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Tulum’s Explosive Growth Continues As Hotel Giant Bets On its Success
Hotel giant Hilton has inaugurated two new hotels in Tulum this week, marking a further step forward in the fast-growing beach town’s development. The announcement comes just days after several major outlets criticized the town’s infrastructure.
The first of the two hotels is the Hilton Tulum Riviera Maya All-inclusive Resort. The hotel will be Hilton’s first-ever all-inclusive offering and will host 735 rooms and suites. According to the hotel’s website, every suite has an ocean view.
The unique style will see a variety of accommodations inside individual villa-style buildings adding to the comfortable home-like vibe the hotel is striving for.
The property is now Hilton’s largest in the Caribbean, just surpassing its sister property in Cancun. The sprawling hotel will feature as many as 13 restaurants for guests to choose from including Maxal a traditional Mexican eatery and Auma a fire-cooked steakhouse.
The hotel also boasts eight swimming pools and five jacuzzis all with their own themed atmosphere, as well as a kids’ fun splash area to give the adults some time to themselves away from the noise.
The other Tulum resort is the Conrad Tulum Riviera Maya, yet another luxury offering from Hilton. Claiming, as with the Tulum Hilton, to be self-sustaining, the Conrod is idyllically located hidden among mangroves in a sheltered bay.
Although smaller than its sister property, the Conrad still holds 349 rooms. The initial images from the property are stunning, with its unique features (including a hand-carved entranceway) taking center stage along with its large spa, eleven restaurants, five pools, and the opportunity for guests to swim, snorkel, or kayak in the bay. Although it doesn’t appear to have the swim-up balconies found at the Hilton Cancun property. A nice touch for new guests at the Hilton Tulum is the ability to use the spa facilities found in the Conrad.
Paris Hilton herself has already spent time at the new Conrad with her husband, so its luxury setting may be the perfect place for a bit of celebrity spotting in the future.
The arrival of the new hotels is great news for the beach town. It’s astronomical growth since the beginning of the pandemic has produced thousands of new jobs in the region and is transforming the area into a globally popular destination. The arrival of the new Tulum International Airport is further evidence of the faith in investors have in the town and Mexico in general.
The two new hotels are just some of the forty properties it intends to open in Mexico in the coming years. Seven have already opened in Quintana Roo in the past two years.
The developments are not without controversy, however. Many have criticized the apparent uncontrolled growth of Tulum in the past few years. The transformation from a tiny fishing town to a hip digital nomad Mecca has raised concerns about the sustainability of the town. Its infrastructure was not like Cancun’s which was designed well in advance and in anticipation of aggressive growth.
It’s notable that both hotels claim to be self-sustainable, considering many buildings in Tulum are still not connected to sewage, while others function off of private generators. Hopefully, with time, the addition of major hotels and establishments like these will encourage sensible growth and help turn Tulum into the sustainable and successful destination it has the potential to be.
The arrival of the Maya Train next year will allow guests to try out the best of both Cancun and Tulum with ease. With no need for organized road transport, a quick hop on a train means anyone can enjoy the different experiences on offer in Quintana Roo’s flagship cities.
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