The setting is wonderful and the layout of the cabanas is inviting, but with so many other options along the beach be sure about what you're getting. Overall I liked the place but probably wouldn't stay there again. The rooms were sand covered which was a nice concept but you couldn't keep the bed clean, the beds left something to be desired, there was a nice breeze off the beach but the room I stayed in got little circulation unless you proped the door open. Security didn't seem to be a problem this far down the beach but there was no way to secure the windows. There was a nice open air shower, but the water was turned off during certain hours. It rained while we were there and some of my companions had leaky roofs and a couple bugs. No electricity in the rooms but you could recharge things at the bar in the evenings. The food was good but didn't have much selection in terms of local dishes.

We stayed for two nights at Retiro Maya in March 2008. It was supposed to be three nights, but the owner double-booked our prepaid room for the third night, and when she offered to return our money, we were glad to leave early. The beach is truly beautiful, but Retiro Maya's website does not paint an accurate picture of the accommodations. The cabanas--though scenic--are quite rustic. Sand floors, no screens on the windows, not so well kept open-air bathrooms with toilets that cannot tolerate paper, one or two very small candles to help you aim for bed when the sun sets at 7PM. Selling the place as an eco-tourism destination seems to be a ploy to get tourists to pay top dollar for a minimum of product.

It could have just been the time we visited, but there were a number of problems during our stay. There was no hot water for any of the three days we stayed at Retiro Maya. No soap or beach towels were provided, though a $10 deposit for beach towels was required when we checked in. Another guest's leftover glasses and dishes were on the porch of our (clean?) cabana when we arrived. The restaurant was not open the first day we were there--the cook didn't show up--and bringing food/drink onto the property is against the rules. The toilet basically stopped working our third day there. And then there was the issue of our room being double booked.

I can't recommend Retiro Maya, but can see how just a little bit better management of the place, a bit more hospitality, and a more industrious staff might change the whole tenor of a stay there.

We paid $150 per night for no drinkable water in the room, no screens on the windows, no hot water, all the floors are sand covered on purpose...great for getting into bed and sleeping in sand. The staff was very confused about everything. Beautiful location but that is about the best we can say.

Leave your blowdryer and laptop at home and relax!

We stayed seven days in a cabana at Retiro Maya. We chose Tulum because it was less tourist-y. If we wanted to be surrounded by nothing but American culture and homogenous fellow tourists, we'd have just gone to Hawaii or Florida. Tulum is much more authentic while still being luxurious.

We went as a group of 4 (2 couples in our 20's) and shared a cabana. Some of the cabanas had some less-private bathrooms, which some found very liberating! We stayed in a cabana with a much more private bathroom facility. If you are into yoga and the au naturel way of life, there are definitely cabanas for you here.

Lu was very upfront about the cabana situation when we asked: Don't leave valuables in the cabana and don't drink the water from your faucet. There aren't sophisticated locks on anything. If you want to bring your Blackberry, stay at a big hulking resort in Cancun or Playa with a digital keycard and surveillance cameras. Your blackberry won't get a lot of service in Tulum anyway. (Verizon did, not Tmobile, for the record). Being without phone or internet for a week was the most peaceful thing I've ever done. If you do need to bring some device, however, you can charge it at the bar when the generator is running.

It felt like there were no other people there although we went at peak season. Our cabana was right on the beach. The only sound was of the ocean, because the other guests didn't make a peep. One nice thing was that there were no bugs there. The lizards eat them all. There are mosquito nets in the cabanas, but we didn't use any. There wasn't a single mosquito. Could have been a fluke, though, so bring a little bug spray anyway.

The only thing I'd warn against would be to not eat breakfast at the Retiro Maya restaurant. We came in for continental breakfast thinking it was complimentary as the word would suggest in American culture. It was not free. We paid $36 ($9 each) for toast, coffee, and a slice of melon - plus tip (wasn't Marta's fault it was so expensive!). Dinner at Retiro Maya was reasonably priced - similar to Chili's in price, I suppose.

The restaurant and lobby were both pretty much outdoors. It was very laid back. The bar had swings instead of stools (don't drink too much!) and if we went in to eat, we were either the only ones in there or shared the restaurant with one other party. That made me think the food would be slopped together or out of a package, but it was great. Totally home-cooked. I loved the enchiladas mole, and the fajitas were amazing.

The staff was fantastic. One of us spoke Spanish so we were able to communicate with the Spanish-speaking staff fluently. We got the best, most friendly service from Ezekiel, Marta, Antonio and the rest of the crew. Along the beach as far as we could see in either direction, the tide and the waves left seaweed/kelp debris washed up on the sand. Retiro Maya, however, raked and cleared the seaweed from the beach so our view was just light sand and bright blue water--no junk. RM was the only eco-retreat that raked the weeds off the sand, from what I observed. They placed tiki torches or candles out every night for us and it was absolutely gorgeous. If you reach out to the staff there, you will make good friends and the experience was so much more meaningful for us. The last night we were there, we went salsa dancing up the road at another resort, with members of our RM staff. Nobody cared that we had no idea what we were doing. Shots were $8.50 at the neighboring resort, so bring your money if you plan to drink or get your shots at Retiro Maya (on the swings!). But the salsa dancing next door is fun. If you're lucky, you'll get to see Lu on the dance floor. She's a great salsa dancer.

The beds weren't incredibly soft, but we slept better there than we did in our pillowtop at home because of the sound of the ocean and the humid air.

Lu's golden retriever Luna had puppies a couple weeks before we arrived, so we were able to play with a whole litter of cuteness the whole trip. Luna is one of the sweetest, happiest dogs we ever met. We loved watching her squirm around in the sand basking in the sun.

Overall, we wanted the authentic, jungle, rugged Mexico experience and we got it. You might want to learn a few phrases in Spanish before you go. Lu speaks perfect English but if you venture out of Retiro Maya, you will find that only about a third of people speak any english and even then, it's sparse.