We stayed at CESiak for four nights at the end of an 11 night trip to the Tulum area. We'd found it by going on their all day tour in July 2005 and fantasized about going back for that beautiful vista of the sea on one side and the lagoon on the other.

This time, staying at CESiak allowed us to:
- kayak the lagoon before breakfast, flirting with the birds and feeling the breeze across the shallow crystalline water
- see the stars and the bright moon as we walked to the bathroom in the middle of the night
- have a half-camping adventure (when you've got clean sheets, good pillows and mattress, a daily shower and a flush toilet, are you really camping? It's definitely not the Fairmont, but you'd never sleep this close to the waves there, either!)
- walk down the gorgeous beach pretty much alone (we were able to take pictures of my naked pregnant torso's shadow on the sand without subjecting anyone else to all my splendor : ) )

Cabin 3 was the closest to the bathrooms (because of my pregnant state, Suzanne at LocoGringo helped me request that!) and we didn't feel any compromise of privacy for being the closest to the main building, but some people might.

February is windy, and the constant wind gets a little tiresome, but I'd take it over bugs any day! The showers were quite salty and not reliably hot (though the staff were very responsive in fixing/relighting the hot water heater when we asked) but clean, private, nicely tiled little rooms. The bathrooms were always clean and the entire building is beautifully designed. The food was good but service was patchy -- Orlando was absolutely wonderful but you missed him like crazy when he wasn't there! -- and there were some baffling gaps in their supplies. It's not THAT remote (under 30 minutes from Tulum proper, despite the bumpy road) and they were out of oranges (what's the shelf life of an orange?) one day and butter (less stable, but with an utterly predictible demand, right?) another, among other shortages.

I'm an information hound (why do I love tripadvisor?!) so I just want to give you as many details as possible. The best things about this place are the beautiful natural environment and the guides' passion for preserving it. DEFINITELY take their all-day or their sunset tour or a kayak tour (we did the latter two this time). A peak experience.

If it sounds a little scary to stay at CESiak, just go for a night or two in the middle of your trip. It's really really fun but only with the right attitude and expectations. It's a priceless privilege to be allowed to "live" in such an amazing place for a short while, and if you're like me, you'll crave a little more comfort and shelter after a time : )

We'll definitely go back and would highly recommend CESiak for a visit, a tour, and/or a stay.

Cesiak is one of favorite places in Mexico! The beachfront cabins are the best bargain in Tulum. We felt like we were living in luxury and camping at the same time. Our cabin was right next to the restaurant, and we would have preferred a bit more privacy, so we'd ask for a different cabin next time. The bathrooms are shared but immaculately clean. The staff is very friendly, the restaurant good but a little pricey for our taste... we usually drove into town for lunch or one of the neighboring hotels for dinner, just to experience different places. The birding tour at sunset was fabulous... one of the most unique and amazing experiences in nature I have ever had.

They provide you with lanterns for navigating the paths at night, and lockers for your valuables. We locked wallets, passports, etc in the locker but the rest of our stuff we just left in the cabin, and had no problems. We loved it every minute. We have a baby now, and can't wait to take her in a year or so!

We had 3 wonderful days at the CESIAK/Boca Paila Camps lodge with our 2 year old daugther. the location is simply amazing out on a narrow strip between the stunning Tulum-style beach (turquoise shades of blue, white sand, etc.) and a large lagoon. Not too far from Tulum. the rooms are actually tents on platform with palapa roof, and we really loved them. the view over the beach and ocean is simply breathtaking.
However you need to be a bit a camping-style kind of person. you have sharted bathrooms and toilets and they were in our case quite a walk away from the rooms and in our case also the same toilets as for the restaurant (a bit public feeling if you just want to take a shower in the evening). Room service etc is ok, but rather on the modest side. As they say, they are MAINLY an ecological centre, and only in second importance a lodge.
We loved the SianKaa all day tour so much, really knowledgable guide and boat captain, beautiful tour with focus on ecosystem understanding, floating in the river, visiting maya ruins, etc. A bit costly but since all profits go into conservation and eco training projects every dollar spent there actually feels good. and the tour was worth the money anyway. restaurant was good. Off season price was really ok (70$ or so per night) through locogringo.com but booking directly through them would also work fine.