Habitas — Hotel in Tulum

There is so much to love about this place, but the lack of attention to general maintenance in the cabinas makes it difficult. First, the positives - The people are amazing! From the waiters and bartenders, to the front desk and gate attendants, to the women working in the wellness center, everyone treats you with kindness and the utmost courtesy! They are warm and friendly and try their best to make sure all your needs are met! ||The overall experience, outside of the cabinas, is incredibly relaxing and enjoyable. You really do feel like you are part of nature. We especially enjoyed seeing the different types of native animals. I’m not sure which are my favorites, the coatimundi or the agouti. There’s even a sweet kitten, Graciela, who lives in the wellness center (don’t worry about allergies, the reception area where she lives is outside.) ||I also really appreciated the wellness activities. I’ll be honest, I did not wake up in time for the morning yoga classes, but I indulged in three different types of massages. They were ALL incredible! We also booked a cacao ceremony. It was a very special, and spiritual, experience! Thank you Carol for always making us feel welcome and appreciated. And, thank you Carmen, Patti and, most especially Francisca, for the incredible massages and cacao ceremony. You are ALL very talented healers and how much you care for your clients is inspiring.||We also enjoyed our breakfasts at Moro, the on-site restaurant. The wait staff and bartenders are THE BEST! Thank you Francisco, Etson, Guti, Allejo, Alexis and Raphael for taking such good care of us! I am especially grateful for your kind help as I was practicing, and trying to remember!, my Spanish! No one ever corrected me with a condescending or impatient tone. You were all so helpful! ||I also really enjoyed relaxing by the pool or beach and getting to know the other guests. They are from all over the world! It’s a truly multicultural experience. ||Now on to the not so positive… and honestly, this is why I most likely will not stay at an Our Habitas property again. While the cabinas are comfortable in some ways, the lack of attention to what I consider important things makes them very UNCOMFORTABLE! First, they are dark. I originally booked a room with a plunge pool. It was all the way at the back of the property and the pool was facing away from any sunlight. Not only was it uncomfortably dark inside the cabins, the plunge pool was uncomfortably cold in spite of the September heat. It seems that all of the cabinas, except for those facing the ocean, are very dark. My friends’ jungle cabinas were. ||I needed more sunlight, so I asked to be upgraded to an oceanfront cabina. It is low-season, so they were able to accommodate me and made it very easy. Here’s where the maintenance issues, and lack of attention to detail, come in. ||There seems to be no awareness that they are in the jungle - which means there are A LOT OF BUGS! My first night in the oceanfront cabins I came to my room to go to bed and the bed was filled with ants. They came right away and changed the bedding , but I still woke-up the next morning covered in them. It was awful. I know that ants can get into places easily, but there are centimeter-wide gaps between the floor boards. You can see where the mortar (?)/ filler (?) came out and was never replaced. You can see all the way down to the ground. I’m actually surprised I didn’t have creepy crawlers in my cabinas.||The next day they moved me to a different cabina (still oceanfront), but this one had an inch-plus gap at the top of the front door, as well as gaps along the glass doors leading out to the patio. I was constantly smacking at mosquitoes. The tent material in both of the oceanfront cabinas was torn in places and the flaps over the “window” screens would not stay velcroed down, so they flapped and made constant noise because it’s windy by the ocean.||The outside bathroom concept is fine for the showers, but the outside toilets are not a good idea. This, we should have thought of when booking. We knew we were going to southern Mexico in the rainy season. But, my poor cousin’s toilet area was so filled with mosquitoes that she had to use the toilets by the restaurant. Mine wasn’t too bad, but it also wasn’t great. Overall, I just gave up on trying to prevent the mosquitoe bites and just ended up treating the bites. I’m covered :( ||The final piece of lack-of-maintenance that made a difference is that the overhead fans in the restaurant didn’t work. While the restaurant is outdoors, there’s not always an ocean breeze. Not only would these have made the dining experience more comfortable, but it also would have helped keep the mosquitoes and flies away. ||Speaking of mosquitoes, if you have respiratory issues, or just don’t like smoke, beware that they burn copal incense around the restaurant, bar, wellness center and center court/ yoga area. I THINK this is to keep the mosquitoes away. I liked the smell of the copal and didn’t mind it too much, but after a week at Our Habitas both my cousin and I have scratchy throats. We’re pretty sure it’s from all of the smoke.||Overall, I feel like Our Habitas, Tulum COULD BE a truly wonderful and relaxing experience. The staff on property works incredibly hard to create a unique and memorable experience for the guests. But the owner either is not paying attention or just doesn’t care enough to take care of the cabinas so that they are comfortable. ||I’m writing all of this not only to let people know what to expect, but also to hopefully let the ownership know that they need to take better care of cabinas. ||This will not be a place a stay in Tulum again, nor do I plan to try any of the other properties because the lack of care by the owners is just...

If you want a very unique vacation experience focused on being immersed in nature, wellness, and self-reflection without sacrificing modern luxury, then this is your resort. We loved staying here because Habitas Tulum differentiates itself from the pack - think the antithesis of mega hotel resorts with loud tourists, swim up bars, and icky cocktails in a plastic cup. At the same time (and I chuckle as I write this...) it's an Instagrammer/ Influencer's delight. You cannot take a bad photo of anything at Habitas Tulum because everything is picture perfect.

Service: From the moment we checked the service was exceptional. The restaurant team was friendly, and kind. The wellness staff were amazing - definitely book a treatment. It’s transformative. They use WhatsApp to communicate with you and always checked in daily and responded to inquiries quickly.

Activities: Definitely plan your day around the complimentary activities. We loved how the activities were closely tied to learning more about Mayan culture. We especially enjoyed the sound journey and it was exactly what you’d expect - a relaxing journey with native sounds, scents, and healing energy. The beach is well maintained quiet and private. You can enjoy seeing the colours of the sunset change over the sky and ocean. Simply breathtaking!

Food: Moro is a phenomenal restaurant - you could eat there all day every day and walk away happy every time. All the food was fresh, delicious and presented with flair. I loved trying a taste of different local spirits in the cocktails. The bar can make pretty much any cocktail you ask for if you prefer something that’s not on their cocktail menu. I also enjoyed the elixirs during the day - the Green and Ayurvedic were my favourites. The food menu can change based on what is fresh and available which means there is a lot of variety.

Accommodations: We had the joy of staying in the pool room and the ocean front room. We agree with the other reviewers that the ocean front room is the way to go. Especially because it’s a touch nicer and you can hear the sound of the waves gently coming ashore (not too loud and definitely puts you to sleep at night).

Every room has wifi, sliding glass doors, and an air conditioner so it’s not like you’re exposed to extreme heat or other elements. That is where the modern touches of the resort really help you stay comfortable even though you’re in an actual tent with a thatched roof. I loved the outdoor showers and body products as well.

While our pool room was lovely, temperature wise a lot cooler due to the trees providing shade, and quieter, the outdoor spaces behind the room vary compared to the photos on the site because our room didn’t have a hammock in the back. This is not to criticize - it's just something to consider when you book to set expectations. I’m really splitting hairs here when I write that because the design / intent of the rooms are exactly what they are supposed to be - lush luxury that feels aligned with the natural elements.

Note: There is a high chance you’ll see bugs, lizards, snails, monkeys, and racoons. Don’t let that deter you from booking though. It’s part of the joy of the experience.

Transport: We booked round trip airport service - suggest you do this as well. Everything you would want to explore in Tulum is really close to the resort so you don’t feel like you’re having to sacrifice time relaxing by the beach to go site seeing or sampling other local restaurants. There are taxis waiting in front of the resort. There are also complimentary bikes and a scooter rental that they can arrange.

Misc things: Bring local currency in cash, bug spray, and reef friendly sunscreen - though they will graciously let you use their bug spray if you need it and there is free sunscreen available near the beach and pool. Download WhatsApp in advance of booking if you don’t use it already. Complimentary purified water is provided in every room. Towels are provided by the beach. Grocery stores are nearby in case you need to buy snacks, drinks...

Before coming to Tulum, we started looking for a hotel nearly two months in advance. Since it was our first time visiting, we wanted to make sure we chose somewhere special—so we were very selective. Reviews, especially on Google, played a big role in our decision. In the end, the winner from all our shortlists was Our Habitas Tulum. Based on the price, the quality, and the ambiance, we were convinced from the reviews that it would give us a memorable experience—and it definitely did.

When we arrived, we were warmly welcomed by Diego at the reception. He was very kind and made sure everything was handled quickly. He then gave us a tour of the hotel, introduced us to our room, and provided us with helpful information. That completed our smooth check-in process.

On our first night, we decided to dine at the hotel restaurant—and it was an excellent choice. The food was amazing, especially the octopus, which I highly recommend. Throughout our six-day trip in Tulum, we tried octopus at various highly-rated places, but none of them matched the one here. It was truly exceptional.

The next morning, we had our first breakfast. It’s an à la carte menu, which felt a bit unusual at first coming from Europe, where we’re used to open buffets. But I can honestly say, I had some of the best breakfasts of my life here. The à la carte menu offers a wide variety of well-thought-out, filling, and delicious options. I don’t think you can find a better breakfast in all of Tulum. In conversations with other guests, everyone seemed especially happy with the breakfast too.

The overall atmosphere of the hotel is amazing—the bar is lovely, the pool area is very relaxing, and the infinity pool truly adds something magical. We didn’t even want to leave the pool.

One thing worth noting: we stayed in the first week of April, and as we learned, the sargassum season (seaweed) usually lasts until October or November starting from the beginnig of the year.This affects most of the Tulum coastline, so if you’re planning to visit during this time, don’t expect perfect ocean swimming conditions. The sea is often covered with seaweed, which does impact the experience. Still, after one evening of rain, we had one perfect beach day where the water was crystal clear and the white sandy beach was absolutely stunning. Outside the seaweed season, this bay must be paradise.

Some reviews mentioned the beach being small and not ideal, but we found that irrelevant—the sea was beautiful. And during sargassum season, it’s a natural issue that affects the entire coast, not just this hotel. There’s no real way to prevent it, although the hotel staff does their best to clear it.

Our room was also fantastic. I highly recommend booking an oceanfront room—it has a direct view of the ocean, and the sunrise from the balcony is breathtaking. The bed was incredibly comfortable, the pillows were amazing, and I had some of the best sleep of my life here.

Another highlight was the Sunday beach party, which was so much fun. If you’re in the hotel on a Sunday, don’t miss it! The hotel also has a weekly schedule of events. When we arrived on Thursday, they offered a mezcal tasting, where we tried three types of mezcal—it was such a fun and unique experience. For those interested in spiritual activities, there are great yoga and breathwork sessions as well.

In short, we definitely want to come back to Our Habitas. These six days were truly special for us. I’m actually writing this review as we’re checking out, and a part of us really doesn’t want to leave. Huge thanks to Diego at the front desk once again for all his help and warm communication. If you’re planning to visit Tulum, we highly recommend this hotel. Don’t think...