Preferring less developed oceanfront, our Yucatan trips have moved progressively south. We ended up at La Vita e Bella for the Christmas Holiday, and for our tastes, it was ideal - laid back, beautiful beach, comfortable cabana lodging, and kind and considerate service.

Highlights included a delightful two bedroom unit (we traveled with our 8 year old) with a partial ocean view (#4), a spacious porch with hammocks, and a large, clean bathroom with shower. Our housekeeper, Griselda, was wonderful, providing excellent care for our room, and very helpful suggestions about the area, including the best local doctor to see our son for an allergic reaction.

The restaurant and bar were nice, the pizzas pleased our son and the fish and pasta dishes pleased us. We loved the sand floor and the soaring thatched roof.

We highly recommend La Vita e Bella for those who prefer beach and quiet over concrete and nightlife. Try it soon though. The development continues its inexorable march south and cozy, low key places like La Vita e Bella will give way to big hotels and resorts.

We stumbled on Vita e bela as we were just looking for a restaurant in Tulum after visiting the ruins. We loved the relaxed atmosphere, the rustic feel and the European athmosphere. The pizza was great and so was the sopa de lima. The pasta was average. The beach in front of the restaurant is breathtaking. The water is just gorgeous. No crowds. The setting is just perfect. We spent two afternoons there and plan to return for a longer stay on our next trip.

My husband and I, along with our 9-year-old twins, were staying in Playa del Carmen. We enjoyed the touristy beaches and Avenida 5 but were ready to slow down a little. We made our way down to the ruins at Tulum thinking we'd return to Playa del Carmen that night.

After visiting the ruins we decided to walk down the beach and cool off in the sea. We stumbled upon La Vita e Bella and loved the look of the cabanas and the exquisite beach. We walked in the door and asked for a room. They accommodated us with a beautiful clean cabana right on the beach. The cabana had a king bed and a single which was perfect. The lovely porch had comfortable chairs and a hammock for lounging.

We stayed two nights and had a fantastic time. It was so quiet and private and gorgeous there. We can't wait to go back. This time it will be our destination, not just a lucky find!

First let me say that it really depends on what you want. If you're looking for some seclusion on the beach and that is the most important thing, this is the place! The electricity is supplied by a generator and from about 1:00am to 6:00am there is no power, so if you're a midnight potty type of person, bring a flashlight! They have candles in the bungalows, but it's pitch black at night! The neighboring hotels are either across the street from the beach or are actual hotels, not bungalows, so really, if you want seclusion right on the beach.... this is the place!

I was really surprised at how many Europeans were there in Tulum. I guess since the Euro is doing so well, it s a pretty dang cheap vacation for them to go to Mexico.

It might be helpful to know that the owner of the hotel and the owner of the restaurant are different. They are both Italian, but the atmosphere of the two places are quite different. The hotel staff is very polite and jumped to help with baggage, etc, where the restaurant staff rarely smiles and seems too serious. The food was ok but once we went next door to the Mezzanine, that become our beach place for eating. The food and service at the Mezzanine is much better and it's only about 300 meters away.

We locked our keys in the rental car on a Sunday, the day nobody works! After an hour of phone calls, Lee-Lee (one of the staff) managed to find someone to come help us get into the car! She is an angel and went the extra mile to help us out!!!!

Also, there is no internet at La Vita e Bella, but if its really important to you, take your laptop to the Mezzanine, eat there and check your email using their free wireless in the restaurant.

I wish I would have known that you can use US dollars everywhere in Tulum! We went into town every day to eat lunch or dinner and used dollars with no problem. The exchange rate at the restaurants and shops is equal to that at the bank, so really its only convenient to know you don't have to exchange your money if you don't want to spend the time doing it.

I'm glad we had a rental car. It costs about $160 for public transportation to and from the airport and $100 for six days of a rental car. Plus we could go to and from town, Coba, and Chechen Itza as we pleased. The driving there isn't bad at all. There are speed bumps everywhere in town which force everyone to slow down.

I was also worried about having cell service in case of an emergency back home. Don't worry, everyone seems to get cell service there. It's not cheap to be roaming there, but at least you have communication to call back home if you need it.

I will definately go back to stay again at La Vita e Bella! The beach is like no other place there and the bungalows are quite perfect! I will bring my flashlight (in case of a midnight potty), my laptop, and I'll enjoy all beach meals next door at the Mezzanine.