I have been to Zahra twice. In 2010 I stayed in the Chan cabana, in January of 2012 I stayed in the Tunich cabana. I was seeking out something rustic and affordable both times and the thatched roofs and wooden doors succeed at rustic, but there is simply no excuse for disgusting when it comes to accommodations, no matter what country you’re in. Read on to see why you shouldn’t stay here or ways to prepare if you do decide to stay there.

CONS

#1 Lack of necessary bath items- washcloth, hand towel, bath rug, beach towel. On top of this, they claim to be an “eco” cabana, but they gave us new towels everyday. I’m convinced that the “eco” thing for Zahra is an excuse for them to get by with doing as little as possible. They also reuse half-used shampoos and conditioners (this bothered me the least of everything relative to the bathroom). They do provide soap and shampoo/conditioner.

#2 Water/plumbing problems- one day, you will have no hot water, the next day you will have no water at all. One morning we woke up and there was water all over the bathroom floor- it had been leaking out of the sink faucet. Luckily, they replaced the disgusting corroded faucet that was there for a brand new one that didn’t leak. When they run out of water, it takes about 40 minutes for water to flow again, probably about the same amount of time to get hot water again.

#3 There is ONE light fixture for the entire room (approx. 100-120 square feet). Including the bathroom. They provide one candle, but that doesn’t help too much. You simply can’t see much in your cabana when it’s dark, even with a candle and the light on. I’m convinced that they do this so that you can’t see how utterly repulsive everything is.

#4 EVERYTHING is dirty. The cleaning people don’t dust anything, they just sweep, change the sheets and give you new towels everyday. I seriously doubt they have ever actually cleaned the shower (see photo). If you stay here, you will have to wear flip flops to take a shower. And I hope you are not allergic to mold! This place was considerably more disgusting than any hostel I’ve ever stayed in.

#5 There is absolutely ZERO attention to detail. The Zahra cabanas I have stayed in need hooks in the bathroom and main rooms and they actually need to CLEAN the rooms. They need a light fixture at the bathrooms and no holes in the mosquito nets. The mosquito nets are also not set up so that it is comfortable for sleeping. We had to rig a shoestring to the net at the head of the bead so that the net wasn’t on our faces at night. Another example: the bed was rotated so that the sheets were put on in the shorter direction so our feet hung off the bottom… clearly nobody who works here cares!

#6 No beach chairs or beach towels provided like most other Mexican cabanas- you have to sneak to use the chairs from a neighboring cabana or bring your own towel to beach on because Zahra doesn’t provide beach towels. It is my understanding that all beaches are public in Mexico (correct me if I’m wrong) so you can go to pretty much any beach, but you’ll have to be resourceful if you stay at Zahra.

#7 Front desk. The first time I stayed here, the guy who ran the front desk was awesome, he almost made up for how gross the place is. The tour that I scheduled got cancelled, but he called his friend who was a cabbie and he did the exact same (private!) tour for the same price as a group tour. The second time I stayed there, the woman who ran the front desk was grumpy, irritable and super UNhelpful. She was always ignoring people while they were standing at the desk and when we asked about where to find something (like a laundromat), she didn’t know. I don’t expect a place like this to have a concierge, but she should know where basic services can be found. Frustrating. You’re pretty much on your own for finding things out about activities and services in the area.

#8 Noise- If you stay on one of the cheaper cabanas (Tunich, Chan) you should not be a light sleeper and you should bring your earplugs. Ask for the cabanas that are farthest from the road & restaurant of possible. The restaurant BLARES music until 11pm at night, and you can hear it loud and clear in both Chan and Tunich. I am unsure about the more expensive cabanas and the sound thing- I imagine the ocean drowns out the noise for a lot of the others and they may be far enough away from the road/restaurant for it not be an issue.

#9 Restaurant- noisy, not-so-awesome food. As mentioned before, the music is BLARING- you can’t even sit at the bar it’s so loud and people were hanging out screaming and yelling right outside our cabana until closing at 11 pm. Thatched roofs don’t help with this. For food, really enjoyed Mateo’s and La Zebra (best food we had, maybe in all of Mexico- get the fresh sugarcane mojitos or the Full Moon smoothie and the fish tacos)- both are down the road and worth the walk/bike ride.

PROS

#1 Minisuper “Pipazo” (a convenience store with virtually everything) is right across the street. There is also a supermarket on the road from Tulum Pueblo- about a 20 minute bike ride. They have EVERYTHING there- including coolers, liquor, clothing, toiletries, towels, etc.

#2 Location is great. Zahra is quite close to the main part of the hotel zone of Tulum. It’s near snorkel and bike rentals, and just a 10 minute bike ride to the Tulum ruins, a 20 minute bike ride to Tulum pueblo and 20 minutes by bike to La Zebra.

#3 It’s cheap. You should stay here if you don’t want to touch anything and if you want to bring a lot of stuff to make your trip enjoyable. If you do decide to stay here, you’ll need to bring a lantern/headlamp (or both), a washcloth, a beach towel, a hand towel and a beach chair/sarong and earplugs. So much for packing light!

#4 They do provide something! They have wifi and have purified drinking water in the cabanas. Hallelujah.

Excited to arrive in Tulum, our experience of Zarah could have been enough to make us catch the first flight home. Ignored on arrival when we tried to check in - we were given an "talk to the hand" signal by the vacant girl behind the desk who was far too busy chatting to her boyfriend. Such an effort was it to show us to our dimly lit, dirty room we felt less than unwelcome guests. Damp smelly towels and sheets with unidentified brown stains were less than we hoped for - as were the horrifically smelling blankets at the end of the bed - NEVER been washed. Anyway - we thought rustic tp say the least but waking up to the sunrise over the beach put us back in good spirits. Thinking we had a great deal - after a bit of asking around we discovered we were intact possibly staying at the worst place in town. After three days we decided time to move on down the road to a safe, clean and friendly pousada... however on trying to pay.... the owner tried to charge us double the agreed price. The high (/low point) of the heated conversation culminated with him sticking his tongue out at us and pulling a make believe pistol out of his pocket and pointing it at us....

There was no rhyme or reason for his madness - even when we showed him on paper the agreed price they had written for us he was still raging. A little bit shaken we moved into our new pousada Zarha down the road who gave us a margarita on the house - apologized for our misfortune and could not have been kinder.

I could go on... but this should be enough to sway you away from this horrible place!

My boyfriend and I paid 35 pesos for a cabana. The rooms were very basic but we didn't come to Tulum to sit in our room anyways. Cute bar with very cheap drinks, nice beaches in the area. Staff was extremely friendly. Would return.

We stayed two nights in the zarah and had different opinions about this "Hotel". Having One of the rooms direct to the beach is nice and of cause you get blinded by this fact. Everything else is just basic and either on low standard or old and worn out! In addition to that, nearly no service available (no towels for the beach, also no sweet water shower. Overall far to expensive - you will find better rates in more luxurary and comfortable places on this beach.