Punta del Mar — Hotel in Máncora

Greetings folks, I'm here to do a deep dive into my experience with James and his property in Mancora, Peru. I, along with another female traveler visited punta del mar last month. And let me tell you straight, the property itself was divine and the female staff were lovely! In fact, everyone who was there was great! But you know who wasn't there, James, the owner/operator - he was in Australia. (More on this tidbit in a moment...)

My friend and I loved the grounds, although found it surprising that we were the only guests there - it was an unusual 'ghost town'. Still, most of the staff were friendly and accommodating. Or so we thought at first. Then, things got... Strange... We arrived late, tired and hungry. After ordering a few beverages, we opted for a late meal, around 8:40pm local time. To our surprise, biting into our food and sipping our drinks, the lights turned off! We inquired, only to be told that it's 'policy' that all the lighting be shut down at 9pm sharp, as per James' orders. We, two (2) female travelers, the only patrons on the property and the only persons eating were forced to finish a meal in the darkness as the time had passed 9pm. Stanger still, no one told us of the lights-out policy when ordering our food, a mere few moments prior. Shocked, we were told to contact the owner/operator, James, who lived overseas... Policy, we were told. And when asked for an accommodation, simply light enough the patio to complete our meals, we were told no.

This bizarre behavior of policy trumping common sense continued for the duration of our stay. When we commented on the ant infestation that was waging war in every corner of the punta del mar we were told that, "It's rainy season and I cant control the weather" Yes, true, it was the rainy season. And again, yes, true, no one is responsible for insect life, but when you've an infestation of ants and patrons are simply bringing it to your attention, the lack of empathy and care is disheartening. Despite our collective disappointment, we tried our best to persevere - simply enjoy the experience for what it was, without being overly dramatic. Yet, moments like these continued to arise - all small in their own right, but the collective toll was unbearable.

So, what does one do in such a situation? While we tried to negotiate with the local staff, it was clear that James was in charge, and he was in Australia! So, call Australia! And we did, only to be repeatedly called, "Mate," by someone in a very slurry voice. I wish I could attribute this to the time difference, but logically speaking, it was James' probable intoxication which made matters all the worse. Never apologizing, never explaining, not even being slightly reassuring, we were told, repeatedly, "Sorry, mate, but I ain't there to change the weather," or, "Sorry, mate, that's the policy," or, "Sorry, mate..." James, we were two (2) female travelers in Peru, not your mates, man!

Ultimately, both my travelling friend and I recognized that it wasn't fair for us to comment or review our experience as - the owner/operator wasn't present (ostensibly intoxicated on another continent), that the employees were simply following policy (regardless of how outdated, or situationally inappropriate) and that the punta del mar was being operated under a 'shadow regime'... No, no commentary was going to be shared - no review, public or private. We were prepared and resided to this being just 'one of those experiences'. But that was not to be. For reasons still unknown, the owner/operator of punta del mar would wait until our return home to publicly renounce our visit, to attempt to humiliate and unjustly label my traveling companion and myself as 'disrespectful'. Sorry James, but no.

In short, this is a testament to a beautiful facility with a caring, albeit scared staff, and a non-attentive owner/operator who has simply enjoyed one-too-many. Best wishes and many happy...

It has been a total nightmare because of the unprofesional behavior of Patricia, the adminsitrator of the hostel. First, she booked the wrong room (one of them downstair with no privacy because everyone on the beach or on the terrace can see you on the room, which can be a problem when you are a young lady). Because of that when we arrived we spent 2h checking on their website which room were available because Patricia didn't care about finding a true solution and she even blamed us and said it was our fault. Finally we had to change of room twice and we spent our two last day in a dirty and noisy room next to some bulding work. When we left we asked for a little discount to compensate our bad experience, of course they refused and again Patricia was so unprofesional and even disrespectful with us because we were asking for a little discount. So please when you have a nice hotel be sur to employ profesional and decent employee. Because of Patricia it was a nightmare and apparently the manager and the owner James (you can find him on Airbnb) ofhe hostel didn't care.||To sump up the good point of the hotel is the location but the staff (above all Patricia) is not profesional and even disrespectful (only Patricia). The rooms on the beach (ocean view) are ok but the one on the main bulding in front of the pool are terrible and very expensive for what it is. One last advice : the food is awful, the fish and seafood are frozen and really bad and even the cocktails are not good (we tried the mojito and I even found some rice in my glass, so it definitly was the cherry on the cake).In 1 month we visited 11 hostels in Peru and it was the worst..||DON'T...

We really loved this hotel. We had booked a junior suite which we were under the impression had a bath which my husband prefers. In fact there is just a walk in shower. We were shown a superior double (with bath!) and decided to change. It was obviously smaller with less storage but had a lovely large balcony with table, chairs sun beds and parasol. We thoroughly enjoyed making good use of this. The room was comfortable and quiet. |We thoroughly enjoyed the food. Great variety, good quality and piping hot.The service in the restaurant was excellent but you had no feeling of business or being rushed. |All staff throughout the hotel were professional and efficient but also warm and friendly. |I enjoyed the pool. Not heated as is the norm at this time of year but by late morning the sun had warmed it up enough to be pleasant. The sun beds are comfortable and sturdy-no tipping up if you sit on the wrong bit! They are closely packed but this is because there are so many of them and means you can always get one at any time. Around the hotel there are plenty of places to sit wether you want sun or shade. The air conditioned lounge by the pool was a great place to cool off while still feeling the holiday vibe. |The evening entertainment was a highlight for us. The best we’ve experienced for a long time. The presence of the tireless hotel entertainment staff to facilitate and encourage certainly helped. The “Strictly Soul” guy on Sunday was exceptional. |From check in to check out we had a great experience and left feeling relaxed and restored. We would definitely love to...