Guidance for Tulum Beachfront rental?

[topshelf]

I've done a little research, but was wondering if anyone has suggestions for us. Every other year or so my entire family (Mom, Dad, brothers, sisters, wife, etc) rent a beachfront villa in PDC. A year from now I want to look at the possibility of trying Tulum instead. I know I'd enjoy it more, and I think most of them would also. I want to get going on it soon, as it seems to me that there aren't many homes available in the Tulum area.

Ideally we would want a four bedroom home on the south end. The three I've seen are:

Casa de las Palmas - I believe this would be about the perfect location, but only has three bedrooms. I'm not quite sure how three married couples plus an adult brother and sister would fit here.

Zamna - anyone stayed here?

Casa Sophia - in the biosphere I think. Looks nice enough, but maybe too far away from things?

Does anyone have any experience with these places? Are there others I'm missing?

Any suggestions for this ragtag crew? (this is most of us on the beach close to Nueva Vida in 2006)

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f192/thomasdj11/Christmas%202006/familypicturecopy.jpg

Thanks!

David

[PhyllisB]

You might look into some of the places in Rancho San Eric - but I have a hard time remembering their names. They might just be 2br condo type buildings but you might be able to rent a couple together.

Margo may know of some other places.

[heenan]

http://www.ranchosaneric.com/

Came across this new webpage for Rancho San Eric.
Lots of choices here.
We stayed in Casa Sara a year ago. It has two bedrooms and a loft, but probably too small for your group.

[beachreader]

One of the bedrooms upstairs at Casa de las Palmas has a queen plus two single beds, if your two single adults won't mind pretending they're kids again.

Better yet, you can also rent the Casita and take over the whole property. Two double beds over there with a kitchen and bath and another roof deck.

Zamna would probably work well for you also, it's pretty large and a great beach.

There's a rental house at Retiro Maya too, I think it's got three bedrooms, but lots of beds (and there's a studio upstairs of that too). It's listed on VRBO.com.

Or, you can go down into the biosphere and find some gorgeous homes for rent. You'll be far from town, but also far from other people; you'll feel like you own the world down there.

If you'd like a pool (a rarity in Tulum), the Villa Zanzibar at Cabanas La Luna is a great house. Four bedrooms, two with king beds and private bathrooms, two with queens and a shared bath, and another bathroom out by the pool. Big hangout deck, and the pool deck is gorgeous. It's got everything you need except it's not beachfront; it's tucked away in the jungly gardens, about 50 meters behind the primary dune. Still, an easy trip to the water, and the pool is lovely (I posted pics on my trip report, not yet finished but still pretty near the top of the trip report section).

You could also take over the whole Playa Selva property and have plenty of room and privacy for everyone.

[minniemex]

Could you possibly get the Casita too with Casa de las Palmas?? That would get you your extra bedroom.

[minniemex]

Hola Beachreader!! Posting at the same time:wave:

[topshelf]

So there is a 3 bedroom house and then a casita that you can rent separate? That might work...

Thanks for the ideas. At least I can stay warm searching on the internet. It's been COLD in Colorado lately!

[pepper]

We stayed at Casa de las Palmas last June. The bedroom with the two extra twin size beds seemed kinda small to me - better for kids than adults.
But if you could get the casita behind the main house, that would be perfect!! The location of CdlP is perfect right between Nueva Vida and La Zebra.

Villa Zanzibar sounds amazing! It would be a great place to stay - although I might hesitate in the hot summer months since it isn't beach front and may not get a good breeze.

Zamna looks like it has a lot of space for everyone. But I've never stayed there.

[topshelf]

Could you possibly get the Casita too with Casa de las Palmas?? That would get you your extra bedroom.



I didn't even know there was a Casita, but that would be great! However, I think I read in one of the old threads that someone has already rented it out for Christmas in 2010 AND 2011. :confused: I suppose I should find out. Otherwise Zamna and some combination of housing in Rancho San Eric sounds nice. I also will look into Beachreader's idea of renting several rooms in a small property like Playa Selva.

Thanks!

[cabañas tulum]

:eek::eek: Casa Chic is BEAUTIFUL!!!!!!!!!!


[QUOTE=heenan;50714]http://www.ranchosaneric.com/

[beachreader]

Isn't it gorgeous? But wowza--:dollarsign::dollarsign:, and November is considered high season. :( Maybe I should gather up my old Cabanas Tulum lottery tickets and dream about Casa Chic instead. :p

[cabañas tulum]

Its an amazing property.
I wish I could book it for my birthday. I can SO see myself having a lovely dinner with my family.:rolleyes:
The interior decoration is amazing.


Isn't it gorgeous? But wowza--:dollarsign::dollarsign:, and November is considered high season. :( Maybe I should gather up my old Cabanas Tulum lottery tickets and dream about Casa Chic instead. :p

[topshelf]

:eek::eek: Casa Chic is BEAUTIFUL!!!!!!!!!!




Yes, Casa Chic would be perfect...except for the holiday price. We know we are going to pay a premium for traveling that time of year no matter where we go. That's ok, but there is no way we could afford those prices! I'm sure you could book several entire hotels on the beach for the same nightly rate!

[topshelf]

We have narrowed it down to Casa Sophia or Zamna for Christmas. Casa de las Palmas is booked. A couple of questions for the experts:

1. Will taxis take you down past the arch? We will have a rental but the distance from the Tulum beach restaurant / bar stretch worries me a bit about Sophia. With a big group that might split up it would be nice to be able to take a taxi back to the house.
2. Is the distance from Casa Sophia (think not quite to Cesiak) to the Tulum beach reasonable on a bicycle? Can you rent bikes in Tulum?
3. The only time I have stayed in Tulum was in July of last year. With it being the low season and the stupid swine flu scare it was EMPTY. We really enjoyed it that way. I'm not sure exactly where Zamna is located but I have a pretty good idea. Will that area feel crowded over Christmas?

Thanks!

[beachreader]

Just realized no one has replied to this yet. Wow, Casa Sophia is beautiful, and I love that pool! 4 km south of the arch is pretty close, but you'd have to add several k more to your distance if you're going to some of the more popular beach hotel/restaurants, and it would be a looong way to town. So I'd think, just to save time, you'd want to drive when you go into Tulum.

Zamna is in a great location, easy walking distance to many places, and even though it's centrally located, the beach wouldn't feel crowded even at Xmas (unless you define "crowded" as anything more than what you had in July). I think the interior finishes at Zamna won't be as fabulous as Sophia, and it doesn't have a pool, but it would be a lot more convenient, and the price is certainly cheaper.

I'm sure taxis would go past the arch especially if you are able to convince them that your house is pretty close. They might charge a premium, I don't know, sorry.

Are you going to rent two cars for your group, or are you going to try to get a giant van? I think two cars is a better and cheaper choice, gives the group more freedom as long as you have two people willing to drive. The big vans are difficult to park in town and at many beach hotels, too. So, if you have two cars, the taxi issue might not come into play after all.

I'm not being much help, I guess, kind of just tossing ideas around. If the money and the extra distance doesn't bother you, Sophia is stunning. If you want better location, Zamna would be perfect. One other question I had about Sophia, I noticed it said "one beach palapa with two lounge chairs". That's not nearly enough for your group, I'm surprised they don't have more chairs for such a large house. Zamna may not have 8 chairs, but I think they have several, and the house is closer to the water (Sophia is up on a ridge), so easier to drag other chairs out.

If this was for my family, I think I'd take Zamna and risk not having a swimming pool, but man, that Sophia is a nice house.

[heenan]

I saw go with Casa Sophia cause we need a trip report on this board on that house as it looks marvelous!

[minniemex]

I guess I can't add much to what Beachreader said! I agree with all of it!

You ask where Zamna is located ~ here is a link to a map which shows where most of the properties are. If you go with Sophia you would be even further south than the map goes.
http://www.todotulum.com/tulum-mexico-maps.php

[pepper]

Since it sounds like you are not renting a car of any kind, I'd pick Zamna.

[itsjustme]

Zamna would give everyone more freedom to wander the beach in either direction to explore the different places for future stays. Plus, you can't beat stopping in along the walk to try some good eats and cocktails.

My vote is for Zamna's!!

[sandrag]

I was looking into booking Casa Chic but it was not available the week my group is going. The owner recommended another house close by which was built by the same builder it's called Casa Dos Besos. It's gorgeous and half the price of Casa Chic. I'm so glad Casa Chic wasn't available so I could find Casa dos Besos. It's not on Trip Advisor or Home and Away but you can find it on VBRO
http://www.vrbo.com/281971
I'm going in Decemeber. I'll let you know more when I get back.

[minniemex]

What luck for you sandrag! A big WooHoo for another trip booked!! Can't wait for your trip report!

[pepper]

I was looking into booking Casa Chic but it was not available the week my group is going. The owner recommended another house close by which was built by the same builder it's called Casa Dos Besos. It's gorgeous and half the price of Casa Chic. I'm so glad Casa Chic wasn't available so I could find Casa dos Besos. It's not on Trip Advisor or Home and Away but you can find it on VBRO
http://www.vrbo.com/281971
I'm going in Decemeber. I'll let you know more when I get back.


There's a really nice review of Casa dos Besos in the Tulum forum of Tripadvisor from Short4cakes. It sounds like a wonderful place to stay.