18 Best Hotels in Tulum, From Luxury Resorts to Beach Bungalows
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No longer a tranquil seaside enclave, Tulum is a veritable, world-renowned hotspot. Though there are many alluring towns set along the Riviera Maya’s white-sand coastline, none have achieved the mass appeal of Tulum, attracting travelers of all types: spiritual jet-setters, eager festival goers, and even art enthusiasts. Located south of Playa del Carmen in Mexico's Quintana Roo state, Tulum has welcomed many advancements in the last few years that allow it to accommodate such an influx of visitors, including the opening of the Tulum International Airport, offering direct access from US hubs like Miami, Atlanta, and Dallas-Fort Worth.
Now, this small stretch of beach road tucked in the southeastern bounds of Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula is flanked by side roads leading to all kinds of hospitality concepts, with properties extending their reaches into the jungle and further along the coast. While large luxury hotels have officially opened in the area, such as Conrad Tulum with its lavish amenities of 5 pools and 11 on-site restaurants, there are still plenty of properties that offer what Tulum was originally known for: diminutive, boutique respites like Chablé, a 10-suite retreat at the end of the Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve, and the new Xela Tulum, a 12-room oasis with an open-air living room and expansive rooftop ideal for sunset cocktails.
Whether you’re looking for an all-inclusive hotel where the staff plans every facet of your stay, or prefer a boutique property where intimacy and wellness are the pillars of your experience, Tulum has it all. And no matter what type of stay you choose, expect to feel entranced by the spiritual offerings, tropical foliage, and white sand beaches of this Yucatán Peninsula hotspot. Without further delay, here are the 18 best hotels in Tulum.
This gallery has been updated with new information since its original publish date.
- Courtesy La Valise Tulum
La Valise Tulum
At this boutique hotel hideaway, rooms are set within A-frame, palapa-style structures that blend seamlessly with the natural surroundings. Guests can take their pick, booking one of 11 beachfront suites with ocean views or one of 11 jungle-facing suites, most with private terraces and outdoor soaking tubs. During a stay, guests can enjoy taking dips in one of three pools—connected by ethereal white-sand walkways—plus everything from cacao ceremonies to bee venom facials at the spa. Organic meals are offered at Nü, which sources many of its fair-trade ingredients from the regenerative farm Mestiza de Indias, designed to preserve ancient Mayan farming techniques.
- Courtesy Muaré
Muaré
Within the Tulum jungle, near the La Valeta residential development, this boutique hotel respite is barefoot sophistication realized. Although each of the property’s 26 villas can be booked as a standalone stay, the hotel is ideal for groups. Each villa offers extensive gardens with semi-outdoor showers immersed in nature, some with private plunge pools, and can be connected to adjacent villas to accommodate families or large groups of friends. At Gaudea, guests can enjoy poolside fresh fruit smoothies by morning and candlelit dinners and mezcal-based cocktails by evening, while the wellness offerings include yoga classes and holistic massages.
- Victor Eliashotel
Conrad Tulum Riviera Maya
$$$ |Hot List 2022
Readers' Choice Awards 2022, 2023, 2024
Though this luxury resort is only located about 13 miles north of Tulum’s downtown near Akumal, it feels a world away. While most Tulum properties are boutique hotels by nature, mostly due to the limited availability of land, this hotel, with its 349 guest rooms, is sprawling. Withn the grounds, guests can spend their time at the cenote-inspired spa or lounging in one of five swimming pools. There are also 11 on-site restaurants and bars, ranging from a sushi bar to a Mediterranean restaurant with small plates inspired by the flavors of southern Spain and North Africa.
- Courtesy Shibari Tulum
Shibari Tulum
Guests of this jungle-side property don’t even have to leave the grounds to immerse themselves in one of Tulum’s most precious natural resources—cenotes, which are natural pools with subterranean limestone cave systems. In fact, this 64-villa property is designed around its very own cenote, known as Tuuch, which is lined with a swimming pool area replete with beach loungers and hammocks. Japanese and Mayan philosophies merge at this resort. Both Samurai culture and the sensual Japanese art of Shibari, a therapeutic rope-tying technique, are integral to the property, with workshops offered regularly. During a stay, guests are also privy to two on-site shopping boutiques, a cafe, a hot tub bar, as well as a restaurant exclusively open to hotel guests.
- Courtesy The Beach Tulumhotel
The Beach Tulum
The Beach Tulum is an intimate, adults-only oasis that combines a serene escape with easy access to local hot spots for a perfectly balanced Mexican getaway. Nestled snugly in the middle of Tulum’s main hotel zone with the beach and the main strip on either side of the hotel, this blissful retreat is filled with private plunge pools and hot tubs—it’s almost as if the whole hotel were a spa. It’s a go-to for guests looking for a harmonious escape from the hotel’s party-centric and lively neighbors. —Taylor Mead
- hotel
Be Tulum
Readers' Choice Awards 2023
A rare boutique property in this resort-heavy area, Be Tulum has a smaller feel and plenty of character. Guests love the outdoor showers and jungle-nestled feel that still keep the beachfront at their feet. Popular for honeymooners and cuisine lovers who enjoy the open-kitchen restaurant, its beach-club-meets-hotel vibe embodies Tulum well, and has garnered repeat clients, including Traveler readers who landed it a spot on the 2023 Readers' Choice Awards. New to the property is an off-site villa named Casa Sastran, a five-bedroom home in the Sian Ka’an Biosphere with private beach access.
- Edgardo Contreras/Casa Chabléhotel
Casa Chablé
$$$ |Hot List 2023
Readers' Choice Awards 2023
Evoking the Tulum of yesteryear, Casa Chablé is stunning in its simplicity. Beyond the entrance of the Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve, located about 22 miles south of Tulum, the property offers travelers the feeling of staying at a private home. Guests first enter through the main villa, which features five guest rooms, each with private balconies. Past a plunge pool shaded by palms, down a white-sand swath, are five standalone oceanfront suites with indoor-outdoor showers and terraces. While on property, guests can enjoy sunset cocktails on the lagoon or a Yucatecan-inspired menu crafted by chef Jorge Vallejo of Quintonil in Mexico City.
- Hotel Bardohotel
Hotel Bardo
$$$ |Readers' Choice Awards 2023
Nestled within the jungle, Hotel Bardo offers contemporary luxury rooted in wellness, with regular rituals like sound healing ceremonies and yoga classes on rotation. Though life at this adults-only hotel is centered around a thatched-roof bar and an outdoor pool lined with sun loungers—guests can meet here every evening, pre-sunset, for an intention-setting ceremony—the rooms steal the show. Each of the loft-style villas features its own private plunge pool and outdoor garden with a hammock made by artisans in the Yucatán Peninsula. Pair that with decorative cotton artworks and ceramics by the Mexican designer Caralarga and you have a contemporary lifestyle destination in the heart of the Mayan jungle.
- Tanveer Badelhotel
Olas Tulum
$$This tucked-away beach bungalow borders the Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve at the very end of the beach road, evoking the Tulum that existed when the property first debuted over a decade ago. There’s no pool or flashy beach club at Olas Tulum, and that’s exactly what makes it so charming. With only eight suites, arriving here feels like you’re visiting the home of a dear friend. Delightfully secluded away from the noise and crowds, the property’s meals are organic and served at a communal table. It’s the type of place where you make genuine connections, both with other guests and the staff.
- Casa Maya Kaanhotel
Casa Maya Kaan
$$Set within a 10-acre plot of the Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve along a long stretch of private, white-sand beach, Casa Maya Kaan rises from the jungle like an ancient, secluded paradise. Set well beyond the beach road’s recent developments, a stay here—in one of four brick-and-mortar suites or one of seven outdoor bell tents—is centered around wellness. All bookings include a bespoke organic menu according to the group’s dietary preferences, and an extensive catalog of both spa treatments and excursions are available, from a temazcal sweat lodge ceremony to a private boat tour through the Boca Paila Lagoon.
- Photo by Adrian Gauthotel
Habitas Tulum
$$ |Hot List 2018
Readers' Choice Awards 2019, 2021, 2022
Upon arrival at Habitas Tulum, guests are whisked behind a stone façade and greeted with a copal cleansing ceremony. This sets the tone for a stay at this spiritual-chic hideout, located at the beginning of Tulum’s beach road. The heartbeat of the hotel is a central lounge area with low-slung seating in the sand and a bar and restaurant offering vegetable-forward Spanish cuisine. The space opens to an oceanfront pool and lounge with one of the only secluded beaches in the area thanks to two natural rock barriers. The safari-style, low-impact suites are simple yet functional, each with a nearly identical design, save some that offer plunge pools while others have jungle or ocean views.
- Holistikahotel
Holistika
$In the heart of the jungle, this boutique hotel and holistic center offer a respite rooted in transformation. Guests of Holistika often eschew the late-night parties on Tulum’s beach road in favor of the property’s vast wellness programming, from kundalini yoga and breathwork classes to cacao ceremonies and sound baths. Each of the 24 guest rooms is peaceful and minimalist, with an added option to stay in a communal bunkhouse known as the Beehive. A stay here is also about gathering, whether at the vegetarian restaurant, Tierra, or by the outdoor fire pit for live music in the evenings.
- Panamerahotel
Hotel Panamera
$$If the terra-cotta-and-cream-checkered pool at Hotel Panamera looks familiar, that’s because it is—the three-story, oceanfront property was purchased by Mexican entrepreneurs and rebranded from the old Casa Pueblo into a brighter, chicer version of itself. The property features 36 rooms with design touches inspired by historic estates of the Caribbean: each room is austere with polished floors, long white corridors, and minimalist furnishings, as the star of the show is the view of the sea. New to the property is a swanky rooftop terrace, known as The Roof, where craft cocktails are paired with seafood dishes categorized by their preparation: raw, grilled, or atop a crispy tostada.
- Courtesy Hotel Esenciahotel
Hotel Esencia
$$ |Gold List 2018, 2019, 2023
Readers' Choice Awards 2019, 2024
A luxurious hideaway for the international jet set, Hotel Escencia is set 30 minutes north of Tulum and feels a world away from it all. Once the former home of an Italian duchess, it’s now a thoughtful boutique hotel with three restaurants, two pools, and a spa that overlooks a cenote. Set within a secluded 50-acre estate with flourishing tropical gardens, the property’s focal point is the main house, a three-story building known as Casa Grande, set just steps from 45 suites and three private villas, all with private terraces and some with plunge pools and ocean views. The property borders the Xpu-Ha cove to the south, a haven for the area’s sea turtles.
- Jose Manuel/Xela Tulum
Xela Tulum
This former villa—once owned by a Belgian designer and a British artist—is now one of Tulum’s newest beachfront hotels thanks to a refresh from Mexican architect Carlos Larios. The intimate retreat offers only 12 rooms, a tranquil respite with a natural design aesthetic of sand and terra-cotta tones. Beyond the rooms, which range from garden studios to more expansive beachfront suites, the showstopping quality of the property is its outdoor space: an open-air living room, two swimming pools, and a rooftop that's the highest point on Tulum Beach. During a stay, guests can enjoy classic Mexican cuisine at the property’s seaside restaurant or treatments at the spa, from sound healing and cacao ceremonies to yoga classes and breathwork sessions.
- Lula
Lula Seaside Boutique Hotel
For long-time visitors of Tulum, this hotel may seem familiar. Lula, formerly Sanará Tulum, recently received a design refresh and is now more evocative of a Mediterranean getaway. The 19-room property offers the best of both worlds: accommodations both in the jungle and along the Caribbean Sea, from expansive suites with outdoor porcelain tubs to intimate rooms perfect for two. At Lula’s Kitchen, guests can expect Mediterranean fare with a Baja California twist: shrimp tacos, thin-crust pizzas, and whole fresh fish. At the wellness center, guests can sign up for an array of movement classes, from tantra vinyasa flows to sunset salsa classes.
- Bernardo Flores, Viva Photography/Trobbu Luxury Villas
Trobbu Luxury Villas
This collection of luxury villas is the first of its kind in Tulum, with 10 suites operating on an entirely all-inclusive basis: all meals and guest necessities are included in each booking. Each of the villas—ideal for groups or families of up to eight, and located amidst the town’s verdant jungle—is tri-level and features three bedrooms, a spacious dining area, an infinity pool, and an expansive terrace with sun loungers. Included in the stay are activities like wine tastings, wellness classes, and cooking and mixology classes, while an on-site concierge will accommodate more extensive planning, from dinner reservations to bespoke experiences in the area.
- hotel
Nômade
Readers' Choice Awards 2023
This elemental seaside hotel was designed by the Mexican architect Alejandro Rodriguez and is set amidst the white sands of Tulum’s beach. Though it’s on the larger side for the area—it has nearly 100 rooms—the property maintains its intimacy with accommodations ranging from bungalows with private pools to hotel suites and treehouses with ideal views of the Caribbean Sea. With wellness as a core pillar, guests can sign up for classes rooted in connection, from transformative breathwork sessions at its yoga shala to human design workshops at a seaside spot dubbed The Gratitude Tent. The culinary program is also top-notch at Kuu, a Japanese omakase with fresh sashimi and donburi bowls, and Macondo, a Mediterranean eatery offering small plates like herbed falafel and chicken tagine.
This gallery has been updated with new information since its original publish date.
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