Prior to arriving at the hotel, I read some of the previous reviews and found that complaints raised by others were definitely not any part our experience. This is truly a First-Class hotel with amazing rooms with beautiful views. Our room well laid out and maintained daily to the best level I have seen in a long time. The bed was comfortable, pillows and linens were great. One day, our refrigerator had water under it and it was replaced immediately. We even got a new TV in our room while we were here but nothing seemed wrong with the old one. There were lots of electrical outlets in our room for charging. We were missing a few lightbulbs by the bed, but I simply moved one from the floor lamp to my bedside. There were two chairs on our balcony but no table which I wish there was. The shower was huge, had lots of water pressure, and plenty of hot water. Grounds are beautiful and impeccably kept, in fact the entire property is spotless with public washrooms well cared for. The adult pool is beautiful, clean, clear and comfortable with four jacuzzi tubs nearby. Pool service is great with no complaints.||We had the breakfast buffet every morning and our favorite waiter was Margarito who is exceptional. Then the main buffet restaurant closed and moved into two smaller venues the selection seems to diminish. There was sliced bread but no toaster. We did learn that you could ask your server for bacon which arrived crispy and not. At every meal we had to ask specifically for salt and pepper as it wasn’t available at the table. ||We visited every available ala carte restaurant, including the two associated with the sister property next door; The Oyster Bar and Terrazzo. The Mexican restaurant was used as the nightly dinner buffet as the main one was closed for renovations. We never had an issue making dinner reservations and the ladies in the reservation office were wonderful, kind and helpful. The Oyster Bar was fabulous with great food and service. At the Terrazzo restaurant we felt welcomed and cherished. Staff was attentive without being intrusive. The food was good; however, the Columbus salad was bland, no avocado and the chicken overcooked. Dessert was excellent! The outdoor Parrillada Grill food was good and the Rib Eye steak delicious. There was little to no time between getting your salad from the salad bar and your and protein arriving. I would suggest that you send the guests to the salad bar before taking the protein order. At the Italian restaurant with Tomas was fabulous and he even let us keep the pepper grinder throughout our meal. The tableside Caesar salad, was a lovely touch to an elegant meal.||The Lobby bar opens at 4:00pm and is also the game center. Children under the age of 18 are suppose to vacate the area by 9:00 pm. Staff are friendly and they have the best mixed nuts to snack on with your beverage. ||Yes, there were a lot of Spanish speaking guests, especially on the weekends. We found the hotel staff were wonderful and with a bit of patience of both sides we did not have a language barrier. We were always looking for change for tipping. While it was not required, we definitely wanted to acknowledge all the staff that helped make our vacation wonderful. Edgar and Luis at the front desk were always helpful and readily made change for me and printed next day schedule in English.||Overall, it was a wonderful holiday at a beautiful property with...
Read moreIt was our first time in Zihua/Ixtapa and we had a lovely time at this resort. If you're looking to be in the thick of either town, this resort is a ways from both but accessible by taxi. It is perfectly situated to enjoy Isla Ixtapa, Playa Linda, etc. When I booked, I saw that this was rated a 5-star hotel, I'd say it's solidly a 4-star hotel after our visit.||The good:|* amazing view from our room - we were on the 23rd floor right below the penthouse suites and the views were amazing. miss the gorgeous view and people watching. Initially, we were on a lower floor but I just asked if there was anything higher available - just ask nicely!|* the food - generally solid food at the specialty restaurants - italian, bambu asian fusion, the steakhouse BBQ, the oysteria and I thought the buffet options (especially lunch) were solid|* the service was generally great - we both speak a bit of Spanish and were able to converse with the team and they really appreciated the gesture and that maybe improved our services. special shout out to:|* Vale - server at the adult and infinity pool. he always had fast service, had good recommendations for restaurants and reservations and we loved hearing about his dogs!|* Tatiana - the captain at several of the specialty restaurants where we had reservations. Always ready with a smile and so friendly!|* Alberto - lunch buffet server|* Yair - lobby bar bartender with great drinks and the palomitas!|* Tono - served us at the buffet and at Bambu and remembered us|* Alejandro - infinity pool server, remembered my name and always asked how I was doing|* Alberto - infinity pool server, when my husband had a stomach ache, he was helpful in bringing over remedies and juices that would help|* Cinthia - omelet station chef at breakfast buffet. ALWAYS so friendly and happy to see us and her omelets were great|* Beatriz - hostess at the buffet - always so friendly and asking us how our day is|* Sughey - hostess at the buffet and some specialty restaurants - always super friendly|* Perla & Rosa - the medics. I had a medical event and they were so helpful||The not so good:|* limit to specialty restaurant reservations - this wasn't clear to us at check-in but even staying for 7 days, we were limited to only 3 official reservations during our stay. the restaurant may have availability during later dining times so you should politely inquire. I get the need for limits though, I can see some people booking them all up if allowed but there's gotta be a better way to manage this|* limited restaurant availability - la cevicheria is only open on saturdays for lunch and there's a fish of the day lunch on fridays. this should be clearer on days and reservation requirements. also, during our entire week stay, the mexican specialty restaurant wasn't open which was disappointing|* chair reserving - this was insane to see. it was less of an issue middle of the week but both weekends, even with us getting down by 8:30, most of the chairs were already "reserved" with towels. I saw one lady reserve 13 chairs, half of which were never occupied while I was at the pool. there should be better policing.||all that said, we had a great time and would come back for the views and service alone! thank you again for all the...
Read moreI had high expectations for this resort and I left feeling a little let down. I have been to several all inclusive resorts and while I will be honest they are not my favorite, this was my least favorite. Let's start off with the positives.... The rooms are top notch. I have never had rooms so nice in mexico before - huge 5 piece baths with a walk in waterfall shower, walk in closet, and a nice size patio with chairs for taking in that awesome view. Because of the way the place was built I think that every room has a view. Higher up and more South are better I think but all should have a decent sea view. Another nice thing was they did something special for our birthdays. The Oyster Bar has a nice setting for dinner and breakfast. We did the kayak tour which left from the neighboring resort and it was good. I think that is where the grandness stopped for me. The buffet compared to other all inclusives I have been to was so small, lacked flavor, and lacked any type of theme - it was like a cafeteria. The sit down restaurants were only a little better. They push the men must wear long pants at every restaurant, even put it on your reservations twice, but they do not enforce it. The food was ok but aside from the Oyster Bar and the poblano soup in the mexican I wasn't wanting to try anything again. The reservation system is a joke.... they say there are no openings yet the restaurants are EMPTY. Drinks were a let down. Other resorts I have been to have a drink of the day or at least a menu of things to give you ideas - here you had to see someone order something and say - I want to try that. And nothing was very good, very sugary. Do not try to order a sangria or any wine. Yuck. There is no food allowed at the pool - this one I understand somewhat, but it is nice to be able to nibble on something in the sun. None of the restaurants, aside from the Oyster Bar, have any kind of views. All that ocean to look at and all of the restaurants are inside. And the one that really bugged me - you couldn't get anything to take to your room. The room service menu was terribly small and we would have really liked to grab something and eat on our balcony to enjoy the view but it is not allowed. The only place to get a drink at night is the "multipurpose" room / bar. They have overhead radio music that is playing at the same time as the band and kids are running everywhere and playing table games. I wanted a nice adult atmosphere to enjoy a drink, something a little romantic. Nothing like that. It would have been nice to be able to sit at the bar at the Oyster bar and have drinks even... nope not allowed without a dinner reservation. Usually I like to watch the shows at all inclusives, but at this place they were way over in a side area and they never announced the time or theme, so we didn't see one. Overall I think they have got the rooms right, but need to redo their approach on most everything else. We were happy to leave and head into Zihuatanejo for the second part of our trip. Sad to say even though the rooms and view were beautiful, I...
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