Intima Resort Tulum — Hotel in Quintana Roo

After many years away from Tulum we decided to visit. For this visit we chose to stay at Intima resort for three nights. In the past we have stayed in more rustic eco places by the beach (see my prior reviews of other clothing optional places). This time we wanted a more modern stay. Intima exceeded our expectations; the Jr one bedroom suite was huge and amazingly comfortable with 1.5 bathrooms and large kitchen with bottled water connected directly to the refrigerator water dispenser. The king-sized bed was extremely comfortable, and I was impressed by how clean everything was (I have a dust allergy and slept congestion free!). The room had a giant couch, large dining table for two, fully stocked open floor plan kitchen with oven and microwave. We really loved the walls of floor-to-ceiling windows and the giant open shower with its own window. The balcony was spacious and had direct access to the pool with a view of the lovely tropical landscape. The pool was kept clean and illuminated at night. The pool was also connected to a hot tub which was a lovely place to have a glass of wine. We were hoping to get cocktails at the swim up bar, but both the bar and restaurant were closed. The bar and restaurant are independent of the resort and the owner is having some issues, which hopefully will be resolved soon. During our stay we lost power a few times for a brief period and had some hiccups with the Internet. The hotel also provides two beach towels and will refresh them automatically each day or upon request. During our stay we often felt like we had the entire hotel to ourselves with only three other couples staying. The staff at the resort are great, the receptionist stayed late waiting until we arrived and was extremely helpful, he even printed our boarding passes. Similarly, the night service was extremely helpful, he was there to show us where the bottled water was and helped us start the gas oven. ||Summary – if you want a a wonderful stay and can live without a bar/restaurant on site for now (there are many walking distance and this might get resolved soon) and the occasional power outage this resort is a great option. ||TIPS: ||Rent a car in town - People drive very slowly (thanks to the speed bumps everywhere) so it is easier to drive there than in many other places. Get private car insurance not the one from the rental company (they usually charge a fortune). We took the ADO bus from Cancun to Tulum – a great bus – takes about 2 hours with little traffic and close to 3 with traffic. A car is essential for reaching the best beach ever – see below. For added color, I generally do not like driving and was fine driving here ||For the best clothing optional beach - drive into the Sian Ka’an reserve, pay a small entrance fee (105 pesos per person) and then drive 20 minutes to a place called El Ultimo Maya. If you spend 300 pesos per person, you can park for free and use their beach access. Walk north or south a little way and you will be alone on a gorgeous beach (see photos), a perfect place to ditch the bathing suit. This beach is the best beach I have ever had the pleasure to swim in. Small Warning: El Ultimo Maya is expensive for very plain food + two wonderful margaritas (with bland tortilla chips) + one Guac + chicken quesadilla + two water bottles + awesome view/ambiance and great service + nice music + parking + tip = Approx. $80USD. Drinks cost 250-300 pesos, luckily, they accept credit cards but with a 5% surcharge. We spent 2 amazing clothes free afternoons there, with no one around. ||Private Clothing Optional snorkeling: We booked a great clothing optional tour from a company called Energy Tulum for only $45 per person. The tour included a private boat, captain, a quick visit of the Tulum ruins from the sea and then an hour of snorkeling. We were picked up at Pescador Beach which is down the road from the Tulum Ruins. The captain was genuinely nice and pointed out animals for us to see. Although we stayed for an hour, I am sure he would have been happy to stay a little longer. Energy Tulum arranges a local captain willing to take you early in the morning for privacy. You need to book 24 hours in advance. They once also offered a cenote and ATV tour but that has stopped. ||Private Clothing Optional Cenote tour – We used another great company called Tulum Diving & Travel. This company picked us up at the hotel at 8 am sharp and took us to the Cenote Sac Actum. Their webpage does not mention anywhere clothing optional tours, but they are happy to arrange it, just ask! The snorkel trip included a great guide and a cenote all to us, we were the only people there! The guide will provide a wetsuit upon request (but it was really not that cold) or take all your clothes at the entrance of the cenote and have them waiting for you at the exit. This was a memorable adventure. See my forthcoming review in TripAdvisor of this company for more details. ||Use WhatsApp – it the best way to communicate with many of...

This was our first experience at a clothing optional resort, and we scored!

The location in tulum was likely, when it was built, right outside the edge of town. As Tulum has grown its now in a nexus of Barrios (with burning trash and yapping dogs) construction (that appears to be on hold) and at the edge of the tourist district. That has the bonus of being in walking distance to a lot of places to eat and shop. The dogs and walks through muddy trash strewn streets, if you take the shortcuts, took a some of the shine off. The location in my book was alright, my wife was less pleased. The smell of burning trash at times could come over the walls.

The grounds of the resort were very well kept, it's an older place but clearly the HOA have worked to keep it fresh. The rooms were huge and well laid out. The mattress was a king and great quality. We're both tall and that matters to us. 5 stars for that! 2 bathrooms and a kitchenette in the unit made it super usable.

The pool with its swim up branches to all the lower floor rooms was fantastic, clever design, perfect temprature and very clean. Lots of lounge chairs in and out of the pool to make laying out and enjoying the sun a winner. The small size of the resort and it's layout kept the wind down to a gentle breeze. That also kept the direct sun from basting the pool area. Just delightful!

The staff were stellar and super responsive. They anticipated our needs and made everything seamless. The bartender, Hiram, is the bomb. I spent quite a while just sitting back enjoying his mixologist skills and chatting. When I forget the rest of the trip I won't forget how cool and friendly he was. If this is read by owners, fight to keep him, he's a priceless face to the resort!

Very eclectic mix of other guests running the gamut of age and the average age changed day by day Everyone was very pleasant and we made new friends. Some of the younger crowd could be a bit much when the noise (and music) in the hot tub kept up till late. Fortunately that happened only 2 nights. If noise bothers you, may want to get one of the upper rooms at the cost of the swim up pool..

For me the biggest negative was guest smoking, not the resorts fault but as an ex smoker I'm bothered quite a bit and people felt free to light up right next to me. 🤔

They did a great job selecting tour operaters to partner with. We did 3 days of cenote diving (incredible!) And our guide, Edgar Duran, is worth asking for specifically if you're here to dive!

Overall great experience, way better than anticipated, with a few downsides that can be at any place. If you're looking for a place to stay in Tulum and interested in clothing optional, this is your place! Total...

This little place is somewhat hard to find as there are no signs on the main road and my cell phone only seemed to work with Wi-Fi as cell service is not reliable. We stopped at a coffee shop to use their Wi-Fi and the cashier gave me detailed directions on where to go. Once we arrived Betsy was very helpful and even walked us to our room. The room was very nice and clean. The housekeeper comes around late evening, we only saw her the day we were checking out but I am sure she comes as when we would come back from dinner our beds were made and fresh towels and water in our room. The Wi-Fi is okay in the room if you sit by the window but even better by the pool. Betsy did let us know we were free to sit in the closed restaurant chairs as the Wi-Fi is the best there. I sat by the pool and my internet worked perfectly. Outside of our room around the bar area and pool is very well maintained. Everyday there was someone out cleaning the pool and maintaining the plants/trees. As far as food, The restaurant is closed so you have to go out to town to eat. The bar is only open from 3-10pm but some days when we were there the bartender did not show. You are free to bring food and alcohol back to the Resort. The bar had basic things like pina coladas or margaritas. The town itself has lots of street vendors and there is even a coffee shop very close to the Resort. Coffee and water is free in the room but my husband and I wanted to go out and explore. There is a pizza and sushi place right behind the Resort but it was not the prices that I want to pay. In town I was able to get two delicious tacos for way cheap. We walked the town during the day and everyone was very kind. They have multiple vendors , ice cream shops, burger shops, and of course traditional Mexicans food. Not many people speak English in the town (we did encounter a few) but we can speak and understand a bit of Spanish so we were fine. We did not go out at night as we are not partiers so I could not speak for the nightlife. There were a few nights when we parked and walked a couple blocks for dinner and felt safe. We did carry around a knife just in case but never had to use it. The main road in and out of Tulum is where we ate and also on some of the side streets. When driving in it looks rugged but once you enter the Resort its a different world in a good way. Overall I would not go back to Tulum as it has gotten kinda of touristy and pricey but I did enjoy my time spent with my husband at...