Hostal Chalupa

First, I need to preface this review with the fact that our family is a "stress test" for everywhere we go. We have 3 younger, extremely spirited boys (nicknamed The Wolverine Monkeys), and we basically booked the whole hostel for 2 weeks to use as a home base with friends and family who met us in Tulum. This is the best hostel I've ever stayed in and I travel the world for a living. The accommodations are clean, super cool in style (Lucha Libre, Frida and Tattoo themes!), with every amenity you need. Clean comfy beds, fluffy towels, good showers, a pool for cooling off, great free breakfast in the mornings and the cheapest bike rentals in town. The hostel is small with only two private double rooms and three bunk rooms, which makes it cozy and helps avoid the party atmosphere of some hostels I have stayed in. The kitchen is well stocked with basics and is vegetarian only. There is a grill up on the great rooftop lounge for carne y pescado. We're not vegetarian, but we really didn't miss cooking meat, at all. When we craved meat, we went on "taco walks" (the torta/taco stand in the AKI Supermercado parking lot is fantastic and CHEAP!). We had a great BBQ on the roof one night! Alcohol is not allowed to be stored in the kitchen, which is another great feature that prevents a party atmosphere. We kept a cooler in our private room and the staff provided us with ice to keep it cool. The hostel is at the Coba/Tulum crossroad which makes access to two supermarkets, the beaches, cenotes (Gran Cenote was our favorite, an easy bike ride away at 3km) and the Tulum main drag, super easy. All of that is enough to make for a perfect place to stay, but the real magic of this place is the amazing staff. Javi and Don Fermi and his family are just beautifully kind and patient and could not have been more helpful. Fantastic suggestions for day trips, advice for avoid the seaweed scourge (FYI, cenotes are the new beaches!! Amazing clear water swimming/snorkeling with turtles, fish, bats, owls and all UNDERGROUND!!!) and genuine caring and assistance. They simply made every problem we had while here disappear. Our vacation was a beautiful success, primarily due to their patience and assistance. Don Fermi also runs the car rental service next door and has the best prices and services in town. We just passed Hostal Chalupa in the ADO bus to head for the airport and everyone groaned in sadness. We already miss it, and everyone who works there. We will be back. We loved Hostal Chalupa.