Hotel Playa Mazatlan — Hotel in Sinaloa

I’ve been coming to Mazatlán for over 12 years and even lived here, so choosing Playa Mazatlán as the venue for my wedding felt like a dream—until the planning process took a turn for the worse. While the venue itself was beautiful and the serving staff were wonderful, the experience with the sales and wedding coordinator, Omar, was genuinely awful and left a lasting negative impression on what should have been one of the happiest days of my life. I originally worked with Melanie, who was kind, attentive, and professional. Unfortunately, she left, and Omar took over. From that point on, communication fell apart. He lacked the professionalism and care required for a role as important as wedding coordination. Whenever I brought up concerns, he would just nod and say “don’t worry,” but never followed through with solutions or support. At our rehearsal just days before the wedding, nothing was set up. I was told there was a quinceañera later that day, and neither Omar nor anyone else showed up to help us rehearse or even acknowledge us. I had sent Omar a full wedding schedule weeks in advance. The day of the wedding, my own brother had to seat guests because no one from the staff did. Omar barely contributed—other than helping carry a few things—and was missing when we needed him most. He also recommended DJ Jaime Cordova, who played the wrong entrance songs and completely ignored volume requests, even after being asked multiple times to turn it down. The music was so loud that guests started leaving early. Other issues that made the day even more upsetting: • The cake was cut without informing us, and my mother had to intervene. • The cake box and stand were thrown away, causing us to lose our deposit. • Despite clear instructions regarding dietary needs, a guest with a severe nut allergy was served peanuts, and a vegetarian guest was served meat—both completely unacceptable and dangerous mistakes. • There was no designated space for us to store our things, so we had to shove them under tables. • The air conditioning was off in 90° heat, and Omar insisted it was on until he walked in and realized it wasn’t—again, no urgency or support from him. Perhaps most frustrating of all, we had reserved a room through the hotel months in advance so we could store our belongings and stay the night. The hotel claimed they canceled it because we didn’t answer a confirmation call—but we received no missed calls or emails. We’re based in the U.S., and this communication failure forced us to spend an hour after arriving trying to fix a problem that never should have happened, leaving us without the room during the wedding. The most heartbreaking part of all of this is that I saved for years to have this wedding. I trusted this venue and team to help me create a day filled with joy and memories. Instead, I was left to stress, scramble, and rely on my own friends and family to make the day come together. One friend in particular carried the whole wedding, and I’m beyond grateful to them—but it should never have been on their shoulders. This could have been an incredible experience. Playa Mazatlán is a beautiful venue, and I still believe it has potential—but only if the right staff are in place. Omar did not take my wedding seriously, and it showed in every detail he mishandled or ignored. I do not recommend working with him, and I will be contacting hotel management to escalate these concerns since he has remained unhelpful even post-event. If I could do it all over again, I would still choose Playa Mazatlán—but only if Melanie or someone with her level of care, organization, and respect for the occasion was coordinating. This was supposed to be the best day of my life, and instead I’m left feeling disappointed, disrespected, and...

My family have been going to The Playa since before it was an all-inclusive. My parents first stayed there in the 1970’s. We loved how friendly and attentive the staff were and how they remembered us year after year. We became friends with the hotel owner Brugetta and used to watch movies with her in penthouse apartment. This January we celebrated my parents 60th wedding anniversary down there. Sadly a lot of the staff are no longer there but the new staff are very friendly and attentive. But there are quite a few things that had changed. The hotel is now only all-inclusive and has supposedly been increased to a 4 star resort. These are some of the things that need to improve to earn that 4 star rating. -my parents and sister booked an ocean view room 318 and 319. Beautiful view, but were kept awake as the sports bar and pool tables are located one floor below them. Staff needs to monitor late party people so they don’t disturb other guests. My sister complained to the front desk telling them it was too noisy so they moved her to a room in the newer part of the hotel only to realize that Joes Oyster Bar next door played super loud music till 4 a.m. and kept them awake longer than the last room. My husband and I booked a garden view room. We got room 106. Beds were a little hard and bedding was not as nice as my other families room. Shower soap holder was very rusty. Lots of small ants in the bathroom. The food variety was definitely better than in the past but definitely favouring the Mexican guest. Part way thru our stay they decided to paint the serving area so needed to move the food to chafing dishes. This resulted in cold food. There was only one toaster at breakfast and only one side worked properly. I had to tell staff on two occasions that the toaster wasn’t plugged in so they had to find an extension cord. For the most part the serving staff were very attentive but on some occasions we had to take away our own dirty plates. Was not impressed with any of the restaurants on site. Horrible food. Georgini’s served us Cold soup, and overcooked chewy steaks. I ordered the spaghetti and it was super salty and couldn’t eat it. We asked our waiter Omar for a coffee and he said they don’t serve it here, yet we saw other tables drinking coffee. The pool snack bar was gross. Never could get our orders correct and served burnt hamburgers. They served ice cream in stale cones with hardly enough ice cream to fill the cone. Alcohol content at hotel is laughable. We could drink all day and not feel anything. They hold premixed drink mixes in washed out milk jugs. The margaritas mix they served at the Fiesta was super green (food colouring for sure). Not the drinks we remember from the past. They serve drinks in plastic cups that aren’t washed too well as my husband received a cup that still had lipstick on it. My brother in law asked for dark rum. The bottle said it was dark rum but when it was poured from the bottle it was light. Unacceptable in my opinion. We started buying beverages at the OXXO and bringing them in to the hotel. We were excited when we heard that there would be new pools and swim up bar. The pool was unheated and swim up bar was not staffed. They said it was not busy enough to open.i Funny as the front desk staff said they were fully booked when we tried to change rooms. There are too many live bands playing on the beach. Too loud and not nice music to listen to when you have to hear it from morning to night.

And for all these reasons we will probably not stay at the...

I recently had the honor of standing beside my friend as a member of her wedding party at Hotel Playa Mazatlán—a celebration that was supposed to be one of the happiest days of her life. Sadly, what should have been a joyful, unforgettable experience quickly became a stressful, disorganized, and incredibly disheartening ordeal, due entirely to the hotel’s lack of professionalism—particularly from the wedding coordinator, Omar. I’ve never seen a bride so overwhelmed—not from emotion or nerves, but from sheer frustration. She had spent over a year meticulously planning this wedding, and it was clear how much it meant to her. The venue itself was beautiful, and the serving staff the night of the wedding were kind, but everything else surrounding the coordination was a disaster. The bride initially worked with Melanie, who was responsive, organized, and genuinely cared. But once Omar took over, everything fell apart. Communication was nearly nonexistent. At the rehearsal, Omar was nowhere to be found. We were told there was a quinceañera happening instead, and despite having sent a detailed wedding schedule weeks in advance, nothing was set up. No walkthrough. No guidance. We were left completely in the dark. On the day of the wedding, things only got worse. Guests were arriving with no one to seat them—so the bride’s own brother had to step in. Omar, who was supposed to be managing the day, disappeared for most of the event. When he did show up, he was minimally helpful, at best. Some of the worst issues included: • A DJ recommended by Omar (Jaime Cordova) played the wrong entrance songs and blasted the music so loudly guests began leaving early. Repeated requests to adjust the volume were ignored. • The cake was cut without notifying the bride and groom, and her mother had to step in to stop it. • The cake stand and box were discarded, costing them a deposit. • Guests with severe dietary needs were served peanuts and meat despite specific, advance instructions—dangerous and absolutely inexcusable. • The air conditioning was not working in 90° heat, and Omar only acknowledged it after finally stepping into the reception room himself. • The hotel canceled the couple’s reserved room (booked months in advance!) over a supposed “missed confirmation call,” which was never received. The bride and groom were left scrambling on their own wedding night. As someone in the wedding party, I witnessed first-hand how much weight fell on the bride’s shoulders—things that should have been handled by hotel staff. Friends and family had to step up and fill roles that Omar and his team failed to do. It was painful to watch her so stressed and disappointed on a day that was supposed to be filled with joy. This wedding could have been absolutely beautiful, and the venue has potential—but the lack of professionalism from the coordination team completely overshadowed everything. Omar’s careless attitude and poor communication made the entire process feel chaotic and dismissive. If you're considering Hotel Playa Mazatlán as your wedding venue, be extremely cautious about who is handling your event. Omar is not someone I would ever trust with something this important. No couple should have to go through what my friend did. The hotel owes her—and future...