Review of El Pez in Tulum

Neal and I visited Tulum in December 2020 after spending a few days in Isla Holbox. I 100% recommend Isla Holbox over Tulum, but if you do visit Tulum, there are TONS of hotel options along the beach strip.

We looked online and found El Pez. It is part of the Colibri Boutique hotel group, which also owns La Zebra, Mi Amor, Mezzanine, and El Pez. The price seemed to be great compared to others around the area and the rooms still seemed to be very clean, beautiful, and unique!

The Room

We originally booked 7 days at El Pez and had the “La Casa Caribbean View Room,” which is the second “budget” option, for $2,439. Week of our trip though, we switched it up (very unlike me!) and shortened our time in Tulum to see Isla Holbox beforehand. We ended up getting one of the best rooms, the “Beachfront Superior Room with plunge pool” for 4 days for $1,127, which was a much better deal!

Our room was pretty nice! It opened right up to the beach and we had a day bed and a hammock on our patio. Then inside we had a king-size bed, a couch, and a welcome bottle of mezcal and turn-down service included a different tea every night. The bathroom was very nice; however, the shower opens up to the back garden area where the plunge pool is. The door doesn’t completely close so we had ~5 spiders in our shower at any given time.

The plunge pool was a nice touch, but was very curious how often it is drained and cleaned… There is also an outdoor shower next to the plunge pool, but since you are in the jungle, you do have to contend with mosquitos.

The idea of the layout was VERY nice, but the execution needs to be updated just a tad in regards to pest control. Another con was that the only way to and from the room is through the sand. They do have small clay fish with water in them to rinse the sand off, but then your feet are wet… It’s difficult to dress cute and wear nice shoes out when you have to walk through sand to get to the street.

Extra Touches

They had some really cute touches that made it seem much nicer! We went right before Christmas, so we came back to our room one night with mistletoe hanging over the banister :)

We were also gifted a complimentary bottle of mezcal, orange and grapefruit slices, and smoked salt upon arrival, along with a cocktail ordered at check-in and brought to our room. Very nice touches!

Every night, we had turndown service which included a different local tea (already steeped and kept in a thermos to keep it warm), and 2 local chocolates to correspond with the tea.

The Food & Drinks

One great benefit was complimentary breakfast. The breakfast was really fantastic - I got the French toast most days and it was so rich and so delicious. They have plenty of healthy options and some great smoothies, too.

We ate dinner at El Pez one night and it was pretty expensive. We got 2 cocktails, a beer, shrimp, some grilled fish, and a couscous and veggie bowl and it was around $150. If I do return, I most likely won’t eat dinner there again.

My favorite cocktail was the Angelfish, which has citrus vodka, lime and basil sorbet, fresh lime, and topped with champagne! The beers were $4.50 each instead of $2 in Isla Holbox, so Neal picked up some Modelo on the drive in to help with that cost :)

The restaurant did have an incredible view, though. It was so nice being able to eat breakfast right on the beach and feel like you were in paradise!

The View

The view was very nice and so unique! The beach is VERY rocky, so it isn't very enjoyable to swim or walk out in. We lucked out by going in the winter when the algae are at their lowest. Right around the corner though is the huge stretch of beach that Tulum is known for.

We did love having a room right on the beach and the French sliding doors opening right up to the sand. Though we did have a crabby visitor one night lol.

The Service

The service was okay! We were given the wrong room key twice when we checked in… It was during COVID so they very well could have been overwhelmed with the new protocols. Same with the restaurant servers - it took quite a while to place your order and then receive your order. Thankfully the view was nice :)

The Location

It is right next to a cliff and some MAJOR traffic. They do offer free parking if you’re driving yourself but keep in mind that traffic in Tulum is truly horrible. It is a two-lane road with construction going on constantly. The hotel is towards the front of the strip, and most of the restaurants, shops, bars are further down. If we go again, we would like to stay at La Zebra which is in a better location with a better beach!

Final Thoughts

Overall, it was a nice room and we got a deal on it! I don’t think we’d return to Tulum or this hotel, but we didn’t hate it! I think if we went to Tulum before we went to Isla Holbox, we would have enjoyed it more. Isla Holbox was just so perfect that going to the craziness and inauthenticity of Tulum afterward kind of left a sour taste in our mouth :/