Alea Tulum by Blue sky

I am giving two stars instead of one because the views are beautiful and assuming the utilities are working, the rooms are quite lovely. Also, the receptionist and the workers dealing w/ the water/plumbing issues were doing their best. You really need a car if you are staying here, unless you want to pay the exorbitant taxi fees that are the reality in Tulum. There are only 3 restaurants in this area, two affiliated with the proprieties owned by Alea. We only visited those two. Very expensive and limited menus. The centote across the street was nice and really inexpensive if you just want to explore on your own, which is totally possible. But it’s the service and communication that was extremely disappointing/disturbing. After travelling all night and arriving at the hotel around 3 pm there was no water. We made the most of it and went for a walk although really there is no beach and the ocean isn’t really accessible for most people (windy, rough waters, rocks, seaweed). The issue is that after the water came back on, the toilet in one of our rooms stopped working and I, a woman alone in my room, had men in my bathroom for many hours into the evening so the room wasn’t really accessible for me. I did not receive any communicationfrom management - I reached out to them and I didn’t get a reply until the next morning. That night I finally had to nicely ask the men to leave because I needed to sleep and I would go next door to where my family members were in middle of the night and wake them if I needed the bathroom. They offered the next morning to move to another property and at this point we made reservations at another hotel and left. Literally forfeited four nights because the experience was so bad. I am sure (and I hope!) that most people have not and will not have this experience. I asked them to refund the ONE room for one night and they refused. So, for the first time in my life I am writing a crappy review. Wish I didn’t have to and sincerely hope others have a better experience.

I would like to begin by sharing that this is one of the only negative reviews I have ever written, because I don't typically like dissing a business. But this is necessary. I would also like to disclaim that this was my first time in Mexico ever, but my party members have been travelling to Mexico for decades. I will start with the positives, which were that the rooms were gorgeous and the staff was kind. When we arrived after a long travel day, we were informed that the water was off, so we could not shower or use the toilet. However, they said we could use the facilities at the neighboring hotel. We dropped our bags, changed into suits, and set off to explore. It was a windy day, so we didn't get in the ocean, but if you decide to swim, it is a sloped and rocky beach area. They have a deck built with lounge chairs right near the water. As I was walking, there was a lot of trash caught up in the seaweed on the shore, and I even walked right over a used syringe. To be fair, this was on our walk from Alea to Narea which is a few minutes down the beach. The needle was not ON Alea's property, but it was on the shared stretch of beach. Narea's property was gorgeous and we enjoyed the hammocks on the pier. Upon returning to our rooms a few hours later (we had 2 rooms side-by-side), the water was on but the toilet in one room was not functioning. We also learned that the treadmill in the gym down the hall was completely broken. The road outside was a dirt road full of potholes, and none of their other properties had a "fitness center" (I'd barely qualify it as such) so there was not an option for running/walking for fitness. We were informed that the technician was "working on it". We got ready for dinner and quickly realized that our options were extremely limited. THERE IS NO DINING ON THE PROPERTY. On Alea's website, there is literally a link to "restaurant" that leads to a blank page. That's because there is no restaurant. However, the other 2 hotels on the road had dining (Narea and Mareva), so we went to Mareva. Well - talk about false advertising. The menu literally had 4 entree options. Our drinks took 20 minutes to come out. We were one of two parties dining, and the service was slow. The food was expensive and mid. We looked at the menu for the other spot, and it was the same. Limited options (you won't find the menu online) and unreasonably expensive prices. Now, when I tell you this place is in the middle of nowhere, I mean that. It is a long dirt road that leads right to the highway. There is nothing walkable. A cab to downtown was $40 USD. A cab to another zone in Tulum was $40 USD. If all you want to do is stay on property and eat the same overpriced bad food, be my guest. We knew this was not going to work out for us. After dinner, the bathroom was STILL not fixed. At around 9 PM they offered to move our party to a different room but did not tell us the extent of the damage of the toilet. We understood that the toilet would be fixed IN THE MORNING, so we did not switch rooms (again, we were side-by-side. they only offered to switch one room). We emailed the management that evening about wanting a different experience & If we could be refunded the SINGLE night for the SINGLE room that had a broken toilet. We did not demand a total refund, but we did express that we felt that we had been falsely advertised to. We expressed that the food options were limited and disappointing & that the location of the hotel was completely isolated from anything, which would require us to spend major money taking cabs. We woke up and went about our next day with no communication from management. It was after breakfast time that - with the toilet still not being fixed- we decided we were going to full send to another place in downtown Tulum. Breakfast was the same as dinner: overpriced and just fine (though I did have a delicious smoothie). Again, we were at breakfast for about 2 hours because it was so slow, and again we were one of two parties. Maybe I am just not relaxed enough for this kind of service. After breakfast, and while we still waited for any communication from management, we decided to try out the little Cenote across the street. I will leave another review of that on their page because that was amazing & literally the only good thing we found out there. After the cenote, we came back and the bathroom STILL WASN'T FIXED. There was now a team of maintenance people coming in and out of the room. At this point we had decided we'd leave but wanted communication from management. They finally called us around 1PM, saying that we would get nothing back, but we could upgrade to rooms at their neighboring property & get a free breakfast. LOL! Why on Earth would we want to waste any more time here? It was a really upsetting conversation because we were stonewalled. The manager claimed we "denied" his offers to upgrade our accommodations, but this offer came halfway through the day after we'd made the complaint. Why were we not contacted until we had already had enough time to be disappointed for an entire day? We'd already booked another place and now you're telling us we could stay and get free breakfast? They also claim that their dining options are sufficient, but any foodie would be horrified. I think one of them actually has a "Michelin" sign out front which has to be a joke. We left Alea feeling totally scammed and pissed off. This was the single trip I can afford to take this year, and unfortunately the touristy parts of Tulum are a scam unless you are wealthy. Downtown is the only spot that can cater to someone on a budget. We are warning you, dear traveler, to spend your hard-earned money elsewhere. We enjoyed Copal in Zama, which is where we ended up. The food at Alea isn't worth it. The location of Alea isn't worth it. Your money is not worth it. Enjoy your vacation, elsewhere. Not Alea, not Narea, and not Mareva.

Very professional staff, very relaxing facilities, beautiful view that my wife enjoyed. If there were any negative points, it would be the sargassum on the beach. But overall, it's a very good hotel and very private area.

We stayed 6 days after travelling round Mexico. The hotel is quiet enough the rooms adequate the food good but there isn’t much space to relax. A small decked area in front of the swim up pool rooms has 8 sun beds. The beach is rocky , it is possible to walk 150 yds to lie on the sand in front of other properties. The service is slow and occasionally problematic , I hate being reminded by waiters that service is not included every time we have breakfast, a drink etc. but perhaps that’s just a UK thing. The restaurant/bar area is next to reception so no sea views. I wouldn’t class this as a 5star resort.