If you haven’t entered any dates, the rate shown is provided directly by the hotel and represents the cheapest double room (including tax) available in the next 60 days.
Prices have been converted from the hotel’s local currency (USD416.50), via openexchangerates.org, using today’s exchange rate.
Casa Chablé is set in one of the most magical settings in the already very magical Yucatán peninsula. The Sian Ka’an biosphere’s name is often translated to ‘gate to heaven’ – and, well, with its frolicking dolphins and turtles, mangrove-lined lagoons, forested isles, cenotes and sandy beaches, we can’t really argue. With the arrival of this glorious eco retreat, from the renowned Chablé group, the name rings even truer, because aside from an all-access pass to the crown jewel of Quintana Roo, you also get soul-soothing activities and enlightening eco talks, cookery by Mexico City’s finest, tailored service, and elegant villas from which to watch both sea and lagoon. Heavenly indeed.
10. Five suites in the main villa and five standalone bungalows.
Check–Out
Noon. Earliest check-in, 3pm. Both are flexible, subject to availability.
Prices
Double rooms from £403.56 ($504), including tax at 21 per cent. Please note the hotel charges an additional local city tax of $8.25 per booking prior to arrival and an additional service charge of $10.00 per booking prior to arrival.
More details
Rates include either a Continental or American breakfast. Some activities are included in your room rate too.
At the hotel
Private beach; spa and gym; oceanfront wellness cabana; yoga and meditation deck; organic kitchen garden; bikes, paddleboards and snorkelling gear to borrow; concierge; free WiFi. In rooms: Smart TV, Sonos soundbar, minibar, bathrobes, air-conditioning.
Our favourite rooms
All suites and bungalows, styled by long-term Chablé collaborator Paulina Moran, have an appropriately earthy feel, with furnishings and panelling in tropical Parota wood and indigenous handicrafts (weaving, basketwork, sculpture) on display. Yet, they’re all glamorously groomed, too. As lovely as the Casa Principal is, we like the sand under our feet and a touch of voyeurism, so the bungalows with their private terraces, beachfront settings and cheeky alfresco showers are ideal.
Poolside
There’s an infinity pool set close to the Casa Principal, which also has a rooftop plunge pool and bar.
Spa
There’s no set spa, but you’re in healing hands at any of the Chablé stays which draw on indigenous and Ayurvedic practices and use all-natural ingredients in treatments that can be taken in different areas of the property. Plus, there’s a shiatsu massage chair, wellness deck for yoga and guided meditations (both charged), copal cleansings, and a fitness room.
Packing tips
Bring active wear and cover-ups for after-dark, and a GoPro will help you document your discoveries without heartbreak should it fall into a lagoon. Unfortunately, the over 300 species of mosquito here are as protected as the other flora and fauna; they shouldn’t give you too much grief onsite, but if they bug you, try a natural alternative to repellent (like eucalyptus or citronella oil), which is banned from the biosphere. And, of course, leave nothing when you go.
Pet‐friendly
Well-behaved pups under-11kg are very welcome for US$131. They must be kept on-lead at all times and there's a limitation to one dog per room. See more pet-friendly hotels in Tulum.
Children
Much like when manning a canoe, you don’t want too many guests tipping the balance – the Casa feels more for couples, although there are some activities little ones could partake in, and ‘draw and learn’ sessions for three to 12 year olds.
Sustainability efforts
The Chablé brand are fully committed to a harmonious relationship with the Earth, and with this Casa set in the Unesco-protected Sian Ka’an biosphere, this respect is all the more vital. The stay is fully powered by solar and wind power, built with renewable materials, water and waste are carefully managed with grey water used for irrigation, plastics are banished, local flora and fauna are carefully monitored and looked after, mangroves are reforested, and local hires give the surrounding community a boost. The hotel has partnered with Mexican conservationist group Comunal to ensure they’re as Earth-friendly as can be. Furnishings are made from sustainable Parota wood, and local handicrafts are displayed throughout. Beyond that, the kitchen gathers ingredients from the onsite ka’anche (kitchen garden) and chefs work with like-minded farmers, fishers and makers. Activities (talks with local experts, beach-cleaning outings) aim to educate and engage guests.
You’d be hard pressed to find a table without a view, but as a rule, get closer to the Caribbean coast for sunrise, and look out over the lagoon for sundowners.
Dress Code
Take inspiration from the floaty Yucateco huipils (tunic-style outfits) and colourful folkloric Otomi embroidery.
Hotel restaurant
Mexico City restaurant Quintonil has been rightly revered for its clever modern takes on Mexican cuisine that’s been around for centuries: smoked heirloom tomatoes with a Oaxacan cheese dressing and grasshoppers, stone crab in green mole with blue-corn tostadas, mamey-fruit panna cotta. And, lucky guests, the restaurant’s head honcho Jorge Vallejo has travelled south to oversee the dining at Casa Chablé (as he has the brand’s other properties) and pass the torch to executive chef Alejandro Chavez; and, much like at Quintonil, recipes will dig into Quintana Roo’s culinary past, using ingredients from both the hotel’s ka’anche (kitchen garden) and fine produce from native suppliers. Dining can be tailored to your tastes too – if you’d prefer to have dinner by the ocean or lagoon, in a palm-enclosed patch or in your oom, you just need to ask.
Hotel bar
There are two bars, one in the lobby, the second atop the main villa with devastatingly beautiful views over both the hotel’s good sides.
Reserva de la Biósfera Sian Ka'an
Carretera Tulum Km. 34.5
Javier Rojo Gómez
Punta Allen
Tulum
77780
Mexico
Casa Chablé is remotely set on a leafy archipelago hanging off the Sian Ka’an biosphere, about 40 kilometres south of Tulum.
Planes
Tulum is the closest international airport, around a 90-minute drive away – and one that’ll give you panoramas of the Caribbean Sea and Quintana Roo’s jungly interior. Alternatively, land at Cancun and take a leisurely three-hour drive along the coast.
Automobiles
The casa is one of the remotest resorts along this stretch of coast – largely you’ll be ferried about by hotel staff during your stay, but if you’re road tripping or want to take day trips to Tulum and Mayan ruins inland then a set of wheels will come in handy.
Other
On request, you can arrive at the gateway of the biosphere, and then you’ll float over to the hotel’s dock on a 35-minute private boat ride through lush, mangrove-edged lagoons.
Worth getting out of bed for
On the map, the skinny slick of land Casa Chablé rests on looks like a loose thread dangling from Quintana Roo’s Caribbean coast, but it contains an immense amount of beauty, with a phalanx of palms to one side and porcelain white sands on the other, fading into waters that look like aqua-stained glass on a sunny day. It’s part of Unesco World Heritage site the Sian Ka’an biosphere, set away from the more touristy parts of Tulum and amid 12 acres of jungle, ensuring you’re fully immersed in nature. The private beach has pairs of loungers, canopied day-beds, hammocks and cosy wicker nests where you could happily while away your stay; however, you should jump on the opportunities to gorge on one of Mexico’s most picturesque parts. Private guides will take you around the wetlands, saltwater lagoons and reefs, pointing out turtles, dolphins and manatees along the way. Roam about by boat or canoe, go on a guided snorkelling safari, fly fish, spot tropical birds or attend talks by local experts to enlighten yourself about the biosphere’s wonders and learn how it can be protected. You can also tour the hotel’s gardens, learning about plants in Mayan culture; go on beach-cleaning missions to keep the spot pristine; discover how drinking water is cleaned using reverse osmosis; learn jungle survival skills (fish catching and preparation, how to hack open a coconut), dive into cenotes and venture into secluded caves, or go further out into the Caribbean on an early deep-sea-fishing trip. Hire a bike for a ride to fishing town Punta Allan with a guide, or staff can also map out a seven-kilometre jogging route which ends refreshingly at a natural pool. Back onsite, you’ll pass the time tequila-tasting; making tamales, salsa and guacamole; contorting yourself to various yoga styles; meditating over sunrise at the wellness cabana; raising a glass to sundown; or getting to know your fellow guests at a barbecue. With Tulum’s clifftop Mayan ruins a mere 90-minute drive away, it’s worth a day-trip, with stops at Laguna Kaan Luum, a lake which looks like an iris peering from the greenery and the ruins at Muyil, one of the earliest inhabited Mayan sites.
Local restaurants
The hotel’s remoteness is part of its charm, so aside from a few humble beach joints to the south, the archipelago doesn’t have much of a dining scene. You’re in good hands though, with menus conceived by Jorge Vallejo of excellent Mexico City eatery Quintonil. To expand that palate just a bit more, head to Tulum for top taquerias (shout outs to Taqueria Honorio where tacos are filled with pit-cooked pork and house-blend spicy recaudos, and Doña Paty, who stuff theirs with different kinds of hearty Mexican stews) and upmarket eateries with heavily romantic, fairy-lit jungly terraces that’ll get the pheremones going. Gitano Jungle has disco balls and palms aplenty, plus serves of shrimp and young-coconut aguachile, lobster tostadas and tlayudas topped with Chihuahuan cheese, huitlacoche and black truffle. Bal Nak works closely with indigenous communities, and uses ingredients sourced from them in shining style. Duck comes in an almond-thickened mole, shrimp is drizzled with a Guajillo-chilli sauce and jicama, and the fresh catch of the day is sliced into a tiradito and punched up with apple vinaigrette and star fruit. And Hartwood is an impressively sustainable, off-the-beaten-track seafood restaurant – their menu changes daily depending on the catch, but the blackboard always bears delicious simple dishes.
Local cafés
Botanica Garden Café is as leafy as its name suggests and is a serene spot for variously flavoured lattes and tropical juices. Pair with some of their sweet and savoury tartines: peanut butter with banana, agave honey and mint; or roast beef with homemade garlic mayo, pickled onions and charred red peppers. And finish with some dulce de leche-stuffed alfajores.
Local bars
A cool crowd gather under Naná’s thatched roof to slump on floor cushions, listen to DJs and go elbow to elbow round the counter to see the mixologists do their thing. There’s a drinks list – many of which go heavy on the mezcal – but if you tell the barkeeps your preferred flavours they can whip up something custom. Posada Margherita’s beach bar is a low-key spot with sun-bleached tables and pavilions, with high-grade cocktail know-how – they make their own mezcal, for which they’ve won awards, plus their own syrups and bitters to add to concoctions such as the Mark Dillon with mezcal, lime and house ginger syrup; or the Tamarindo Spicy with mezcal, ancho reyes liqueur, tamarind, beer and agave syrup.
Every hotel featured is visited personally by members of our team, given the Smith seal of approval, and then anonymously reviewed. As soon as our reviewers have returned from this out-of-the-way eco-wellness retreat in the captivating Sian Ka’an biosphere, left their worries in a sweat lodge and got square with Gaia, a full account of their Indy-esque jungle adventures and soul-soothing introspection will be with you. In the meantime, to whet your wanderlust, here's a quick peek inside Casa Chablé due south of Tulum…
Only a couple thousand people live in the Sian Ka’an Biosphere, so Casa Chablé, which sits on a lick of land straying off the reserve, puts you in a very privileged position, between mangrove-lined lagoon and the Caribbean Sea, with the Yucatán Peninsula’s greatest spectacle yours to play on. Beaches spool on for miles, dolphins and turtles hang out in waterways, jaguars and pumas prowl in savannah, and cenotes wink like giant blue eyes. Look to the east and below the startlingly blue Caribbean are the electric coral gardens of the Mesoamerican reef. In the middle of it there’s you, maybe tasting tequilas, partaking in a copal cleanse, or discovering centuries-old Mayan cuisine in exciting new ways, thanks to one of Mexico City’s finest chefs. Unsurprisingly, this eco retreat is interested in keeping all this loveliness pristine, so get swept up in their slipstream of sustainability enthusiasm, in between rooftop cocktails and stargazing sessions, by touring the kitchen garden, attending talks about water and waste management and learning about the significance of the local flora, because when you’re this immersed in the delicate ecosystem, you feel very much part of it.
