Decorating & Design
Bookmark This Off-The-Grid Mexican Oasis For Your Next Vacation
This little slice of Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula is the perfect storm of lush tropical forest and ruins, perched near the Sian Ka’an biosphere. The new book Tulum Gypset by journalist Julia Chaplin, who coined the term ‘gypset’ (a mashup of Gypsy and Jetset), examines this Mexican playground populated by free-roaming bohemians. Tulum’s eight-mile strip of sand perfectly distills the ‘gypset’ lifestyle, providing an off-grid escape for nomadic creatives. The tome catalogues both the striking surroundings and the gorgeous people who inhabit it. Care to don your macramé bikini or board shorts and dive in?
The beach set up at Be Tulum, a boutique hotel set on a beach overlooking the Caribbean Sea, is a short walk from from the Sistema Ox Bel Ha cave system and the ruins at Zona Arqueológica de Tulum. Photographer Mario Testino bought a home in Tulum in the early 2000 and began doing photo shoots, and stars like Kate Bosworth have sung its praises, saying “it feels like a magic island.”
Peeling, sun-bleached paint gives the beach bar at Be Tulum an authentically chill appearance. The bar specializes in doling out cocktails to seekers (sun, spiritual and otherwise).
Flamboyant vegetation provides major ambiance at barefoot restaurant and hangout spot, Loyal Order. Perched on a powdery dune above Caribbean waters, a laid-back beach hang serves diners Aegean/Mediterranean and Turkish dishes at open air tables under the palm fronds.
The setup for an evening of dancing in the jungle at Gitano, complete with disco ball. where the menu of seasonal local ingredients are cooked in a wood burning oven or open fire grills. Dressing for dinner in Tulum is a similarly no-fuss affair. “The Tulum look is now all the rage from Mykonos to Malibu,” writes Julia Chaplin. “You’ve seen the sexy dresses with raw hems in sandy earth tones, molten greys and obsidian blacks that somehow look as though they’ve been cured by a combination of saltwater, sun and sweat from dancing on the sand all night.”
The elevated Gypset home of restauranteur Claudio Javelly is set on stilts. For the residents lucky enough to live in Tulum, the local vegetation offers a lush backdrop.
Bathing au naturel at Claudio Javelly’s house in a rustic tub seems like the ultimate self-care ritual on vacation. The Tulum bohemian lifestyle prioritizes healing, eco-friendly practices and organic cuisine.
Tulum Gypset by Julia Chaplin, Assouline, 2019