Our Habitas Tulum

Why Our Habitas Tulum for a wellness retreat?

Because it invented the format the rest of the beach now copies. Our Habitas Tulum opened in 2017 as Habitas Tulum, the founding property of what is now a global Our Habitas group with sister sites in Bacalar, Namibia, AlUla in Saudi Arabia and Mexico's Costalegre coast. The pitch has stayed consistent: an adults-only, low-rise, tented resort where the wellness programme and the social calendar are the product, not the thread count.

Accommodation is genuinely tented, roughly 40 canvas-and-thatch structures with hardwood floors, palapa roofs and open terraces, some facing the sea and some tucked into the jungle. That construction is the point and the trade-off at once. It gives you cross-breeze, birdsong and a barefoot informality that a marble suite cannot; it also means you hear the ocean, the wind and, some nights, the beach bar. The property leans into that honesty rather than pretending to be a conventional five-star hotel, which is why we score it on its own terms.

The wellness offering runs from an elevated open-air deck and mixes daily yoga, sound baths, breathwork and spa treatments such as Thai massage, body scrubs and reflexology, drawing on both Maya ritual and modern spa science. Unlike a fixed multi-day retreat, it is largely a la carte, so you build your own rhythm. The kitchen is plant-forward without being dogmatic, and dinner is often served at a long communal table on the sand.

What are the best tents to request?

Go for a Beachfront tent if the ocean is the priority, or a Jungle tent if sleep and privacy matter more. The Beachfront and higher categories put you steps from the water with the best sunrise light, and the top tiers add a private plunge pool. The Jungle tents sit back from the beach bar, so they are quieter after dark, cooler in the afternoon and usually better value. Whichever you choose, remember there are no in-tent televisions and the walls are canvas, so pack an eye mask and earplugs and treat the space as a nest rather than a hotel room.

What are the food and evening scene like?

The kitchen is the quiet reason many guests come back. Dining is plant-forward and largely local, built around a wood-fired grill and a menu that changes with what the coast and the milpa deliver rather than a fixed carte. Breakfast is unhurried and healthy without being joyless; dinner is the set piece, frequently served family-style at a long communal table set directly on the sand, which is exactly how the Our Habitas ethos wants you to eat, shoulder to shoulder with people you did not arrive with.

That communal streak carries into the evening. Our Habitas built its early reputation on music, and the Tulum flagship still hosts DJ sets and occasional live performances on the beach, part sundown ritual, part loose dance floor. It never tips into a nightclub, but it is unmistakably social, and the energy rises on event nights. If you have come to switch off entirely, this is the part of the programme to plan around; if you have come to meet people and let a wellness week breathe, it is the best thing about the place. Between the two extremes sits the spa, where breathwork sessions, temazcal-style ceremonies and hands-on treatments give the days a spine that the nights do not.

How does Our Habitas Tulum score against the field?

It ranks third of twenty because it leads on atmosphere and location while conceding a little on the hard comforts. Here is how we read it against two neighbours you are likely to be weighing, using our editorial criteria rather than a marketing sheet.

Read that way, the choice is about temperament. Azulik is the more theatrical stay and the stronger honeymoon showpiece; Nomade is the gentler, more contemplative version of the same beach; Our Habitas is the one to book when you want practice by day and people by night. That specific fit, not a generic five-star checklist, is what earns its rank.

What are the honest cons?

Every property on this beach carries the same asterisks, and Our Habitas is no exception. Go in knowing these and you will not be surprised.

• It is adults-only. Wonderful for couples and friends, a non-starter for a family trip.
• Tented living is not for everyone. Canvas walls mean ambient sound and weather come through; humidity, insects and the occasional generator hum are part of the Tulum beach-zone reality, not a fault of this hotel.
• The beach road is a logistics test. Traffic along the Tulum-Boca Paila strip can be slow, power and wifi in the beach zone are less reliable than in town, and sargassum seaweed can affect the shoreline seasonally, typically heaviest from spring into summer.
• Rates are high for the rustic-luxe style. You pay resort prices for a barefoot product; if you want marble bathrooms and a minibar, your money goes further elsewhere.
• Social by nature. The community table and beach music are a feature for most guests and a drawback for anyone seeking silence. Pick a jungle tent and check the calendar.

Where is it and how do you get there?

Our Habitas Tulum sits at Carretera Tulum-Boca Paila Km 7.5, in the heart of the Tulum beach zone and within easy reach of the town, the cenotes and the Tulum ruins. Cancun International (CUN) is roughly 90 minutes to two hours north by car, the traditional gateway. The newer Tulum airport, Felipe Carrillo Puerto (TQO), opened in December 2023 and brings the drive down to around 30 to 40 minutes, so it is worth checking whether your route now flies there directly. Once you are on the beach road, everything is bicycle or short-taxi distance, and the hotel can arrange transfers.

The location earns its 9.7 because it puts three very different Tulum experiences within reach of one tent. The archaeological site sits on the cliffs a short ride north, the cenotes of the inland jungle are a 20 to 40 minute drive, and the beach itself is directly outside. Service is warm and personal rather than white-glove formal, which fits the barefoot register; the team is quick with restaurant reservations, spa bookings and cenote logistics, and staff turnover appears lower than at some newer beach openings, so the hospitality feels settled. Come for a long weekend and you will see the beach and the ruins; come for a week and you can fold in cenote swims, day trips and a real wellness rhythm without ever feeling programmed.

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