicy. There were three levels of spice! We tried the second level and it was way too much for me so I can only imagine how hot the third level was.
The restaurant does also have some Mexican dishes. For a mid-day snack, we loved the guacamole!
The Mezzanine Hotel also has a bar with the greatest bartender in the world, Marco! While we were staying there, the hotel was offering 2 for 1 margaritas in the afternoon. Marco learned my favorite drink – tequila, triple sec and a splash of lime (aka the original “skinny girl margarita”) – and he kept them coming all day! We spent our first full day in Tulum just laying on the day beds at the hotel enjoying endless margaritas.
Though we did pay for it! Tulum is not cheap. These are not the all-inclusive hotels you’ll find in Cancun. But the drinks are MUCH better and the food is actually edible. Can you tell I’m not the biggest fan of Cancun!?
The Room
We stayed in one of the Master Suites at the Mezzanine Hotel as it was one of the only rooms left and we were so happy that we were forced to make that choice! The Master Suites are their most expensive rooms but they are 100% worth it.
These are the only rooms at the Mezzanine Hotel with private balconies as all of the other rooms are on the first floor. When I would leave my room, I’d have to walk down the stairs past other guests sitting on small chairs outside their rooms. We had private, lounge chairs on our deck with no one to bother us!
Upon check-in, we were given complimentary margaritas which we took straight to our room to enjoy the view.
It was a little strange having the shower IN the room with you but “eco-style” hotels are very popular in Tulum and we found during our hotel search that most bathrooms were this way. At least there was privacy for the toilet!
One of my favorite parts of our stay was the coffee and tea delivery. Upon check-in, David at the front desk (who we loved!!) took down what kind of milk you wanted with your coffee and what time you wanted it delivered. Then in the morning, there would be a small basket outside your room with a pot of coffee, milk and a couple little biscuits. The hotel offered regular milk, soy and almond. It also came with a mantra card for the day which really just describes Tulum as a whole. It’s all about slowing down, relaxing and enjoying yourself.
One morning we didn’t wake up early enough to get our coffee and I was able to go down to the front desk and get a fresh, hot pot. Enjoying it on our balcony each morning was one of the highlights of our stay at the Mezzanine Hotel!
When we came back to our room after dinner each night, our bed would be turned down with a bedtime chocolate and a pot of tea.
The Hotel Grounds
One benefit to having such a small hotel was that it was never crowded. There were tons of day beds, hammocks, bean bag chairs and more spread throughout the property that were always free. You never had to worry about waking up early to reserve a spot in the sun or fighting with people for a spot at the bar.
One thing I was a little worried about at the Mezzanine Hotel was the size of the pool. It was tiny and right in the middle of the hotel and restaurant so it wasn’t exactly welcoming a swim. But I quickly found that no one uses it because the beach is just steps from your room. And with the bluest ocean water you’ve ever seen, there’s no reason you would ever need to be in a pool!
Tulum Activities
But don’t think that all of your time in Tulum will be spent laying, drinking and eating. There is also tons to do right around the corner.
On our last morning, I decided to do a 90-minute yoga class at the Sanara Hotel on the main drag of Tulum. This hotel focuses on yoga and offers several classes throughout the day in a windowed studio overlooking the water. The class was $20 USD and was great for yogis of all levels.
We also took a day trip to the Mayan ruins and cenotes, or underground caves. There are ruins literally walking distance from the Mezzanine Hotel but we chose to visit Coba which sees less tourists so you’re allowed to climb them.
We were able to visit Coba and the cenotes all in one day. We rented a car (only about $20 a day in Tulum) and drove roughly 45 minutes from the hotel to the ruins. Coba is inside the jungle so we spent an hour or so walking around the different trails looking at the ancient city of the Mayans. Once it came time to climb the Coba pyramid, I’m not going to lie it was a little scary. But we did it! And the view of the jungle from the top was so worth it.
After climbing the pyramid, we drove about 5-10 minutes up the road to visit the Choo-ha Cenotes. This area is actually made up of three cenotes, Tamcach-Ha, Choo-Ha and Multum-Ha. To enter, you have to pay per person, per cenote. We chose to only visit the Choo-Ha and Tamcach-Ha cenotes.
When we arrived at Choo-Ha, there was only one other car on site. There was a falling down shack with washrooms and a small hut with an employee collecting your ticket but that was it. It’s not like most tourist destinations that have tons of security and commercialization. We were really in the depths of the jungle!
You enter each cenote by a small, steep opening in the ground. Once inside, you’re alone in an underground cave. I was expecting there to be TONS of people and lines but at the first cenote, there was only one other couple there. At the second cenote, there was one large family for about 15 minutes and after that, we were alone.
The cenotes were one of the main reasons I wanted to visit Tulum and they were even better than I imagined so definitely check them out if you’re close by. You can even do a day trip from Cancun or Riviera Maya. But why stay there when you can stay in Tulum!?
Where to Eat
While we did eat two dinners at the Mezzanine Hotel’s thai restaurant, we also ventured into other parts of Tulum to try some local cuisine.
1. Las Puertas
By far our favorite meal was Las Puertas. If you know anything about Tulum, you’ve probably heard of Hartwood. It’s one of the most popular restaurants in the area and is every blogger’s first stop.
While we were sitting at one of the beach bars, the bartender recommended we try Las Puertas for dinner instead.
“The bloggers haven’t found it yet so it’s still good,” he said. I was sold! Somewhere that no one else had discovered yet!? And it’s just as good, if not better than Hartwood? Call me a cab. I’m going!
We arrived at Las Puertas a little after 8:30pm and were the only patrons there. The entrance is down a wooded path and opens into a beautiful, eco-style restaurant. My favorite part? It’s owned by a family from Buffalo, N.Y., just an hour from my hometown of Rochester! What are the chances of that?
Las Puertas is NOT cheap but man is it worth it. We split two appetizers and an entry with 2 cocktails each and it was $200. But the cocktails were delicious and the food was unlike anything I’ve ever tried. We had a burrata quesadilla! I mean come on, you don’t see that on a menu every day!
P.S. If you’re in Rochester, make a trip to Buffalo because they have a sister restaurant there also named Las Puertas! Run, don’t walk.
2. Taqueria Honorio
While Las Puertas is my scene, Taqueria Honorio is more my boyfriend’s. This is real Mexican food, guys, and it tops every list of the best breakfast tacos in Tulum. They’re known for their slow-roasted pork marinated in orange juice and they really were amazing. It’s a small, street side shack basically and it closes each day once the food runs out so make sure to get there early!
3. Burrito Amor
If you’re on the pickier side or have allergy concerns, Burrito Amor is the place for you. Their menu is Paleo and vegan friendly, and has gluten, dairy, grain and egg free options. While the food is still true to its Mexican home, in my opinion you’ll find more American-style Mexican food here. But I loved it. And they had kombucha!! The bloggers definitely inspired that.
Tulum is truly a vacation destination for people of all ages. The town may be filled with Instagram obsessed 20-somethings from New York, LA and SF, but there really is something for everyone. From yoga and cenotes to street tacos and history, there is so much culture in and around Tulum that you won’t find in Riviera Maya or Cancun.
So next time you’re wanting a warm getaway, put Tulum at the top of your list.