Maria Del Mar Tulum Boutique Hotel Review 

I have had my fair share of crazy Cancun nights and Playa del Carmen midnight parties, but something still brings me back to Mexico every year. And no, it’s not the tequila. JK, it is… but it’s also places like Maria del Mar that remind me how much I love it.

If you’re more up for the TL;DR version, scroll to the bottom.

About Tulum

If you’ve never heard of Tulum (I’d be shocked if you haven’t), it’s located on the Caribbean coastline of Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula. It has this bohemian, eco-chic, small-town vibe.

Tulum really was put on the map about a decade ago when high-end boutique hotels starting posting up shop along the beaches and world class DJs & celebrities would host all-night raves & parties. It’s less touristy than Cancun or Playa del Carmen but believe me, it’s still touristy.

Things have since developed & they even have their own small airport now. It still has that bohemian charm but it’s slowly fading as Tulum gets even more industrialized.

Art still has an established presence with many of the hotels and art installations being prime Instagram content. Tulum was made for content creators and I think that will always be true.

In Tulum, the larger, more popular hotels come at a price. Here’s some examples..

• Azulik ($500-$2700/night)

• Be Tulum ($600-$2000/night)

• Papaya Playa Project ($450-$1900/night)

• Casa Malca ($650-$1600/night)

Garden View rooms can even go for around $350-500. If you want a decent room with an ocean view (because hi, hello.. you’re in Mexico), you might be spending over $1000/night. Pretty expensive for some “bohemian small town.” And this ain’t the Montage.

After really digging, I found Maria Del Mar, an adults-only, beach-front boutique hotel.

Hotel Details

Clientele: Adults-Only, yes please!

Number of Rooms: 18

Wifi: Yes, across the entire property

Location: Just north of downtown Tulum, 5-7min cab ride to Downtown

Walkability: Highly walkable to shops, restaurants, bars – including Azulik Hotel next door

Dog Friendly: Yes, with additional fee

Drone Friendly: Yes, the rooms have large balconies perfect for take-off and the pool/beach area are also great locations to fly your drone! Just verify with hotel first.

Potential Social Media Content: Yes! Lots of great spots to get creative social content.. Pool area is perfect for that, as well the private swings overlooking the ocean

Vibe: Rustic Boho Chic

Amenities

• Has a Private Beach (away from the touristy crowds!)

• Great pool with cabanas & lounge chairs (no reservation required)

• Amazing restaurant on site called Mina

• Daily Beach Cleaning

• No physical “Spa” but they do offer Massages/Facials which can be done outside or in your room

• No gym

Oceanfront Penthouse Suite Room

The room I stayed in was the Oceanfront Penthouse Suite. It was located on the top Floor (3rd Level) and had both ocean & pool views… amazing. The room also had a balcony and a patio. That’s right, both!

The balcony overlooked the pool (as you can see from my featured picture above) and the patio featured a day bed and a jacuzzi with ocean views. The views and the outdoor spaces really made this room special. You can see Azulik Hotel from the patio (see small pic below).

Each room has a hotel safety deposit box for personal belongings. AC comes standard in all rooms and ours also had a powerful ceiling fan. The glass rain shower also had ocean views! In our room, we also had special beach towels, a beach bag and sun hat, which was complementary during your stay.

The best part of this room?

It’s not $2000 a night!

For 3 nights, the total cost came to $1500 and this is for an oceanfront, penthouse suite. If you’re traveling with a friend, this is even more doable if you split it 50/50. I booked our room through Booking.com because their prices seemed the most competitive.

Really any room above ground level will have a great view. If you have more than 2 people in your group, look into the Seaview Balcony Jr Suite which has two rooms, is wider and is located on the second floor. Booking.com does a great job listing all the available rooms with photos and descriptions.

Food & Drinks

Their restaurant on site was called Mina and the food was incredible. From the fresh squeezed juices and omelettes in the morning, to the ceviche and fish tacos for lunch… it all was really fresh. Drinks were fun, but could have been a little stronger.

You can eat inside, on their patio (as we did often) or even at their bar. We didn’t eat dinner at Mina because we wanted to check out Gitano & Hartwood, which are popular restaurants downtown.

They also have a great cocktail menu with really inventive drinks. We enjoyed a few of them poolside.

The Pool

Maria Del Mar has a beautiful L-Shaped pool. It’s pretty large for how small the property is. Every room has a great view of the pool and as you can see, it makes for some great pictures! The pool is surrounded by cabanas, hammocks and day beds.

The beach itself is not swimmable. Seaweed is a major issue up and down the coast of Tulum. Maria Del Mar does do daily beach cleanings to remove the seaweed but it’s a never ending battle. Because of this, you will spend most of your time in the pool.

Is Maria Del Mar Boutique or Busted?

It’s the perfect adults-only, beach front boutique hotel in Tulum. The location is convenient to many hotspots in Tulum but just far enough away that you can still enjoy some peace and quiet.

When booking travel, keep in mind that hurricane Season is Sept-Nov. For any first timers out there, Tulum is about an hour and half south of Cancun airport. You can rent a car, arrange transportation through the Hotel or book your own private transportation (which we did).

To learn more about Tulum, check out my Tulum Travel Guide for recommendations on where to eat and what to do and also read my Top 3 Cenotes to Visit in Tulum post.

Lastly, I would also love to know, have you been to Tulum? If so, what was the highlight of your trip? Hoping to make it back in 2025!