Hotel Princess Mayev — Hotel in Oaxaca

BEWARE: Do not book the bioluminescence tour through this hotel. It was one of the worst experiences for me and my family. The whole event was sketchy. There was no air in the back of the van that contained 12 people and it was a 2.5 hour drive. We were taken to a ‘Chocolate Factory’ on the side of the road. Had to look around every second of the stop because of the place. We proceed to the turtle tour, which lasted about 15 minutes tops, then on to the so called bioluminescence tour. We waited at the marina for an hour. The tour guide kept yelling let’s go to an individual up the hill. The boat finally arrived from who knows where. We were scared to even board. We went and there was no bioluminescence. We were afraid the entire time because of the series of events. On the way back, we stopped at a restaurant that was obviously connected to the driver in some way. When we arrived his meal was waiting for him. He kept going around to the front of the restaurant to consume alcohol that the bartender and other staff members delivered to him. DONT RISK IT! ||We rented two villas. They are outdated, not clean, even after room service. There are several openings that allows geckos and bugs to craw around the place. The bathroom has no top, so good luck to your guest when you have to use the restroom. The sinks were always stopped up. Never got to use the private pool because it was always dirty. ||Restaurant upstairs was fine. ||Stopped at the front desk one night and the person in charge was asleep with an additional person with a fort that they made so you couldn’t see the additional person sleeping. After I woke them up, I asked for peroxide or neosporin due to several cuts from the bioluminescence tour. They offered peroxide. I asked if they could pour some in a cup, instead they grab an alcohol bottle, didn’t wash it out, and poured the peroxide in it. Talk about...

Stayed for a few days in August. Went knowing that it was not on the beach, but that it had a pool and was walkable to beaches. ||Room was very large. Had a city view, which was a good view nonetheless, into the green mountains. Bed was firm, as seems to be the standard in Mexico. Balcony with table and chairs, the power outlet on the balcony did not seem to work. AC worked well. Good sized bathroom. TV with cable, though it was tricky for some reason to get the cable to work. It took a combination of buttons that seemed to change every time. :) ||Ate breakfast in the restaurant a couple of times (it was not included in the room). A pretty wide range of options, not too expensive. ||Pool was nice, there are actually two I think, but the one was small and out of the way. The main pool had a bunch of chairs around it, but some are right by rooms, so it seemed like they were (at least unofficially) dedicated to those rooms. The pool never got super crowded, but it may have been a down time for vacations. ||The hotel is up a hill, but I found that it was quite walkable. There is a large grocery store a short walk away. Can reach multiple beaches within about 15 minutes, as well as restaurants. The hotel will also call a taxi for you in short order. ||Some small negatives:|Unreliable wifi - didn't work in half of my room.  Even in public spaces it was spotty.|Only overhead lights in the room. So if you wanted to read in bed, it was either all or nothing. |No mini fridge in the room. You could get ice near the front desk, but not quite the same.  |The pool chairs had no shade, no umbrellas, and the sun is no joke there. |Snack machine only by the front desk, no other way to buy drinks or other items at the hotel (though again, there is a grocery store a short walk away). ||If you are not set on staying right on the beach, this is a good...

The hotel had lovely views and the pool was amazing at night. The pictures were misleading as the room was not true to the pictures and overall could use some updating. I'd suggest perhaps some better quality amenities (soap, shampoo, body lotion etc) would be a nice touch as well. Perhaps a grab and go breakfast buffet option with fruit, yogurt and some pastries might be a great idea for those that don't eat much in the morning and also would take pressure off the restaurant staff. The beds were also very firm and uncomfortable.||The one super disappointing thing was that upon checking in, the hotel staff assumed I didn't speak Spanish (which was true) so they started gossiping about us in Spanish in front of me. The thing they neglected to consider was that my friend was Venezuelan and could understand everything they said. A younger lady at reception came by as we were checking in and commented about how handsome we were. Then Ricardo (front desk agent) said, don't worry honey, they don't play for your team (which was a dig at us being gay). I find this super inappropriate and had I not been so exhausted, I would have just gone to another hotel. It's also super unfortunate as I'm a travel agent and could have send a ton of business their way, but now because of this experience, I obviously won't.||I'd recommend some hospitality training for the staff as their behaviour was both inappropriate and offensive. Note for next time, maybe ask if anyone speaks Spanish before you...