Mak Nuk Village vs Club Orient

Been and love Club O, we saw Mak Nuk Village online and it looks really nice.

Anybody been there and have some insights pro/con and comparisons to Club O would be appreciated.

Proximity to a beach would be a glaring difference.

We stayed at Mak Nuk, pre-opening, back in March of this year. I can't compare it to Orient Beach, as we've not been there. Mak Nuk's facilities are four star, but it is a self-contained property. I'd classify Mak Nuk as a world class clothing optional hotel with an amazing pool, and beaches nearby.

Is Mak Nuk Village open? It looks great but I can't seem to find much information.

We’ve been to Club O a couple of times, and just got back from Mak Nuk. There is really no comparison. Club O is on the beach, rustic, and on the French side of St. Martin, while Mak Nuk is about a mile from the beach, is a luxury condo hotel with an incredible pool, and in the laid back town of Tulum, Mexico. Here is a link to the trip report that I wrote on a Tulum forum. Hopefully it will answer some of your questions about Mak Nuk.

http://tulum.info/forum/topic/it-was-a-warm-rain.9025/

Is there a section where you can walk the beach nude in Tulum as on Orient Beach?

I had no idea it was not close to the ocean. I suspect the really cool pool goes along way to make up as best as possible.

The main stretch is similar to Orient Beach from about 10 – 15 years ago. In front of the resorts you might see a naked person sunbathing right next to people with suits, but very few people will walk naked along the beach. At the southern end of the beach however, you can walk into the Sian Ka’an biosphere where you can go for miles without seeing anyone…

What is the meal situation? Did you eat in the restaurant or cook or do a combination? What do you recommend? Is the pool heated? Did you book direct or thru an agency? How did you get there from the airport. Thinking of visiting and would appreciate any answers. Thank you.

For food, we did it all. Having a full size refrigerator and full size kitchen makes it easy to cook as much or as little as you would like. We had breakfast in the condo most mornings, and then the rest of the meals out. The restaurant will be opening in the next couple of weeks and I would strongly recommend having a meal there. The chef made us a dinner that was excellent. There is a large selection of restaurants in town which is about 1/2 mile away from the condo. Very good food with very good prices (4 fish tacos, 2 beers and a soft drink for 140 pesos / $11 USD). About 2 miles away is the beach road. There you will find many more excellent restaurants with more of an American feel, but also with American prices…

The pool wasn’t heated when we were there but it wasn’t necessary. It will be heated in the winter. We arranged our stay directly with Mak Nuk. We rented a car at the airport when we flew in and then drove down. We’ve been to Mexico several times, and I feel safer driving in Mexico, than here in Boston…. If you have any other questions, just let me know…

Looks good. Just wondering what kind of charges there are for owners? How's the trip to the beach?

It's about 15 minutes to the beach, and will be less in a couple of years after a road is completed.

Is it a 15 minute walk or drive?

Here is a link to Google Maps (walking beta.) This will be MUCH shorter when the road is open.

We drove by Mak Nuk yesterday. It looks spectacular, inviting and nicely finished. We just went on the spur of the moment. Next time we will make an appointment and hopefully get a tour.

Several complexes have sprung to life in that general area over the summer. Mak Nuk compares favorably from the road.


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We were there a couple of weeks ago. The pool is wonderful and the condos are beautiful. However, there is no restaurant or bar despite the fact that the website and manager named Mike told us on the phone there was. Housekeeping was almost non existent, internet did not work, tv did not work, public spaces not too clean, and diseptive management and advertising.
It is about a 25 minute drive to a nude beach. Shuttle costs $20.00 per couple per dsy, not free as advertised.But...the pool is great, but NOT heated.

Curious. Do people who stay at the Village rent a car to get to the beach, restaurants, etc?

We're booked in at Mak Nuk in about a week ... is this really true?

Yes, it is true. But it is a very nice facility. The manager couple seem to drink too much and the place is disorganized most likely because of it. We were most turned off by the deseptive website and a flyer we picked up. There is no restaurant but the condos have nice kitchens so you do not need a restaurant if you do not mind cooking or going into town. The beach club is just a deserted beach and it is a long way from the hotel. There are no bathrooms anywhere near.

The rooms at Mak Nuk are far superior to those at Club Orient. Tall ceilings, large windows, beautiful bathrooms, and of course a pool make Muk Nuk better than Club Orient in that department. If you're looking for a beach stay at Club O. The beach is miles away from Mak Nuk and must be accessed by car or van. Much easier to access restaurants at Club O. Long walk to Tulum to go to eat, more like a taxi ride to get there. Both are quite lovely in there own way.

Hello everyone. I see there are a lot of questions about Mak Nuk Village. As an owner and board member, hopefully I can help. Mak Nuk is a project that was envisioned to be a high quality, clothing optional, condo hotel since it's inception about six plus years ago. It's been a long time coming but we're almost there. While we have been renting condos over the last 10 months or so, the property has still been under construction, mainly interior finish work. Individual condos were not completed until they were sold. 20 of the 21 condos have been sold with a buyer for the final unit pending. With the completion of property sales and finish work, I think you will see definite shift in focus. We, the board of trustees for the homeowners association, have been given the task of overseeing this transition from development to high end hotel. The majority, if not all, of the owners are practicing nudists and therefore have an intimate knowledge of what the naturist community wants to see in their clothing optional destination accommodations. Let me now try to answer some specific questions.

Mak Nuk Village is a few blocks from highway 307 which is the main drag through Tulum. This gives many options for those who want to dine at one of the many restaurants in town. The restaurants in town are inexpensive and very good. The beaches, with many more restaurants, are about a mile away and will be only a couple minutes drive when the road that Mak Nuk is on is completed. However, it's Mexico, so we don't know when that will be completed. In the meantime, we access the beach road by driving through town and down the main road that goes to the beaches. This takes about 10 minutes. We have a shuttle service that goes to our private beach club every two hours during the day. This shuttle will drop guests off at restaurants in town or the supermarket and will pick them up on the return trip from the beach club. It does take more time to get to our beach club because our property is inside the Sian Ka'an Biosphere. I personally began visiting this location over four years ago so it was always hoped that we would secure this property as our beach club. We signed a lease with option to purchase just a few weeks ago. You can see pictures on our Facebook page, www.facebook.com/maknukvillage.

By having our beach club in the Sian Ka'an, you can be assured of privacy. The Sian Ka'an is ~1.3 million acres of protected land. There is a fee to enter the biosphere even for Mak Nuk guests and residents but it is included in the shuttle fee. While we currently do not have food or drink at the club, we anticipate this in the near future. We have started the process of rebuilding the structures at the beach club site that were damage by a hurricane some years back. Since the property is on protected land, we are restricted as to what we can build. For instance, we are not allowed to build anything new; we can only refurbish the current structures. We are starting with the restrooms and hope to have them rebuilt soon. Getting the proper permits can be slow. Once again, we are in Mexico and things don't always happen at the speed we would like but rest assured we have grand plans for our piece of heaven.

Another question was about the size of the beach club. Our location may only be about 30 meters wide but the beach goes on for miles and you would be hard pressed to see anyone along the beach. Again, this is a protected area and it sees few visitors. The last time I was there, I stayed for several hours and never saw another soul other than those in my party. Access to the beach club is by the beach road within about 1/2 mile after passing the stone arch entry of the Sian Ka'an. You can also walk the beach and will arrive at Playa Mak Nuk within about 10 minutes after entering the Sian Ka'an. For now it will be open only to Mak Nuk Village guests but we are exploring our options and may offer day passes in the future. Playa Mak Nuk is a special place and we are very excited about it's future.


As for Mak Nuk Village restaurant, we have a palapa building for the restaurant but with the variety of nearby restaurants, it has not been as high a priority as completing the rest of the property. We have however, been offering some meals at different times in a family style format. I expect we will be looking at completing the restaurant in the near future.

Another issue has been the promises of Mike, the developer and whose vision has become Mak Nuk Village. Unfortunately, some amenities have or are taking longer to introduce than Mike had planned or hoped. Most if not all amenities should be available soon. In the meantime, we have asked Mike to make sure his comments are based on current realities and not what we plan to have in the near future.

On behalf of Mak Nuk HOA, I would like to thank you for taking the time to read this post. I hope I have answered your questions but if not, please feel free to ask away. I will try to answer any questions you have. You can also visit our Facebook page or our website, www.MakNukVillage.com where you'll find lots of pictures and information. Tulum is a special place with some of the most beautiful beaches in the world. I suspect you'll fall in love with Tulum the same as I have. Hope to see you there.

PalapaJoe, thank you for your comprehensive update on Mak Nuk. My wife and I are considering a stay in September and hope you will be kind enough to provide another update. Is the restaurant open daily? Are there many guests on property? How about the progress on the beach club? I heard it was expected to be essentially complete by the end of July. TIA!

You are most welcome.
Mak Nuk update: This is our first year of operation, and not many people know about our resort yet. During the summer low season our bookings have not yet taken off but during the fall, our advanced bookings indicate a much more lively atmosphere. September will be somewhere in between.

As for the restaurant, in general, food service is available daily. Our chef typically talks to the guests about their food plans or desires. There are about 30 restaurants nearby so while Antonio's meals are fabulous, sometimes the guests will go to town to try out some of the local fare. When occupancy is low and the guests in house plan to eat in town, Antonio may take the day off but only if everyone has other plans. So not to worry, we'll make sure you're taken care of.

On the beach front, there are issues due to the limitations on construction in the Sian Ka'an biosphere imposed by the government so we have not been able to do the construction we had planned. The real draw to our beach of course is the beach itself and the privacy. With that in mind, we continue to shuttle our guests to and from our beach and Antonio can even make up a lunch for you to take along. We still are looking at our options but for now, it will be mostly just our private beach access. We hope to be able to provide better amenities this fall but I don't know if we'll have anything significant by the time you visit in September.

I hope this helps and I hope to see you September.

PJ

Awesome PJ, thanks for the update.

Has the Mak Nuk policy about daily visitors coalesced? We have quite a few visitors coming this winter and would love to have an actual, real, unhidden, beach at which to relax.
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Looking at the Club O web cam shot. Sure wish I was there now.

So now Mak Nuk is Intima Resort?

How do you get from the Cancun airport to the resort? Is renting a car the only option?

Bus connections to Tulum are pretty simple and inexpensive, but you will need to take a bus from the airport to either the Cancun bus terminal or Playa del Carmen then change to a Tulum bound bus.

Private or shared transfers are also an option...numerous vendors offer those. Mak Nuk can likely set one up for you.

Are you sayiug that they will arrange public or private transportation?? I can see/understand private tranportation, but not public???

The reason I am asking is that you said

That is two different things, just asking? Private tranport is fine, maybe I am just reading you note wrong.

Eric, sorry I wasn't logged in when I replied to the previous post!

What I meant to say is that there are two types of private transfers...one where you are the only party being transported, and another that is shared...you may be one party in a group of people being transported south, with stops along the way at whatever resort the others are staying at. The vendor organizes the trip, but it is different than the scheduled public transport. Tulum is the "end of the line" so if you opt for a shared private transport, it could take longer than a solo private transfer.

The ADO transfer in Cancun would be much easier than switching buses in Playa because the bus leaves from the same terminal. In playa the airport buses go to Fifth Ave but the buses to Tulum usually leave from the terminal on twentieth street. The transfer could involve a taxi ride.

The vans queued up outside the airport drop people at their respective resorts. Intima Resort (Mak Nuk) would certainly be one of the last.

Taxi would be the absolutely the most expensive option.

Playa Info runs a private shuttle van. They are always on time and very reliable. That is about 60us to Playa so Tulum would be a little more. You and your group would be the only passengers and go directly to your destination. The driver will make one stop for refreshments if requested.

Looking to book for 2 weeks late Jan,early Feb 2015. What is the current status of the project? What is happening on the beach, are the washrooms rebuilt? Is the restaurant up and going? Saw the picture of the pool bar, is it operational? Thanks.

I suggest that you contact Intima Resort Directly. They could give you the best info. Especially with so many changes lately.

Please post what you learn?

I was hoping Palapajoe might know. I did find out that the resort website does not work properly for online booking whereas the Mak Nuk one works fine as far as I took it.

Now the have taken away the ability to book online on the Mak Nuk site and fixed the Intima site. However they no longer offer a multi night discount and the rates have gone sky high.

It's (almost) high season. Higher demand=higher prices. It happens every year and every hotel here. Don't take it personal.

Maknuk (Intima) sent me a map, but I cannot figure out where this place is located. It shows that you turn off off the highway (307) onto AVE KULACAN, going towards the beach? I see AVE KUKULCAN on the google map, but it doesn't intersect with the highway. Thought it might be a typo, but still makes no sense. El Camello Jr is at the corner of Los Lunas and 307, according to my map.

Intima Resort is located in the south end of Tulum. Make a left just before El Camello, then take the third right at the orange stones. If you do a lookup on Google maps for Intima Resort Tulum, it will show you the exact location. Enjoy the trip.

Intima Resort is now fully operational. The pool, restaurant and bar are all staffed and are serving food and drink all day. There is a new beach location which is just south of Azulik. The beach has washrooms and restaurants are near by. Enjoy the trip.

OK, I'm confused, is Intima Resort the same as Mak Nuk Village?

Yes, over the summer, the management company was replaced, the name was changed, and a new website developed. Mak Nuk is now Intima Resort.

OK, thanks.

We are headed there on the 9th. We will let everyone know what we find.

Just returned from Intima. A beautiful place. It is adults only and clothing optional. Something hard to find these days.
Our room was awesome. Certainly one if the nicest clothing optional we have been to.

Leaving tommorrow for a week at Intima. Our friends just returned and said it was great. They have really nice kitchens and well equipped. We plan to do some cooking while we are thete. Prices are still better than any other clothing optional in the area.

OK, this thread is over a year and a half old and has had over fourteen thousand views. It has also started to attract Spammers...so I am now going to lock it...but I will leave it posted on the forum so it is available for reference as it works its way down the list of posts over time.

If you have new, recent trip report information on this resort please feel free to start a new thread.