Yes the beach and views are incredible. I didn't find the front desk staff very helpful or friendly. The staff that clean are excellent and take care in your tent. Just know it is a tent you are in and with the wind and ocean it can be quite loud and even shake your bed at night. The tours are great, although the "full day" trip ended up being a half day because after lunch they drove us to a small local cenote ( the other cenote was under construction) and said "anyone want to jump in?" "No" okay lets go home . The food was way over priced and mediocre. The coffee is terrible so plan to go to the strip if you are a coffee drinker. THe Zebra has a great late (american prices). The view is definately what saved the trip. We left early as in my eyes, it is more rustic than the previous reviews.

I dont think I would stay at Cesiak again. There are tours coming in all day including schools of children.

My friend (I am a teen) and her family took me and another friend to Mexico for a weeklong trip in February 2008. After staying at Balamku Inn in Majahual (great, I wrote a review of that as well) we spent two nights here before proceeding back to Cancun Airport. Myself and the other friend who was invited on this trip had never really experienced a no-electricity situation before and were a tad aprehensive to spend time on Mexico's golden rviera of gorgeous resorts staying at such a rustic place. Our reservations, for the most part, were quelled as soon as we arrived.
After driving up the coast from Majahual and spedning the late afternoon at the (AMAZING) Tulum ruins, we pulled into the small parking lot and checked in. My two friends and I had one platform tent and the parentals had the one right next to ours. Immidiately, an extra matress (according to my friends, more comfortable than thier own) was brough in for me to accompany the queen sized bed already inside the tent. The one thing that made this place better than farther south was the beach. From our balcony perched 30 feet aboce the ocean, we watched the crystelline waves froth and lap on the shore as immaculately as you see in all the advertisements. Just before sundown we rushed into the waves and it was THE highlight of my trip; gazing either at the beuatiful greens and blues or the ironically palatial thatch roofs springing out of the jungle, you cant have a rotten moment in that beach, it seems inpossible.
The restaurant was good - not amazing, but good enough. One advantage of this area is that there is an abundance of restaurants and great small hotels just on the other side of the Sian Ka'An arch. The biosphere itself was magnificent playing host to all kinda of plants and animals and the lagoon was a sight to see just as the ocean was.
In contrast to Balamku, there certainly werent amenities here such as private bathrooms and those nifty things called solid walls; however, surprisingly enough - due to numerous components including proximity to ruins and other other hotels/restaurants, full service restaurant onsite, and possibly most crucial of all, a lush (un-hurricane-battered) wealth of palms and sand dunes, not to mention the phenominal beach - CESiaK was in many ways much more luxurious as far as tent accomodations go, than I had anticipated.

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!