TAGO Tulum — Hotel in Tulum

TAGO came highly recommended by a friend. Unfortunately, our experience wasn't as great as theirs was and in our opinion, we paid 5-star prices for a 3-star experience.

The hotel grounds are small but very nice. It's located about a mile or so from the "party" area so you aren't bothered with loud music throughout the night and the hotel has a relaxing vibe. The rooms are big and absolutely beautiful. Definitely high on the list of most aesthetically pleasing hotel rooms I've stayed in. We had a partial ocean view on the second floor. It had great views, large sliding glass doors, large rainwater shower, and a deck with a plunge pool. The hotel's beach area was small, but there weren't many guests so that wasn't an issue. They brushed most of the seaweed away each morning, had lounge chairs, cabanas, and provided games and footballs for the guests to play with. There was a small beach bar where you could order drinks and on one of the days they came around with popsicles for the guests. There was a sauna, steam room, and gym, but the gym was very small so we didn't use it. The "pool" looked more like a small above-ground pond and I didn't see anyone use it. Also, the plunge pools that come with the room aren't heated and are quite cold even on a hot day as they are shaded by the roof so we couldn't really enjoy it, which was a bummer because of the seaweed problem/the plunge pool was one of the main reasons we booked the room.

We arrived around 6pm and were greeted by staff. They gave us a tour and a welcome drink. After the tour, they seemed to be stalling a bit because our room wasn't ready, which we found a bit surprising since it was almost 6:30pm by then. We waited about 5-10 more minutes. We got to the room and decided to take a quick beach walk before coming back to order room service - we just traveled 9hrs to get to Tulum so we were exhausted. When we went to leave for our walk our door wouldn't lock from the outside. We called down and they sent someone up and fixed it (~10 mins), but unfortunately, after it was fixed our room's deadbolt wouldn't work...we shrugged it off as we were too tired to deal with it. We ordered room service and when it was delivered we asked to charge it to the room, but we were told that we would have to set up a line of credit. We thought that was kind of weird for being a "luxury" hotel and wished this was mentioned at check-in so we could have done it then...and the wifi password - we had to call down for that too. We also wished we were told about the 15% gratuity that is included in every order because we were stressed that we weren't tipping enough and on the last day of our trip we found out it was included the whole time. At check-in we were told that they would negotiate the taxi fair for us...so our first taxi ride we didn't ask for the price upfront and were hit with a $40 fee for a 1.2 mile drive to dinner...we learned the hard way that they definitely do not negotiate the taxi price for you and its a far walk to restaurants and other hotels so walking wasn't really an option most nights. The next day we didn't have running water sporadically throughout the day and this persisted throughout our entire stay, which was really annoying - our sinks, showers, and toilet were out of commission on and off without warning. Dishes from room service the night before weren't taken away until around 4pm the following day and there was another instance after our room was serviced they sat our empty margarita glasses outside our room on the ledge where they stayed for another full day and night until we brought them down to the kitchen ourselves. They never replaced the coffee pods in our rooms. The food isn't great and is overpriced and I echo the other comments about the breakfast. The service was inconsistent and subpar (except for Noah - he was great).

This hotel has so much potential to be great, but fell short in important areas that allow a vacation to be a...

I have a lot to say about our stay at Tago, so I will break it down into experience, aesthetics, food, and service. Our arrival to Tulum was delayed one day due to a personal emergency. When we informed the hotel, they were quick to respond that they cannot accommodate us to stay a day longer, while that was not at all mentioned in our message informing them that we'd arrive Tuesday rather than Monday. Not a huge deal, just miscommunication, but it wasn't the warmest of exchanges you'd expect from a hospitality company. We arrived later that Tuesday evening, around 8pm and checked in to our Oceanview room. We were exhausted from the emergency the days prior and from traveling that day. It wasn't until the next day that we realized the mess outside of our room. Apparently, they were doing work in the room next door and left dead palm, ropes, and even a ladder outside our door and on the path leading up. After we did parkour to get out of our room, we returned to discover that our room key did not work. When my husband went to inform the concierge that it wasn't working, they disregarded him and told him it worked. He came back and it still was not working. I went down immediately after and informed them that we were locked out of our room. They had two men come to try to fix it. Ultimately, it was beyond their repair and we were informed that a locksmith needed to come. They kept us waiting for hours until they came back and announced we were being upgraded to the Oceanfront room. We never requested to be upgraded, just for a fully functioning room that we paid for, but okay. As we had to pack and move, we finally felt like we could move about our day without waiting on something from the hotel (5pm). We walked along the beach and got massages. We returned around 6:30pm to find that our water (including toilet) was not working. I called the concierge and the gentleman at the time explained that the power went out a few moments before that, and the water took a few minutes to come back. We didn't get our hot water to shower until 8pm. This affected the reservations we had for dinner. So, instead of losing 1 day from our vacation, we lost two, thanks to Tago. The aesthetics of Tago are beautiful when you aren't placed in a room next to construction. The rooms are large, spacious, and clean. Ironically gives a zen-like vibe, although the experience we had the beginning few days stressed us out. The views from both oceanfront and Oceanview rooms were beautiful, even with the current seaweed issue that Tulum is having. The service at Tago was adequate and nothing else. The only memorable staff member at the hotel was server Bruno. He was helpful and nice. Betty, the manager, actually pretended as if she wasn't the manager when we checked out and I brought up all the complaints I had. In addition to trying to insult my intelligence by pretending to be someone she wasn't (said she was not the manager, but would go speak with them-- later to return as if she consulted with someone). She lacked compassion and empathy. Not once during our stay did she as the manager check up on us, knowing that we were off to a rough start. We dined each morning at Tago as free breakfast is one of their highlights. Free continental breakfast includes American coffee, juice, toast, a croissant and muffin, and fruit plate. Anything outside of that is an additional cost. The breakfast was okay and their coffee was amazing. We also had dinner there the first night when we arrived. The food was nothing exceptional, though I do think it was priced reasonably. All in all, Tago is beautiful. However, a lot of their facilities were barely functional during our short stay. It was also one of the least hospitable hotels we've ever stayed in. With the saturated and competitive hotel market in Tulum, I would encourage visitors to look elsewhere. I would not recommend Tago based on our less...

Where to start.. we were greeted by Frida on the front desk who was extremely welcoming and friendly. She went above and beyond to ensure we were comfortable and provided us with a complimentary and much needed beverage upon arrival. She provided a tour of the hotel which was astounding and answered any queries we had of Tulum and the hotel, we couldn’t have asked for more. She’s also named after Frida Kahlo which makes her even more unforgettable.

The hotel itself was a paradise in the jungle yet connected so close to the beach it was like nothing I’ve experienced before. Our room had a small private swimming pool right outside our back doors which was nicely discreet and separated from other guests.

There was a ‘smoking room’ which contained a pool table and shisha if requested but as a non smoker I found it was much less a smoking room and more a relaxing room to chill, put on music of your choice and set the air conditioning to your liking. The room was staff free and you felt as if it was your own dining room rather than feeling pressured to pay for any amenities. It was completely empty of all staff and other guests and I couldn’t understand why but wouldn’t complain about - please keep this as it was an added bonus.

We received a small cake/dessert each night which was a beautifully unexpected way to end each night, a lovely touch from the hotel which made you feel welcome and special.

Each morning and evening there was a message imprinted in the sand outside our door which again was a great way to feel welcomed and cared for. All of the small touches made a big difference. They offer a small gym which we unfortunately didn’t use but nonetheless is always a nice option if you wake up energetic.

I want to give a huuuuge shout out to Bruno (aka scarface, Mr Tony Montana himself) he sounded exactly as the film. Never change BRUNO! Bruno’s service at breakfast and dinner was exemplary - a true gentleman, always happy to assist with any requests we had as well as very engaging. We had a great conversation with him about all sorts of topics which was more as friends than any sort of service could provide. I hope you enjoy Australia brother. G’day mate!

I noticed a lot of negative reviews regarding the complimentary continental breakfast before booking with this hotel and although it wasn’t anything to write home about, it was more than enough to start your day off with some pastries, toast, yoghurt and museli as well as endless coffee and juice, I’d highly recommend the orange juice which was prepared freshly squeezed daily. But do not expect an endless buffet - they do offer additional breakfast menu at additional cost which my wife enjoyed the banana waffles which like everything else with our stay was way above average.

As a side note regarding our entire stay in Mexico the service appears slow but in hindsight this is because all food is prepared freshly and therefore takes time - it is always worth the wait.

I wish you all the best every single staff member at Tago. The turn down service each day/night was fantastic - I don’t know when they turned up but they done a great job, very discreet which is what you want. Thanks for a lovely stay!

I hope this helps you make up your mind on where to stay in Tulum as well as bring your expectations into reality. You will need some form of transport to get around - we hired a quad bike which although we were apprehensive at first, the Mexican drivers are very...