I don't even know where to start. First, I feel after all the time I spent reading and researching prior to booking my vacation, I'm able to offer some assistance to future travelers, as many others have given me. (and Thank YOU for that!)

We arrived at Azulik at dusk and were greeted by Ivan, a lovely young Mexican man that was very friendly. He was missing the keys the keys to the cabana and asked if we could wait a few minutes for the bellboy. A few minutes turned into more like 20, and not a big deal, but it was getting dark and we were dying to see the ocean, so I asked him if we could go on to our cabana and just sit on the deck. He said that was no problem, so off we went to see our view. Once on the deck, I didn't even care how long it took to get the key or our suitcases...just sit down and enjoy! And that's what we did. (after about 30 minutes Ivan brought the bags himself and the cabana was already unlocked. ;-) *Note, Ivan did say he would send us 2 beers for our wait... once we got to our room, I also put the flag out (the way of receiving room service). We never got our two beers, and after almost 2 hours, room service never came by even with our flag out. A bit disappointing, but nothing to stress over.

We lit candles, poured a drink (do take a flashlight, as yes the candles are lovely and help, but if you open the doors to allow the breeze through, most of them blow out, and they really don't provide enough light for accomplishing much at night), so we used our flashlight to get slightly settled, then out to our soaking tub on the deck to unwind in a nice cool soak while listening to the waves below us.

After a while of unwinding we decided to throw on slight clothes and venture out to Copal restaurant, though I had heard it wasn't very good and a bit overpriced, it was convenient. Copal does seem a bit confused at times. We sat down and waited at least 30 minutes and no one even came to our table. We walked over to the bar and ordered a drink and Gaspar, the bartender was a doll. Once we needed another drink and still no service at our table, we asked Gaspar if we could still order. Finally I guess they realized we wanted to eat, and our waiter came. :-) The food was good. Not great, still better than most of what I find in the states, but much more expensive and less authentic than what we found at smaller, non-resort type places in town. The atmosphere at Copal restaurant is beautiful and tropical though, and being a short jungle walk from your cabana is a fair trade off.

It would take forever and be much too long to comment on the entire trip so I will just give the highlights.

Day 1:

Breakfast in Tulum Pueblo at Don Cafeto's - WONDERFUL food and service. Can't say enough about this place.

Tulum Ruins - Amazing. Do not go without swimming in the ocean beneath the ruins. A break taking experience.

Drinks on beach as Paradisio Beach Club and lounging at Playa Maya

Back to Copal beach for nude sunbathing and relaxation

Appetizers at Ana Y Jose on the beach. Breaktaking. Rest of the evening beachcombing and enjoying our deck.

Day 2: Breakfast at Don Cafetos (fish tacos...divine!!!).
Drive to Playa Del Carmen. Fun day trip, beautiful water, nice for a few hours, but too touristy for me. Nice little bars on beach though. On the return to Tulum, swam at Jardin of Eden cenotes. Drinks at Oscar Y Lalos and back to Azulik deck to relax. Dinner at Zamas. Great food. (Still love town better) but view was amazing and restaurant had a great, lively, tropical feel with nice music.

Day 3: Don Cafetos... (garlic fish this morning), then to Xel Ha. Beautiful. Amazing water... great calm snorkeling, great food. ($70.00 US includes entrance and all food and drinks for the day, about 5 different restaurants and many bars). Wonderful day trip. Got way too crowded later in the day, so glad we arrived early. Back to Azulik deck and soaking tub where we stayed for hours, then ventured down the beach to a little beach bar just past Copal. Don’t remember the name, but great funky music, (Bebel Gilberto, Ella Fitzgerald, Mobe... just a great mix). Very low key and very Euro feeling. Stayed there until venturing back to Copal restaurant for dinner.

Day 4: Relax on beach at Copal. (after breakfast at Don Cafetos of course). A full day of pure relaxation. Breaks on the deck... beer on the beach, and early dinner at Zamas then back to deck for the most amazing moon/storm/star sky show we had either ever seen.

Day 5: Back to Cancun airport then back home. Sigh.

Pros to Azulik:

View, beauty in everything from the deck, the path to Copal, being on the deck or soaking tub nude and just enjoying nature, the feel of the breeze at night and hearing the waves crash from your bed, soaking in the wooden tub by candlelight, not knowing or caring the time, not wearing makeup, 'getting dressed' involved a swimsuit and sarong and being at one with nature. The staff was very warm and friendly.

Cons: "Room Service" was basically non existent. No one ever came when our flag was out. I ordered room service for coffee in the am and they never came. House keeping consisted of making the bed. We had to request clean towels daily. The water from the sink basin smelled foul like it was sewer water.

Notes: Overall, I still give Azulik a wonderful review. I have been struggling with my health for months. I almost did not go on the trip for that reason. I am so thankful I did. I don't know if was the weather, no stress, no time constraints or what, but I can honestly say I have not felt that good in over 6 months.

I would like to make note regarding some of the reviews I've read. For the price, yes, it would be nice if Room Service (since it is advertised that they have it), actually worked, (or just don't advertise it), to have the cabana cleaned daily, including fresh towels etc, but honestly, you're not paying for a luxury resort. You're paying for tranquility. And that is what you get. Beauty, nature, simplicity.

If you don't like reptiles or bugs, don't stay in a hut on the beach, no matter how upscale it is. Stay at the Hilton in Cancun, then if you have a problem with insects or animals, a complaint would likely be in order.

If you go to another county, learn their language. At least enough to get by, if you don't, you have no room to complain about the language barrier. Trust me, I speak very little Spanish, and at times it was very difficult, but it's their country... Most American resorts don't have fully bilingual employees for travelers, why should other countries?

Be patient. If you’re wanting full, quick service, a beachside eco resort is not the place to go. If you're thrown off by that reality, do more research before you choose a destination. You're not staying at the Ritz or even Holiday Inn. Respect the differences in our cultures and values and take the experience for what it is. If you go there with these things in mind, wanting these things, I cannot imagine you would not walk away with a renewed spirit and memories that you will never forget.

(Pics to post soon). Feel free to email me with any questions. I loved Tulum and Azulik and happy to share anything I can.

this was the most amazing place I've ever stayed. Sure, I like nice places at times and I'm no granola eating hippie. However I do love the outdoors, the beach, romantic settings, and a break from commercial Cancun and bass bumping drunk and rowdy college kids. You pull up to a sand parking lot surrounded by trees. When you get to the cabanas it will literally take your breath away. Beautiful!

If you need TV, hairdryer, etc this is not your place. If you can be entertained by beautiful views, the person you're with. hot baths at night on your own deck overlooking the ocean with a great breeze, candlelight baths inside your cabana, hanging in a swinging bed, sleeping in a bed with a white net blowing around you, laid back and truly authentic feeling Mexico experience then this IS your place. We stayed in both a beach cabana and a sea view cabana and HANDS DOWN loved the sea view better. You get a great breeze (we slept with the door open all night and were comfortable even in late May heat). The sea view ones are maybe 15 feet high on some rocks directly overlooking the ocean. We stayed in #9 which we liked because it was slightly in front of #8 and #10 so when hanging out on our deck we didn't really see them in our forward view (you can still look side to side and see your neighbors though). #12 seemed nice because it's on the end so you only have neighbors to your left and it has stairs that go directly down to the beach area. There just isn't as much breeze in the beach view ones and it didn't quite have the same dramatic feel. As far as where to eat...copal's restaurant (nextdoor) has good food average price $13 per plate for fish, veggies, rice, etc. You also have access to Copal's small pool and spa services. we had massages through them on the beach, I highly recommend! Zamas is down the road (walking distance) from Azulik and is GREAT. Nice staff, on the beach, good food, $10 ish for lunch, $16ish for dinner, good music at night. I can't say enough about Azulik and how much I loved it. IF there's anything I'd recommend it would be...
1) we took an eggshell mattress...we just went to wal-mart in playa and bought one for $12 and it was a great purchase.
2) you might want to take or buy your own sheets if you're into high thread count sheets like me ; ) They aren't terrible at azulik, but certainly a little rough if you have a sunburn.

We read all the reviews, looked at all the pictures, checked out neighboring resorts, and despite some trepidation, opted for Villa #1 (Romance Suite) and the beautiful azure blue and green Carribean Sea. We absolutely made the right choice. It was expensive, but you can travel the world over and only find a handful of places this private and this gorgeous. Villa #1 has wi-fi and an electrical outlet which turned out to be handy for connecting a small travel speaker to my ipod. We didnt really need it for anything else; it was the privacy we were after. The overhead fan didn't work but Propery Manager Miguel Angel was very friendly and responsive. He had it replaced right away. We didnt really need it anyway as the breezes were strong and fabulous in late April, early May. I did worry that I was trading a strong breeze for more privacy as this Cabana sits back a little from the rest. They privacy was worth its weight in gold, the views spectacular and there is a screen behind one of the windows to allow you to keep it open and the door closed at night. We did not see any mosquitos, ever. We loved it. Miguel also helped arrange a transportation for us to the ruins and a Hidden Worlds Cenote snorkeling tour. All the staff were gracious, responsive and accomodating.

In response to a couple of reviews here: we sleep on a hard bed at home, so it seemed perfect for us. We did bring a soft sheet, and more towels as advised in previous reviews. We did'nt need them. We loved the margaritas at Copal's beach bar and after several days of two for one "happy hour" in the middle of the afternoon, found ourselves barely able to leave the great guacamole and beach views to walk the short distance back to our private stairway and up to Villa #1. We thought the beach was beautiful on both sides of Azulik. Again we wore water shoes in response to reviews about rocks in the water. We did not need them. There are surely a few rocks and outcroppings here and there, but please, get a clue! These are gorgeous beaches. Even without the cabanas, its paradise! And we live on the Ocean. Perhaps some of these reviews followed hurricane damage. That would make sense. I will try to add some photos to this later so you can see its condition in late April, 08.

The food is good Mexican bar food, pretty decent breakfast fare, and some western fare like cheesburgers and french fries. We stuck to the great Seafood and guacamole. But my advice is to walk ten minutes down the road to one of the little restaurants right on the water and try something different every day. We loved the shrimp and music at Zamas. Our goal was to eat outside every night and dig our feet into the beach sand. It is convenient to just sign your room # for meals and we did that too.

We also loved the the eco-friendly aspect of no lights, tv, phones, environmentally conscious toilets, (recommend they look into composting toilets however) solar power, wind generators; treading lightly on this beautiful place, etc. It is a fragile environment. Some quick research on the web will tell you just how fragile...

Our last take is that this is the Jungle and that does not change no matter what your expectations of hotel accomodations. The jungle is one of the cleanest places on earth. If something dies, it's pretty much picked clean immediately. If you leave a chocolate bar out in your room, expect guests. I love the stories of people aghast when they break out the snack crackers and end up inundated by small voracious visitors...like a scene straight out of some Stephen King novel. Dont do it. Its that easy. Sharing your cabana deck with a couple of iguanas is kind of neat too! But I do have to agree with some of the comments about termites. Build it and they will come. Just remember this is the Jungle! We saw the sawdust in the morning, but never heard the little critters. and it wasnt so overwhelming that we could not deal with it. You have to expect some inconvience in life. Perhaps the winds were too strong when we were there or they might be worse in different seasons. But this is the Jungle, and Its pretty much the price you pay for location, location... location!

I just returned from my sixth stay at Azulik. There isn't too much I can add to all the reviews from previous years. This year I stayed in Villa #2. I was there three nights before moving next door to Cabanas Copal's Casita.
Upon my arrival at Azulik I was met by the manager MiguelAngel, who remembered me from last year. He has done an excellent job of supporting his staff in providing outstanding customer service to the guests.
Villa #2 seemed to be just like all the other Azulik Villas I had stayed in. Just about perfect in every way. The outdoor swinging bed is a nice touch that they have added to all the villas over the past year or so. There is a ceiling fan inside but with the nice seabreeze blowing most of the time you really don't need the fan. The staircase adjacent to Villa #2 leads right down to the beach. Very convenient! It's marked as private access for Villas #2 and #3 only but many other guests use it. I had no problem with that.
As always, I arranged to have a pot of tea delivered to my room at 0800 each morning and the room service guys were very punctual.
The weather was perfect, the seabreeze cool. The service professional and prompt. The was staff warm and friendly.
I always go alone but I don't think you could find a more romantic getaway for couples. Contact me directly with follow up questions, if you wish. Kensterfly at Yahoo.