First Timer Trip Report from Obsessed

[Obsessed]

Background Info: We're a married couple in our early 30's with 2 small children. We decided to take our 1st trip to Tulum for our 5 year wedding anniversary. We wanted to try something different. We've been on several cruises, which my husband despises. We went to Cancun once, which we both hated! And we've spent some time in a nice all inclusive in Playa del Carmen- we enjoyed this but did not feel we got to experience the true Mexican culture. So, for this trip I did tons of internet searching and knew when I found Tulum it was exactly what we were looking for!

Day 1-- We had an early flight out of Memphis. (We're from Dallas, but we had to drop our kids off in Arkansas with my parents and flights out of Memphis were about $400 cheaper than out of Little Rock). Everything went smoothly and after a quick lay over in Houston, we landed in Cancun around 11:30 a.m. It took a little longer than expected to get out of the airport, but once we made it out we found our private transportation (Entertainment Plus/USA transfers) right away. We had a great driver, very friendly and talkative.

We arrived at our Hotel in Tulum Pueblo at around 2:00pm. We had decided to stay at Posada Luna del Sur for the first couple of nights, to experience the "pueblo". Janet and Jack are the owners/operators of the hotel and have a wonderful place. Janet showed us around the room, then gave us a map (an enlarged version of the todotulum map) of Tulum. She highlighted places that she recommended. Our room was extremely clean and nicely decorated. The patio opened up to a beautiful garden.

We ventured out into the pueblo to find a late lunch. First we walked to the bank to find an ATM then on to Don Cafeto's. Hubby and I both had the beef tacos which were quiet tasty. I had a Margarita, which was not very big, and hubby had some cervesa's. We really enjoyed the pickled vegatables and the salsa/pico that they brought to the table.

Next we decided to head back to the hotel to rest before the La Zebra Salsa Party. I guess now is a good time to explain what I'm going to refer as the "funk". I started getting sick more than a week before we left for Tulum. I went to the doctor convinced that I had the stomach flu. After some testing, I was told I just had a bad virus. I missed 2 days of work before we left and hubby and I discussed rescheduling the trip. I was determined to go and I was sure that since I had already had the funk for so long, that surely it would be gone by the time we got to Tulum.....no such luck...... We got back to Posada Luna del Sur and sat out of the Patio overlooking the garden, reading our books. I started feeling worse and worse, so I decided to take a nap. I was feeling so bad by early evening, that hubby was convinced we should head back home and reschedule the trip when I felt better. I was in bed asleep by 7:00pm, therefore missing the La Zebra Salsa Party and meet up that I was so looking forward to.

Day 2-- After a very long night of sleep, I felt half human again. We went to have breakfast which was included with the hotel stay. Both Janet and Jack, plus their one employee, Jesus were there during the duration of breakfast. We were served fresh fruit, OJ, Coffee, and fresh baked goods. Very yummy. It was also nice to see all the other guest who were staying at the hotel.

We decided to go to the Tulum Ruins. We asked Janet where to rent bicycles, but then on our walk to the rental place, we thought better of it and jumped in a taxi. We had a nice time at the Ruins, even though it was HOT and had started to get very crowded. It costs us 30 pesos to get to the ruins by taxi and 40 pesos to get back...hmmm???

By the time we got back to town, it was time for lunch. We choice El Tacoqueto at the southern end of town. Hubby speaks decent spanish, but we were still taken back to the kitchen so they could show us what they had. We both chose the beef dish. It was so good, very authenic, we ate it with Tortillas and the Salsa's that were on the table. We both had Coca-cola as no beer or liquor was sold here. After lunch we went back to the hotel again so I could nap (still not feeling 100%). Hubby sat on the patio and read and listened to his Ipod. We later went for a late afternon snack at Pequeno Buenos Aires. We had the guacomole, which was not our favorite, but it wasn't bad.

For dinner we decided on Il Balisco. We had the pizza margarita, which was very good and very cheap. After dinner we went to Ginger, the newer tapas place in town. We had the Ginger Ceviche, which was pretty good. Then for some strange reason my husband ordered us shots of tequila..... Now we've been married for 5 years, and I guess he has never noticed that I don't shoot tequila- have not since I was 17 but that is another story! Plus, I have the funk and I don't think a tequila shot would be the smartest thing to do. Anyway, he ended up doing both shots. He is on his way to being very drunk, and I'm just tired and feeling funky and want to go to bed. I finally convince him to leave and as were walking out he runs into a parked bicycle and knocks it over. I'm mortified and yelling at him to pick it up, he picks it up, can't figure out how to stand it back up and drops it again. The lady whose bike it is, was not very happy about it and I don't blame her! I high taled it back to the hotel with drunk hubby lagging behind. At least it was not a scooter or a motorcycle!

[Maineacs]

Great story! So how did the rest of the trip go? Looking forward to being in Tulum for the first time on Wednesday!!!!

[DougSR]

That "funk" must be going around town neighbor. I got it two weeks ago, while on a business trip to Arkansas. Needless to say it was a treacherous drive home.

About the pickled stuff at Don Cafeto's...I loved it but I got a hold of something that was much hotter than anything I've ever eaten in my cajun existence. Wow! All I can say is proceed with caution people!

You guys have me curious about Tacoquetto. I can't wait to give it a go. Looking forward to more trip report.

[PhyllisB]

Bravo! More, More!

I understand what it's like to be sick in paradise. Not fun.

Looking forward to hearing about the rest of your trip!

[AdGuy]

I'm so jealous...another person that enjoyed the hidden treasure, El Tacoqueto. Also very interested in your experience at Posada Luna del Sur. I've read very good things about them and am considering staying (at least for part of the time) at a pubelo hotel rather than a playa place. Would you stay again and how did it compare (vibe and value) against your beach hotel?

And, yes, the Don Cafeto vegetable appetizer has to be experienced first hand...though a picture is worth a thousand words:

http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i317/FloridaAdGuy/DSCF0991.jpg

[Lynnette]

I'm so sorry that you were sick...hope you felt better for the rest of your trip. Great start....I'm looking forward to more!

[Obsessed]

Doug- The "funk" is definitly going around DFW- half of my staff is out today with it!

Adguy- We loved Posada Luna del Sur and would definitly return. It's such a well run place...they treat all of their patrons so well. Actually, even though the beach is beautiful, we had a better experience in the pueblo, but more about that in the rest of trip report!

I hope to get some more written by the end of the day!!

[DougSR]

I got seemingly incurable hiccups after diving into the "pickled hot thing". It almost ruined my meal I tell ya.

[bellydancer]

Adguy...we stayed at Posada Luna del Sur last August and really enjoyed it. Janet and Jack were wonderful hosts...he's also a Havard trained doctor. The rooms were really nice and clean with a living room area, kitchenette, tv, a/c and safe. Walking distance to everything in town and breakfast was just like Obsessed described. We will definitely be staying there again this August.
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b7d739b3127ccebbbc0f47ec3700000056100AcsmjVm0ct2 LA
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b7d739b3127ccebbbc0e982d4000000056100AcsmjVm0ct2 LA
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http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b7d739b3127ccebbbc0b3c6d7e00000056100AcsmjVm0ct2 LA

[DougSR]

How much per night?

[ziggy]

I just booked this for May, $58/night (includes taxes)!!

[DougSR]

gracias

[Obsessed]

I think we paid $70 dollars a night for high season. Very well worth it!!!

[Obsessed]

Day--3

Woke up early and had breakfast again and Posado Luna del Sur. Went back to our room to pack up because we were heading to the beach to stay at La Zebra for 4 nights. Hubby spent an hour out in the garden talking to Jack about all the plants. Apparently before Hurricane Dean, they had their own pineapple and papaya plants (trees-?) and they would would just go out every morning and pick the fresh fruit to serve for breakfast. But, Dean took out the entire garden except for the 2 or 3 palm trees. The garden looks great and they hope to have the fresh fruit again in the future. After we checked out, Janet and Jack let us leave our luggage in their storage room, since we had a few hours to kill before we could check in at La Zebra.

We headed to lunch at El Pollo Bronco. We shared half a chicken that was served with tortillas, salsa and cole slaw (it might have been just shredded cabbage). I think it cost us aroung 40 pesos, and that was one of our favorite meals in Tulum! Afterwards we went to another little restuarant, but for the life of me, I can't remember the name, but I do know they had an all day special of 2 drinks for $4. We got a table right on the street and sat and drank for awhile. I had 2 pina coladas (which was not the best idea because of the "funk") and hubby had a few cervesas. Check in time at La Zebra was not until 3pm, but we decided to go ahead and head out that way, if our cabana was not ready, we could just hang out at the beach.

We went back to Posado Luna del Sur and got our luggage then caught a taxi out to La Zebra. It was fun driving down the beach road and seeing all the different Cabanas that I've read about the past few months on the forum! Arrived at La Zebra, checked in at reception which was right beside the restuarant. They brought us their "special" drink which was made from a local flower, it was very good (non-alcholic). The manager walked us to our cabana and one of the workers carried our bags. We were in Cabana #2. The Cabana was great, not huge, but very clean and well decorated. Their were wooden doors and windows which all had screens as well. The bed took up most of the room. Their was a half wall behind the bed and on the other side was the bathroom. There was a large shower, toilet and sink. The room was stocked with bottled water and a small complimentary bottle of tequila along with shot glasses. The cabana had a nice sized porch with two wooden chairs and a chair hammock. The view was absolutely amazing. We sat on our porch for a long time just staring at the beach and ocean! After while, we decided we needed a snack so we headed over to the restuarant. We sat at the bar. I got a strange vibe right away. No friendly "hello's" from any of the workers, nobody really even looked up. Their were only 1 or 2 other patrons in the restaurant. We ordered the guacamole, which was the best we had had up to that point. I had a mango margarita, which was the best I've EVER had, and of course hubby had beer. After, we walked south down the beach for awhile, then headed back to sit on our porch and read. We ended up taking a nap in the cabana with just the screens closed, it was the best nap ever!

We decided to try the La Zebra Restuarant for dinner that night. We ordered a bottle of wine, not sure of the name (hubby is in to all that) but it was a Mexican white wine...the first Mexican wine I've had and it was quiet tasty. I ordered the Wrapped Fish and Hubby got the Arrechera. The restuarant was 1/2 to 3/4 full and there was only 1 waitress. I was very suprised and a bit disappointed that they took our order on the computerized palm pilot looking thing...I mean we're on the beach in Mexico trying to get away from all that crap!!! My fish came wrapped in foil in the shape of a cute little fish. The fish was decent, a little bland for my taste, but cooked very well. Let me throw in a little background here about my husband, he LOVES food- he has worked in fine dining in the Dallas area for about 10 years. Only once the entire time I've known him (before this night) have I seen him not finish his entire plate, and that was at some horrible Ethiopian place in Dallas. Anyway, I noticed he wasn't eating very much, so I took a bite. It was bad, I think it was a piece of bad meat and I tried to get him to send in back, but for some reason he would'nt. After we got the bill, we joked that we would have much rather eaten at El Pollo Bronco again for about 1/15 the cost.
(Fast Forward-- we ate there again later in the week with our neighbors in Cabana #3, and one of them got the Arrechera...it did not even look the same as what my husband had gotten a few days back...his actually looked good and my husband's had looked kinda rubbery.)

We went to bed with the wonderul sound of the ocean and the great ocean breeze through the screen. I woke up once during the night and it was sooo dark, it just does not get that dark at night when you live in a big city like Dallas! At this point we are loving Tulum. We were already talking about coming back soon and bringing our kids.

To be continued.......

[PhyllisB]

Yeah, another installment! Woohooo!

You'll have to chat with pepper about fine dining in Dallas! I think her husband is in the same line of work!

[AdGuy]

We headed to lunch at El Pollo Bronco. We shared half a chicken that was served with tortillas, salsa and cole slaw (it might have been just shredded cabbage). I think it cost us aroung 40 pesos, and that was one of our favorite meals in Tulum!


I definitely agree...Bronco Pollo is in the top three lunch places to eat in-town:

http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i317/FloridaAdGuy/DSCF1169.jpg

[DougSR]

Afterwards we went to another little restuarant, but for the life of me, I can't remember the name, but I do know they had an all day special of 2 drinks for $4.

Could it have been Don Karonte's? We did that one day as well and I seem to remember 2 for $4. But then I could be mistaken.

[pepper]

Obsessed - love your TR. Definately take the kids next time. I can't imagine a vacation in Tulum w/o them just sitting and digging in the sand, trying out their Spanish...it's so good for them.

[TnTWalter]

Enjoying your report....but where are the pictures?:) Bummer about your meal @ La Z but sounds like a nice time.

[Gale in KY]

Really enjoying your report and the info on Posada Luna Del Sur. It's great to get some first hand input on Pueblo accomodations.

I also had some kind of "funk" in the form of a cold, sinus infection or some such thing right before I left for Tulum...I was that person on the plane that you put up the shield against and think "You should have stayed home lady!!!" about..totally miserable until I got to Mexico and the salty air..cleared it right up! Best medicine I can think of for what ailes ya! I do think I saw several people on the plane forming a cross with their fingers and shielding themselves from me..heehee..

:D

[Obsessed]

Day 4-- We woke up early and just laid in bed and stared out of our beautiful view. Decided to go have the continental breakfast that was included with our stay at La Zebra. It was a nice morning, a lot less windy than the day before. When we sat down in restaurant we found out that the continental breakfast was OJ, coffee and 2 pieces of toast. The orange juice was fresh squeezed and delicious and the toast….well…it was toast…served with strawberry jam and butter. Service was slow, but we had to remember we were on Mexico time. After breakfast we sat on our porch and read books for a little while then grabbed a pair a beach chairs then just hung out on the beach for a few hours.

Around 11:00 we started walking north on the beach. We made it all the way up to the rocky outcropping, so we decided to stop there at Maya Tulum for lunch. We sat at the bar. The employees were very nice, chatting with us the whole time. We ordered guacamole which was the best we had the entire trip. It had a unique taste to it and we finally figured out there was cucumber in it…very yummy! We also shared a grilled veggie sandwich, which was also very good. We also had a few cervesa’s. After lunch we walked back to La Zebra and just hung out for awhile.

For our afternoon snack we tried La Zebra again. We sat outside, it had gotten a whole more windy than it was in the A.M. I had a Mango Margarita and we shared the Nachos with chicken. This was the best thing that I had at La Zebra. Service was slow, but this was the best experience, service wise, that we had the entire stay at LZ.

For dinner we walked down to OM. Very nice staff. It was not very busy this particular night. Hubby had the tuna sashimi over greens- he loved it and the taste I had was glorious. I had pasta with mussels and clams- it is supposed to come with shrimp as well, but I’m allergic, so they left that out for me. It was very good. It took a long while to get the food, but it was worth it. The chef came out and chatted with us. We ordered flan for dessert, I’m flan fanatic and I wasn’t too crazy about this one. Went back to LZ and went to bed.

Day 5-- Woke up again and stared at the fantastic view. Went to have the continental breakfast again. Took about 30 minutes to get our toast, mine was black and hubby’s was normal. I did not send it back because we had been waiting so long and I was hungry! I made hubby trade one piece, so we both had a burned piece! OJ and coffee were good. We noticed a couple at the table beside us who looked like they had been waiting for their food for quiet awhile, and were getting impatient. We were glad that it wasn’t just us…I promise we’re not picky people, we just expect a certain level of service, especially if we’re paying customers!

Went to the beach after breakfast and the couple who was beside us at breakfast was out there. We started chatting. They were from North Carolina on their honeymoon. They were heading into the Pueblo for lunch and invited us to come, which was great because we had planned on going that day anyway to use a computer.

The 4 of us ate at Don Cafeto’s. I started with a pina colada then switched to beer. Everyone else had beer ( a lot of beer). I had chicken tacos and hubby had the beef tacos again. The beef tacos were beef on flour tortillas, the chicken tacos were like taquitos or flautas. No complaints on the food. We were there for a very long time, drinking and getting to know our new friends. After lunch we went to the grocery store to pick up some beer and snacks to take back to the cabanas.

Hubby and I had reservations for Hechizo that night. We got ready then called a taxi to take us. Got to Hechizo, which took all of 2 minutes and we were charged 100 pesos- $10 for a 2 minute ride!!!???- he tried to explain to us that he had to come all the way from the Pueblo. We were not happy but we paid for it. So it ended up costing us $20 roundtrip for a total of 4 minutes….oh well live and learn.

Right when we walked in, Hui (the wife) sat us and explained the way the restaurant worked. We ordered drinks- I had a regular margarita and hubby had sangria- both were wonderful. Stefan (the husband and chef) came out and told us the menu for the night. Service was outstanding and hubby and I were so happy! I started with a baked Portobello mushroom sliced with fresh Parmesan cheese with a dressing of some sort—it was FABULOUS. Hubby has an avocado and crab salad- he loved it! For my main course I has the tuna on a bed of citrus salad—AMAZING. Hubby had seared scallops over homemade fettuccini with black truffles--- again he LOVED it. We were on cloud nine, amazing food and great service. Hui came and said Stefan would come and tell us the dessert menu and hubby ordered a double espresso. Not sure what happened next…… the perfect night went to crap! It took about 30 minutes for Stefan to come out and tell us the dessert menu. The double espresso never came. The dessert took about 30 minutes to come out. Again the food was fantastic- I had the flan with Kailua sauce- the best flan ever, then hubby and a spice cake with a poached pear in the middle. Then….nothing….we sat there for a very long time. We were ready for our check, but nobody came. Stefan finally came to check on us and we told him we were done and ready for our check….more waiting…..we started to get impatient, with the restaurant and with each other. Finally I flagged down one of the servers and asked him to call a taxi and (again) for our check. We had arrived at 7:30, had our first 2 courses before 9:00 and left at 10:30. We never saw Hui again, but she was 8 months pregnant, she might have needed a rest. Once again, I promise we’re very easy going, I think we were just having a bout of bad luck down in Tulum! Again, the food was amazing and the service at the beginning was great, but we were disappointed with the last hour and a half of service. Boy, I feel like I’m griping a whole lot!!!

More to come…..

[TnTWalter]

I like hearing good and bad...although if she's 7 months preggers I might be in trouble in May when they are about to or have already had a baby...yikes!!

[DougSR]

If it's bad, it's bad. Say it like it is. I want to hear the places to avoid as well. Those things stick in my mind as much as the positives. The LZ restaurant info is very helpful. We had great drinks there but didn't eat.

Haha! I just chuckled out loud at how I can never get tired of "We woke up, went to the beach, walked on the beach, got some food." It never gets old I tell you!!!

Obsessed, give me your take on the stars. We just don't get those night skies in DFW huh?

[Obsessed]

Doug- Oh my gosh, I never knew there were so many stars in the sky until Tulum. On the night we were walking back from dinner at OM, we looked up, stopped and just stared at the sky for awhile. When we lived in uptown Dallas, I don't think we ever saw stars. Now that we live in the burbs you can see them, but nothing like in Tulum!!!

TNTWalter- about the pictures...I have not uploaded them, yet. To tell you the truth, I did not take very many but I will get them up soon!!!!:)

[DougSR]

When we lived in uptown Dallas, I don't think we ever saw stars.

Small world. While my mom was still alive I lived at Knox/Henderson and Travis near Travis Walk. She got sick and moved up from the coast so I bought a house in FW. You guys left and went NE and I left and went W.

[Obsessed]

Small world. While my mom was still alive I lived at Knox/Henderson and Travis near Travis Walk. She got sick and moved up from the coast so I bought a house in FW. You guys left and went NE and I left and went W.

We lived at 75 and Lemmon. We loved living down there, but did not think it was the proper place to raise kids! My in laws live in Turtle Creek and we go every Sunday for lunch, and I always reminisce (spelling?) about living down there (before kids) and going out every night. Now I'm an old suburban mom that goes to bed by 9:00....but I still refuse to drive a minivan!:eek:

[TheWindyCity]

Great trip reporting,obcessed! Really sorry about your experiece at Hechizo....sure doesn't sound like the typical closure there. We really enjoyed our dining experience there last year. They are preliminarily planning to close for the low season May 12. We were able to get a reservation May 11.

We'd sure like to see your pics!

[AdGuy]

Great reporting, O. Definitely keep giving us the real scoop...sometimes places have a bad night but usually it's indictive on a bigger problem. Always good to hear the good and the bad.

[PhyllisB]

I think we should keep talking up the bad stuff.... keep people away!!!! I mean really. Who would ever want to visit Tulum?? ;)

Lee, we have to resurrect that old post with all the reasons NOT to visit Tulum, don'tcha think???

[TheWindyCity]

I agree, just a horrible place to visit! Everyone....the beaches are better in Cancun...lots and lots of people there! Go there instead!!

[DougSR]

So, you guys think if we head over to LG and start posting nothing but terrible trip reports we could stem the tide? :)

[AdGuy]

Lee, we have to resurrect that old post with all the reasons NOT to visit Tulum, don'tcha think???


Definitely need a strong "demarketing" campaign...feel free to add to the post:

http://www.tulum.info/showthread.php?t=577

[beachreader]

I can't wait to see your pictures, but you already have me wanting to spend more time in the pueblo, maybe even to spend a couple of nights. I go down there to go to the beach and I'm not ashamed to say it, but now that I've been there a few more times, I really do want to spend more time in town. I'm just kicking myself that I didn't make a point to go in (though I did have some awesome cochinita pibil for breakfast on my way out of town).

Service at La Zebra sucked on both of my tries this trip. It wasn't real great in December either, to be honest. I wanted to give them another chance after the Sunday night thing, because they were jam-packed and I figured that's what it was. So we went for lunch later in the week and it took like an hour or more.

We keep forgiving this because it's "Mexico time", but then you go into the pueblo and you have hot steaming food in front of you in five minutes. I dunno; La Zebra has some pretty good food, but I'm not going to rush back there.

I'm really sorry about the Hechizo thing. I hope it's just because Hui left early, because she is definitely the front-of-house person (though she was also the dessert chef, so maybe that's changed). I'm glad at least the food was good and you were happy other than that.

I'm also really sorry we missed meeting you that Sunday night! Wish we could have found another time later in the week after you were feeling better.

And I think I know the couple you met from North Carolina. We met at Mezzanine on Monday lunchtime and I invited them to come to Om for dinner that night! Too funny.

[Obsessed]

Beachreader- The couple from North Carolina was the one you had dinner with. We were telling them we ate at OM the night before, and they were telling us they went with 2 ladies they met at Mezzanine! They mentioned the name "Fran" and I was like "Hey, I know her"! Of course, I don't really know you, since we've never met (dang that "funk"). But through the forum, anyway!

We plan on staying in the Pueblo again in the future, we really enjoyed it. Unfortunately for us, Posada Luna del Sur does not accept small children (we have a 3&1/2 year old and 11 month old) and we plan on bringing the kiddos next time. But I definitely recommend that hotel!

[Obsessed]

Day 6-- We did not feel like having toast again when we woke up on our last full day in Tulum, so we walked over to Casa Banana for breakfast. On the way there, I fully intended to have an "authenic" mexican breakfast, but when we sat down, the table next to us was having pancakes and they looked and smelled fantastic! So, we both ended up getting pancakes with Mayan Honey. They were delicious! ( Alot better than free burned toast!)

After breakfast we laid on the beach with our friends from Cabana #3 for awhile. Then I decided I wanted to take a nap. When I'm on vacation, I love to nap! The opportunity NEVER presents itself at home. I'm a full time working mommy with 2 kids and a husband who works the exact opposite hours that I do. I left hubby on the beach, left all the windows open in the cabana and took a long wonderful 2 hour nap!

After my nap we walked on the beach, we were looking for "Cocos Frio" A cocunut with a straw in it. We had seen them at Maya Tulum a few days back, but did not want to walk that far again. We stopped at a few places with no luck. I was craving the nachos at La Zebra, so we went back and sat at a table................a few minutes went by......a few more minutes........about 15 minutes pass by and we were not even acknowledged. Hubby is p*ssed off and gets up and walks off vowing to never eat there again and we would never stay there again. We walked down to OM, where we were greeted before we even got to a table, then the entire menu was explained to us. A small difference in service!!! I had a chicken sandwhich and a margarita, both very good. Hubby had nothing because he was still so mad about the (non) service at La Zebra.

We went back to our Cabana and started drinking beer on our porch with our Cabana #3 neighbors. Both hubbies got drunk and decided to go kayaking. The ocean was extremely rough this day, so the wives were a little concerned about their behavoir. We watched them fight the waves for a little while, then decided to leave them and to go have some Margaritas. The hubbies finally came joined us about an hour later. My hubby and I were going to go have dinner at Las Ranitas, but it started raining. Then we decided we would go with the other couple somewhere, but everyone was intoxicated and nobody wanted to drive. We decided to stay at La Zebra and eat. Three of us ordered, but hubby kept to his word and refused to eat (although he drank their beer.....??...whatever!) Although, I was a little intoxicated, I seem to remember the 2 hubbies complaining to management about their service, I finally got embarressed and went to bed. Hubby came to the cabana a few hours later, a little more drunk and rambling on about eating a habenero with the manager of La Zebra. Glad I missed that!

In Summary: We loved Tulum! We will definitely go back. Even though we loved our Cabana and that awesome view, it's pretty safe to say we will not go back to La Zebra, their customer service is lacking! I would prefer somewhere more laid back. We're thinking of renting a house next time, or we would love to try Cabanas La Luna. We will stay in the Pueblo again for a couple of nights. We did not rent a car this time, because we were not sure what to expect. We really did not ever think we needed a car, except for the night we went to Hechizo. But, we will probably rent a car next time and do a little more exploring! I can't wait to go back, next time with the kids in tow!



So here is a link to my pictures on Shutterfly, sorry there are not very many. Also, sorry I did not post them directly on the trip report. I have an 11 month old with 103 degrees fever and don't have time to figure it out! Anyway, enjoy.....

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8AcOGbli3btmdf&notag=1

[beachreader]

Great pictures, thanks for sharing! Good to see more of the interiors of those La Zebra units, but I agree with you about the service thing, that's just a killer.

In fact, I sort of blame the service for the fact we didn't even go outside to see the band and the dancing at the salsa party. We just sat at our tables and chatted, which was nice, but if they had been more attentive, i.e., given us our drinks and food in a timely fashion, we might have had more energy to go outside and have some fun! When I'm halfway through a drink, I want the waiter to at least come and ask me if I want another one. That's good service to me, and it makes the restaurant a lot more money than just leaving people sucking ice for an hour. Grumble grumble.

Oh, and not to mention the fact that they might have taken Gale's card info and gone all funky on it. Yeah, La Zebra's sort of on my list of disappointments right now.

How did Matt and his wife (ack, I forgot her name) like it there? They were big fun.

[dionski]

O, Thanks for the great report! We love to take our daughter traveling and love to hear stories about others that do also!

Thanks, d2

So are you more Obsessed or what:rolleyes:

[minniemex]

Great report & pictures Obsessed!! Thanks for taking the time to report to us on the Pueblo!!

Totally confused about La Zebra's service as when we were there last October, our service was fine. I don't remember any problems whatsoever. I guess that just goes to show that everyone has problems at some point or another. As BR had the same problems also I think this warrants watching.

Say, that last picture of the guys in the surf with the kayaks - was that possibly going to your "last ever picture of the hubby before he went kayaking drunk" ??

[Maineacs]

I am totally confused as well about La Zebra's service. We just spent 6 days there, March 12-17, 2008) and had the BEST time of our life! In fact my Brother in-law and wife are there right now. We definitely are planning to go back to La Zebra. I have our first Tulum trip report written but do not really know how to present it here since it is really large. I am working on a way to put it up to a .mac site so you all may be able to view it.

Loved your pictures Obsessed and you report, we were in cabana #3.

[Lynnette]

Totally confused about La Zebra's service as when we were there last October, our service was fine. I don't remember any problems whatsoever. I guess that just goes to show that everyone has problems at some point or another. As BR had the same problems also I think this warrants watching

It doesn't take much, sometimes just one person, to get a negative feeling. I agree, if there are more problems, that might be a consideration in staying at La Zebra.

[minniemex]

I know!! I agree!! It does just take one person!! Maybe one person was on a vacation as well, so staff were short for that period of time!! I just sometimes wonder how they can ignore you for so long though and think that it is OK.

[PhyllisB]

I think it was also the fact that it happened multiple times to the same person. So folks gave it another shot, and still didn't get any different service.

But things change so much in turnover of staff, managers, etc. Makes you wonder if they just haven't had a good manager on duty or something.

Our service there was also incredibly slow, but then that happened on a Salsa night and the place was totally packed.

[beachreader]

I'm not saying it's a terrible place, but with so many dining options, having two poor experiences in one week was more than I wanted. In December, I had a perfectly fine lunch there. I mean, it was a bit slow, and the guy got my order wrong, but it wasn't insanely slow as it was in March.

I still think it's a beautiful place, the rooms are gorgeous, the chairs are nice, and the food, once you get it, is good to great. I'll continue recommending it to people.

[mayaflya]

I have our first Tulum trip report written but do not really know how to present it here since it is really large. I am working on a way to put it up to a .mac site so you all may be able to view it.


You could just break it up into several posts in one thread...if you post them consecutively, they'll stay together....it's the trip reports that dribble in over....say...two weeks.... that get spread all over the map and get hijacked!

At one time, (this may have been changed with all of the forum upgrades) an individual post had about a thousand word limit... but there's no limit (that I know of) to the number of posts....plus each post gets you closer to the godlike (small "g") status of "Tuluminario"!

[FITZ]

A group of us ate at La Zebra last year, and after waiting for service and dinner for a very long time, they forgot my dinner. Entirely. I never got it at all, even after telling the server. It did appear on the bill. Was kind of humorous, as everyone drank alot during the long wait. Almost seemed to me that they knew we'd jack up the bar bill if they took their time with dinner. Not one person was impressed with the dinner, although we had a blast.
I was under the impression that a taxi was 6 dollars to anywhere inside the beach zone from the beach zone, or from the pueblo into anywhere in the beach zone. I have learned to always get the rates understood before getting in the taxi.
Your trip report was fun! Thanks!

[beachreader]

Fitz, I honestly wouldn't have minded that Sunday night at the salsa party if the food took forever as long as they kept the drinks coming, but it was just as impossible to get a drink in that place as the food!