My boyfriend and I just came back from a 5 day trip in Mexico (Playa del Carmen and Tulum). We chose to stay at Zulum (for night #3) and we were very disappointed. We paid 165 USD for a "King Suite" with a jungle view thinking that the hotel would be worth the price (the website is amazing!). Our room only had a partial wall (6 feet of wall and then wood beams which you could see and hear through) between us and our neighbours. The netting around our bed had holes in it and did not close all the way (missing about 2 feet). Even though we were right on the ocean we did not get any breeze.
Basically this hotel was WAY overpriced for what it was. If you are paying 165 USD you expect way more.
I have travelled many parts of Mexico and really felt that I was ripped off on the price of this hotel. I would definitely suggest NOT staying here (please note that we loved the hotels that we stayed at in Playa and are writing positive reviews for those).

Thanks to the new management of Felipe, we found the Zulum property, a small 18-room hotel right on the beach, becoming more appealing and friendly every one of the five days we stayed there. Our first night was a disappointment, but a word to Felipe and he made it right. He moved us to a much better room which met our needs well. We LOVED the bed - on ropes and swinging whenever we wanted it to...like being rocked to sleep at night!

Felipe and the friendly Mayan staff, quite a few of whom got their experience at Kailuum (a wonderful tent resort on the beach which no longer exists) made our stay warm and comfortable.
Both the food and the service at the small restaurant improved during our stay, as did the general cleanliness and appearance of the hotel.

We applaud Felipe's efforts to provide a more "Kailuum-like" environment at Zulum, and wish him the best. We would stay here again, as long as the current management stays in place.

After driving accross the Yucatan we stumbled into Talum and after hitting about 10 hotels, some full, some too much, others w/ shared bathrooms, one charged $30 more for Ele. in the room, The travel Gods gave us Zulum . It was at night so we really couldn't see mcuh, but the tiki tourches led our way. The staff was so great. Felipe checked us in and made us feel right at home. He led us to our room w/ the most comfortable swinging beds ever. Chef Marcos cooked a fantastic diner of fresh fish and "diablo" giant prawns YUM!!! We then had drinks w/Auelino pouring the rum and tonics. It was a perfect night after a long day of traveling. We awoke to the most spectacular view on the most beautiful beach. Execpt for the beaches in Zanzibar, this was the next best beach I've ever been to. You could sit on a big lounge chair or lie on the beds, yes beds w/ pillows!!!!!! Very few people. I walked a ways down the beach and from what I could see, Zulum has the the nicest beach front.. It is rustic, but that was part of the charm, not too polished. It has everything you need and the staff is quite willing to get you anything you may want. I wouldn't say the service is slow, but it's not fast . The Travel Gods were w/ us. Best time ever. Totally relaxed. The photo's on this site are perfect.

Get an ocean front room! We booked with a large group- half had ocean front the others did not. Those of us in the ocean front rooms loved the place and the others disliked it due to lack of breezes and mosquitos. The place is very laid back- so laid back that it is difficult to get a cup of coffee in the monring. That said the staff are great and the location perfect if you are not a Cozumel beach club type (this is more funky and in my opinion better). The city of Tulum is fun in a gritty way- and there are tons of places to go to if you have a car (cenotes, ruins, jungle etc). We loved Puenta Alen and had the best cerviche ever in an open air cafe on Xmas day listening to reggea.