Happy New Year! Back from being off the grid in TULUM, MEXICO...
We first met and fell in love with Tulum last March for Lucy's birthday and planned a last minute New Year's trip for last week with a few friends. We welcomed 2010 (meant to be a year for abundance for all!) under the stars and on a beach illuminated by a full moon, dancing the night away. Tulum is the perfect balance of natural, unspoiled beauty and the slightly earthy/hippie crowd that accompanies those sorts of places, with sophisticated worldly types who appreciate the fine wines, homemade lobster pastas and boho-chic fashion. It is not intimidating in the slightest -- just one of the most beautiful white, powdery-soft sand beaches, friendly people, delicious food and drinks. In short, one of our favorite places!
We bounced around from hotel to hotel -- staying in four between the two of us during our six night visit! More to tell you about! Our first two nights we stayed at Blue Tulum, which describes itself as the only luxury resort in Tulum. Blue Tulum was one of the only hotels to have any availability those first two nights and to be honest, don't travel to Tulum for "Luxury." Tulum is about eco-lodges and natural beach beauty. Blue Tulum is trying to be a fancy resort that you would find in Playa del Carmen or Cancun. It is out of place in Tulum and although the staff was very nice, there were some billing problems and the property as a whole could use some updating. Also, important-- there are two big stretches of fantastic beach in Tulum. One goes on for miles and miles and we would never not stay smack on it again-- neither Blue Tulum, nor Luna Maya are on the best part of the beach.
Our second two nights we stayed at Luna Maya, a tiny eco hotel with some very modest rooms and two great suites. Luna Maya is located on a rocky, jungle-esque outcropping and feels very full of the local flavor from the delicious food to the decor. They have a tiny bit of beach adjacent to the hotel, but with the most incredible beach only a ten minute walk away, it's more for appearances. The bar area is super cute with dark wood furniture with orange cushions (our favorite color combo) in the sand and rope swings (somehow not cheesy!) at the bar.
Napper and Mary stayed in the Triton Suite which has glorious views, a thatched palapa roof and stylish hot pink bedding. They ran into some lack of running water problems which were graciously handled by the management and these things do happen at the truly eco minded hotels... Aside from the Triton Suite and the Gueco Suite, the other rooms were quite dark and there are better options for similar prices. If you don't stay here, the food is good enough to come by for lunch or dinner.
The last two nights, Mary and Napper stayed at the charming and authentic Cabanas la Luna. With eight cabanas nestled in the white sand and palm trees each with their own wood porches outfitted with hammocks, tables and chairs fashioned from driftwood and candlelit lanterns, you feel so far away from the real world. The smallest cabana, Robinson Crusoe, was tiny but cozy and with the beach literally on your doorstep, it didn't matter. The staff is incredibly friendly and outgoing and they will bring you a delicious breakfast to your porch each morning.
Lucy and some friends spent their last two nights at Le Zebra in the "Luxury Beach Shack." The Zebra's version of luxury is much more in keeping with the vibe of Tulum and while the "Shack" had most amenties (including an outdoor jacuzzi finished in recycled glass periwinkle colored tile!), the feeling was still that of Tulum and not South Beach. Le Zebra hosts the popular Salsa Sunday party which offers free group salsa instruction, dinner, a lively bar scene and unobtrusive salsa performances. Not sure we were prize pupils, but we tried.
Our thoughts on the evening were skip dinner at Le Zebra and just come for the fun bar crowd and dancing.
The food in Tulum is outstanding! We visited several of our favorites from our first trip which we wrote about in our Destination Guide for Tulum. A quick recap-- these are the restaurants to absolutely not miss: Casa Violeta, Posada Margherita, El Tabano, Hemingway's and Amansala. See our full descriptions under Destintations. We found a new favorite spot for dinner on this trip-- Mezzanine. Mezzanine is known for big parties and also having quite outstanding Thai food. This was the scene of our delicious New Year's feast and dance party!
One of the highlights of this trip to Tulum and the perfect way to begin 2010 was participating in a Temazcal – a ritual, “sweat lodge,” ceremony celebrated by indigenous cultures as a therapeutic cleansing of the body, mind and soul. Ours was lead by Pedro Vadhar, a shaman and traditional musician. Pedro had us take a moment by ourselves to contemplate out intentions before commencing the Temazcal. The ceremony is conducted in an igloo-type hut and broken down into four meditations each dedicated to a direction (east, south, west, north) and an element. At the beginning of each, red-hot volcanic rocks are placed in the center of the hut and the room is then sealed off so that it is pitch black. Pedro introduces the intention of each meditation and leads the group in chants as he pours water and herbs on the stones creating a curative vapor. In addition to cleansing and purification one of the traditional purposed of the Temazcal was to help the participants find their place in the world – hence the focus on the compass. Several of the hotels offer Temazcal, but we did ours at The Maya Tulum Spa & Wellness Center and strongly recommend contacting Pedro to lead your Temazcal. He is one of those people who emanate peace.
If you are in need of a fashionable souvenir (other than the calm and relaxed state of mind that the beach, Temezcal, and numerous yoga studios in Tulum will offer), Joanne Salt has a fabulous beach boutique called Josa at Posada Margherita. Mary bought one of the gorgeous upscale beach dresses and our friend Tim bought an elegant panama hat that everyone fought to wear the whole trip...
STAY
Blue Tulum
Carretera Costera - Tulum Ruinas, Punta Allen, Lote 47
Tulum, Quintana Rooo, México C.P. 77780
Phone: +52 984 871 1000
Phone from USA: 866- 336-2213
www.bluetulumresorts.com
Luna Maya
www.lunamaya-tulum.com
Phone: +56 984 130 9710
Cabanas la Luna
Carr. Tulum - Boca Paila km. 6.5 | Quintana Roo
Tulum 77789, Mexico
Phone: +1 310 984 5484 (Mexico)
Alternative numbers: +52 1 984 1161208 or +52 1 984 1146303 (Mexico)
tulum@cabanaslaluna.com
www.cabanaslaluna.com
EAT
Posada Margherita
Carretera Tulum-Boca Paila Km. 4,5
Tel. +52 984 801 8493 / +52 984 100 3780
reservation@posadamargherita.com
www.posadamargherita.com
Casa Violeta
Carretera Tulum-Boca Paila Km 8.2
Tulum,Quintana Roo
Phone Mexico:+52.1.984.879.0294
USA 1 917 239 6331
info@CasaVioletaTulum.com
www.casavioleta.com
El Tabano
Carretera Tulum Boca Paila Km. 7
Tel: + 52 984 134 8725 and + 52 984 125 7172
eltabano.teatrobar@yahoo.com
Hemingway's
Carretera Tulum Boca Paila Km. 2.5
Tel: +52 984 114 2321
viaggiland@hotmail.com
www.hemigwaytulum.com
Amansala
Mezzanine
Restaurant +52-1-984-131-1596 (closed after 10pm CST)
Hotel Reservations +52-1-984-115-4728 (closed after 7pm CST)
mezzhotel@gmail.com
www.mezzanine.com
DO
Temezcal
Pedro Vadhar
pedrovadhar@cieloytierramusic.com
SHOP
JOSA
@ Posada Margherita
Carretera Tulum-Boca Paila Km. 4,5
joanne@josatulum.com
www.josatulum.com