4 comments (Add your own)

1. Osomofo, Minnesota wrote:

I walked down the beach from Playa Azul and stumbled on to this gem. I initially stayed for 2 nights and every morning after I walked up to book another night promising to leave the next day. It turned into an 8 day stay. I met great people there and checked out many other cabanas during my stay but found nothing better for the price. Lu, is an extremely sincere and kind owner. I am a professional photographer and I can honestly say this place really got a hold of me. I may return as soon as next month. I can't get enough of this little piece of heaven.

March 20, 2009 @ 3:06 PM

2. Onthefork,NY wrote:

We'll be back again and again!
We just returned from 2+ weeks at Retiro Maya and to be brief, it simply could not have been better. We rented the 3 bedroom house that is part of the place and put our au pair in one of the cabanas. The facilities were great, far superior to the house we rented last year. The location is superb, on the best part of one of the best beaches in the world. But what really makes it special is the people who comprise Retiro Maya. Their warmth made us feel like part of the family. This clearly stems from the owner, Senora Lu, who was a wonderful hostess. Her daughter, Erika, was always helpful and wore a genuine smile. Everyone went out of their way to make us feel at home and to enhance our stay. They bought a car for our 2 year old to ride around in and a kite for our boys to fly. Our kids had a special experience and came to refer to the staff as their friends. The cleaning staff arranged their daily visits around our daughter's nap time. When we needed a new bottle for the water cooler, it was there within minutes. I was surprised to see that there were some negative reviews of late. I can only guess that people were not prepared for a rustic experience in Mexico--after all, Florida it is not (thankfully from our standpoint). Yes, it does take a couple of minutes for the hot water to go on and once or twice we had to shower in water that was just warm. As for the restaurant, I can only assume that anyone who wrote anything negative hasn't been there in recent weeks, because the new chef, aptly named Joy, is a talented, passionate and kind 21 year old from Tijuana who trained to cook in California and is turning out great stuff, including the best salads we've had in Mexico. It is not cheap, but no more expensive than other restaurants on the beach and less than some. For cheap, go to the pueblo and eat at great tacquerias for $4 a person. But we had some fine meals here and really appreciated the special meals they cooked for our kids. And the bar is not necessarily part of the long-term plan of the place, as it was supposed to be a yoga studio/meeting space. But when all the groups who had booked it canceled, the owner, who is after all in business, converted it. And it is a great bar, with an excellent variety of live music 5 nights a week. Retiro Maya may not be for everyone, but for those who seek a beautiful, rustic location with incredibly warm, friendly service and a relaxing vibe, you will love it.

March 20, 2009 @ 3:15 PM

3. CozyKozo,Cancun wrote:

My boyfriend and I just came back from a lovely weekend there. It was like being in paradise, definitly is one of the most beautiful beaches all around the world: white and soft sand, great warm turqoise blue ocean, superb weather, peace, relax, and fun.
Lu is the owner and manager and she gives every guest nothing but the best. There is a great bar with live music and delicius Margaritas. The room was fantastic, rustic, but comfortable, hot water, and sleeping with the ocean sound is a fantastic experience.The food was also great, try the chilaquiles...best in town. My boyfriend and I definitly will return to this magic place.

March 20, 2009 @ 3:26 PM

4. Katie and Courtney wrote:

My friend and I, did not stay at Retiro Maya for the night, we dinned there and had a blast listening to Jocque and Adrian, who are fantastic jazz players. Having drinks at Retiro Maya and making new friends was the highlight of my trip to Tulum. Chou was a excellant bartender too. Joy, who had great advice on traveling and life, was a pleasure to talk too, and one of the nicest people. All the people at Retiro Maya are fantastic and i hope to come back soon!

April 14, 2009 @ 11:55 AM

5. Laboni Rahman wrote:

*Read the original comment posted on Trip Advisor

We LOVED Retiro Maya.

The location is... in a word: paradise. The beach is pristine, with sand soft as cotton and waters warm as your spit (that really is the best description for the water temp) and ever-changing in its shade of blue. One of my favorite things was watching the clouds morph throughout the day.

The rooms are great -- rustic, cozy, intimate. Without doubt, we had the best room on the beach, with nothing between out front porch and the ocean except that soft-as-cotton sand. Obviously, you don't have all the amenities of a 5 start resort in Cancun, but if you did want that, you'd go there. The night-time breeze through your cabana is far more luxurious than an AC.

The staff was warm and friendly. My Spanish is still in its developing stages but we had very little trouble communicating -- they were THAT nice. The restaurant fantastic. We only ate there once because we wanted to explore as much of Tulum as we could ( and because we preferred beer and tequila for breakfast) but the night we did, bf had the biggest lobster he's had in his life. Yum.

Finally. The owner, her daughter and her dog, are fantastic. They were tremendously accommodating of our fear of commitment and let us book two nights to start, at the week-long rate. We thought we might want to check out other resorts to get the most of Tulum but we ended up staying for the whole week. The owner was even kind enough to loan us her camera charger and spare battery; and offered some much appreciated guidance when bf and I got into a big silly fight (who fights in paradise? apparently, we do.)

I especially appreciated the owner's honesty about her resort -- she warned us, very matter-of-factly, that theft is not terribly uncommon and gave us tips to keep our belongings safe. In addition, the resident guard dog, a gorgeous golden lab (I think), named Luna, checked in on us in the mornings and periodically throughout the day to make sure all was good.

In sum: we have endless praise and not a single complain of our stay at Retiro Maya. I was a little surprised by the reviews I've heard but, well, maybe like most things in life, its about fit. Retiro Maya was exactly what we were looking for -- a cozy little getaway, submerged in luxurious natural beauty.

Oh! and with awesome nightlife at a resort just a walk on the beach away....

July 7, 2009 @ 9:06 PM

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