When we first arrived everything was quiet and the beach was calm. We settled in at 10 pm and the power went off shortly after -- thats when the fireworks started. A bus full of drunken men showed up screaming and yelling and carrying on. Glass shattered over, and over again as we heard shots of "Falvo! Ed! Falvo!" Followed by loud obnoxious laughter. It was so loud that we heard one of them getting yelled at by one of their friends but it continued until 4 am. The next day we saw a man in a rubber mask and an orange prison jumpsuit running shackled through the complex. We don't know if he was with the group, but we bet he was from one of the problem cabins. One cabana had dozens of empty beer bottles and cans on the porch and grating filthy rap music playing at all hours. Despite this we still liked our vacation a lot. We lost a brown sock and Claudio was more than happy to give us a new one.

This place is not worth the money. We arrived late afternoon to find the office closed and the one staff member we managed to locate wandering around the premises didn't know anything about our arrival. So of course we were given the worst room. For a place with only 10 rooms I expect them to at least know someone was showing up. Our room had a strong odor of sewage, nearly impossible to stand in the bathroom. When we asked to switch rooms due to a late night party next door, we were told we had to wait for the owner because both the owner and manager were offsite (for what turned out to be two days). We didn't bother to wait around and left for a much nicer place for the same price in Akumal.
What are we paying for? Certainly not attentive, knowledgeable staff, a manager on site, reliable food or even morning coffee, or a properly functioning sewer system. A place without basic amenities that smells of sewage and lacking the capacity to properly care for its guests cannot charge this much for a room, no matter how eco it is. For the price, I'll take the three-room condo with the kitchen, ocean view and attentive management, thanks.

Upon a recent vacation to Mexico, I booked a reservation with “LocoGringo.com”. Their website and description of a hotel did not match the services received upon our arrival. The room had fecal matter in the waste basket when we arrived, the room smelled of sewage and there was a loud generator as well as a very noisy party adjacent to the complex that was not moderated by the security on site. The manager was not on site and the guard at first told us they were "closed". This was our welcoming party. As we were in a foreign country and had no other place to stay, we spent the first night in the hotel and then decided to go in search of somewhere we could sleep.

After a full day of international travel followed by a sleepless night, we were not very pleased with our accommodations...

The manager of the hotel was not available or on site from the time we arrived on the 21st of April until when we left in the evening on the 22nd. .

I had contacted the “LocoGringo.com” people and actually went to their office in Akumal, Mexico in hopes of a resolution, but they informed me that they had already paid the hotel owner and I would have to clear it with her. As she has no phone number and is completely aloof, this is more than difficult to do. After spending a day trying to get in contact with our "friends" at Locogringo.com, I was given the run-around and finally had to contact my credit card company

In hopes that others will not make the same mistake- I recommend the Hacienda de las Tortugas in Akumal, just to the north. Roberto is a very attentive Manager and the rooms are very comfortable with a full kitchen, pool and ocean view. They were the same price as the dump we stayed in at Tolum...

Best,

Jesse

We have just come back from 6 nights at Hemingway. Although we couldn't fault the setting or the food, don't come here expecting value for money (its the opposite), nor particularly attentive service. If you are in any way reticent about asking for what you want, whether that is a beer, breakfast or to be served some food, this isn't the place for you.

The rooms are simple cabanas, nicely done up, other than the two more expensive sea front cabanas, which are much older and not as nicely done up, and suffer from the perpetual damp that being on a windy beach by the sea will bring. We were in Boa for a couple of nights to start with, then moved to Delphin. We were really happy with the move as we were getting tired of the relentless sand that seemed to get blown in from the beach through one particular window when we were in Boa.

I had a look before I left and can recommend trying to get Arrancha or Tortoga - both are still sea view cabanas but are set back slightly and are better kitted out than the older front two cabanas.

Having travelled extensively around SE Asia, always staying in simple bungalow type operations, I thought that Hemingway is expensive for what you get. Having said that, it did not seem to be any more than the other places in Tulum. Comparatively, however, you can get much more for your money in other countries, although it was fairly priced from Tulum.

On the plus side, the beach is lovely, the food fantastic (if a bit pricey) and it is a really beautiful setting to chill out in. The other reviews refer to the breakfast as being adequete. Its included in the price and is no more than that - don't expect any more than a couple of bits of toast, some coffee and fruit. Which is fine, provided that you have managed your expectations about what you are going to be given!

Finally, just a couple of tips - the Tulum ruins close at 5pm, so get there before hand, taxi drivers will take you there even if they know it has already, or is just about to, close. Taxis into town should cost around 50 pesos, and from Hemingway to the ruins around 30-40.

ONE WORD OF WARNING - If you are divers or snorkellers and intend to go to the Cenotes one day, either don't take any money with you or make sure that the driver LOCKS THE VAN WHILE YOU ARE DIVING. We had about 3500 pesos taken from our wallet while it was left in the van when we were diving. We were assured that the wallet would be safe, and so I didn't insist that the van was locked. Its easy to kick yourself after the event for not making that request...we decided after the event that if the guide is reluctant to lock it up, just say that your travel insurance will be invalidated if the van isn't locked. Its a reasonable request and I'd recommend it - learn from our bad experience!