There are many things to complain about. I will start in alphabetical order:


E) Expensive: Very expensive for uncomfortable bungalows, we were much more comfortable sleeping in the shared hamocks outside. Expensive food.

M) Mosquitos: we were eaten by mosquitos even with net which had holes everywhere.

S) Sergio (owner/manager): Rude, temper problems, obnoxious, profit seeker. Yelled at a nice waitress who was attending us and being really social and helpful at the restaurant.

S) Sheets: Dirty, we complained and they were never changed

T) Tolerance: We could only take two nights of this hell and then we left to a much more comfortable place for the same price.

O) Other

The region itself is beautiful, Tulum is a really nice spot, and there is a lot to do. Actually we are going in a month for the second time, but we are staying at a different place which has been highly recommended. Just avoid Papaya Playa, and the rest will be fine.

My wife and I brought our two-year-old down to Tulum to just find some tranquility on the beach and pretty much found it here. It has a very nice spread of beach and the cabanas are simple but fairly priced. We weren't looking for any special services or amenities, just a cool, unpretentious place to stay and relax and we found great value in Papaya Playa. It is also close to several restaurants along the beach which offer some good variety and just a few km from Tulum pueblo. The restaurant could be a bit better, but it is easy enough to get around to some fantastic places to eat. This was the perfect place for us and if we come back to Tulum, we would happily come back here.

I'm usually very laid back & tolerant but I've gotta weigh in on this place. My wife & I checked in Mar 10/2007 with no prior reservations as we were "wingin' it" - not a good idea along Tulum's beaches. After some tedious negotiations with the front desk, we moved into a cabana with a bathroom. No hot water in any of the cabanas we looked at first. They outright lied to us saying it would be fixed. Never was & no attempt to do so. Treacherous pathways everywhere. Holes in the thatch roof. Nothing inside the cabana to block the gale-force winds Tulum was experiencing at the time. Service is pretty much non-existant. Hot water only in the filthy shared showers. Poor quality yet expensive food & drinks. Lovely location however - its only saving grace. Overall, totally neglected & totally disorganized. We paid in advance for 5 nites to get a decent rate but left after 3 nites. If we'd have stayed longer it would have ruined the whole thing. Bottom line - don't even go there 'cause they don't care.

After having arrived after booking a Cabana with a bathroom, they had none and we stupidly agreed to accept a cabana without a bathroom and have a free dinner to compensate. We were taken to our cabana and were speechless over how rank it was.

The webiste makes the place look clean and classy. The cabana had 2 beds with flithy sheets and loads of sand in the bed, the pillow should have been thrown out 5yrs ago. The mosquito nets were filty and had holes all over them. With only 1 filty plastic pub garden table.

The restaurant was very slow service, food was all cold and I had finished mine before they realised they were missing my friends order.

We stayed 1 night and chose to lose the money on the 2nd night rather than stay in the place a second longer. We checked out as soon as the sun came up!

Avoid this place unless you are desperate, although still relatively cheap, very overpriced for what you get. only for hardened backpackers.