Why you shouldn’t stay at the Azulik Tulum – My honest review
It’s probably THE most famous hotel in Tulum: The Azulik is known for it’s boho chic design and eco friendly concept. But what is it really like to stay in the most insta famous hotel in Tulum.. and probably whole Mexico? This is my honest review about our stay at the Azulik Tulum OR “Why you shouldn’t stay at the Azulik in Tulum”….
The first impression
After visiting the Azulik hotel already two years ago, when we just came for dinner in their famous restaurant Kin Toh and got treated like “second-class guests”, we thought that the experience would probably be a lot better if you’re an actual guest that stays at the hotel. So we gave the Instagram famous hotel another chance and regularly booked a room. But oh.. How little did we know.
The Check In process went smoothly: We left our car with the valet service & we got escorted to the room. We walked over bamboo steps and crossed suspension bridges. I was so excited to finally see the whole hotel with my own eyes and of course to see the rooms!
The rooms – Back to nature… or not?
We stayed in a Jungle villa which reminded me of a tree house with a cool eco chic design – just like I expected it. But when we entered the room I was surprised that it was very hot & humid inside. I was looking for the button to turn on the AC but the guy who escorted us to our room was like “oh no.. we don’t have one.. it doesn’t fit our eco philosophy” – “Okay..” I thought “…If that’s their concept than this makes sense”. But due to the missing AC the mattress and pillows in the bed are always in a very humid surrounding and honestly I felt like our bed was a bit stinky… Later I also realized that we just had ONE power outlet in the whole room and NO electric lights. Instead you find candles in your room. They are nice for a romantic evening but don’t light up the room after sunset at all, so we used our phone flashlight instead…
Additionally you won’t find a bathroom with a shower. Instead they put a small tub around the corner of the bedroom with a coconut shell to put the water over your body by hand. Very much back to nature! But what didn’t fit the whole eco concept at all was that the bottled water for guests have plastic caps and that all amenities like shower gel and shampoo come in small single use plastic bottles – which you barely find in any four or five star hotels anymore these days. Especially not in the eco friendly ones! I mean – you don’t have electric lights cause it’s “too bad for the environment” but you exchange these small plastic bottles DAILY?
The terrace was my favorite part of the villa
The Bedroom
The tub to wash
The nonexistent Guest Service
Mexican people in general are extremely kind and welcoming but the staff at the Azulik in Tulum has been mostly arrogant and unfriendly. It’s like Guest Service doesn’t really exist at this hotel.
The first time we noticed that was when we were taking pictures of the hotel area for our blog. Seeing a “professional camera” (Which means at the Azulik: Everything which is no Phone) puts the staff into panic mood. The security guard who spotted us told us to follow him to the reception just as we were criminals. The receptionist told us to show him our camera in a very rude way and said that it’s forbidden to take any “professional photos” in the hotel. “Our website clearly says that cameras are forbidden – just as the sign right at the entry! If you wanna use your camera you have to pay a daily fee of 350,- USD!” The sign he was talking about was a tiny wooden symbol somewhere in the reception which you can barely see and WHO checks the hotel website for special rules before checking in?
The “different” sunset experience
What makes the Azulik in Tulum so photogenic are the nests on top of the roofs of the restaurant which offer an incredible view over the resort and the ocean – especially during sunset. Therefore all new arriving guests are welcomed to enjoy a sunset cocktail in one of these nests. I was so excited about it.. cause last time – as restaurant guests – we weren’t allowed to enter them.
Arriving at the staircase which leads up to the roof a security guard escorted us to one of the nests which was already quite packed and at the very side of the resort – overlooking the construction side next to the hotel instead of offering a nice view. “Oh.. that’s not where we wanna spend the sunset” we thought and walked to one of the other nests which was connected to ours via a suspension bridge. It was a way bigger one with a bar and the most amazing view over the resort. But as soon as we sat foot on the connecting bridge we heard: “Stop! You’re not allowed to go! Only for VIP’s” from the security guard. Totally baffled we went back and thought “hmm maybe it’s a closed event or only for guests of the highest room categories” But I noticed another staff member selling tickets right under the nests and went to her to ask why we were not allowed to watch the sunset from this particular nest even though we are hotel guests. “Oh… this area is not for hotel guests…” she said “..it’s for people which don’t stay with us but buy a ticket for 50,- USD for one hour to experience our sunset cocktails” – “So I can’t go there as a hotel guest who paid almost a thousand dollar per night?” – “No. You have to get a ticket as well”…..
How we imagined the Sunset Nest Experience…
vs. the reality of our view…
…and where you had to pay an extra fee to get in.
the last straw that broke the camel’s back
After this unpleasant experience we decided to eat dinner outside of the hotel. The Azulik has a valet service for the cars of all guests since there are no parking lots right in front of the hotel. We experience this kind of service in many other hotels before and it’s never been a problem: You just call the reception around 10 Minutes prior you need your car and they bring it to the entrance for you. So of course we called the reception to get our car. A lady answered the phone and told me that she would connect me with the guest service instead. Okay. Two rings and an automated voice told me “We are currently busy. Try again later.” And hung up. But we really needed our car, so I tried to call again – the same happened. 5 mins later – again. So I tried to call the lady from the reception one more time but she didn’t answer anymore – I just got the same automated voice that told me to try again later! And Remember… you’re in a 5 star hotel – the most expensive one in Tulum – and no one answers the phone several times in a row? Usually we wouldn’t freak out about it but after making all these unpleasant experiences it was just the last straw that broke the camel’s back.
An Unwanted Wake Up Call
Tulum nights known for beach parties and often staying up until the early morning hours. So we were very much looking forward to sleep a bit longer the next morning after celebrating into our birthday the night before. But suddenly – 6 am – I was standing in my bed after hearing a loud horn blowing. Do yo remember the nest from the sunset experience? Oh… they have a sunrise yoga experience there too! People were chatting and they put on some music right above all the rooms in the resort. And let me tell you that wooden rooms aren’t very well acoustically isolated.. I felt like these people have been standing right in front our room. After ONE HOUR and when the sun has been risen completely they blew into the horn several more times and this was probably when EVERYONE in the resort woke up.
I don’t know if they have this sunrise event happening every day or just at certain days but I felt like it is so rude to wake up everyone in the resort to do something quiet and relaxing as yoga? Why don’t you do it at the beach? Why do you need to play loud music? And why the hell do you have to blow into this god damn horn???
RÉSUMÉ – Is the Azulik Tulum worth the hype?
Hell NO! I’ve never experienced anything like this before!!! We were so lucky that we only stayed for one night and didn’t waste our money to be treated unwanted and disrespectful any longer. The Azulik definitely has an eye catching design and is super photogenic. But what’s the point if you don’t allow guests to take pictures and if you don’t give your own guests access to the best spots in the hotel?
I know this isn’t my usual hotel review and normally I’m not that kind of person which complains about everything but PLEASE don’t waste your money at the Azulik Tulum and please spread this message to make more people aware of it! After sharing our experience in my stories on Instagram I got sooo many messages of people which made similar and even worse experiences at the Azulik which totally ruined their stay in Tulum 🙁
There are so many other amazing hotels in the area which have a REAL eco friendly concept, nice boho designs and which truly care about the well-being of their guests: Like the NOMADE or the COCO Tulum which we absolutely loved!
Imani
So sad that this was your experience especially because it seems that you treat people with respect! Hopefully they do better as more people stay with them and have this same experience.
voyagefox
Hi Imani, Thanks for your comment 🙂 It was really so disappointing especially cause we had very high expectations! I really hope so too – if they continue treating all guests like this then no one will book a stay with them anymore at some point!
carrie
Thanks for this post we were planning to stay there next weekend but we will pass based on this review!
Bruna
👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
I always appreciate honest reviews. It must have felt terrible to throw away your money, even worst on a special date…
voyagefox
Hey Bruna, Thanks for the feedback! After having such a disappointing stay there I decided that I just HAD to share it so hopefully other people will read it before considering booking a night!
Adri-Ann Brown
Oh what a disappointment ! This has been on my bucket list forever.
Perhaps try out Azulik lodge Mozambique…..no affiliation to Azulik Tulum but we had the most amazing experience there.
voyagefox
Thank you for the recommendation! Will definitely check it out 🙂
Amelie
wow that’s a really useful review , I was waiting to read it as I always planned to stay at the Azulik next time I would visit . Definetly won’t go there now .
Many thanks !
voyagefox
Hey Amelie, I’m happy to hear you found this useful 🙂 For us it also has been such a bucket list hotel we really wanted to tick off our list but now we wish we would have stayed at another hotel for our birthday. Tulum has soo many cool hotels & it’s just the Azulik which treats their guests like this! They really must change their behavior and concept or I guess at some point people won’t book a stay with them anymore!
Nika
Wow, so sorry you had such a bad experience. Thank you for sharing this, it was very helpful.
April Youngs
Did you not realize it’s an ECO resort?? The lack of power outlets and electricity for the sea turtles among other things. Artificial lights are no good for them. I LOVE that they don’t have electricity and hate that it’s too expensive to stay there now. Sounds like you should just stay at a resort in Cancun next time.
voyagefox
Hello April, Thanks for your comment! Yes sure I unterstand and I love the idea too but they are really inconsequent with their ‘Eco Concept’ with (almost) no electricity on the one hand but mini single use plastic bottles for shampoo, body lotion, etc. on the other hand which I find even more harming for the nature and wildlife. Don’t get me wrong – I love that more and more hotels and resorts finally start going in a sustainable direction but I found this fact at the Azulik very confusing. But what I didn’t like the most was how they treat their paying guests…
WG
I understand why these pretentious eco-IGable
Resorts attract a lot of social sheeps…I’was actually planning to stay w the them BUT the photography policy and Adult-only rules is what discouraged my family. Instead, we travelled to Bali where you’ll experience way much better hospitality on top notch 4-5star eco lodges and top tier guest services. Tulum was NOT, the Old fishing Mexican village what it used to be. isla Holbox is starting to become like that as we
Speak. Happy Travels.
Steve
hehe…most like I will never visit this area let alone this place, but just to let you know this article has made it into the Australian main stream media.
I had to search for it to see what the big issue was and geee…..how these people can survive in the cut-throat hospitality industry with such bad service? Or is it what “Instafamous” means? They just create a few flashy photos and than rip off the guests coming in droves?
I hope you will have better luck with the other places next time.
voyagefox
Hey Steve, Thanks for the comment! Yeah this experience has been AWFUL – this hotel can clearly just survive because it’s so “photogenic”. If only everyone would know that it is barely possible to take any photos here…
Deniz
We stayed here for our honeymoon. I had to chase the hotel about 5 times via email because they never returned our hold deposit of £432 British pound nearly 2 months after check out. The hotel only responded when I said I’m going to report them to booking.com for stealing deposit money. They then said they will look into it and returned our money a further 2 weeks later.. No explanation – no apology. A further irritation was how distressed the waitress became when we gave her a 10% tip and not the minimum 15% she asked for (btw this was a VERY EXPENSIVE bland meal so 10% tip was generous). We were passive aggressively pressured to increasing our tip because apparently she could get questioned by the manager if we give less than 15%… We didn’t leave feeling “spiritual” at all which is what Azulik markets of.
Deniz
We stayed here for our honeymoon. I had to chase the hotel about 5 times via email because they never returned our hold deposit of £432 British pound nearly 2 months after check out. The hotel only responded when I said I’m going to report them to booking.com for stealing deposit money. They then said they will look into it and returned our money a further 2 weeks later.. No explanation – no apology.
voyagefox
Omg wow…. that’s insane!
Regent Labrosse
Stayed for 4 nights , they have this very special talent to make you feel not welcome ( marketing strategy ?) , bedsheets and towels are old and more like the « holiday inn express » type, everything is outrageously expensive , the beach is small , it’s all about emptying your pockets as much as they can : tourist trap . Don’t go .
voyagefox
That’s exactly how we felt as well! 🙁
Adri-Ann Brown
Try out Azulik lodge in Mozambique ! No affiliation to Azulik Tulum but we had the most amazing experience
Ramiro
Great post! Thank you so much
achat appartement tunisie
I hope you will have better luck with the other places next time.
Don
I just stayed there Feb 2024. This place is so overrated. The customer service was terrible. The website oversells this place tremendously. You pay $1500 per night and you get 1 plug in, no privacy (anyone can see right in your room when you take a shower) no internet for almost 2 days and no power for 2 hours another time. We asked to cancel our reservation after arriving in our room. They said no. We asked for blinds every day and finally on the third and last night they hammered sheets on the wall. I asked to meet with the manager several times. My wife speaks Spanish and she heard the worker say I think they are really upset, and the manager said tell them I can’t be there until 2 and they should be gone by the time I get there. This place is a total waste money. Go somewhere else!!!!
voyagefox
So sorry to hear that you had a bad experience as well 🙁 I don’t understand why the hotel isn’t at least trying to better the overall experience for guests? They really don’t care about all the and customer reviews they get…
Chloe
Our experience at Azulik Resort was extremely disappointing. Upon arriving at the hotel around 7 PM, we found only one person working the front desk, which led to an hour-long wait to check in due to a large party ahead of us. When we finally received our room key and made it to our Sea Villa, the key didn’t work. A technician spent 30 minutes trying to fix the issue, but ultimately, we had to be moved to another unit.
After dinner, we returned to our room, hoping to relax, only to discover that the air conditioning wasn’t working, and the room temperature was over 100°F. Since the room had no WiFi, we had to walk a long distance back to the front desk to request help. We had to change rooms three times in total. The third room change was due to the door not automatically locking, leaving our room accessible to anyone without a key.
When we asked for an upgrade due to all these inconveniences, the staff didn’t agree until we were about to check out. We were upgraded to a Sky Villa for our last night, but they refused to offer any partial refund for the troubles we experienced.
We requested to speak with the manager, but they never showed up. It’s hard to believe this is supposed to be a 4-star hotel.
To make matters worse, we met a neighboring guest at the front desk around 11 PM who told us they had lost 30,000 pesos cash from their room while they were out surfing. When they requested surveillance footage, they were told there had been a power outage that afternoon, so no footage was available. Despite involving the authorities, their issue remained unresolved by the time we left the hotel.
Overall, our stay at Azulik Resort was frustrating and far below the standards we expected. We felt like we paid a premium price for a series of inconveniences and poor service.
voyagefox
oh my god what a horror story! Unfortunately I hear so many stories from people who made similar experiences & it looks like the hotel doesn’t care at all… it seems they don’t want to improve their bad reputation.