Insider

"On what's normally considered a busy strip, this small luxury boutique hotel offers a calm peaceful atmosphere with just eight rooms and one restaurant dedicated to its guests."

"La Zebra has a top-rated reputation for a fun ambiance, great service, chic rooms, and great beach access. The hotel has six different categories of rooms from basic Garden Rooms to beachfront suites with balconies and plunge pools. Rooms offer a harmony of natural beach tones and traditional textures that skips the flashy or industrial touches of other Tulum hotels. However, all rooms are still sophisticated and families will appreciate the suites, which come with one King-sized bed and two single beds."

"Located on the south end of the beach, Nômade is a dreamy resort where meandering pathways lead you through a jungle with thatched roof villas, treehouses, a yoga shala, a gathering nest, and a meditation tent. Each week the hotel offers a variety of programming from spiritual seminars, live music, tea and cacao ceremonies, and yoga. On the beach, there is a restaurant with seating areas, daybeds, and scattered hammocks shaded by swaying palm trees."

"The Aloft Tulum is one of the largest hotels in Tulum that offers the signature style of a Marriott hotel from their hip, colorful Aloft brand. It also offers many comforts that are hard to come by in Tulum, like industrial-strength air-conditioning and contemporary hotel rooms (that won't cost a fortune). The hotel is located halfway between the city center and the beach zone, which means it's a slightly shorter ride to the beach than from other hotels in town, but you can get there by bicycle or cab."

"There are a lot of glamping options in Tulum, but Nativus offers premium accommodations with access to a natural crystalline cenote. From the main area of the hotel, you'll find tents, a small restaurant, and a winding jungle path that will take you to the huge El Cenote Encantada, an open cenote where you can swim, kayak, and paddleboard. The cenote is not private, but it's hard to reach and find if you're not accessing it through a local business, so it doesn't get very crowded."

"In Tulum's super-polished Aldea Zama neighborhood, Orchid House is a quiet hotel with a serene nature-inspired design. As you enter the lobby, you'll first notice the interior garden with tropical plants and a small footbridge for a photo opportunity. Upstairs, the pool bar is the hotel's main attraction, with a classy take on in-pool seating so you can sip on a juice or cocktail without ever getting out of the pool."

"At Be Tulum, a lush entry includes tall leafy palms and meandering paths that lead to a stunning oceanfront, for what feels like a remote island oasis. Rooms are modern but embrace natural elements and colors with a variety of jungle suites and oceanfront villas with multiple bedrooms, rooftop terraces, and private pools. Rooms at Be Tulum feature so many stand-out design pieces, you'll want to take them home with you, like the cubical tree log nightstand or embroidered pillows."

"Also a little over an hour from the city, Amicalola Falls is the most notable feature of the Amicalola Falls State Park. The park has many hiking and walking trails."

"Situated on the roof of the Bok Building, a former high school in South Philly repurposed as a maker space, Irwin's offers natural wine and Sicilian fares such as caponata (a vegetable dish similar to ratatouille), bucatini with monkfish, and agrodolce chicken (a sweet and sour take on poultry)."

"This all-day, vegetarian-friendly café is open for brunch, dinner, and happy hour. Bloomsday is closed on Monday and Tuesday. It offers new spins on comforting classics, from a "waffled" croissant to seared mushrooms with polenta, and has an extensive wine list. If you want to take a bottle of vino with you, there's an in-house wine shop, too."