Mereva Tulum in Tulum

Some of the staff was nice to us but
We didn’t get to swim as the beach was rocky and it was windy. The hotel shouldn’t be advertised as boutique luxury- they tried but it’s moldy, dirty and half of the time we didn’t get our room cleaned or had to ask to towels if we were gone the whole day- nobody would come in. They are low on staff- there were days when no chef at the restaurant and no food items available. The area outside is dirty and unpaved. If we had to go anywhere it cost us $35 one way. It is a rip off on all levels. We went to Nerea the beinorinv property to have lunches and hang out at their pools as our pool was super dirty- god knows when was the last time they cleaned it.

The setting is beautiful but everything else felt a bit run down and a bit stingy. I think expectations re showers should be managed upfront. In some rooms the water is tepid, in others it’s cold.

They did not want toilet paper to be flushed. The mini fridge was tiny and did not work. The pools were too dirty to use. The restaurant was adequate and catered mostly to non local dishes.
On the other hand the staff were very nice and the beach view was beautiful.

Felt like camping in a "boutique" hotel. We were moved here last minute from the sister hotel Alea due to "seaweed" a couple of days before arrival (walked past later and saw none). Looking at the reviews it looked similar to the other hotel with pleasant reviews so we weren't too worried about the change. Upon arrival however it seemed like Mereva was in an awkward stage, the pools were dirty and unkept and the staff seemed rushed and not helpful. The rooms had a Nespresso coffee maker but when I asked several days in a row for pods they said they were "on the way" but never arrived. Ordering a basic coffee they charged us for what tasted like weak instant. There was no TV as pictured which was fine, just strangely left broken looking. A lot of broken items seen throughout the hotel with items dangling precariously. The shower had almost no water pressure and it rarely got warm. Each time we tried to order any food from the restaurant they said they were out. One morning we wanted to get breakfast but they said there was no cook but "someone could make some eggs". Our initial reason for booking a hotel there was to spend time on the beach enjoying the days but after repeat denial of food items and being charged $480 pesos for one margarita.... We then tried to spend more time at the other sister hotel down the road but they had similar issues with no food from the menu and feeling like they didn't want us there.
In order to get to town it was around a $500- $700 peso taxi ride but we needed to eat. Most nights we ended up bringing our own food and water back to the hotel after town excursions as it felt like glamping at a remote campsite rather than hotel experience. Even asking for potable water from them felt like we were asking a lot from them. The only nice person working there we met was José who worked both hotels. I don't know if something catastrophic happened they didn't tell us about but overall it really made our first time to Tulum unpleasant. For our 40th birthday trip it was a real disappointment and I wouldn't recommend the area.