We had an amazing 9 day holiday at La Conchita. La Conchita is perfect: clean, in good taste, great breakfast, quiet and professional. We travel around the world and this is a place we will return to. As a bonus, three turtle nests hatched 10 feet from our cabana and we escorted the hatchlings to the beach! PS: Try the restaurant Cetli in Tulum: spectacular gourmet Mexican food.

I expected to be blown away by this hotel given the reviews here, but honestly I spent more time down the road at Cabanas Copal utilizing their beach, yoga, restaurant, spa, and sundry services. First, let me say that the beach is private and lovely, as are the rooms and the breakfast nook. It is very peaceful and quiet. The staff are very nice friendly people, but they do not provide quality service. Example; when my friend told the maid our floors had sand she was handed a broom. When we requested a second glass of orange juice we were told there wasn't anymore left, when there was a huge bag of oranges in the kitchen. We had to make a stink to get an extra glass of juice. The breakfast is good...not great, but there is no available tea or coffee or simply hot water accessable during the day/evening for guests other than at breakfast. This seems odd to me that I would have to leave the grounds in the evening to get a cup of tea or a soft drink. When we had difficulties with confirming our car back to the airport the hotel staff initially put us on the phone to fend for ourselves. I had to request assitance with advocacy...esp. since I speak Spanglish at best. This is generally the pervasive theme.....requesting a taxi be booked hours in advance only tp have a staff member flag a cab down at the time we were supposed to be leaving for an excursion. Being told at 10 am that our pickup for the cenotes was coming at 10:30 when we were originally told 11. Honestly, for the price...which is higher than some of the other places on the strip, I expected a bit more professionalism. At Cabanas Copal I always felt my needs and requests were adequately attended to. In fact at Conchita when i requested a 3 hour snorkeling trip in the area they knew of none. I had to go to Copal to book a trip to the barrier reef. Overall I'd have to say I was underwhelmed and will stay elsewhere should I return to Tulum.

What a wonderful place by the beach! The staff were very nice, and there are only 8 rooms, so even though the place was full, it felt like nobody was there. It's a very quiet mellow place, out of the way, perfect for comfortably unwinding and getting away from it all. It would make a great honeymoon spot. It's right on the beach, you're never more than 10 steps from the sand. The rooms are tastefully decorated by someone with a designer's/artist's eye. You get fresh linens daily, washed somewhere back in town (about 5 Km away).

Breakfast is served from 8:00-9:30 AM: fruit, coffee, yogurt, granola, and eggs any way you like 'em: huevos rancheros were great, very tasty black bean refritos.

Lights are on between 6-10:00 PM, and ceiling fans run from 10:00 PM-7:00 AM, all fed from solar-power. There are no outlets in the rooms. The stars are amazing on a clear night, the Milky Way has never looked more spectacular!

This part of the beach zone has no power lines, phone lines, or water/sewer lines. Tap water is trucked in daily, they have a water tank to provide pressure. Drinking water is provided daily in a large glass urn in the room, about 2 gallons. Refill your plastic water bottles. They loan you coolers and give you ice in the morning, so you can keep things like beer and cheese cool. (You have to ask for the ice, though. Do it at breakfast, don't miss the ice truck).

There is a small "tienda" (store) across the street, with basics like beer, water, gatorade, pakaged dry foods, etc. The pay phones at the store are wireless, and they are NOT Telmex, so your phone card won't work. Cash only, and only one phone really works, on the left side of the store. Beware of the credit card calling to US/Canada/Europe.

The beach: amazing! It's only about 100 meters long, shared with two other basic-style hotels/cabanas, so it never gets crowded. It's cozy, so if you're looking for wide-open expanses of sand, look elsewhere. Not to say it's too small, no way. You can lounge under cocoanut trees. They have boogie boards, inflatable rings, and a small kayak to play on.

We were there in July, when the "tortugas" (sea turtles) were laying eggs at night. They would show up in the middle of the night, dig huge holes in the sand, lay eggs, then disappear back to the sea. If your'e lucky, you can see one. I wasn't so lucky.

In July, it gets VERY hot there in the middle of the day. Plan accordingly. Go to the Maya ruins first thing when they open at 8:00, to avoid the crush of heat and busloads of tourists. Then walk south on the beach road to have lunch at Don Cafeto's, great Mexcican food. Other good eats are across the street from La Conchita, a small place, Trecelunas (Thirteen Moons). Excellent food! Huge portions! A few other restaurants are on this little strip: Piedra Escondida (Hidden Rock) is good, and Zama a little further down is decent. Expect to pay tourist prices. Cheaper food can be had in town, but the cab is 40 pesos (US$4) each way.

In Pueblo Tulum, excellent pizza is at Pizza Pazza, just north of the bus station. If you're hungry after your flight/bus ride, it's only a few steps away. Just south of the station is Cafe Gaudi, another good bet. The bank is HSBC, open 6 days a week, the ATM is 24 hours. Most places ONLY accept cash, plan accordingly.

Bikes are for rent next door, they're pretty beat up, the chains are very rusty, but it's a good way to get around and avoid paying taxi fare. There are also "collectivos" (shared van taxis) that ply this strip. To get a taxi, just wait by the road, one will show up soon.

A caveat: we learned that the region is booming, development everywhere. A new international airport will start construction soon, maybe this year. And the empty lot next door is for sale, I stumbled across the ad on Craigslist Yucatan (yes, there is one now). Tulum is rapidly joining the rest of the world. Go there while it's still mellow.

We stayed in cabana number 7, just a few steps away from the beach. The room was clean and comfortable- the bed was equipped with a mosquito net, which was a blessing given that there is a section of exposed space between the walls and the roof. But, the main complaint regarding the room was the heat- especially during the evening when we were trying to sleep. The fan above the bed turns on after 10 pm, but provided minimal relief. Also, though the open beach provided a cool breeze, cabana #7 was situated so that none of its windows faced the breeze. Staff was very friendly, and the breakfast provided each morning was superb, consisting of a buffet of fruit and a menu with eggs, pancakes, French toast and other items. Also, finding a good meal was not a problem due to the proximity of restaurants nearby along the beach. Overall, we highly recommend Cabanas La Conchita to other travelers to Tulum looking for relaxing beachfront lodging.