Luxury Hotels of the World: Zamna, Tulum’s Eco-Chic, Jungle Bungalows

Zamna’s eco-chic overwater bungalows are the perfect place to relax and unwind in Tulum, and are close enough to the city to be convenient, yet tucked far enough into the jungle to be peaceful, relaxing, and restorative. Explore this mysterious jungle hideaway to find out why we loved it!

Name: Zamna
Location: Carretera federal Tulum-Felipe Carrillo puerto km 220-200, 77760 Tulum, Mexico
Price: $$
Languages Spoken: Spanish only
Staff Helpfulness & Friendliness: 5/5
Cleanliness: 5/5
Room size: 3/5
Room Amenities: 3/5
Room and Bed Comfort: 5/5
Safety: 4/5 (The doors and windows didn’t lock, but we never felt unsafe, because we were the only ones here)
Food Variety: 2/5
Food Quality: 5/5
Internet Service Quality: 3/5
Proximity to Other Points of Interest: 5/5

Zamna is a set of ec-chic, boutique, over-water, bungalows located in a cenote in Tulum, Mexico, that is also sometimes a concert and event venue. It is only possible to book it through Booking.com, but if you click here you’ll get $25 towards your stay at any Booking.com property, and I’ll make $25 as well! This odd combination of bungalows, cenotes, jungle, and concert venues is actually a perfect place for a romantic weekend, a girls getaway, or a place to be alone in peace (assuming it’s not a weekend when they’re hosting a concert or music festival), because it was so quiet and beautiful. I would not recommend this for large families, because they only had one king size bed in each room, and there are no doors between the rooms and showers/toilet, so you have to be very comfortable with that sort of thing to stay here.

We were the only ones here during our entire stay, aside from the two staff members we saw at check-in, check-out, and when they brought us our breakfasts, which made it extremely peaceful and enjoyable, because we had the entire place to ourselves! The staff only spoke Spanish, which wasn’t a problem because I speak it quite well, but it could definitely be confusing for people who don’t speak it, because they don’t accept credit cards, and they don’t have any food menus, but can bring you food if you are able to order it in Spanish (breakfast is included with the stay). Thankfully, the young woman I spoke with was kind and patient, and appreciated that I was trying my best to speak Spanish with her. If you stay at Zamna, definitely order the yogurt parfaits and coffee (“parfait de yogur y cafes, para desayuno por favor”) for breakfast, which were made with coconut yoghurt, fruit, local Yucatan honey, and homemade granola. It was one of the best breakfasts I’ve ever had!

Our room was sparsely, yet beautifully furnished with locally sourced blankets, a bed made from a solid piece of wood, and a hand woven rug. As I mentioned above, there was no privacy in the bathroom or while bathing, because there is no door aside from the entrance and door to the balcony, but if that doesn’t bother you, this is such an awesome place to stay. They brought a kayak for each of us and tied them under the bungalow, warned us not to wander into the jungle at night, and told us to call if we needed anything. It was very peaceful, and unlike anywhere else I’ve ever stayed.

My only concern staying here was that the back door to the balcony which led to the water didn’t have a lock, nor did the window in the bathroom. It was sort of creepy to think that someone could climb up or swim up and into our room at night while we slept, but everything turned out just fine, and we eventually relaxed and felt safe. We stayed in the off season (which is why we were the only one during our 3 day stay), and I had planned to go swimming in the water below our room (the staff had said that it was safe and we had seen them swimming, so thought it was fine), but as I was getting ready to head into the water, I saw something huge and black slide off the rocks just a ways down the path from us, and into the water. It was roughly the size of me, but it wasn’t a person, and it didn’t come up for air in the 4-5 minutes we watched it. I have no idea what it was, but we didn’t go into the water after seeing that. We also saw some sort of large, wild cat sitting just at the tree line of the forest watching us, and although it didn’t bother us when we left, I have a feeling that could have been why they warned us not to go into the jungle at night.

The water pressure at Zamna was fantastic, the air conditioning kept our room a comfortable temperature, the staff were so nice and went out of their way to make sure we were happy and comfortable, and it was just far enough outside of Tulum that we could relax without being bothered by anyone else, yet close enough to cenotes, shopping, and food that we didn’t have to drive far to get anything we wanted. Overall, I would highly recommend staying at Zamna, but I’d also recommend staying alert for animals, staying out of the water, and brining a Spanish dictionary with you.

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