Do not get a cabana near the kitchen. I am all for roughing it and enjoying an eco-friendly cabana but from the moment we checked in, there were the biggest cockroaches I have ever seen just cruising across our bed. We told Lu who got the place fumigated (staying in a now toxic room is not the most romantic way to vacation!). The next day, even more LARGE cockroaches were seen crawling around...yes, they were crawling over the handful that actually did die from the fumigation. All and all, not an enjoyable stay. To top that off, neighbor's toilet is not far from your bed - one can hear more than they want to hear from their neighbor's bathroom.

Otherwise, beautiful beach. We should have camped there.

We just returned from a week in Tulum, spending five of those nights at Retiro Maya. It was our favorite place from this trip, and my favorite from all trips to Tulum thus far, based on what I look for. If you want a full-service, night-life juke joint, this ain't the place. I look for stay-out-of-my-way-thank-you respect with very little in the way of creature comforts. Retiro Maya lacks everything I don't need: electricity (although some cabanas are wired I believe), lots of food, swimming pools.... What it does provide is peace and quiet, a sandy cabana that is solid, comfortable and clean, with good bed service each day. Don't get me wrong - this is not a clump of sticks on the beach. The place has a gorgeous dining area/reception/bar fully wired and plumbed, and each cabana has perfect shower/wc facilities. A basic breakfast is offered and dinner can be had with reservations. There is food all up and down the Hotel Zone, so go explore. Maya is hosted by a respectful ex-pat host (we think) and the staff is EXCELLENT - friendly, efficient, accommodating if necessary. The location is perfect - south enough from the zoo Copal has become, but north enough from the Biosphere to be in-between everywhere you'll want to go. The beach is open and sparse, and the cabana's are situated such that most all take advantage of solid views and mere steps to the beach proper. If you want peace and quiet in a clean, safe, and pleasant setting, with immediate beach access, you can't go wrong at Retiro Maya. Kid friendly.

We stayed at Retiro Maya for a week or so in January, 2008. Actually we liked it so much that we extended our stay there by 4 more days. And certainly wish we could have stayed longer. We highly recommend it.

Cabanas Retiro Maya is a small, very relaxed, lovely resort south of Tulum. The entire resort consists of 12 or so cabanas right on the beach. All with an ocean view.

There is also a house right next door on the property that can be rented. We rented the master suite on the second floor of the house and it was heaven. The suite is huge with a king sized bed, two couches, a dining table and an outdoor deck that is the best part of the whole thing. The front of the suite is all sliding doors so view when you wake up it is nothing but ocean and sky and there is always plenty of breeze for those warm tropical evenings. The deck feels very private, like your own tree house overlooking the ocean. We would sleep out there at night watching the stars and lay out there during the day when we needed a break from the beach. There is also a back deck to watch the sunset over the jungle. We loved it there.

The best part of the entire place is the beach and the water. It's perfect. This is great stretch of beach. No rocks, No grass. Just white, soft sand and turquoise water to die for. We never wore shoes. Ever. In or out of the water. We walked the entire stretch of the beach all the way down to Amansala and up to Cabanas La Conchita and swam in a lot of it and I still think the beach and water in front of Retiro Maya is a nice as it gets. Plus there is no resort right next to it on either side so it seems pretty private.

The people who work at Retiro Maya are also wonderful. Lu, the owner is extremely nice and put up with my constant calling and emailing over Christmas to secure our last minute trip. She made sure we were comfortable and well taken care of. The staff is great. Carolina, who helps manage the resort, is like your sister there and will bend over backwards helping you. Both Lu and Carolina speak excellent English and my guess would be a few other languages as well. Alfonso, Marta, Rosa and Esikial all took great care of us. And even though their English is not great, they tried so hard to communicate with us and help and take care of us. They are the nicest of people and we were so sad to say good-bye to them. They all made us feel welcome and happy and like family. Who could ask for anything more?

Retiro Maya only has electricity for a few hours during the evening. We never missed it. To have nothing but candle light in your cabana under the stars hearing only the ocean breeze is heaven.

All I can say is we felt so happy and relaxed while staying at Retiro Maya. Something about it has a little magic to it. We feel like we'd be welcomed back with open arms. Everyone hugged us when we left and I think they will hug us again when we return. It sounds silly but that really matters in this busy, unconnected world. The people there became our friends.

We can't wait to go back. We can't wait to have our breakfast in the shade looking down to the beach, to run into that gorgeous water and to see Alfonso's smiling face. We can't wait to see all the people there again and try out our terrible Spanish. We can't wait to see Lu's wonderful dog Luna. We can't wait to experience the peace and quiet again.

It's a little bit of paradise. We hope you enjoy it.

We arrived at Retiro Maya around 3pm, the view from the restaurant/reception area was exactly like on the website photos, and the rooms better than I anticipated (soft sand on the floor). The reception was warm, and with such a small hotel one cannot complain. We stayed in one of the three rooms that are on the beach, the noise was entirely caused by the waves crashing on the beach – three days of total rest and relaxation. A few points; a can of “Off” bug repellant is useful, and the bug net they provided was entirely superfluous, I suggest a flashlight or two may be useful, there is no electricity in the rooms, so that reading by the light of a candle – can be trying! My wife and I highly recommend this hotel