The setting is beautiful and the rooms are nice but the staff and the management are terribly disorganized. While contacting them during the booking process they took their sweet time getting back to us with the answers to our questions claiming that communications in this part of Mexico are unreliable. However, when we got there the WiFi internet connection at the Cantina/Bar was flawless, so they we obviously making excuses. Then we we get there any interaction with the front desk people is trying and we are greeted as if we are bothering them. The Cantina staff is slow and unresponsive, thought the food is very good.

Be very wary! If your heart is set on going here you better lower your expectations quite a bit!

We stayed for 4 nights at La Zebra in April in 2 different rooms. Let me first say that we absolutely loved Tulum and will definitely return to this area because of the amazing beach and laid back ambiance. Overall, La Zebra was good, but not great although we did not go with any very great expecations so we were not disappointed. We stayed the first 2 nights in the Master Suite #1 which was quite spacious and nicely furnished and clean. My only problems: basically no water pressure and extremely limited hot water in the shower. Other minor issues that were a bit annoying: large gaps under the doors to the room so that sand blew in during the night and also the gaps also provided easy access for the 1 and only scorpion we did see. The sand in front of #1 should also be cleaned--there were many bits of trash and debris scattered around the outside of this room which was strange because the other parts of the beach were very clean and free of debris. The last 2 nights we stayed in the "Owner's Apartment" (#10) which was very large and well appointed with a small fridge, a king bedroom with door and bathroom (also with a door which #1 didn't have) with unlimited hot water and excellent water pressure. The living room has a double bed and also a daybed. The bedroom and living room both have sliding doors to the balcony with teak chairs. This room is upstairs from the restaurant/kitchen area and has a great balcony with gorgeous water views throught he palm trees. I would recommend staying here especially if you are travelling with children since it is quite large and very private. I do agree with other reviewers that the staff was not too friendly or welcoming which is I think just a lack of training rather than actual rudeness. La Zebra has a fantastic position on a lovely stretch of beach and the restaurant is really a cool place which seems very popular especially for the Salsa Party which was a blast. The food unfortunately does not live up to the reputation of the restaurant and is just OK but nothing great. We only ate at the restaurant once for dinner. The other nights we ate at: OM which you can walk to on the beach and was pretty good with a cool atmosphere; Mezzanine which was good but overrated; and Hechizo which absolutely fantastic. This restaurant is a must for anyone loves excellent food and is a lovely and very special place. The food at Hechizo is as good or better than many restaurants in New York or London. I would highly recommend thisrestaurant and would definitely go back there again.

I'm really torn in writing this review. We stayed 4 nights in February in Cabana #2 right on the beach. The setting is amazingly beautiful, stepping out your door onto the beach and into the ocean is heavenly and the salsa dancing night was fabulous! However, I think the term rustic can mean a lot of different things to different people.

We are experienced world travelers in our early-30's and have slept in everything from the Four Seasons to campsites, staying in hotels on average 20-30 nights per year. But for $150 a night I do expect a warm shower and want my bed to be coachroach free. Yes, the cabana was certainly clean and nicely decorated, and I understand it's the tropics and that you have to expect bugs on some level, but having them in the bed was just unacceptable to me. To be fair to management, we didn't complain about the shower (it was warm the 1st 2 of our 4 days), and I didn't know about the coachroaches because my husband didn't tell me about them until the middle of the night on our last night there as he was swatting one away, knowing that I wouldn't sleep the rest of our trip.

Staff and management were ok, I would second one of the previous reviews that stated they weren't too terribly friendly or even act like the recognized you from meal to meal when there are only 9 cabanas on the entire property. Like I said, it was good, just not great - certainly not everything I was hoping for from so many of the other, in-my-opinion overly-exaggeraged reviews. I'm guessing some of the other reviews were more influenced by the amazingly beautiful and serene setting and not as much the actual La Zebra staff and property.

We could not have enjoyed our stay at La Zebra more. Tulum is wonderful, and we cruised the beach and sampled the food and atmosphere at many other places up and down Tulum's beachfront. La Zebra, with it's private cabanas, wonderful food, generous and helpful staff, and KILLER mojitos w/ fresh cane sugar was spot-on for what we were looking for. I would recommend this spot -and already have - to family, friends, and strangers alike! Super clean cabanas, super friendly, and the cleanest, purest beach I've ever seen.