Second stay at Tita's - last one was 2003. Many changes, mostly negative, on the beach, though Tita's is much the same, less a few sand dunes. The quiet, totally laid back feeling is gone - now there are dozens of people everywhere - sailboarders, topless women of all types, families, dogs, seniors. While this makes for more visual interest, if your aim is to commune with nature and the sea you have to be an early riser or nighthawk. Even then, you will not be alone. On the plus side, even though Parayso next door is ugly, has terrible food and is noisy, it has a very nice spa with great massages ( ask for Teresa ). And you can now choose from the upscale Hechizo to the lovely Ocho to the funky La Zebra as well as the middle of the road Ana y Jose or Esmeralda K for dining close by. But why not stick with Tita's good breakfasts, tasty Margaritas, ceviche and not to be equalled whole grilled fish? Rooms are fine, though the service needs to be taken up a couple of notches - as at Ana y Jose. Our week was cloudy, sunny, windy with big waves and a great total eclipse of the moon. A note to prospective clients: in such an intimate hotel, it is not really appropriate to totally ignore people when walking by them, nor to entertain them all day with your noisy machine gun laughter.

My family (five of us, including our nanny) just got back from a week at Tita Tulum. We had a wonderful time and recommend it highly to anyone, but especially to families. We were in room 8, which accommodated the five of us beautifully.

Tita's is a reasonably priced establishment with great beach views from every cabana, each of which has its own porch complete with chairs and hammocks.

The food is delicious, the beach is beautiful, and the staff was very attentive--to the point of pointing coffee cup handles the correct way when they noticed that my disabled husband could only use his left hand. (Thanks, Andreas and Moses!)

Unlike some of the other Tulum resorts (which were full of topless Eurotrash who glared at kids as if they were roadkill), this one is child friendly. A big plus was meeting other like-minded families looking for a laid-back vacation away from the prison complex hotels of Cancun.

While you're there be sure to look into going on a day trip organized by Community Tours. These are great ecotours of the Si'an Kaan Biosphere led by a co-op of Mayan families. Unlike many of the other local tours, these are led by and help support the people who actually make the Tulum area their home.

Luckily for us, most of the beach property on the road to Boca Paila hasn't been developed into "luxury" resorts and condos. Sadly, that may end soon. The Tulum beach access road is being improved and widened and electric power is moving closer. But for now, Tita and most of the other Tulum beachfront hotels are small, friendly and quiet.

Our stay at Tita was relaxing. Our cabana faced the sea and we opened all windows to enjoy the breezes. We rarely used the ceiling fan. Electric power is generated by solar panels, with a backup generator as necessary. There are no electric outlets in the rooms. Tita told us that the solar panels will operate the lights, the fans and the restaurant as long as the sun is shining. The lights and fans operate all night. Our room was large, with comfortable beds and was cleaned daily by the friendly staff. The bathroom was better than we expected for an eco-resort, but could have used a little more light over the vanity. The shower area was large, with plenty of hot water, although the water was salty, like other hotels along the beach. There were two chairs on the porch and also two hammocks. The housecleaner placed a pitcher of fresh drinking water in the room each day. We refilled as necessary at the restaurant.

Tita's restaurant is small (about 8 tables) and is covered by large palapa roof, with a few more tables on the attached deck. The service is friendly and prompt. The menu is large enough to satisfy most diners and contains a few of Tita's specials. Restaurant prices were inline with other beachfront restaurants in the area. The food was prepared well and the portions were larger than we expected, but don't expect upscale dining with trendy entrees. Tita's dishes are more home-cooked, traditional Mexican fare. Our only real concern was that fruit shakes (smoothies) were not available in the evening. But, we found that to be the case at other restaurants also.

Tita Tulum is located fairly close to the entrance to the Biosphere, which means it is not close (perhaps 3-4 miles) to the Tulum Pueblo. The taxi fare to the town is 80 pesos or about $8 US. The staff at Tita will call for the taxi service.

Overall, we enjoyed our stay. The beach is wide, beautiful and quiet and can be seen from every cabana. The restaurant is only steps from the cabanas, which makes breakfast (coffee) very convenient. If you want to leave the crowds, this is the perfect spot.

Tita is one of the longstanding, original "eco resorts" in Tulum: simple cabanas on a great strip of white sand beach.

A lot of the newer hotels on the beach here have more bells and whistles, and there are a slew of them caterering to a younger crowd, but Tita provides good value and a relaxed atmosphere.

The staff is very friendly, the food at the restaurant is good (be sure and get the chili relleno), and the cabanas are nice and rustic, uncongested on a great strip of beach.

Would strongly recommend to families: the hotel and staff is very kid friendly. All the kids staying there became friends and played together on the beach. My wife and I like kids and were happy to be among them. Also, the hotel isn't big enough to have TOO many kids there at once.

We stayed in Cabana 4. Next time, we would try and get one of the cabanas closer to the ocean. Cabana 4 is a second story cabana, which ensures a nice evening breeze and has a good view. But it is close to the restaurant and if you want to turn in earlier than 10 PM, you may be bothered by the noise.

If you stay here, make sure you understand the concept of these old school eco beach resorts: solar power means sometimes the water isn't boiling hot, the rooms are simple, and no toilet paper in the toilet. Also, you may find a couple of lizards in your room at night (you are, after all, living in their habitat.)

I do wish Tita's would upgrade their beds. Both mattresses in our room felt a little long in the tooth. Not horrible, but not as comfortable as they could be.