Arthouse Tulum

I could work comfortably from the duplex apartment, and there was hardly any construction noise despite being in Aldea Zama. My Zoom calls went without a hitch. The place had loads of space and natural light, and the pool was big enough to swim laps. It was cleaned every day. The pool beds were great, with curtains for working in the afternoon sun, and the Wi-Fi worked well enough by the pool. Restaurant and bar staff were really friendly. I only tried the coffee and smoothies, but both were good.

There were four of us in the two-bedroom apartment, and we had a small pool or jacuzzi on the balcony. The kitchen had everything we needed, and the apartment looked like the photos. We really enjoyed staying at the Arthouse and would recommend it.

The worst part was how the staff handled basic requests. We stayed nine nights, but housekeeping came only twice, and we repeatedly had to call for towels and toilet paper. One front desk employee yelled at me and asked whether I had a “good reason” to ask for those essentials. When I wanted to use the pool around 8 at night, I was yelled at again and told, very bluntly, that the hours were 8am to 8pm and it wasn’t their problem if I didn’t like it. The pool was already very warm in the hot weather, so we couldn’t swim at night. The restaurant beside the pool was supposed to serve breakfast, but didn’t open until 5pm, leaving no food or drinks available there from 8am to 5pm. We felt unwelcome and uncomfortable. Staff talked back and were disrespectful. This was the first time we’d had this kind of experience anywhere in Mexico. A very disappointing stay and a terrible customer experience. We’d booked well in advance, in May 2019 for an August stay, through a timeshare offer. Nobody mentioned the location or the construction nearby, which started making very loud noise early in the morning. The hotel was far from the ocean, and getting around was difficult without a rental car. We rented a three-room PH, but the front desk didn’t seem to know that. They initially showed us a two-room PH and insisted that was what we’d booked. We worked out where the third room was a few minutes later. The shower never had hot water, either.

I’ve now stayed in two Art House apartments and have been impressed both times. They’re beautiful, well furnished, and have modern A/C. The furnishings are consistently better than what I’ve found in other places around Aldea Zama, La Veleta, and elsewhere in Tulum.