Tulum – Page 2 – Michael Wiggins

May 13, 2015

Tulum Dining Review: MamaMuu

MamaMuu was a place we passed several times, but hadn’t heard anything about ahead of time. It was walking distance from our hotel, though, and one night we decided to just walk to dinner rather than cab/drive somewhere. I’m so glad we went here, as this was one of our favorite meals and the ambience was nothing short of incredible. We were actually the first people in the restaurant, and at its peak there were only three other tables dining at the same time (which I hope doesn’t sound like a deterrent, I think the lack of crowd at this spot was really due to the lack of people in this specific area since it was low season).

Here’s the review:

Pros: Good ambience, good cocktails, cool outdoor firepit/grill (again, a theme), wonderful staff that was very helpful with both recommendations as well as fuming the restaurant with a local remedy for bugs
Cons: Off the beaten path a bit (we were almost attacked by random dogs as we tried to walk back to our hotel – which prompted us to quickly retreat to hail a cab at a closer hotel)
Must Try: Mezcal Flight (mezcal is a local tequila-like liquor that is much more smooth and layered than what you typically think of as a tequila), anything grilled (my SO had grilled vegetables and a baked potato – both awesome; I opted for a “chicken relleno” – mushrooms/cheese wrapped up in a bacon-wrapped chicken breast – equally awesome)

The Mezcofago Mezcal Tasting Flight, $150 Pesos

Til Next Time,

Michael

May 13, 2015

Tulum Dining Review: Casa Banana

The outdoor kitchen and grill at Casa Banana

I’m a sucker for any grilled meat, so trying the Argentinian meat purveyors at Casa Banana was a no-brainer. I’ll keep this one short, as this was one of the less memorable meals (by comparison). One unique factoid about our experience here, though, was that we opted to get seated quicker by volunteering to sit blind with another couple. A cool experience, but kind of awkward. We didn’t feel pressured to include them in our meal, but having them there (speaking in another language, no less) kind of spoiled the meal.

Here’s the review:

Pros: Good ambience, good cocktails, cool outdoor firepit/grill (still sensing a theme?)
Cons: A bit on the pricey side, does not take reservations, limited beer selection
Must Try: Appetizer sampler (specifically – the empanadas – absolutely incredible)

Til Next Time,

Michael

May 13, 2015

Tulum Dining Review: Posada Margherita

Yet another TIG recommendation, Posada Margherita is another spot that will definitely not disappoint. Not sure how the dinner crowd is, but if you head in for a late lunch you shouldn’t have too much trouble getting in. They have a beach front area too where you can lounge around and take in the scenes.

Here’s the review:

Pros: Huge portions, lots of great add-ons, relaxed and beautiful atmosphere
Cons: Juices are expensive, and you may very well start to fill up on all the other add-ons before your pasta dish comes
Must Try: Caprese Salad – served with Burrata and some incredibly fresh tomatos/greens (see below with the chef’s sampler breads/cheese tray)
Know Before You Go: There is a great beach in front of the restaurant that is available for use and relaxing by guests

Til Next Time,

Michael

May 12, 2015

Tulum Nightlife Highlight: Gitano

Upon completion of our dinner the first night in Tulum, we opted to try out another Meghan Markle TIG recommendation, Gitano. Known for being a Tulum hotspot/night club type atmosphere, we didn’t expect to stay long. But since we were in the middle of the week in off-season, we actually got a prime spot by the disco ball and ended up staying for a few drinks.

Here’s the review:

Pros: Great atmosphere, Disco ball(!) and good music
Cons: A bit cliché and can be less relaxing once the whole lot of tourists descends on the only real nightclub scene on more secluded beachfront roads
Must Try: Jungle Fever (cocktail with mezcal, chili, lime, cilantro)
Know Before You Go: If you ask nicely, you can sit anywhere you like (dancefloor couches included) even if you’re only having a cocktail

(Stardust cocktail – MEZCAL, DARK RUM, PINEAPPLE, PAPAYA,  HOUSE COCONUT CREAM)

Til Next Time,

Michael

May 12, 2015

Tulum Dining Review: Casa Jaguar

Our first night in Tulum, we took a page out of Meghan Markle’s Tig blog script, and tried Casa Jaguar. A very pleasant experience, and a wonderful welcome to Tulum, this spot embodies a lot of the elements of the style and topography indicative of Tulum. This spot is a “must” for any Tulum visitor, if only to have a drink or check out the spot.

Here’s the review:

Pros: Good ambience, good cocktails, cool outdoor firepit/grill, very friendly and accommodating staff
Cons: A bit pricey, cash only, limited beer selection
Must Try: Tuna Tostadas – an incredibly massive portion of tuna adorns each tostada, and they only cost ~180 Pesos ($12), a ridiculous price for such goodness
Know Before You Go: You can 100% get away with ordering many smaller plates rather than feeling obligated to get an entrée

Outdoor kitchen and brick oven at Casa Jaguar

Til Next Time,

Michael

May 11, 2015

Tulum Hotel Review: Rosa del Viento

For the first three days we were in Tulum, we opted for a beachfront resort back in the more peaceful Coba Sur/Boca Paila district where a lot of the extremely pricey hotels are found. The name of our resort was Rosa del Viento.

Here’s the review:

Location: The location is tucked away at the Southern-most end of the traditional Boca Paila district. This means that it’s probably a solid 20-25 minute drive from 307 and the beaches exit when you near Tulum Centro. This isn’t altogether a bad thing, but you may be fooled into thinking a place like this is much closer/”walking distance” to a lot of restaurants and such – which isn’t really the case. But cabs to most places will run 50-70 Pesos (a couple bucks), so the seclusion actually is quite nice in this case.
Facilities: The facilities are top-notch and the resort is laid out on pristine sand. The beach area, loaded with tiki huts, cabanas, day beds, and hammocks, ensures you always have a spot to park yourself. The views (both out towards the ocean as well as back in towards the property) are incredible, and are even a bit better when you consider that this resort is fairly secluded, so you don’t feel like you’re spilling over into other neighboring resorts.
Amenities: There aren’t too many amenities here (it’s Tulum – you really wouldn’t want to waste your time watching TV anyway), although the resort does have a great collection of games and a huge lot of subscriptions to all sorts of international trashy gossip mags (a favorite of my significant other – let’s just say she was thrilled).
Staff: The staff are super friendly and accommodating. We actually had to extend our stay while we were there and the staff was very helpful in setting up our room that we had to switch to for the final night. Some of the bartenders and servers go out of their way to try and earn a solid tip (e.g. bringing you free tequila shots, etc), but not in a way that feels pushy.
Rooms: The rooms are great, and the fact that there was AC is a huge plus for me (about half the resorts in this specific area are more “eco-resorts” which means they only have a fan and generally do not have AC at all, let alone electricity for most of the day).

Stunning view back into the resort from the ocean

Incredible shot from the restaurants out onto the beach, with cabanas & daybeds

One of the many daybeds, not a bad place to relax and soak up some sun

Til Next Time,

Michael

May 4, 2015

Travel Spotlight: Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico

tulum-ruins-e1359492392338 — The ruins at Tulum

Apologies for the long layoff on content! Over the past couple of weeks, I had been pretty wrapped up at work with an offsite conference as well as trying to do as much as possible in advance of a much-anticipated week off. Hence this post…

This past week, I took the opportunity to travel to Mexico with my significant other (SO). It was a wonderful time and I want to take some space on the blog over the next few weeks to document some of the great places we went and also offer some of my own lessons learned, tips, tricks, and other notes. Prior to departing, we found ourselves struggling to find many independent blogs or articles that reviewed a lot of the places we wanted to go (searching reviews from TripAdvisor and Booking.com and the likes can be incredibly mind-numbing). So we decided to come back and document as much as we could in the hopes that one day, someone may profit from our experience. Or – if not – we could at least have the documented information to lean on when we plan our next getaway to Riviera Maya.

A couple of the awesome places we visited that I will be sharing more information about and photos from in the coming weeks:

Playa Del Carmen
- Hotel: Mahekal
- Dining: Mahekal, Paxche,
- Nightlife/Entertainment: Fifth Avenue (“Avenida 5”), Kitxen
Tulum
- Hotels: Rosa del Viento, Livetulum
- Dining: Casa Jaguar, Casa Banana, Posada Margherita, MamaMuu, Cetli
- Nightlife/Entertainment: Gitano, Manuel’s, 2×99 Happy Hour
- Sightseeing: Tulum Ruins, Dos Ojos Cenote

Again, sorry for the hiatus and stay tuned for more to come… I promise I’ll try to tie it back in to the blog’s overarching theme somehow or another.

Til Next Time,

Michael