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Dorado Pacifico Ixtapa - Ixtapa, Review
Paseo De Ixtapa S/N Lote 3-A • Ixtapa, 40880 • Mexico
An excellent value with great amenities and prime location
leisure traveller, married, love to travel, laid-back
| Pros |
|
NOV
17
2007
ROOMS
For the price they were nice. Definitely a little worn and the beds are hard. We had 11 rooms and only 2 received the King bed requests. All were ocean view though so we were satisfied overall. The rooms were fine, not fancy. Maid service was good and the towel animals were a cute touch. We enjoyed listening to the ocean at night.
We were on the construction side. I was concerned based on reviews. They are at the point where it's just hammering and really you can't hear it over the ocean. They started about 8am and ended about 6pm. We had to turn our heads to see the construction. From the inside of the room all you saw was ocean. If you want ocean view and no construction go for anything ending in 14 or less. 16 and 17 have ocean and construction. Anything higher than 18 probably has more construction view than I would like.
POOL
The pool is very nice. The bar is in the shade [which I don't like] but there was a nice sitting ledge across in the water. People do go down early to save chairs but there are always chairs available. Some with us would go right at 6 to get chairs...I just didn't worry too much. One day after exploring we just plopped towels on the ground and hopped in the pool.
The slides were fun. We had some races. They had water polo and some other pool activities during the day if you were into that.
We were usually off on an adventure but friends enjoyed these activities.
BEACH
The beach area is roped off and clustered together. They also were chairs and not lounge chairs. I never sat in these...I'd rather just walk the beach than sit in there...those chairs were popular but there were always some available.
The beach was great for walking. The waves were loud. There were always red or black flags waving [not good for swimming] because of the rip tide. Someone had to be rescued during our stay because they were pulled out.
The water is dark blue. You cannot see your toes.
NIGHTLIFE
There is a piano bar area with chairs all around it which is fun for those that enjoy that. People were taking turns singing. The bar shuts down around 10pm so as not to disturb guests. We went to some bars around town [Carlos & Charlies & Senor Frogs, etc.] but things don't start until after 10pm...10:30-11pm til about 2-3 at night. So take a siesta so you can do this!
SHOPPING
We are not shoppers but those with us enjoyed all the shops across the street. There were also fun shops in Zihua.
FOOD
We got the breakfast buffet included in our stay so we did that in the mornings. We discovered too late that the gal will make things besides omelets...like huervos rancheros [tortilla, eggs, beans, etc.]. But they also have buffet items already prepared, pastries and delicious fruit. The coffee was excellent.
We had homemade chips and guacomole around the pool and a fresh bowl of fruit with coconut sauce. Yummy. Others had sandwiches, etc. Good food.
Our favorite restaurant was Villa de la Selva, a 5 minute cab ride away. We also enjoyed La Casa que Canta in Zihua. It overlooked a bay in Zihua, great after dark. Very romantic setting [there were fireworks for a wedding briefly during our dinner]. Others witrh us enjoyed Kau Kan and Bogarts was very popular [an easy walk from the hotel]. We hopped across the street one night and went to Laguna, it was ok...cool thatched roof. Chili Beans and Mamma Normas were good fun for a couple friends.
ACTIVITIES
SURFING
We enjoyed taking surfing lessons. CATCHA L'OLA was behind Senor frogs. Edgar took us to Playa Linda for a couple hours. It was fun and affordable and they're a really nice group of people.
BARRA DE POTOSI...we took a cab here. It was a fun drive down a dirt road where chickens, cows, laundry hanging were the scenery. Dropped off by La Condessa. Set up camp on some lounge chairs by the beach [bring your own towels]. The beach had some trash on it which wasn't quite as nice as we were expecting but it was pretty cool. The vendors approach every few minutes but they are very polite. We found a family to rent kayaks to us and we explored the lagoon. It is a very large lagoon. We must have been there during low tide because it was quite shallow in spots, reminded me of a big lake with pretty mountains off in the distance.
Watching the fishermen was the best part. There were birds all over and waiters would go running towards where they were with a line [no pole] and throw it in the middle of the birds, then they'd drag huge fish out. It was wild.
We ate a delicious meal at La Condessa with our feet in the sand. Our waiter ran out a few times to catch some big fish. Cool.
Very litte English spoken here.
PICANTE TOUR
This was a 75 foot sailboat. Very nice. The captain and his crew were friendly. The music playing was awesome [good mix of Jack Johnson, earlie Stevie Wonder, little Jimmy Buffet, others]. Everyone commented. Fresh fruit and tomatoes. Good drinks. Lunch was ham & cheese sandwiches.
They took us out to some rocks for snorkeling and swimming. That part was just ok. The wind was unusual that day so they veered from their normal course.
A couple guys got to reel in some big fish. They enjoyed that.
Heading back they put on sombraros and people did shots and danced to the YMCA and other silly songs. It was fun.
ISLE IXTAPA
Some friends went here and had a great time. They picked from fresh fish and lounged.
ZIHUATANEJO
We stayed on in Zihua after the boat ride. We roamed down a street with shops and just roamed around. It was a cool town. We found a walkway above the beaches...ended up at MJ & Richies. Sat on sand and had a margarita. Ahhh...
Roamed around some more and then eventually found a bus back to Ixtapa; that was an adventure in itself! Fun ride back with the locals heading to work.
We were only there 5 days so sadly couldn't do it all...but we had a blast. It was a fun affordable vacation. You could do as much as you wantd or as little which is always good. The weather was OUTSTANDING...80s and sunny during the day and 70s at night...no wrap needed [but good to have just in case]. Friendly people. If the water was prettier I'd be more impressed.
Last edited on Nov 17, 2007
Dorado Pacifico Ixtapa - Ixtapa, is recommended by TnTWalter
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