first off, if you want a resorty, all inclusive hotel...then jade isn't for you. but, if you appreciate natural beauty, rustic glamour, and do not want to be waited on every minute, then jade is a must! i knew from reading the rave reviews from fellow new yorkers (especially brooklyn where we live!) that i would love jade as much as they did. and so happy i listened to my sophisticated, smart, and picky new york neighbors! they were completely correct. jade and it's owners martha and juan are wonderful. my boyfriend played guitar with juan one morning, and their cute daughter and nice small staff are all so great. i have already told my friends to go to jade, and i want to go back there very soon! the beach there is beautiful. we ate tacos and such in town every day-it was great. jade serves you a nice breakfast of fresh fruit and toast/coffee every morning. my boyfriend is a coffee snob and he loved their coffee. please don't listen to the bad reviews from suburban reviewers who expect to stay at chain hotels with all sorts of amenities. if you're from a major city you will love it. it isn't dirty, we didn't see roaches. actually we believe these "roaches" people see are actually these funny large beetles that come in the room sometimes. i did freak out when one was on my foot! but it was just a harmless jungle beetle that got in. they tidy up your room everyday, i love the fact that they don't wash the sheets every day, they do it every 4 days. which was fine for us. i don't like unnecessary overwashing as it is polluting. if you need anything such as more towels, just ask them they would be glad to give you more if you need i'm sure. i noticed people complaining about lack of new towels. if rustic isn't for you, then stay at maya tulum which looks very swanky and i know for a fact is a chain. or there is a large resort in tulum called dreams. or.. do everyone who enjoys seclusion a favor and stay in cancun!

jade is gorgeous and that's all i have to say!

After 3 wonderful days on Holbox island we arrived at the Jade Hotel.

As there was no one there and the hotel seemed abandoned we drove back out of the property hoping to find a place that looked like what we have seen on the internet...

It must have been a charming hotel once - but it seems that since a long time the hotel was (as during our stay) undattended.

This might be ok. for some travelers - but we were not willing to pay 200 USD for this.

After one night stay we left to a hotel about half a mile away where we also paid 200 USD per night - but a hotel that clearly played in another league.

We stayed at jade this month for almost a week and after reading reviews I was very excited to stay there. We were in the jungle nest and found it to be very dismal inside the cabin. Yes, you do have privacy since you are separated from the other cabins, but the room was tired, stained curtains, had a moldy bathroom and sheets and towels that are only changed every 4 days. A long time when you have sand and suntan lotion everywhere....A paint job would do wonders as would some decent curtains instead of the dirty ones that are hanging by a rope. I know this is by the sea and everything gets nasty, but it just felt as if noone had really cared to do anything since this place had been built. The hosts were lovely, the breakfast fine. But for 140.00 I felt we overpaid for the depressing room we had. This is our 3rd trip to Tulum and we have stayed in many other places, but for my money I would go elsewhere unless you just want to be up an above the beach. To add to the experience, the group of drunk college kids whooping it up everynight and leaving their dirty towels and shoes strewn about all over the place, left a poor taste in my mouth.

We stayed at Jade for 3 nights Jan 4-7 2008. It was a holiday season so we paid $200 a night. We think that it was way over priced, and that left us with a bitter taste.

We came with our 1.5 year old daughter. Jade didn't supply a crib for the baby, so we had to bring our own (we bought a "Kidco PeaPod Plus" and it worked great!). All together it was a good experience, we liked the roughness of the place - it was exactly what we're used to when we're traveling, but never for this price.

We stayed in room no. 4, it is the one in the middle that share a wall with room no. 5. We didn't hear our neighbors (we didn't even know that they were there), and even though our daughter cried at night they claimed that they didn't hear it. We didn't have any cockroaches problem (we did see a small one, one day - my husband killed it) and we had a LOT of food in the room because of the baby (formula and snacks).

The good things:
* Jade is so beautiful. We didn't mind at all about the cracks on the floor, this is the roughness I was talking about.
* Every room had a hammock outside the room.
* The cleaning lady (which we never actually saw) worked like magic. The moment we walked outside of the room in the morning, even if it was just for few minutes, she came in and tidied up the room and made the beds. That was great.
The room was more tidy than clean, but with all that sand that you bring in all the time, who cares.
* The beach is very clean, beautiful and comfortable (you have sun beds) - though thing to consider with kids, the waves are high (we almost drowned our daughter trying to put her in a flotation ring).
* Juan, Martha, and I must add their daughter Sofia, are nice people that will help you with whatever you need.
* If you're willing to pay the price, Martha's cooking is very good ($25 per person for salad and a main course, not including drinks)


The bad things:
* There wasn't enough warm water in the shower, so we had to divide our shower timing throughout the day so we all get a share of warm water.
* The windows didn't shut completely, and when we came it was unfortunately cold and very windy.
* There weren't any outlets in the room, which made it a little complicated, especially with the baby.
* We couldn't trust the electricity to work (there were few blackouts), plus the light in the room was low.
* The pathway to the room (elevated path) was very dark at night - it was very scary to walk carrying a sleeping (or even awake ) baby.

The bottom line is that at a lower price this would have been a 5 star review and I'd strongly recommend it to anyone, but at this price I wouldn't return there and wouldn't recommend it to a friend.


About Tulum, we had a car so we could drive to places, but we liked staying next to Jade. Our best meals were in a restaurant I think called "Banana" (try the mole there and the fish in coconut souse) and "La Zebra" restaurant (right at the beach) a little bit more fancy but very good cooking (children have a lot of space to play there with the swings, pillows on the floor and music)

We had good time but and also happy to come back to our cheap city New York.