The most Instagrammable Hotels in Tulum Zona Hotelera & Centro

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Planning a trip to Tulum and wondering what the most beautiful and Instagrammable hotels in Tulum are? Look no further, we’ve got you covered! In the last two years, Tulum has seen an enormous amount of investment, and as a consequence, an incredible number of stunning and photogenic hotels has been constructed. In this guide, I wanted to go through some of the most beautiful and Instagrammable hotels and resorts in Tulum.

If you’re new to this blog, hi! We are Liza and Jose, a Russian-Mexican couple based in London, UK. We try to go to Mexico every year and each time, I try to share the most useful city guides, tips and advice on this blog. Are you interested in more blog posts about Mexico? Read our Mexico destination page.

Here’s the table of contents where you can find all topic we are going to cover in this post!

Without further ado, let’s get started!

Where is Tulum and how to get there?

First of all, let’s clear all the possible questions about the location of Tulum. Tulum is a town located at the end of Riviera Maya in Mexico. It’s around 45 minutes away from Playa del Carmen and approximately 1.5 hours away from Cancun. Tulum is served by Cancun International Airport (check the prices for the flights to Cancun now). Airport taxis are usually very expensive (over $100) so sometimes it’s cheaper just to hire a car than taking a cab both ways! You can check prices for a rental here, however, make sure to avoid hiring from National or Hertz unless you want to be scammed (I can only recommend Avis and Sixt).

What are the different areas of Tulum (hint, there isn’t just one and they are quite far from each other)

If you’re wondering, who is Tulum for, I would say that everyone can go to Tulum! The Tulum city centre is more hippy/hipster/vegan /yoga-oriented, while the Zona Hotelera is great for both, party-goers and people seeking relaxation (depending on the hotel, though).

Tulum consists of two parts, Tulum Centro that is located away from the beach and Zona Hotelera, an area on the beach with the trendiest and the most Instagrammable hotels!

I have a separate guide about staying in Tulum and making sense of different areas of Tulum, from La Veleta to Aldea Zama, make sure to check it out here.

The most Instagrammable hotels in Tulum Zona Hotelera

Let’s start with the most beautiful hotel in Tulum Zona Hotelera (or the trendiest part of Tulum next to the beach)

Kanan Tulum

One of the most impressive and beautiful hotels in Tulum is Kanan. When you pass Kanan on the beach for the first time, you start wondering, which hotel is it, as it’s truly unique.

When we were choosing a place to stay in Tulum, we weren’t even considering Tulum, as the photos on Expedia don’t even do it justice – it’s much more impressive in real life than it is on the photos!

The highlight of Kanan are definitely the complex wooden structures all around the hotel!

You can check the prices and availability of Kanan here.

Azulik

Azulik is a hotel that became very famous on Instagram in the last months of 2020. It’s a bit similar to Kanan in a way it’s built plus because of the abundance of wood, however, it’s much bigger and also much more expensive (and a bit more impressive).

While the most impressive things in Kanan are outside of the rooms, in Azulik, even the rooms are very unique!

You can check the prices and availability of Azulik here.

@daniellenguild

Azulik’s new hotel in Tulum ##tulum ##azulik ##azuliktulum ##newhotel

♬ Heart Chakra – Beautiful Chorus

Delek Tulum

When picking a hotel in Tulum, we wanted to stay somewhere beautiful, well-rated and not very expensive and at the same time, we wanted to be in the middle of all the events and close to all the best restaurants in Tulum. Delek Tulum matched all these requirements and more! Service was extraordinary, and the beach area was terrific!

We had a stunning room (just look how pretty it is) and it was indeed close to all the places we wanted to visit in Tulum!

The only downside is that you won’t be able to sleep before 1 am as a trashy restaurant Bagatelle next door has their deafening music until then! The same problem will be with the hotel Ahau that is very close to Bagatelle as well. However, if you go to sleep late, that wouldn’t be an issue!

You can check the prices and availability of Delek here!

Papaya Playa

Papaya Playa Project is a large hotel plus beach club located right at the start of Zona Hotelera. It’s famous for its fabulous rooftop swimming pools, however, to appreciate them thoroughly and take the nicest photos, you need to have a drone and stay at a very expensive villa!

You can check the prices and availability of Papaya Playa here.

Be Tulum

Be Tulum is one of Tulum’s trendiest hotels, and it’s also absolutely stunning! It has the best service and a very impressive and luxurious beach zone.

You can check the prices and availability of Be Tulum here.

Nomade

Another of the very Instagrammable hotels in Tulum is Nomade. Nomade Tulum has one of the most beautiful beach clubs in Tulum. It’s truly unique with a lot of different sculptures and statues as well as constructions. The rooms are stunning as well, however, they are on a modern side.

You can check the prices and availability of Nomade here.

Ahau

Since Ahau installed their “Ven la luz” statue at the entrance to the hotel, it quickly became an Instagram-sensation. Ahau is very pretty and it’s definitely one of the most beautiful hotels in Tulum.

Ahau gets sold out very quickly, so make sure to check the prices and availability now.

Nest

Nest is a tiny boutique hotel with a lovely (and tiny) beach club. The hotel is built inside the jungle and looks very pretty and luxurious.

You can check the prices and availability of Nest here.

Rosa del Viento

Rosa del Viento is one of the most affordable photogenic hotels in Tulum’s Zona Hotelera, and it’s also tranquil compared to some other hotels. Because of that, it gets fully booked very quickly!

Rosa del Viento has a very photogenic beach club and a stunning turquoise beach – the hotel is located at the edge of Zona Hotelera, very close to the Sian Ka’an bio reserve.

Check the prices of Rosa del Viento now.

Instagrammable hotel in Tulum Centro / La Veleta

era hotel & spa

We didn’t have that much time to explore different Instagrammable hotels in Tulum Centro, however, we stayed two nights at era hotel and spa and it looked stunning!

At a very affordable price point (3 times cheaper than Zona Hotelera), this hotel has unique boho – industrial design and a very friendly and relaxing vibe!

Check the prices and availability of era hotel & spa now

Hotel Bardo

Hotel Bardo is one of the trendiest and the most photogenic hotels in Tulum Centro. Despite its slightly remote location, this hotel is very trendy and gets fully booked pretty quickly! We were considering to stay there for 1 night initially, however, we couldn’t find any availability!

Just look how pretty it is:

Check the availability of rooms at hotel Bardo now

Some other Instagrammable hotels in Tulum Centro:

Una Vida Tulum
Maka Hotel Boutique
Aroma Tulum
Copal Tulum
Turquoise Petit Hotel Tulum

Can you take photos at the hotels without staying in them (e.g. by visiting a beach club)?

If you’re wondering whether you can take photos at these very Instagrammable hotels in Tulum’s Zona Hotelera without actually staying there, the answer is yes and no. Most of the hotels in Zona Hotelera have their beach clubs open to non-guests as well. Some charge an entrance fee, some other ones don’t – however, they ask you to spend an X amount of money at their restaurant.

Some of the top beach clubs are very expensive, e.g. one-day access to Nomade beach club costs nearly $100 per person (however, you get a part of it as food credit). In other hotels, despite the fact that you’ll be paying $50 or $100 per person, you can’t even use sunbeds – you’ll have to sit at a restaurant table or on a pouffe all day – often without an umbrella.

Delek and Nest are two fine examples of hotels that won’t allow you to use their beach beds unless you’re a guest! And to be honest, I’m not 100% sure about the other ones!

If you have any questions, you can send me a message on Instagram! You can find me as @lizatripsget!

Stunning beach in Tulum

Planning a honeymoon in Tulum? Read this post about the perfect itinerary for a honeymoon in Tulum: from places to stay to things to do!

Some other posts about Mexico you might like:

Cancun vs Riviera Maya: what are the main differences
Driving to Chichen Itza from Tulum, Playa del Carmen or Cancun
Andaz Mayakoba review
Road trip to San Miguel de Allende and Guanajuato

Or check our Mexico destinations page!

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