Since the last hurricaine they have not repaired the leeking roofs,
which made sleeping often wretched. There is supossed to be a bar but it opens late every night and they NEVER have the right ingredients to make to drink you want -margaritas are bad. If they would put a little time and money back into the place and serve some better food and drinks this place wood be ideal!

After reading up on Trip Advisor about Papaya Playa before we left for Mexico my boyfriend and I were a little worried that we would be arriving at a complete dump. If you've been to South East Asia and have stayed in beach huts this is basically the same thing and was actually what I was hoping for. The service was average and the beach was lovely. I stayed in cabanas 65 which was fine; a decent shower room and no holes in the mosquito net over the bed. I saw one cockroach during my stay and considering you're practically camping I think that's pretty good going. I'd go there again.

My friend and I stayed at Papaya for several days and were not only horrified by the pitiful standard of cleanliness, but found the owner, Sergio to be a total sex pest. He persistently harrassed us and we also noticed that he was doing the same with other female guests. The beautiful surroundings compensated us to a degree. However, we ended up switching hotels to the delightful hotel next door - Copal - which we highly recommend. If you're a young single woman planning a trip to Tulum, please steer clear of this place.

Here's the skinny on Papaya Playa and the cabana scene in general as we saw it. If you're up for rustic, camping style cabanas with a gorgeous beach and don't want to pay more than $50/night in the high season, then Pplaya is a good place; just remember, you pay for what you get and there are some things you can do to make sure you get a better spot. There are some cabanas (numbers 43 and 45) which are pretty much gross and you don't want to get stuck in them. These cabanas are stuffy with moldy pillows and nasty mattresses. You can book online, but there is no guarantee which cabana you'll get as the place is ridiculously disorganized. If you pay under $45/night in the high season, you'll probably get put in these cabanas. If you pay more and show up at the end of the day on a busy day, you'll get stuck there too, and will have to negotiate the next morning to get into a better cabana. To get a good one, we recommend

1. showing up early (around 12:00pm) and ask to see the cabanas. Don't hesitate to walk around and check out the other cabanas if you don't like the one they assign to you. BRING YOUR RECEIPTS and any copies of correspondence you have with them. They most-likely will not have your reservation recorded correctly and will rely on you to know what's going on.
2. Aim for the following cabanas: #50, 27, 42 or the side by the bathrooms (cabanas with sea view in the #30s: to the right if you're looking at the beach).
3. Manage your expectations. you're not paying much - some cabanas in tulum on the beach are 4x the price (and are much nicer). You're basically camping. It's rustic, poorly managed, and Sergio has no sympathy if you don't like your cabana... no refunds.

In general though, the beach here is one of the best in all of Tulum. The cabanas are in a grove of trees, so you are really in a gorgeous spot. The outdoor bathrooms are very nice and clean (although hot water wasn't really there... we showered in the heat of the morning sun and it was refreshing). If you want something nicer or want to be pampered or want more of a scene, I would recommend going somewhere like Hemmingway's or Azulik. If you want a slight step up, head to La Vita E Bella where the prices are a little higher and the quality seems better. But again, of all these places, the beach at PPlaya is awesome. And really, that's all you need for $50/night, right? No bed bugs (in cabanas 50 and 49), woke with the sunrise, roof kept the rain out, beds under shade on the beach hung on swings...they were the perfect escape from the heat of the sun and we only saw them at a couple of other places (not the nearby cabanas copal or Azulik). Just be ready for rustic (geckos running around on your ceiling at night) and no pampering and you'll enjoy your time here. If you want to spend more (like $125 and up, I'd recommend going elsewhere where the staff and food will be better). The bar had swings and cheap drinks, but the breakfast was nothing special. Head to Hemmingway's for a gorgeous breakfast and the best Mexican coffee ever, and to Zamas for great dinner (and live music).

One more thing about the beds: the mosquito nets were less that great. A little stinky and with some holes. I could see this being an issue in the rainy season. We had no issues with bugs, but we would probably upgrade to another place if we came during the off season.
Also, the whole place could use some new pillows. Big time. Come on, Sergio! For under $50 you could really provide a lot more comfort to your guests! My pillow was a lumpy p.o.s. that had a lot of moldy stains... wish i had never looked under the pillowcase!!