We stayed at Hemingway in mid-June 2007, and we loved it. We were at a big name hotel in Cancun for two days prior, so, when we arrived at Hemingway, we wondered what we had gotten into. However, once our feet hit that powdery soft, white sand, we knew all would be well.

Paola (the owner), Walter (her assistant), and all the staff (of about 4) were very nice to us. They provided when asked and were never intrusive on our space. We ate dinner there on our first night, and Paola made an amazing lobster spaghetti that was the best we've ever tasted. Breakfasts (included) consist of breads, jam, fruits, juice and coffee, which was enough to start the day (we ate lunch/dinner at other hotels or in town for variety). Note - If you want to eat lunch or dinner at Hemmingway, you have to make a reservation with Paola early in the day so she can prepare.

Our room, Jaguar, was right on the beach, so there was plenty of ocean breeze all day and night. It's a bit rustic in style, but, if you can handle that type of lodging, it was very comfortable. Two beds in the room (1-king, 1-double) and both had mosquito netting. Concrete slab floor. The shower and toilet were behind rock walls inside the room (no doors). There was a small sink and mirror, as well as some shelving to put suitcases on. Other reviewers have mentioned the gaps in the wood & cememt walls, but we never felt uncomfortable with that. Electricity is only available from about 7-11pm, but that was never an inconvenience.

There is a nice, big porch with palapa roof and chairs, which made for a wonderful spot to get out of the sun and sip some cool drinks. There are also two-person beach beds available as well as hammocks. There's nothing like laying on a beach-bed at night with an amazing display of stars overhead and the ocean rolling in at your feet. Simply wonderful.

The beach is fairly deep with soft, white sand. There was a little bit of seaweed that had washed up, but other than that it was kept clean. For swimming, you might want to walk down the beach a short way for nicer entry points. June is off-season, so when we walked down the beach one morning we only saw 4-5 other people.

We ate at Posada Margherita one evening (which lots of TripAdvisor reviewers recommend), and we felt their food was no where near as good as Paola's home cooking at Hemingway. We also had lunch at Mezzanine, and they had outstanding shrimp tacos. Also, the beach at Mezzanine (going north) is a great place for swimming (clear, blue water with soft, sandy sea floor). We had evening appetizers and drinks at Zamas (so-so), and we also ate at both Don Cafetos and Charlie's in Tulum (both had outstanding food in a laid back setting).

As other Hemingway reviewers have mentioned, there are some necessities you should bring (or buy at the Super San Francisco de Asisi supermarket at the edge of town):
Beach Towels, Flashlights (w/extra batteries), a collapsable cooler for beverages, Bug Spray (w/DEET), bottled water, sunscreen.

It's also good to rent a car, which you can pick-up at the Cancun airport. Tulum is about a 1 1/2 hour drive south, and the drive is easy. Just watch out for the speed bumps (topes). They're wicked!!!

For us, Hemingway was a wonderful spot. Rustic in style, and very slow and laid back. You will not get the total hands-on service that comes with some of the pricier places in Tulum, but you will get an amazing view, comfortable lodging, spectacular sunrises, and no stress!

My wife and I stayed at the Hemingway in late December 2006, and had a wonderful, relaxing time. The cabanas are cute, clean, and nice - and they are located on a tremendous stretch of beach. They had great beds to lay in on the beach, and just listen to the waves. And for dinner, Paola serves up the most delicious seafood and pasta dishes. I would definitely stay there again and again.

My wife and I just returned from a wonderful 10 day stay at Hemingway.

I would agree with just about all that has been written in earlier reviews. We stayed in the Juguar unit on the beach. There was always a vigorous breeze and wonderful noise from the surf. We found absolutely no need to move cabanas. It seemed like there was little airflow near the garden units so without fans, I would not have wanted to sleep in one. We were in Tulum for the full moon and the wind was quite strong. The wind and surf were much more calm at the end of our trip.

A number of hotels along the beach generate power from windmills. Paola remarked to us that she was going to purchase a windmill and would be installing fans in the garden units. That improvement will be much welcome.

Hemingway is unlike almost any place I ever stayed in that if you want information you have to seek it out. This is neither good or bad but speaks to how laid back the place is. For example, you would not know you could get eggs for breakfast unless you saw another guest eating them or had read it on trip advisor.

I would recommend renting a car. Our deal with Dollar cost $250 for 10 days (insurance included). You really only need to by the liability for $11/day. Your Visa should cover the CDW.

We visited Coba which was only about a 45km drive. Unlike Tulum, one can climb up and down the magnificent ruins. Wear your coolest clothing, bring a hat and drink plenty of water. My wife bought a silver thumb ring from a vendor in Coba. She was told that the designs on the ring were Mayan. We could not tell as neither had our readers with us. When we got back, put on our glasses and checked out the ring we saw a horseshoe, 4 leaf clover, the #13 and some other stuff. They were all luck symbols. It makes for a good story and the ring is still nice.

On the way back from Coba we snorkeled at Gran Cenote. Very cool although I banged my head on a stalactite. We also snorkeled at Yal Ku in Akumal. The water was cloudy when we visited but I heard from others that had a better experience. I would also recommend the tour at Sian Ka'an. An amazing place. The boat trip (max. 6 people) takes you through the lagoon into a fresh water river. You lay on your life vest as you float with the current down the river for a half hour. Wonderful. Our guide Ben was extremenly knowledgable.

The snorkeling is also surprisingly good right in front of Hemingway. There are plenty of fish and live coral. We saw a stingray in very shallow water. It looks like what may have been destroyed from past storms is coming back.

I would echo the other reviewer that did not appreciate the little kids staying at Hemingway. The last couple of days another family was staying there that had young children. One was particularly "active". I did not think that it was appropriate that the adults permitted him to venture in the restaurant without any pants. Hemingway is a quiet place suited for adults, soft conversation, reading, sleeping, meditating ad enjoying an adult beverage. Unless your offspring is the miracle child I would suggest that you find other suitable lodging.

Our last trip to Mexico was Playa del Carmen in 92. Back then it was a sleepy place with dirt roads. I could not believe what it was like as we sped past. Big box stores, fast food joints, etc. Tulum seems ill suited for such expansion. I hope that it remains unchanged.

My husband and I just returned from a week in Tulum, the first three nights of which we spent at Hemingway and the rest at Cabanas La Conchita (see separate review).
Although this review contains some negative experiences, our overall stay at Hemingway was very pleasant after a rough beginning. Understand as well that the hotel culture is very different in Tulum. Hemingway probably does a better job than most. No one comes to Tulum to be waited on hand and foot, but I got the feeling that the general attitude is- we'll charge as much as we can get, not bother with service or upkeep and call it laid back and eco friendly. We bought into this until receiving comfortable accomodations and good service elsewhere.
It is difficult to write a partially negative review of a small property because you get to know staff a little and they are nice, hard working people at Hemingway. I decided to write anyway because having been in hotel sales, I wanted to know what customers were unhappy about so that the problem could be corrected. Maybe some Tripadvisor readers can get a laugh as well and avoid our pitfalls.
Upon arrival at Hemingway after taking two buses from Cancun airport we were hot, tired, thirsty and famished. Do yourself a favor and rent a car- see my forum entry. We were able to order two beers in the reception-dining area while waiting for our cabana to be made ready. After that we were ignored with our empty beers sitting in front of us. The staff sat down to their afternoon meal ten feet away from us which is fine, but no one ever asked us again if we needed anything. It was awkward and weird (maybe our misperception). Incidentally, we decided to try our luck with getting food next door at Maya Tulum but after seeing 14 bucks for an order of fish tacos we were out of there. All the many places we've been in Mexico, two people can fill up on fish tacos for several bucks (see cheap dining tips on forum).
So we head to our cabana (garden unit octopus-pulpo) at least hoping for some rest- what a disappointment! It was stifling hot with three walls of windows facing the setting sun which were inadequatlly covered by skimpy curtains with huge gaps that lacked in privacy and shade. There were gaps in the walls which were made of stick and sealed with cement only partially up. Everywhere, floors, windowsills, was unswept evidence of insect bodies and weblike debris. The wall which would have faced the sea was solid rock, attractive but badly placed so as to cut off any possibility of receiving the sea breeze.
My husband was ready to kill me at this point because I was the trip planner and had insisted that staying in a cabana would not be gross. Then as he was coming out of the shower, a two inch roach fell on his head and scurried under the bed. We hunted him down but we could see more of his friends in the chinks of the rock wall. Many cabanas in Tulum are built like this. The hotels would probably say that they wanted to make it like an authentic Maya dwelling, but they are probably just being cheap. We later learned that there are a few places such as Conchita where the walls are sealed all the way up and the windows are screened. They still get some critters, but it is more in control and definately more pleasant.
It was a hot restless night in octopus. At 3am we finally got our blanket and went to the beach to sleep on one of the lounge beds. The watchman saw us and kindly provided us a cusion for the lounge. At least we saw a beautiful sunrise.
First thing in the morning, we were able to switch to a beachfront cabana (Boa) which saved our trip. Everything was great after that. Boa was cool, breezy, spacious and attractive with shelving to store our belongings and much fewer bugs. The high point of our Tulum vacation was sitting on our little porch gazing at the blue sea with our cooler of drinks. Another high point was long walks on this spectacular white beach which stretches for miles all the way from Hemingway south to the Biosphere. In front of Hemingway is a lot of washed up seaweed and some rocks under the water, but if you walk south a little bit you will find clear swimming. We appreciated that each cabana had an outdoor shower to wash off sand and salt. Breakfast at Hemingway was just there. It was mainly toast made from various Mexican breads. Being Italian, I think it drives Paola (the proprietress) crazy that bread is not the Mexican strong point. She intends to get an oven and make it herself. To us, that is a tremendous amount of work that would be better spent in preparing a more substantial Mexican breakfast which the staff would know how to do and whose ingredients are more available. Take that oven money and hire another maid or cook. It also seems like a lot of effort is wasted in attempting to cook Italian meals for the few guests who want to eat there. I would close the kitchen after breakfast and clean the rooms more. I'm sure the Italian food is wonderful, but why try to recreate Italy in Mexico. I would not want to eat American food in Italy. Maybe that's just me.
We would consider returning to a Hemingway beachfront cabana, especially with some minor tweaking of the property: More diligent seaweed and trash removal on beach. We could not believe the trash on the Tulum beaches, and Hemingway was better kept than most. Los Arrecifes cabanas a few lots down was a disgrace.
Better service, especially on check in. Inform guests of facilities and when breakfast is served and see if they need anything. Refill coffee at breakfast. We love that delicious Mexican cafe de olla they serve.
Better upkeep on rooms, especially garden. At Conchita there were twice as many staff to take care of fewer cabanas and cook breakfast. Paola seems shorthanded now. I hope she is able to hire more people. All staff work very hard, so don't forget to tip the maids and nice breakfast ladies. I heard from other guests that garden units would be getting fans soon.
To sum up, we think Hemingway is a place with potential and would not want to discourage anyone from going. We would probably consider returning.