My husband and I stayed at the Catalonia Royal Tulum at the end of June. The resort grounds, pool and beach were beautiful. The food was good but not excellent. After we left the Catalonia, we went 1/2 mile north to Xpu-Ha Palace.

The Xpu-Ha has no beach. although we knew that before we booked, we were spoiled by the beach at Catalonia; it was lovely. Both resorts require a lot of walking to get from room to beach to restaurant, but neither are excessive.

What sets Xpu-Ha apart from Royal Catalonia are the rooms and the staff. Our room at Royal Catalonia was nothing more than a hotel room with two double beds (double beds for a couple?) Our king size bed, porch with lounge chairs, table and chairs and a hammock, and jacuzzi tub in the room at Xpu-Ha were heavenly. During our stay at Catelonia, voices from another room continually came through an air vent and were very distracting and annoying. The room at Xpu-Ha was private and serene.

We never passed a staff member at Xpu-Ha without them greeting us and/or asking if we needed anything. At Catelonia, we were just another couple renting a room. We did not feel particularly welcomed by any staff member.

My husband left his prescription glasses at Catelonia. It took three days and repeated phone calls every day to get someone to look in lost and found for him. Every time he told them we were just up the road at Xpu-Ha and every time he was ignored and told to call back. It was extremely frustrating.

Catelonia has no match with their beach, but feeling like we were welcomed and appreciated made Xpu-Ha a better choice for us. We would rank Xpu-Ha #2 and Catelonia #2.

Just returned from a trip to Catalonia Royal Tulum where I met up with my friend for her 40th birthday. This was our third trip down to the Tulum area and we absolutely LOVED this resort. The beach is so beautiful and the sand is so powdery soft! We loved the beach drink service too, ha. Now they weren't exactly rushing to get you your drinks but you have to remember things are a bit slower down there and you are on vacation so you have to remember to be patient and relax (I am from Chicago and my friend from NYC so at first we were like "hurry hurry" but we managed to ease up a bit, ha).
I booked this resort through Travel-Center.com and got it for $115 a night which is insane for how great the resort is and that was for two of us.
The pool was beautiful and just the right temperature. I liked the wood over pizza's they cooked all day close to the beach that you could grab for a snack. They had a nice variety daily with great toppings. I like the one with blue cheese....mmmmm.
Now we met this couple that thought the service wasn't quite "up to their standard" and changed rooms three times upon arrival. They highly recommended the Valentin.
But for us, I mean, we have both traveled the world and we thought it was just lovely.
And for the price of $115 a night?! You just can't beat it.
We didn't stay out past our late dinners, so I don't know about the nightclub and all that. It did seem like things closed a bit on the early side. But I heard from others that the beach bar was pretty fun into the late evening. I would think if you were really young and wanted to party hard, I am not sure if this would be the place for you.
We really loved it though and I would go back in a NY minute!
p.s. The spa is so lovely! I highly recommend booking something in there. We got massages everyday either on the beach under the palapa or inside the Alegria spa. You have to check out the spa, it is so charming and relaxing in there.

My husband I just returned from a 10 night stay at the Catalonia Royal. This was our second summer in a row to visit this resort. The main reason for our return is the unbelievable beach area this resort has. If you just want to lay on the beach or swim in the ocean, this is the place to go. We have visited four other resorts along the coast, and two in Cozumel, and by far this beach is the nicest. We also wanted to check it out now that it is an "adults only" resort. Yes, it was quieter because there were not any children, but also because they were not at full capacity. And the things that changed were that the five restaurants did not require reservations, only one served a buffet (at lunch only), and the food was a bit more fancy, but still good. The only thing that we could think of to improve this place was to replace the beds! They are hard and flat...but most in big resorts are. It would definitely bring us back again!

We arrived at the resort and were greeted with a mimosa and a cold wet towel to freshen up. The resort was absolutely beautiful. I was a little skeptical of the tropical path, but it added a lot of privacy for your room and balcony. The walk to the beach was nice and not too far. The beach was pristine, plenty of chairs in full sun and shade. The security kept the vendors and peddlers from harrassing the guest. We loved the activity directors, they were full of energy and really took time to get to know each of the guest. The service was impeccable, we were impressed by how professional and attentive the staff were. The food was exceptional, our favorite was the Tapas Lounge and the Mexican. We celebrated our 15th wedding anniversay at this adults only resort and are ready to go back. If you are looking for a laid back, quite, out of the way resort to relax (or play volleyball), this is just enough to keep you entertained.