I booked a double room at the ‘minimalist boutique’ Teetotum for one night, mainly on the basis of the reviews that I had seen on TripAdvisor. I paid for the room in advance (USD100, or thereabouts). We arrived in Tulum by car from Coba in torrential rain. We experienced significant difficulty finding the hotel because the owner (whom I had e-mailed in advance) had told me that, coming from Coba/Vallalodid on the #109, the hotel was on the left just after the 109/307 crossroads (it’s actually on the right and it is very small). The Teetotum sign was suitably ‘minimalist’, and occluded by a parked vehicle on one side and by vegetation on the other. We were met by the US owner in a somewhat dishabille state of dress who rather grudgingly agreed to let us see the room (#1) before we unpacked our bags from the car. A concrete floor, even if it is a very good concrete floor (see an earlier review), is still a concrete floor. Swirly orange decor – we did not even want to see the bathroom. We immediately knew that this is not a place in which we would want to stay. The room was indeed minimalist but I use the term ‘minimalist’ in a pejorative sense. We could not identify the restaurant as such, though there was some plastic garden furniture scattered around in the lobby area at the front of the hotel which we believe to have been ‘the restaurant’. The ‘bar’ was in the same general lobby area. This whole area resembled a large carport. I have seen bigger bathtubs than ‘the pool’. Within a matter of seconds of having seen our room, we decided to leave to find somewhere more salubrious for our last night in Mexico, and we happily forewent our prepayment in its entirety. Fortunately, we are in the position of being able to make such choices. We agree wholeheartedly with the lower rating reviews on TripAdvisor but would go further. Now, it could be argued that we would have experienced a marvellous time had we chosen to stay, but I think that this would not have been the case. To describe this hotel as being a minimalist, luxury, boutique hotel (sic) is pure hyperbole of the most egregious nature. Be warned!!
- Teetotum Hotel Tulum
