Be Tulum knows better than to try to outshine the setting. Suites are spread throughout the property’s gardens and palms, and their pleasures are a bit on the subtle side — they’re set back slightly from the beach, and the vibe is more eco/spiritual than purely hedonistic. There’s a beach club and a poolside lounge, but Be Tulum can be as quiet as you want it to be. It all borders on the national park of Sian Ka’an, a coastal reserve, world heritage site, and ecological conservation project.

Ahau takes Tulum’s typical low-key and low-impact approach to a higher level; it’s named for the Mayan sun god Kinich Ahau, who represents universal consciousness. Needless to say it takes great pains to minimize its ecological footprint. Where it really excels, however, is in the related goal of stepping out of the way and letting its guests experience the closest possible communion with nature (short of sleeping outside under the stars).

Located right on the beach, Nomade brands itself as a human-centered hotel, as a temporary habitat for, well, nomads. It’s a mission that’s perfectly in keeping with Tulum’s slightly starry-eyed vibe, as are the Nomade’s “self evolution” philosophy, not to mention the shaman-led workshops and meditation workshops. But even a nonbeliever has to admit: this is a gorgeous and thoroughly peaceful beach hotel.

Era Hotel & Spa Tulum is set in a leafy residential neighborhood on the western edge of town, which means urban life isn’t far away — but the immediate surroundings are verdant, quiet, and exceedingly private. Balconies face an interior courtyard with a pool; while a hut on the beach might feel more private, Era’s modest size means it’s incapable of feeling crowded.

A beachfront villa and a handful of bungalows, with the jungle on one side and a spectacular white sand beach on the other, La Valise is a slice of heaven — and it’s packed with the modern comforts, traditional crafts, and eclectic, bohemian design that Tulum is supposed to be all about.

The difficult balance for Tulum’s boutique hotels is how to balance deep immersion in this location’s inimitable atmosphere and unique environment with the high-end comforts modern travelers have grown accustomed to. Bardo, set on the lush, forested west side of town, walks precisely this line: its minimal-modern concrete-clad villas open onto private jungle gardens with hammocks and little plunge pools, and while air conditioning and wi-fi are present, you’re gently encouraged to go without.

Neither in the beachfront resort zone nor the busy downtown, Majaró Tulum finds itself instead in a residential neighborhood just to the south of the city center, a location that allows it a bit of extra quiet and privacy, without sacrificing much in the way of convenience. All of which is maybe secondary to the fact that Majaró is simply a lovely hotel: a luxe little 12-room oasis, one whose clean-lined modern exteriors are softened by a profusion of greenery.

Not every hotel in Tulum is right on the beach, but Hotelito Azul is just about as close as you can get to the Caribbean and still wake up warm and dry. Here they’ve renovated a formerly undistinguished property, adding front-facing full-length glass doors to every room, in order to maximize the impact of the views. And while only the front row has that unobstructed vista, the effect in all of them is to bring the environment inside.

Tago Tulum, with its close-set suites surrounded by wild greenery and its splendid little stretch of white-sand beach, combines modest size and thoughtful luxuries to create a cloistered, serene little world in the heart of one of Mexico’s most famous places.

While the coastal hotel zone is where most of the hotels are — you’ve got to admire the clarity of that logic — the western edge of the town center, two miles inland from the beach, is where you’ll find the low-key, affordable, and charmingly mid-century modernist Hotel Tiki Tiki Tulum.

Jashita — perched on the shore of the Caribbean just up the beach from the pre-Columbian archeological site — is a small, sophisticated hotel where the pared-down decor echoes the calm of the sky and sea. The look is relaxed and contemporary, with beach-inspired straw loveseats, airy bathrooms, and pillow-topped sofas in shades of pale sand and bright seashell white.

Habitas Tulum offers tented rooms, with hardwood floors, palapa roofs, and canvas walls, one of which opens onto either a terrace or a picture window facing out to sea. Outdoor showers add to the back-to-nature feeling, and the wellness program includes yoga classes and spa treatments on an elevated open-air deck. Moro, the wood-fired restaurant, serves sustainably sourced seasonal fare with a Mediterranean accent.