Michelle C.
Yelp
When my friend and I decided to book a trip to Tulum, we did a ton of research on different hotels. Casa Malca was consistently mentioned in travel websites and blogs as one of the best of the best. The rates were drastically reduced at the time we were looking (late April, so heavy pandemic discount timing), though still a pretty big splurge compared to what I'd typically spend on a hotel room. We decided to treat ourselves and were rewarded with a pretty fantastic stay, though not without a few hiccups.
We booked a junior suite with garden view which was accessible by a private path lined with gorgeous flora, ending in a staircase to our second floor room. I will say the suite was one of the biggest and poshest rooms I've booked. There was a full couch facing wall to wall windows overlooking the garden, and a king sized bed that I believe was actually a California king - it was massive! The bedding was so comfy and there were loads of pillows. The AC was perfect throughout our stay, and we enjoyed little touches like the excellent bluetooth speaker (the UE Boom - same as what I have at home!), L'Occitane bath products, large, fluffy towels, great wifi and more.
Service was overall really excellent from the concierge staff to the restaurant hostess and servers (we visited Philosophy repeatedly throughout our stay) to the beach team. As guests of the hotel, we never had an issue securing a daybed, though the shadier beds were harder to come by after the morning hours. The beach was absolute perfection and the water was crystal clear. I was more than satisfied in this department! The hotel grounds are filled with cool artwork and many of the lounge areas are works of art in and of themselves.
And now, for a couple of things that were not so great. First, as everyone knows, you can't drink the water in Mexico. I've stayed at other properties that offer complimentary water service on the beach and throughout the common areas but that wasn't the case at Casa Malca. Our room was cleaned each day and we received a couple small complimentary bottles each time, but we generally had to remember to purchase larger bottles off property (a 1.5L bottle costs 50 pesos at the pharmacy - much cheaper than the tiny bottles in the hotel minibar). One night after arriving back at the hotel, we asked the concierge to send up more water but it never arrived.
Another pretty big issue we had was that the housekeeping staff left our door open one day. I went back to our room after the beach and could see that the door was open; I assumed the housekeepers were inside the room, then realized they had already cleaned and left, and simply didn't close the door all the way. Needless to say we let the front desk know right away. Though our valuables were locked up and everything was in place, this was unnerving to say the least.
Finally, a gratuity is always included in every check whether at the restaurants or on the beach (something like 10 or 15 percent). While this is totally fine with me, servers would constantly suggest leaving additional gratuity only in cash. I have no problem rounding up to 20% (or more for great service), but it was made pretty clear that unless we tipped in cash, the servers wouldn't see the money if we wrote it in as a charge. This was a theme at all properties we visited, not just Casa Malca. Not sure what's going on with that but it's also very difficult to find a working ATM anywhere in Tulum, so be sure to bring lots of small USD bills and/or withdrawal plenty of pesos upon arrival.
Casa Malca was a really great home base though it's a bit of a walk to many of the popular restaurants that are located closer to the beginning of the beach road area. Expect to take cabs at night (the sidewalks are sparse and the road is dark, busy and not well paved) and always negotiate before getting into the car. Choose this location if you want high end accommodations with less crowds than the properties that are closer to the north end of the road.