Kore Tulum Retreat and Spa Resort — Hotel in Tulum

My husband and I just returned from our 7 day all-inclusive vacation at Kore Tulum. This is going to be a long review but I feel it is necessary given that I had read quite a few mixed reviews before booking our trip. My husband and I have been working steadily for the last year and a half and REALLY needed a vacation where we could reconnect in a quiet, relaxing adult only environment. We have never been to Tulum so I thought we would give Kore a chance as it was further south than we have ever been. To say that this resort met our expectations would be an understatement! When we arrived at the resort we were greeted with a welcome drink, and a nice young man helped us to our room with our bags. Our room was very clean and large. I had read some reviews that had stated that the resort and rooms were out of date I beg to differ. Our room was very clean it had a beautiful, fully tiled walk-in shower, large patio and a Jacuzzi tub with an amazing garden view. The tub does take a while to fill give yourself at least half an hour, but we had plenty of hot water and we really enjoyed relaxing with the jets and the bottle of champagne chilling next to our tub. Before we booked, I had read and expected to only have Wi-Fi in certain areas, this has, however, changed, and you have complimentary Wi-Fi THROUGHOUT the resort, including in the daybeds near the ocean. I can’t say enough good things about this resort when we arrived, they were not at full capacity, so it felt like we had the place to ourselves, we never had an issue getting a daybed or a lounging chair by the pool or beach. Even as more people arrived, it never felt busy or over crowded. We spent a couple of days just tanning, reading and napping in the daybeds as they were very private and comfortable. We never had to wait long for a drink or a snack. The service was outstanding. 75% of the meals were full service, plated meals the other 25% were buffets, we did not have one meal or snack that we did not fully enjoy. The food was excellent anything from fresh seafood, authentic Mexican and one night they had an outdoor buffet with a huge selection of salads, Barbecued salmon (delicious), steak (delicious) or chicken and a selection of desserts. Every evening they had a crepe bar set up with someone who would make you you a fresh and delicious crepe with your choice of fillings/toppings. The the service was exceptional, we tipped especially at any of the plated meals and to the bar tender in the lounge, a lot of times they would bring us a refill before we even asked. We were able to get drinks from early in the morning until late in the evening and the drinks always left us with a buzz. There was entertainment staff during the day to play water volleyball with or to run an aqua exercise class if you chose to participate. The shows in the evening were very entertaining. If you’re looking for pounding music and foam parties, you won’t find it here. But we heard that there are clubs very close to the resort (not what we were looking for). We got everything that we wanted from this holiday, a relaxing, stress/kid free zone, with delicious food and beverages and a comfortable sleep every night. The location is wonderful and even though the property is oceanfront with amazing views of the the sunrise and ocean, they do not have a long white sandy beach, however there is white sand with beach chairs where you can lounge all day with beautiful views and sounds of the ocean right in front of you. However, they do have bikes that you can use for free and less than five minutes away is a beautiful beach that you can run on for miles , or play in the waves for hours. We used the bikes often and loved how close we were to little shops and beaches. My husband and I both have aviation and customer service backgrounds and we travel a LOT! We 100% recommend this resort. Thank you for this...

Kore Tulum is the least inclusive "all-inclusive" resort I have been to and lacks the good quality customer service required to be in the hospitality industry. I’ve just returned from my 2-night stay at Kore Tulum and I wish I had read the 1-star reviews before booking here. I hope this review can bring light to those looking to book here in the future or for their staff to recognize that serious changes need to be made. As a guest at the all-inclusive resort, I expected a level of service that aligns with the standards of a reputable establishment. Unfortunately, my experience fell far short of those expectations.

Inadequate Water Bottle Supply: Kore Tulum's approach to providing water bottles is both stingy and potentially hazardous to guests' health. In the room, only two water bottles are initially provided and the water bottles are not replenished during daily housekeeping. At the onsite restaurant, servers are limited to offering tap water and are not allowed to serve water bottles during your meal, despite the well-known caution against consuming Mexican tap water. There is a tap water dispenser in SOME of the buildings' hallway/common areas but our building did not have this (nor did the building that was right next to ours). When I called the front desk for some water bottles around midnight, the response I received was both dismissive and lacked empathy. The front desk attendee on the line suggested I find a water source on my own by walking in the dark to the other buildings throughout the resort or to wait until 7 am and call room service again for water bottles to be brought to us. This is simply unacceptable given this is an all-inclusive resort, given the heat of Mexico, and the mentioned tap water issue.

Shower and Maintenance Issues: We notified the front desk attendee that our shower was making a loud abrupt noise when in use and that the water pressure was low. We showed him video proof. The front desk then scoffed at us but mentioned he would send maintenance over. Maintenance never came out that weekend as promised, and the problem persisted the entire weekend. We continued to use the shower with low pressure or at times no water. The loud noise continued the entire weekend.

Darkness: There is dim lighting or no lighting outside of the buildings.If you needed to walk from building to building to search for a water dispenser, or your friends in other buildings, guests would be walking in near pitch-black outdoor walkways.

Room Service Challenges: There is an added $120 daily fee for all-inclusive food and service. Room services ends at 11 PM and begins again at 7 AM. You will run into issues like the water issue above. Additionally, it took almost an hour for food to get to the room.

Subpar Food Quality: The all-inclusive menu is limited and the food quality was terrible. The pancakes tasted like chemicals. The plantains' texture was rubbery. The fries were stale. We ordered chicken wings and they only provided 3 pieces. The dessert lacked flavor but was pretty. Only the steak ciabatta sandwich is good. Not to mention there is only one restaurant for the entire resort.

Delayed Email Responses: Communication with the front desk via email prior to my arrival was frustratingly slow. It took five days to receive a response regarding a transportation inquiry. Kore Tulum's lack of responsiveness is evident both in person and via email.

These are only the issues that I experienced at this establishment. My tripmates experienced other issues including theft. The issues highlighted above collectively create an unsatisfactory experience that is inconsistent with the expectations of an all-inclusive resort. I strongly urge others to read the reviews before booking and to opt for better choices...

Overall: 3.5 / 5 stars

Food: 4/5 Drinks: 3/5 Service: 3/5 Amenities & included activities: 4/5

Comfortable rooms with nice amenities -- our room had a porch with water view, large shower and separate jacuzzi bath, two sinks, king bed, couch, desk, fridge. Would recommend they install small safes in the rooms to stash passports and money with more peace of mind, but nothing went walkabout from our room.

The first night we got there, there was an electricity issue which meant the room ACs had not worked for the last two nights. The room ceiling fan was not enough to make it comfortable for sleeping, so I really feel for those who were there for those nights without AC! I sincerely hope they asked for and got disconnected rates for those nights. We went to the air-conditioned lobby around 10pm and found many other guests there as well, escaping the humidity and also concerned about the lack of AC in their rooms. It became essentially a half hour sit-in until the problem was fixed. Fortunately it was, and we had AC in the room throughout the stay.

The pool is beautiful and the perfect temperature. It is well designed, with built in seats and spots to lie down. The swim up bar is fun! They have daily events and activities, such as morning yoga overlooking the ocean and afternoon volleyball in the pool. There is a gym with cardio equipment, free weights, sweat towels, and (if you're down to brave nonbottled water) fruit-infused water. We drank nonbottled water a couple times at the resort and did not have any issues, but for the most part the water we ordered and drank was bottled.

Gratuity is included with the cost of the room, but we could tell it was appreciated when we tipped, and we would for any outstanding service we had, which happened a few times, especially the bartending! In hindsight, I would have brought more small bills for tipping more liberally.

The wifi is very very poor. Do not expect to be able to stay connected with work here. Expect to unplug and relax! It took a long time to download any files, and streaming and zoom did not work. The included wifi is in the lobby and adjacent bar area only. If we wanted wifi in the room, it was $18/day and, for the one day we tried it, not better quality than the free lobby wifi.

The drinks were fine -- one (unknown) lager on tap, house red and white wines, and various spirits. No matter what kind of mixed drink you order, from a tequila sunrise to an old fashioned, they all pretty much tasted the same. There is also no drink menu, so you need some imagination to come up with other things to try besides strawberry daiquiri, piña colada, and marg. By the end of the trip, we found it best to order a drink by specifying the ingredients we wanted and then varying one or two to try something new. It is very likely the liquor is watered down, as given the amount we drank one day, we expected to but didn't feel awful the next day.

The food was for the most part slightly above average, which is what I would say is fair to expect for a nice, all-inclusive resort. There were a few dishes that were disappointing and some that were amazing, and while the variety introduced by having a rotating theme each night was fun, the Mexican themed night by far had the best food. I say lean into what you already do well, and people don't, or at least shouldn't, come to Mexico for the spaghetti.

We did not utilize the free shuttle to the beach, as the pool was refreshing enough and the resort is located on the coast -- even though the location is not safe for swimming, it is absolutely gorgeous. The seaside cabanas allow relaxing in shade by the water, hearing the waves, and depending on which cabana you're in, you even feel the ocean spray! Truly one of the most relaxing mornings I...