Tulum hotels tend to be rustic, with few of the creature comforts that beachside vacationers might be expecting like electricity. (Bring a flashlight in case the generators fail). Still, when it comes to ambience, many claim the area's unique seaside cabanas are some of the best accommodations of the Riviera. There are also a handful of options away from the shore in Tulum Pueblo.

• Tulum is off the grid, and all hotels run on generators and windmills; water is desalinated seawater or rainwater (rinse your toothbrushes in the bottled water the hotels provide), and toilet paper goes in the garbage, not the toilet. There are no televisions. Some hotels have ceiling fans and mosquito nets; many don't." -- New York Times
• "Tulum's taxi drivers have a reputation for denying the existence of hotels that don't pay them commission; if you have planned on a particular hotel, insist on being taken there." -- Rough Guides

Tulum Pueblo

You can get a great daily rate at the hotels of Tulum Pueblo, but some wouldn't recommend it. The area is southwest of both the ruins and the shore, and you'll probably have a more well-rounded and comfortable stay in the pricier Zona Hotelera.

Still, staying in Tulum Pueblo will put you near the boutiques of Avenida Tulum Principal, as well as a few kitschy-cool bars and cafés perfect for breaking the beach monotony.

• Tulum Pueblo used to be quite dumpy, but now has many small cafés, cool restaurants, and more and better hotels. … A beachside cabaña will always be the most appealing place to stay, of course, but staying in town is no longer the huge step down that it was." -- Moon Travel Guides

Zona Hotelera

This area just east of Tulum Pueblo is moving away from rustic toward ritzy, or as Moon Travel Guides notes, "the prices have long since gone through the palapa roof." The Zona Hotelera's convenience to the ruins, beach and Sian Ka'an Biosphere make its hotels more popular than the cheaper options in town; plus it boasts a trump card: spas. Cabana resorts like the Cabañas Copal have them on the premises.

• Be an exhibitionist and have a massage at Ocho Tulum … one of the newer so-called eco-resorts (a meaningless but oft-deployed marketing phrase here, as all the hotels are off the grid and run on wind power and generators)." -- New York Times