Best luxury Tulum resorts

How do you separate the true luxury resorts in Tulum from the ones that are just faking it? When every place has “luxury” on its home page–in a beach area that’s not even on the electric grid–how do you filter out the hype? Well we’re here to help with that, by posting detailed reviews of three carefully curated Tulum hotels at the bottom of the Riviera Maya in Mexico.

We will freely admit that we’re not big fans of Tulum these days. It seems to attract the gullible and impressionable Fyre Festival kind of vacationers who are more interested in how their Instagram feed looks than whether they’re getting a great experience for their hefty expenditure. Room rates can be higher than in Los Cabos here and often the food and drinks seem even more overpriced. You may well wonder how you left New York City on a plane that morning but are still seeing prices that feel just like home when you land.

For those who yearn for “bohemian chic” aesthetics though and something pretty to pose in front of, this place can be paradise. If nothing else, go check out these reviews to enjoy the beautiful photos. While we think you can get much more for your money by stopping off sooner in the Riviera Maya, at these three Tulum resorts you’ll find room to spread out and a higher level of cuisine and service than the norm.

Be Tulum

With 64 rooms, this is on the larger side for the region and it boasts a lot of unique attributes that help it stand out from the others. Be Tulum has a full-blown spa, for one thing, plus a restaurant headed up by a Michelin-starred chef.

Be Tulum suite with plunge pool

It’s also at the wider, more remote end of the beach by the Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve, away from the thumping open-air discos and Wall Street ex-frat-boys on vacation. It’s no newcomer here, open for a decade now, and the suites are beautiful and spacious. It has two pools, two restaurants, and included yoga lessons each morning. Some of the suites have plunge pools too, on a roof deck with a view. In other words, this feels like a resort where you can really get pampered. See our full review of Be Tulum resort.

La Valise Tulum

The sister of a boutique hotel in Mexico City, La Valise Tulum is a much more intimate property with eight rooms and one suite. It opened in 2017 after taking over a property that was on site here before, elevating the design and the service to re-emerge as a high-end boutique resort. It may not have the long list of facilities as other properties, with just a pool, a bar, and a breakfast area here. It makes up for this though by sourcing its meals for guests from La Encantada next door and  NÃœ across the road (both belonging to the same company as the hotel). Plus it’s hard to top it’s beach area – that’s it at the top of this post. Plus you get views like these:

La Valise boutique hotel by the beach

See our detailed La Valise Tulum review and lots more photos at that link.

Mi Amor Hotel

While most Tulum resorts are crammed in next to each other on a strip of land between the beach and the jungle, Mi Amor is in its own cliffside spot closer to the famous ruins. This sophisticated, adults-only getaway spot opened in 2014 under the umbrella of the Colibrí hotel family. It’s the most luxurious choice among several hotels and restaurants in Tulum’s Hotel Zone-plus they own the lovely Yemaya on Little Corn Island in Nicaragua.

Mi Amor Riviera Maya resort

“My Love” is private and secluded, plus its position perched above the azure sea keeps it quieter than most competitors. With just 18 suites the service is attentive and this property is part of the Small Luxury Hotels of the World group, giving you an extra assurance of high standards. There’s an infinity pool on site, but you’ll have to walk for a few hundred meters to get to a proper beach. You can use the facilities at their sister hotels though. See our detailed review of Mi Amor Tulum Hotel.

To search all hotels, apartments, and other places to stay in Tulum, see cozycozy.com to get all the options in one place.

Be sure to research conditions in Tulum before you make a booking. The area gets hit hard by waves of smelly sargasso seaweed each year and that’s not a time you want to be on the beach. There’s also a well-defined hurricane season, so keep an eye on those forecasts too. It’s low season in the Riviera Maya then for a reason!

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The 3 best luxury resorts in Tulum that aren't all hype