Hotel Elcano Acapulco — Hotel in Guerrero

Since my last stay at Hotel Elcano in 2016 I have been wanting to come back to Elcano but it always seemed to be booked for the dates I wanted. Finally a last minute decision, I booked on a Monday and left on Wednesday (January 8-15 2020). This time my Husband did not come and I made this trip all by myself. Wow it was still a wonderful experience just like the first time when I came with my husband.||||There are a few changes since my last detailed Trip Advisor report in January 2016 so I will not repeat all the details.||||My room was very nice, large and clean. It was on the 8th floor room 810. The room had 2 Queen size beds (very comfortable). They have 2 wooden luggage racks in the room which I find very convenient to use when opening and closing the suitcases. The flat screen TV is on a dresser but I never had any time to watch TV. There is a night table but does not have a lamp or clock on it. Bring an alarm clock if you want to see the time in the room. There are wall lights over the bed. There is a safety deposit box in the closet on a shelf (no extra charge) The floors are tiled so it gives a very clean airy feeling to the room. There is no fridge in the room but there is an ice bucket. If you need to store medication in a fridge the Reception desk has a fridge that they can store it for you. There is also a large clean bathroom with a tub and shower together. Always had hot water. They supply soap, shampoo, conditioner and hand lotion, kleenex. No washcloths, so bring your own. There is a hairdryer attached to the wall. There is air conditioning and also a ceiling fan which kept the room nice and cool. The balcony has 1 wood chair, 1 wood lounger and a wood table. You get a beautiful view of the Bay and every room faces the ocean. You can hear the ocean waves day and night. How wonderful is that! Don't forget to watch the sunset every night at 6:10pm right from your balcony. The ocean I found this time more calmer, there is still an undertow but not as strong as it use to be. You still have to be very careful. What is really great about the location of Hotel Elcano is that it is in a calm and peaceful surroundings. Even on the beach you do not have all these vendors tents set up in front of you blocking your view from your Palapa. Being a person that likes to be in a busy area with a lot of action going on, this area is great as you can have a relaxing time at the hotel, have a good sleep without the pounding sounds of music blaring from the bars and then when I wanted to be in the busy Costera I just had to walk a few blocks to be in the action.||||Now for the best part! Hotel Elcano Bambuco Restaurant, a lovely experience. I was on an all inclusive package through Sunwing. This included 3 meals at the Bambuco with a choice of Buffet or choosing from the a la carte menu for lunch and dinner. There is only buffet breakfast in the morning from 7am to 12:30pm. There is always a big choice from the buffet or the menu. The menu for lunch and dinner is always the same. You could have something different everyday choosing from the menu if you are staying a week.|| ||Please note that if you are on the Sunwing all inclusive package staying at Hotel Elcano you can have some issues regarding the a la carte menu. Make sure you have your contract with you and what your package includes. I did have some problems being told that I was only entitled to buffet, no menu or snacks. I rectified this the next day with the hotel and the Sunwing Rep and was able to have buffet or a la carte menu (no price menu) for lunch and dinner. There were other guests at the hotel who were on the Sunwing all inclusive package but were French speaking and since there could be a communication problem as most waiters can not speak English they ordered dishes from the a la carte menu that had prices listed and had to pay for their meal. Sunwing has to rectify this situation for their customers and be more clear with communication with Hotel Elcano.||||The food at Bambuco Restaurant is very good. I again complimented the Chef. The presentation of the food is exquisite. The salad was delicious with breaded chicken strips coated with sesame seeds, slivered won ton noodles and mandarines with siracha dressing. The Spagetti Bolognesa is soo good and even any of the pasta in the buffet is also very good. A club sandwich and fries for lunch was also one of my favorites. I really enjoyed the warm apple cake for desert. For the lunch or dinner buffet there was always a nice choice with soup, salads, fruits, desserts-puddings, cookies, cakes, main dishes –chicken, fish, pork or beef, vegetables. At breakfast buffet there was a lot of Mexican dishes. There was a girl who can make you eggs any way you like them. She also made Sopas. Lots of fruits papaya, watermelon, pineapple, melons. Now for the best part –The Fruit Juices. So many places I have traveled in the Caribbean and so disappointed with the watered down juices. Not here! There are dispensers on the counter where you pour your own. Melon Juice which has the wonderful taste of cantaloupe. Green Juice which has a mixture of orange juice, spinach, cactus leaves, honey.|| ||I was delighted to find that David M is now a waiter in the Bambuco Restaurant. The last time my husband and myself stayed at the Hotel Elcano we had a hard time communicating in the restaurant as we don't speak Spanish. The waiter brought over the Bus Boy David to find out what we wanted. David speaks excellent English. We were so pleased with the service David provided that we started to ask if he could serve us when we came for dinner (as he only starts at 3pm). I told him he should be promoted to waiter as he is a great asset to Hotel Elcano. On this recent visit I was so happy to know that David was still working in the restaurant. There are now other waiters in the restaurant that are also able to communicate a little bit more in English. David is an amazing young man, very personable, efficient and wants to please. For me this time it was a very enjoyable dining experience being served by David. The other waiters in the restaurant found it amusing that I always asked if David was working and what section he was serving in. On my last day I thanked David for his wonderful service he provided during my stay and it was such a pleasure to be served by him. He replied to me that he provides this service to every one. I told him that is why he is so special, that he is good at what he does and even just the little things of giving a good service to the customer makes it a very enjoyable dining experience.||||I really enjoyed another stay at Hotel Elcano and highly recommend Hotel Elcano for a relaxing holiday experience and all that it...

I will start off with the positive and give 5* to the 3 waiters in the Bambuco Restaurant. David M who has always made my previous visits to Hotel Elcano Bambuco Restaurant a lovely experience in dining. David is a personable, pleasant young man and speaks excellent English. This visit in January I also had the pleasure of being served by Rigoberto who is pleasant and speaks English. And I can not forget to thank the pleasant Pablo at breakfast who always with a smile would bring over when ever he saw me two Concha (delicious sweet breads). Pablo also speaks English so he was the only one at Breakfast that knew what kind of bread rolls I wanted.||I booked an all inclusive package with Sunwing Vacations to Hotel Elcano from January 11 to 18 and stayed in room 815. I am sure the Reservations Manager and Director of Hotel Elcano knows who I am and did not really care that they might lose me as a returning guest. ||One of the many reasons I returned to Hotel Elcano in the past is because I enjoyed having the choice of Buffet or Set Menu at Lunch and Dinner. I also enjoy their food, their wonderful presentation of their dishes and their excellent service by their waiters when I order from the set menu. ||This trip in January I was told by the Hotel Elcano Reservation Manager according to this years contract with Sunwing, Hotel Elcano has arranged for all meals to be buffet unless the hotel does not have many guests on specific days then it will be Set Menu. I told the Reservation Manager that my contract with Sunwing is still the same indicating lunch and dinner buffet or set menu. I even had a copy of my contract with me of what is included in my all inclusive package that I purchased through Sunwing. I was told by the Reservation Manager that it was Sunwing responsibility to inform their customers of the change and I would have to speak to Sunwing. So I made a complaint with Sunwing Representative onsite in Acapulco and I was told I have to speak with Guest Services Desk at the resort, since this is internal resort information that has to be managed with them. What a disappointment! This really ruined my enjoyment of my stay at Hotel Elcano. Hotel Elcano also changed their Dinner Hours which was only available from 7:00pm to 9:00pm. Sunwing website indicated the Dinner hours are from 16:30 to 22:00. The limited Dinner Hours set by Hotel Elcano for Sunwing guests became a big inconvenience for me. Because of the limited two hour time frame to have Dinner at the hotel denied me the opportunity to arrange other activities in the evening to enjoy in Acapulco. ||Whoever is familiar with Sunwing knows who is at fault and I know there were other complaints at other resorts in Acapulco with similar situations having problems getting what they paid for. I feel though that Hotel Elcano could of rectified the situation at the moment since this was my third visit to...

Elcano has a very good location. Gorgeous view on the beach, relatively close proximity to grocery shops and very friendly staff. However, food and rooms are way below the 4/5-star standard. While the food tasted just fine, the choice was limited and it was hard to call slices of chicken/pork 'mexican food'. Rooms were bad, to put it lightly. Outdated furniture was present in every room. Bathrooms are not entirely cleaned, and wifi access is limited - some rooms have no internet, some have perfect range, so I guess it is a 50/50 if you get internet access. Double bedroom rooms were ok - they have a balcony with chairs and a table, there is good amount of space as well. Single bed rooms however were much worse - while you get some space, the rooms have no balconies (despite facing the sea), ac works half of the time and of course internet access is limited because your room is located near stairs or mantinenance rooms.

Overall, if you want to spend your holidays in Acapulco purely on laying on the beach, swimming in the pool and going to clubs or parties, then Elcano is a decent option if you manage to get a discount or if you are travelling as a group. However, don't expect anything you would from 4/5-star hotels, because Elcano is simply not that kind of hotel (despite...