Ahau Tulum, the hotel where nature is the new luxury

Surrounded by 20 beaches, but also protected by Table Mountain and Cape Point. This combination of sea and mountain turns its sunsets into one of the most magical spectacles that human beings can contemplate. And the best, you can do it from the heights.

A giant wooden sculpture is the sensation in Tulum and the entrance to Hotel Ahau. Its impressive height of ten meters and the perfect lines that define it attract the eyes of those who travel along this road, where the best accommodations in the area are located.

To one side of the enormous figure, one can read in small letters “Come to the light”, a phrase that gives the name to the work created by South African artist Daniel Popper, who in 2018 presented his piece during the first Festival of Art and Culture in Tulum ‘Art With Me *GNP’.

Popper’s art represents a native woman who opens her heart to allow people to enter her, and this is the preamble to the natural environment that can be breathed inside Ahau Tulum, a place where the mysticism and culture of the region go hand in hand with the luxury details impregnated in every space of this rustic hotel.

To get to this hotel most people use private transportation services, since it is very comfortable to move from the airport in a shuttle from Cancun to Tulum, because once they leave you at your destination you do not have to worry about anything else

David Graziano, who was a successful nightclub designer in New York, became a founding partner of Ahau eight years ago and last year created the ‘Art With Me *GNP’ Festival, where he negotiated with his friend Daniel Popper for his work to be the facade of this hotel in which Graziano shares a partnership with actor Roberto Palazuelos.

“Before the entrance was of pure sticks, but we removed them to put this figure that has been an unexpected boom. Ahau, by himself, was already recognized, we have eight years in the Mexican Caribbean, but the difference is that now, for people has become a ‘most’ come to Tulum and take the picture with ‘the doll’, “says Arturo Soto, general manager of Ahau.

When you cross the walls of natural plants that cover the woman’s torso, you notice the hotel’s relationship with “the doll,” as Ahau’s staff calls it, because the wood, the ropes and the nature with which it is made are all characteristic elements of the interior decoration.

To be as comfortable as at home, feel free to take off your shoes from the moment you cross the wooden figure, inside everyone walks barefoot on the soft white sand, a key piece in the composition of each area.

The Temazcal Experience

The tranquility that one breathes here gives way to yoga sessions, but also to the temazcal located among the green areas of Ahau.

Every Thursday, at 6:00 in the afternoon, the doors of the stone vault are opened, where Mayan ceremonies lasting an hour and a half are held, to allow tourists to experience up close these techniques which, since our ancestors, have been used for medicinal purposes.

Holidays

On weekends the atmosphere becomes more festive with live music that attracts local people, because both the hotel and the restaurant are open to guests and residents of this Caribbean destination. On Saturdays there are versatile groups to liven up the evenings and on Sundays you can enjoy dj’s while sipping a good house cocktail.

The Ahau family

Everyone is welcome here, so if you decide to spend the afternoon with your best canine friend, Ahau will welcome you with open arms, as it is one of the few pet friendly hotels in the area.

“Anyone can come with their pet, in fact, we have two dogs and two cats at the hotel that are free, the only suggestion we make is to take care of them and clean up if necessary,” says Soto, while he plays on the beach with his four-legged friends, also accompanied by Matías Ferré and Fernanda Domínguez, who are part of the Ahau family.

Another plus of Ahau is his traditional Mexican cuisine, led by Yucatecan chef Samuel Huchim Cime, who is in charge of designing unique and original Ahau dishes.

Among his specialties is the fish filet of the day, wrapped in chaya and mounted on a shrimp chilmole tamale. For breakfast, he recommends the broken eggs decorated with shavings of Iberian ham “are the Spanish classics, but with a regional touch, because we create our own hollandaise sauce with achiote”, indicates the chef.

Ahau, which is part of the Ahau Collection group, stands out in the hotel zone for being the first in the state of Quintana Roo to receive the Green Key certificate four years ago (along with two other hotels in the collection: Villa Pescadores and Alaya Tulum), an international distinction that recognizes sustainable accommodations that encourage habits that preserve the environment.

Through its recycling program, moderate logging, personal hygiene products in the rooms and its water treatment plant, they show the constant actions they take on behalf of the planet.

“We are still a luxury hotel, but with everything that is the forest, here people go barefoot, everything that is used is wood, no plastics. That’s why our motto is ‘Where the nature is the new luxury’, because we always try to offer that luxury, without forgetting that we are an ecological site”, points out Arturo.

Besides, it’s very easy to get from Cancun to Tulum with a Cancun to Tulum transfer, so you don’t have to worry about how you’ll get to your hotel. The prices are not excessive.

Because of its excellent location, Ahau Tulum enjoys having its rooms just a few steps from the sea and in a privileged area that provides the best views of the turquoise waters of the Caribbean, so if you’re looking for a space to relax with family or friends, this could be your best option to rest on the beach.