Hotel Bardo immediately impresses with its secluded, jungle-inspired retreat concept. Tucked away on the outskirts of Tulum, it offers an intimate and tranquil atmosphere, enhanced by thoughtful architecture that seamlessly blends concrete, wood, and lush greenery. The villa-style accommodations provide complete privacy, featuring personal plunge pools and open-air showers—details that contribute to the overall sense of relaxation. The hotel’s 24/7 pool and soft lounge music add to the meditative, almost dreamlike atmosphere. As a dedicated "do-nothing" vacation, the hotel delivered on peace and serenity. However, a few key areas fell short of its high-end image. Standout Positives & Final Verdict Despite the food and service shortcomings, the hotel excels in its serene atmosphere, well-designed accommodations, and immersive retreat-like setting. The ability to swim at any time was an unexpected luxury, and the spa was a highlight—one of the best massages I’ve had. Expanding the wellness offerings could further elevate the experience. Hotel Bardo is close to being extraordinary. With a refined dining experience, more attentive service, and an expanded spa, it could easily achieve a truly seamless luxury retreat status. Would I return? If these aspects improve, absolutely—I’d book three weeks.

Food & Service: A Missed Opportunity The most glaring disappointment was the food. While not bad, it was uninspired and lacked variety. Presentation, flavour, and creativity were all underwhelming, making it difficult to justify staying in for meals. This ultimately broke the immersion, as we often opted to eat elsewhere. Service was friendly but inconsistent. Miscommunications were frequent, even in Spanish, and small details were overlooked. For instance, room service trays were left uncleared for days, and orders were sometimes incorrect. While these issues were minor in isolation, they added up to a service experience that felt unpolished. My personal Rating: A+ (Very good, with clear potential to become pristine)

We had an overall nice stay in Bardo Tulum. The hotel has great ambience and the stuff is very attentive.

Our booking included breakfast only to realize at location that only few options were included (fried eggs, an omelet, another dish with egg, fruits, juices and coffee) for all the rest you had to pay extra (i.e. eggs benedict). I found this to be inelegant and on the "cheap side". Happy to pay extras (mini bar, drinks, extra coffees etc but this does not make much sense). We tried dinner once and it was average at least for our tastes/standards. The plunge pool is way too small and not cleaned daily.

I visited Tulum in September, and I must say Hotel Bardo did not disappoint! Our experience was everything we wanted and more. Although set off the beaten path, the location was perfect for what we wanted to do. (I do recommend renting a four wheeler for getting around town and getting to the beach though.) The customer service was top tier; everyone at the front desk was very responsive. (You have to communicate via whatsapp). The food was also delicious. The minor cons are the water in the plunge pool is really cold at night. The lighting in the room is dim if you plan to put on/wear makeup. Otherwise, I would definitely plan to stay here again.

The grounds of the hotel are beautiful. We came to stay for a few nights for our honeymoon and had a fabulous time. The villa itself is comfortable, with a living room area, huge bed and gorgeous bathroom. The surrounding communal areas are also so beautiful and atmospheric, with a jungle theme. The pool is wonderful and sun loungers etc very comfortable. The staff are so welcoming and cannot do enough to make your stay exceptional. They are a real credit to Bardo. We had some lovely cocktails at the hotel bar too! The food and drink was very expensive which soon added up, so you do need to take that into consideration when staying here.

We had a private plunge pool outside our villa which, although a nice touch, wasn’t heated. The main pool is also not heated but gets enough sunlight to get a bit warmer. Unfortunately our villa outside area was shaded so the pool water stayed very cold during our entire stay, and therefore we didn’t use it during our stay. It would also have been nice if breakfast had been included as standard, which is usually the done thing in Europe when you stay at a luxury hotel. The price of the room is very expensive, so getting breakfast included in the price would be a nice touch.

The hotel and surroundings are beautiful - our room was gorgeous and we had a lovely relaxing time..

Few pointers.. the hotel did take a holding amount on a credit card on arrival - wasn’t aware this would be the case.. Was charged what they called an environmental tax on leaving - we stayed at two other hotels also in Tulum which didn’t charge this.. The hotel was very expensive to eat/drink hot drinks in- 2 lattes = 10.00., just to be aware. Maybe the offer of inclusive breakfast would be a good option to add . This didn’t spoil our holiday as gave us opportunity to explore some wonderful local restaurants .. and the local bakery at end of road.

Amazing pool area, with great cocktails on the menu and no kids allowed. The reception staff was also super helpful and gave us great recommendations to go out. The rooms are exactly like on the picture, modern and clean.

The hotel is in a quiet part of the city so will take you 20 minutes by car to go to the festive beach area (restaurants/ bars/ clubs )

We LOVED this place and will be coming back! The fact that it is tucked back in the jungle and each suite was so secluded from all the others, we felt like we had the place to ourselves! The staff was over-the-top helpful and offered great recommendations! We loved the room and that the shower was outdoors :) The plunge pool was a great add and we felt 100% safe here. I practiced yoga in the shala and they offered a lot of classes and had excellent food/drinks at the restaurant. We rented a scooter for 2 days and had a blast exploring the city and cenotes this way. We also spent an entire day at the sister hotel, Milam, which was OUT OF THIS WORLD and free for Hotel Bardo guestss!! We booked a massage there and had the whole place to ourselves!! It was incredible!!!!

The one complaint I have about this place was that there wasn't coffee in the room. Although room service was available and quick to respond, we had to pay for every (tiny) french press we ordered. I think it was $6 USD for one small french press (equliant to 2 cups of coffee) and we ordered at least 3 each morning.

Bardo is… unique… When arriving at night, at the front desk, we could already feel that the atmosphere was different then other places we’ve been too. At the very first step you make your way to your room, you know that you are on a journey. When passing by the pool with all those trees, plants, lights, and decorations it gets clearer why you came here. You can feel the balance and respect that has been put in between the style of the infrastructures and the nature that is surrounding it, making it a place of harmony. Once we’ve arrived at the end of the path to our room, we could only be amazed by the simplicity, authenticity and taste of decoration. We were about to live in connection with Mother Nature. The transformation starts here. Not only the hotel made us feel reconnected to nature but the themazcal made us reconnect to our true selves and we felt more alive. It’s an incredible experience that I recommend to anyone who meditates and is looking for a higher self awareness and spiritual connection. Also the staff made us feel welcomed and took great care of us at anytime and any moment! Special thanks to Jay, Fernando and Shio at the front desk, who were really helpful and devoted when ever we needed help; to Alejandro, Martin, Manual, and Martin for there smiles, positive vibes and sympathique but professional way of being; to Gloria and the massage team who are very professional and caring; to Diego and Claudia, for they’re open hearts, minds, spirits and amazing work; to the cooking staff for there delicious dishes; to the security staff, who made us feel safe; and finally to the cleaning and gardening staff that makes this places magnificent, cared, respected and always tidy. And, of course, a big thanks to all the other staffs part of Bardo that we didn’t mention and made this place possible. Thanks to you, Bardo, we found a place of harmony, beauty, spirituality and wellbeing.

The hotel looked exactly like the photos and didn’t disappoint. The room was stunning and we loved the pool and all the facilities. The staff couldn’t do enough for us and were polite, pleasant and very helpful/charming. I really liked that reception would message on WhatsApp and could action any requests you had without having to leave the room. Fer and Jay were both really helpful and assisted us with our requests plus booking taxis etc

Only from a personal pov, as we know it was the aesthetic of the hotel, but would’ve been nice to have a main light in the room as it was very dark at times. Also, the shower pressure wasn’t great and I found it difficult to rinse my hair.

We really enjoyed our stay at this lovely hotel and would choose it again if ever in Tulum. The place is absolutely stunning, a true oasis, and we loved coming back to it after a busy day outside. Both public spaces and the room are beautifully decorated and surrounded by nature. The entire team was helpful and accommodating (shout out to Jay from the front desk!) and communicating with them over whatsapp was very convenient. As other reviews mentioned the hotel is a bit isolated but for us it worked well - we never choose to stay in touristic zones where there is nothing but hotels. We easily walked (during different times of the day) to the city centre and to the vibrant neighbourhood La Veleta to have dinner. Its a nice and safe walk.

I wouldn't say we 'didn't like' something. The things that perhaps could be improved are: 1. Variety of vegan options, especially for breakfast (to be fair, apart from fruits there weren't any so we ended up having breakfast at the nearby café on most days). 2. The plunge pool temperature was way too cold for us so could not enjoy it. 3. As others mentioned in their reviews - the aircon in the room is poorly positioned with the air blowing in your face. Its impossible to sleep with it during the night, but without it, for us it was a bit too hot. We got used to it towards our end of the stay and just slept with open windows but not everyone would like that.