First, the solution, then the problem.

The solution is, before you go to the wonderful place that is Tita Tulum, sometime after making the reservation, send an email similar to the following, which is what I sent before my last visit in May:

Subject: My reservation in May

“Hi, Tita!

“Could you please look at your reservation paper and tell me which cabin I have and which nights? I want to be sure. Thanks!”

Oh, and take copies of your emails from the hotel with you.

I think the above would be good to do wherever you’re going, because I’ve seen that people have complained about reservations at other places along this beach.

I think someone else needs to be put in charge of reservations at Tita Tulum, and here is my story which tells why:

When I went in May, two women came on the property saying to me that they were looking for someone to talk to about a reservations problem, something about money charged for a reservation that didn’t materialize. (They were staying at another hotel.) In light of the problems I have had, I was dying to hear what the problem was, but an employee came along, so I went my way.

I have been to Tita four times and have had reservations problems twice. The second time (April 2007) I went alone, and I had reserved #5 and had the email to prove it. When I arrived, I told the employee that I had a reservation for #5. This employee (a young man who, unlike all the rest of the employees, is not very friendly or tactful) said, “No you don’t. It’s occupied.” Anyway, the deal was that the proprietor had written me down for #6 on the little piece of graph paper that she uses to keep track of who is in which cabana. (She admitted her mistake to me later.) This was disappointing, but at least I had a room...this time. Anyway, #5 was going to be free the last night of my stay, so I asked if I could switch cabins. I was told “yes”. I was going on an excursion that day, so an employee told me, “Pack your bags, and we will move them from #6 to #5 while you’re gone.” Well, I got back from the excursion, and my bags were still in #6, and I was told that #5 was rented out and that the manager had told the employees that I didn’t want switch cabins.

In February 2007 (before the visit you just heard about), I reserved #1 for November, and it was confirmed with a deposit. I said that I would probably also want #2, which I was told was available. I was told regarding #2, “anyway we have it in the book” (direct quote). Shortly before my April visit, I emailed to say, “My friend is ready to reserve #2 for these same dates, if it is still available. Is it? If so, you need a deposit for 3 nights, right?” I didn’t hear back. (The proprietor later admitted that she failed to reply.) I figured, well, I’m going in a week anyway, so I’ll settle it while I'm there. So I talked with an employee about my November reservation when I was there. He said that the manager was in Cancun with the reservation paper (the graph paper) for November, and I asked if he could call him to verify my reservation and whether I needed to pay another deposit. After a couple calls, I was told cabin #2 was reserved and no deposit was needed. Well, you guessed it, but I didn’t at the time. Sure it was reserved, but by someone else. So when I arrived in November with 2 friends, I only had one cabin reserved, and of course the hotel was full. So, tired, hungry, and in the dark, we had to seek out a room at another hotel for one of my friends since Tita Tulum was fully occupied. It was not a happy experience. (The friend stayed 200m away at Nueva Vida and was able to get cabin #3 at Tita Tulum halfway through the stay.)

I called the proprietor after my visit in November 2007 to voice my concerns. She admitted the things I mentioned above that she admitted. I asked if other people have problems with reservations or if it was just me. She said it was just me and that she would be extra careful with my reservations in the future. But when I was there in May, my ears sure perked up when the two women I mentioned were paying a visit to try to get a refund.

We had a wonderful stay at Tita's. We stayed in Cabana 9.

Pros:
The staff at Tita's are absolutely the best. They are very helpful and pleasant and, unlike the big resorts, don't try to sell you anything. Even when I asked for advise on where to buy souvenirs they never suggested a particular place but rather an area. They helped us a lot when our car broke down.

Maid service is impeccable. Some reviewers I read complained about cleanliness. I suspect they might be refering to the sand that seeps in from the outside. The maid can do nothing about that, it's just part of living in a cabana. Our maid made us a very nice design with the towels even though that day we forgot to leave a tip.

The fact that you sleep to the sound of waves every night is unbeatable. The area is still fairly quiet (unlike Cancun and Playa) and you can see the stars visibly at night. We loved walking on the beach at night.

You can get better quality and price souvenirs from Tulum than Cancun or Playa (although Playa and Cancun have more touristy souvenirs like magnets and small value items)

It is very close to the ruins and to the town. Also it is a 10-15 minute drive to Xel-ha (go there, it's a blast). Also, it is not too far from Coba. I recommend renting a car but BEWARE! (see my section below on car rental woes).

The food is AMAZING. We were stuck in the hotel for a day (see car rental) and ended up having all our meals there. My favorite dishes were two dinner dishes: sopa de lima (i had it at least 4 times in mexico and tita's was by far the best) and fish with tita recipe (starts with an o). That fish was so good. I disagree with other reviewers who said it was expensive. We stayed at the Westin during this trip and the buffet there is 24$/person. If you compare to that, Tita's is cheaper if you are two people sharing an appetizer and each having a main course and drink.

We loved the hammocks.

Beach is very clean (except for cigarette stubs from some inconsiderate visitors....)

They even have free wireless if you need it!

Cons
Distance from airport. It is 2 hrs away and Cancun airport can be a nightmare in terms of clearing customs and immigration. It took us 2 hrs to clear customs and had to drive 2 hrs to get to Tita's (advice: avoid going there at night for the first time - drunk tourists tend to walk all along that road).

No electric outlets but this is part of the energy conservation experience.

For those of you who are anxious about going to an unconventional hotel like Tita (as I was), here was my experience (as I was anxious as well):
-heat: there is a lovely breeze from the beach. Try to take an upper story cabana for maximum breeze.
-mosquitos: we had no issues with mosquitos aside from a black fly that bit us on the beach aka not in the cabana
-no lizards inside the rooms (at least we didnt have that experience)
-water: they give u purified water for drinking and the shower/sink water is salty. I didn't think it was a big deal. You get used to it right away. Water temp in shower is as hot as any shower. Water pressure however is low but not too low.
-privacy: as long as it's darker inside ur cabana than outside, no one can see u

Car rental woes
All I want to add is a warning about cars in Mexico.
1.Don't rent from Continental/America Car/etc... They are all the same company. Their cars are really badly maintained. Our car's battery died the morning after we arrived and they sent someone to recharge it (although my husband explained to them that that wouldn't work). 30 min later it died again and we had to call them to replace the car but by then we had wasted a day. Our replacement had bad wheel allignment.
2.Be prepared for the rip-off at the gas station. We knew to expect it but fell victim to it anyway. They wll try to distract you from looking at the pump (they said we had a flat tire) and when you look away they will add more to the pump total. Don't ask how, I have no idea. Avoid the gas station closest to the pueblo. It's where we got ripped off.

Tita Tulum is at the far end of the beach road, closer to the biosphere. The property has a handful of buildings, each with rooms that have porches facing the ocean. In the center is the open-air restaurant which serves basic breakfast, lunch and dinner. The food is nothing special, but it was convenient and inexpensive. Purified water is provided, too.

As with all the other beach hotels, this one is a hike from town. we had a rental car and felt that it was absolutely necessary for getting to and from town and to siteseeing. Shops, non-hotel restaurants, and activities are all a drive from the beach area.

The rooms are simple and rustic. They are bungalows (palapa roof), and pretty open to the elements and creatures. we had geckos and a variety of insects in the room, which didn't bother us but helped us decide to use the mosquito net over the bed each night. The entire place is run on solar power, so lighting is minimal, but with bright sunshine outside, there's really no reason to be indoors anyway! We were just steps from the beach (all the rooms are), and the water was crystal clear and beautiful.

Major Issues:
1. The water from the tap (shower and sink) was DISGUSTING. We stayed at another hotel in town, so I know it's not just the area. It smelled AWFUL and tasted even worse. You can't drink it, but brushing teeth and showering were quite unpleasant.
2. The shower (aside from the gross water) was terrible. It was a huge shower, but the pressure was a joke. barely a trickle. I actually ended up filling cups to rinse my hair!
3. The beach wasn't as clean as a lot of other hotels. We noticed that there was more trash on the sand and more debris in the water than just 100 meters down the beach. I wish Tita would clear the beach better so that the same garbage wouldnt be spit out by the tide each day.

Overall, we felt this place was worth the money and ok for sleeping, but the rooms are not really a comfortable or inviting. Good for our purposes, which involved being out all day!

finally, not at all related to Tita but worth mentioning, we saw TWO blue bottles (aka Portuguese Man O' War ) jellyfish on the beach. They are really dangerous jellies, but they are truly beautiful, so please be careful!!

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.