Lovely's by Casa Pueblo

"Why we love it: A design-forward oasis for creative nomads The Highlights: - The bright and airy inner courtyard with a massive chaca tree - Regular programming like live music and wellness workshops - No single-use plastics in sight The Review: From Tulum tastemaker Derek Klein (of Gitano fame) comes this minimalist tropical hotel on the edge of the ever-expanding city. Imagined as a hub for creative types, Casa Pueblo hosts wellness workshops, live music, readings, and other community events, but also boasts amenities like a saltwater pool, rooftop bar, and in-house restaurant situated in an airy central courtyard. Yucatan textiles and handmade pottery can be found in various nooks and seating areas. The hotel’s 16 spare rooms face into the courtyard and feature clean white-plaster walls, hand-sculpted bedside sconces, carved wooden furniture, and slatted wooden shutters covering floor-to-ceiling windows. Luuna memory foam mattresses wear Parachute linens and bathrooms showcase custom-made concrete sinks and open rain showers. Purified water in glass carafes and full-size organic Loredana bath products mean no single-use plastics, helping the hotel remain 99 percent plastic-free."

"Set the scene.A beautiful, oversized home with lush plants, antique Mexican pottery, the light flowing in from a leafy atrium, house dogs padding around. White hand-plastered walls and wood are softened by Yucatan textiles and patterned tiles. With its live music and wellness-focussed classes, it seems designed for a certain nomadic creative and global seeker, yet its appeal is much broader. What’s the story?Casa Pueblo is an independent hotel that was envisioned and brought to life by Derek Klein, who, back in 2013 opened Gitano, Tulum’s acclaimed jungle-chic bar and restaurant. What can we expect from our room?Rooms are spacious and soothing, pristine clean, and minimally furnished with hand-sculpted lighting, floor-to-ceiling slatted wooden shutters, oversized mattresses and floating bedside tables with purified water in glass bottles (no single-use plastics anywhere). Rooms all open onto a three-storey atrium leafy with potted plants and an enormous chaca tree that steals the show. How about the food and drink?Breakfast is not included and there is no minibar, but the restaurant downstairs serves simple and delicious food all day long, with local fruit breakfast smoothie, Mayan greens for lunch, and slow-roasted meat and vegetables for dinner. Anything to say about the service?Smooth and efficient, welcoming and effortless. Check-in and check-out were seamless and the hotel can arrange airport transfers and guided visits or transportation to nearby archaeological sites or cenotes. Who comes here?Globe-trotting creatives seeking true connections, collaborations and authentic experiences. Cool yet understated and elegant, wearing brands you want to know, but can’t quite glean because there’s not a label in sight. They talk about politics, the event they are in town producing, the sound-bath happening this afternoon on the beach, and where to find the best hand-woven hammocks. How does it fit into the neighborhood?The hotel is set right at the beginning of pulsing downtown Tulum, known as Pueblo. The street it’s on can be hectic, day and night, but Casa Pueblo manages to create a sanctuary of serenity amongst the chaos. Is there anything you'd change?A few more shelves and hooks to help organize one’s things in the room. And a bluetooth speaker for music would be nice. Anything we missed?Communal tables, quiet built-in nooks for lounging, a rooftop overlooking the city, and sun beds surrounding a 10-feet-deep salt-water pool. Worth it—and why?Absolutely. This is a calm and super-comfortable hotel in a place that almost doesn’t know what to do with its sudden popularity." - Tansy Kaschak

"In a clear indication that the landscape in Tulum is shifting, its trendiest address right now is miles from the powdery sands bohemians came for two decades ago. Derek Klein, who opened barefoot-funky bar Gitano here in 2013, wanted to create a space where the creativity that has been pushed off the waterfront due to development could thrive. A 10-minute bike ride from the beach right at the entrance to Tulum town, his stylish Casa Pueblo has a chalkboard-like dark stucco façade and unpolished wooden shutters. Inside it is open-plan and airy, appropriately communal for the set of wandering and local journalists, techies, and designers who share the long wooden tables and laze around the salt-water pool. The design game is high: sharp Caribbean sun warms the black-slate walls through the massive atrium, while a profusion of palms and philodendrons create shady corners for hiding out in. Klein drove all over the country to source top ceramics and weavings to place throughout the hacienda-style rooms—terra cotta vases from Chiapas are particular favorites. The food is served in red clay plates from Puebla and is as fresh and colorful as the fruit-filled mezcal cocktails. The wifi is the best in town—especially important in a place where digital nomads need to switch on and switch off." - CNT Editors