Hotel Playa Mazatlan

I would recommend with some reservations

This hotel has alot going for it, but alot to be desired for my indorsement. Location is great close to everything. It is well maintaned and clean but customer service is not well thought out. My biggest complaint was the towel service for Beach& Pools. Pools have no towel service of their own you have to go to the beach station to get towels and it is closed as often as open.There is only one attendent who must close when he has to leave, no one relieves him. The station closeswhen he leaves to replenish towels goes to lunch ect. The hours are 9AM-4:45PM if you like to go to the beach or the pool early or late, no towels. After at least 6 times the first 2 days of finding the towel station Temporaraly closed or not yet opened I took enough towels for the rest of the week. I found that there were other things similir to this service wise that just were not very accomadating. As a whole the staff was friendly and helpful but the hotel’s procedures made it difficult for them to do their jobs efficently. The nightly music, the breakfast buffet, and the pool side restuarant was especialy nice. The drink service on the beach was another service done poorly, understaffed not friendly and slow. The wristband that you were asked to wear at check in is another annoying thing with no purpose or benefit. Anyway, don’t discount this hotel but don’t expect to be blown away.

Traveler's tip on dining

The restaurant across the street(stand in front,look to the right)Los Lupitios(spelling?)is upscale &excellant, great service, great food, pretty reasonably priced for the Golden Zone. For a great place downtown (a little off the main square at Plaza Machado) Topellos (again spelling)Great food, atmostphere,and service. Very reasonable

Excellent upscale hotel

Ideal for relax and babies. Breathtaking ocean view

clean and comfortable

The hotel is very nice with the open terrace restaurant one of the best aspects. Food was good and not overpriced. Impeccably clean. Had a rainstorm nd the staff handled the resulting water easily and well. Bar service was spotty. We speak only English and had a little dificulty, but always found someone who understood it.

Traveler's tip on local attractions

Don’t buy a tour from a beach vendor. Pass on Stone Island but go for Deer Island.

4 visits and more planned

the rooms are great SPEND THE EXTRA BUCK FOR OCEAN VIEW .entertainment at night. beach servic for drinks. dining room service is good any time of day.food very good.staff exemplary.my couin flys in from England twice a year 1st question is are we going to mazatlan.love Mexico go to other places

Traveler's tip on shopping

great shopping are near hotel.check out sergio bustamente store on same street as hotel and silver shop directly opposite

The beds

The hotel was very clean, staff was excellent and the location was great. The beds, however, where hard as rocks. I noticed some of the other rooms had been undergoing some updates (with newer fluffier matresses). We asked to be moved to one of those rooms, but was only offered an extra pad to be added to the bed. It was alot better, but still hard. My husband and I aren’t too picky about a hotel. We stay so busy on our vacations, all we need a hotel for is to sleep. So a comfy bed is pretty important. Otherwise, this place was great!

Traveler's tip on dining

Pancho’s was great: Cheap prices, great food, located on the beach for beach side dining! Found a great juice bar: Pura Vida Juice. Easy was to sqeeze in your fruits and veggies on vacation! Everything is cheap in Mazatlan!

One of the best comfortable hotel in Mazatlan

This hotel is in a area that is very easy to get around, in the hotel everybody is nice and helpfull, we love this hotel because they make you feel welcome.

Traveler's tip on nightlife

This hotel is walking distance to many of the most popular clubs in Mazatlan [Valentino’s, Cherry, El Nivel, Cantabar, and the oh so famous Bora Bora].

Not bad

All in all, it was a pretty good hotel. The rooms were clean and air-conditioned, although we did have some problems with the room not being made up until the late afternoon one or two days. The hotel restaurant is nice enough, but they don’t change the contents of the breakfast buffet, so it can get a little repetitive if you don’t seek other options. All that said, this is a "family" hotel, so if shrieking children drive you up the wall, go elsewhere. There are plenty of them here.

Traveler's tip on recreational activities

Skip the Original Fiesta Mexicana. The price is good ($36 per person for a buffet and unlimited drinks), but it gets really old, really quick.

Didn’t even stay ten minutes

This hotel is nothing like it appears online and we didn’t even stay there ten minutes before switching hotels. Our ocean view was blocked by a huge wall, the beds were dirty, the staff was rude, and it was dirty.

Great Place

My wife and I stayed here for our honeymoon and it was great. If I had to complain about anything I would say that the pillows were uncomfortable. Both my wife and I had wished we brought ours. But this is a preference kind of thing and you may like them, who knows. The bed was the same kind of deal. But the room was super clean, the AC worked excellently, the hotel in general is very nice and the beach is literally right out your door. The hotel restaurant is reasonably priced and the food is decent. There was quality live music and dancing every night though. We very much enjoyed the hotel. Oh, one other complaint is that there wasn’t a cooler in the room, but it really wasn’t that big of a deal. Oh and we stayed in the standard ocean view.

Traveler's tip on recreational activities

though I would recommend Pancho’s just up the beach for the best food. Also, don’t be afraid to try the parasailing, it was awesome!

Would return in a minute!

The grounds and hotel at the Playa Mazatlan were beautiful and extremely clean! The restaurant has excellent food, gracious staff and the best view in Mazatlan of the beach. We loved our oceanfront room, especially the balcony. We were told by our cab drivers and tour guides that the Playa Mazatlan is the preferred hotel by the locals, we know why.

Traveler's tip on local attractions

Our best day was taking a walking tour into Old Town Mazatlan. Had the taxi drop us off at the Cathedral and walked to the renovated Theatre, the Market Place, and Main Plaza. We watched some older gentlemen play dominos in an alcoved area of a building, watched kids feed pigeons, and had a Cervesa at an outdoor cafe.

Great for Relaxation

This is my second trip to this hotel in 16 years. The people are still great and very helpful here. The maintenance of the hotel has gone down. The air conditioner in our room was so noisy that when we watched tv it was so loud it disturbed the neighbors. The room we stayed in was their deluxe suite. Very disappointed because of the noisy air conditioner. The restaurant still has wonderful food, but the waiters appear to be more interested in talking amongst themselves, rather than doing their job. All-in-all, it is a good place to stay, but is over-priced for the value. Not as it was sixteen years ago. Great for a family.

Playa Mazatlan - beach could use cleaning

I have stayed at this hotel several times. On this trip - week of May 1, 2008: I was surprised at how dirty the beach has become. Trash was evident not only in the public areas but in the seating area controlled by the hotel. Beer bottles, paper napkins, cigarette butts and of sorts of other debris.

Traveler's tip

Biking along the malecon is a lot of fun

Great location -- needs a bit of a revamp

I’ve stayed at the Hotel Playa 7 or 8 times in the past 10 years. It’s in a great location, the beach front is nice and the pool is big and nice (although way too heated to provide relief). I will no doubt stay there again, but each time I’ve left, I’ve been a little more disappointed in the overall experience. While they do a nice job keeping the grounds clean and tidy -- someone is always sweeping or cleaning up somewhere -- the rooms are getting more run down and it is very, very noisy. The towels have also seen better days and so has the bedding. The restaurant and hotel staff are not nearly as friendly as they used to be either -- this is the most disappointing part of all. All of this aside, it’s a great place to check out for a week esp if you’re tired of hotel chains. The food on site is fair and there are plenty of restaurants and shopping in walking distance.

Traveler's tip on dining

The tortilla soup is excellent.

Some Helpfull hints

This hotel is in a great location, however when booking your room make sure you stay on the west side of the hotel. There is a very noisy nitclub nextdoor that operates until 3am. The hotel front desk was not very helpful when trying to use an expedia long distance phone card. After 4 trips to the front desk we gave up and waited until the next day and we were finally told that the card can only be used from the phone booth in the lobby, not your room!! Midway thru are stay we were locked out of our room due to an error that had us leaving early!! Make sure to get up early and tag a chair on the beach, they go fast. The Fiesta Mexicana dinner show at the Hotel was great!

Traveler's tip on local attractions

Camachos restaurant has a great breakfast, worth the walk on the beach. Also a little place called Arre LuLu has a bargain for beer 3 for 3.30. Great marlin tacos and cheese burgers. Make the trip to the Historic District.

Relaxation oasis, but yet fun for kids

The rooms are a little dated, but the overall hotel is Beautiful with an Amazing beach, and the service is fantastic!! Our stay was Phenomenal!!!

Not impressed

Hotel Playa Mazatlan was not all it was cracked up to be. We reserved king beds and were told at checkin that none were available. Since we booked this trip in August, 2007 and took it in March, 2008, one would think that we would have had first choice. But they were not in the mood to accommodate us. The service is adequate but they will not go out of their way to accommodate special requests. The views were great. We were right on the ocean and within 100 feet of the beach which was the saving grace. The check-in lines were long and took several hours. All in all I think I probably would look to other hotels in the area before I would stay here again.

Playa Mazatlan review

This was a very nice hotel on the beach with access to good restaurants within walking distance. The food was good ( esp the Fajatas ) and the staff friendly. I understand that it’s one of the few remaining hotels still owned by the original family owners and they take great pride in it. It has nice pools and a wonderful veranda for sunsets and drinks. My ONLY complaint is the beds were pretty hard.

Traveler's tip on getting the most out of your stay

Bring comfortable shoes to walk in, don’t worry about your Spanish because nearly everyone spoke good english and enjoy some of the nicest ocean front accomodations south of the border.

We’re already planning our next trip back!

We have stayed at the Playa Mazatlan, for over ten years now. We look at staying elsewhere, but the staff and the hotel itself are what take us back everytime. It is where we will be taking our children and new grandchildren, as soon as the babies are ready to go! Can’t wait!

Traveler's tip on getting the most out of your stay

We don’t care that it is not "all inclusive" at the Playa Mazatlan, as the food in Mazatlan is fabulous.

Perfect location in Mazatlan

Hotel Playa provided the perfect location for all Golden Zone activities. The room was clean and promptly maintained every day of our stay. We requested and got rooms on the 1st floor opening directly out to the palapas. The effect of the hotel is almost two different worlds, one of sunshine and beach, the other Mazatlan for shopping and fun. The restaurant is only average, except for the stuffed avocados at lunch, but there are so many to try just around the area we seldom ate at the hotel. This is our second time at Hotel Playa and we definitely will stay there on future visits.

Traveler's tip on getting the most out of your stay

Be certain to contact the hotel sales/reservations and insure they understand exactly what you want in accomodations.

nice place

It was a great location right on a beautiful beach. very clean but not modern. shower was only fair. nice balcony, comfortable bed, spacious room. good entertainment and nice outdoor restaurant right on the beach. easy walk to clubs, shops and restaurants. pulmonias are great way to get around, only 6$ to downtown.

Traveler's tip on nightlife

go to the Fiesta at the hotel, great entertainment, music, authentic mexican dancers, nice buffet and they kept the unlimited drinks coming!

An elegant, well maintained old style Mexican hotel.

The staff were very nice and helpful. Our room was clean, comfortable and had a large balcony overlooking the ocean. We highly recommend the Sat night festival, well done, a good mexican buffet, drinks included, good service and great entertainers. Sunday night fireworks on the beach is fun. Every night there is a live band with dancing in the bar area. The dining room and bar are beautiful with all seats along a wall over looking the beach and ocean, very nice at night with the surf. It is well located with many shops and restaurants withing a short walking distance.

The Playa

We stayed at Hotel Playa 2-29-08 to 3-7-08. We had two rooms. One for me and my wife and another for a 17 year old daughter and our 16 year old foreign exchange student. We had stayed here before and it was just as we remember it. The hotel is well taken care of and in the heart of the Golden Zone. Unlike other hotels that we have stayed at, we were NOT once asked about a timeshare while on the hotel property. Out on the street is another story. The hotel caters to an older crowd with a lot of book reading going on. The teenagers might have got a little bored with lack of others thier age. We would definatly go back!

If you have teenagers, you might want to look at somewhere like El Cid that I think caters to a younger, wilder crowd.

This hotel has a lot of character.

The hotel has a very beautiful setting. People from other hotels would come and have a drink at this hotel and say that they loved the atmosphere. The only problem we had was the vicinity of our room to Joe’s Oyster Bar. The music, during the week went on until 3am and on week-ends until 5am, very, very, loud. Solution, I wore foam ear plugs and it worked for me. We were offered another room on the quieter side of the hotel but our view was so spectacular where we were that it wasn’t worth changing. The ear plugs were the answer. The noise was muffled to a very acceptable level, combined with the sound of the waves, it was like a lullaby.

Traveler's tip on recreational activities

The catamaran ride to Stone Island is not worth the $35 per person. Buffet meal not bad. Good selection of alcohol but only one type of beer & no wine. Some activities offered, but not much time. Two come with price but water sports depend on weather. If you like to drink, you’ll like it.

Thumbs Up

Though the hotel rooms were basic, the overall hotel amenities make up for them. Warm, clean pools; good restaurant and service; good location; clean comfortable beach; safe; nice staff; pools for children; work out room.

Traveler's tip on saving a few bucks

Make sure to negotiate prices for trips, taxi rides and purchases that you arrange outside of the hotel. If it isn’t too busy or crowded, there is lots of room for negotiation!

Will not go back

Too many cruise ship guests are permitted to use Hotel common areas. Overpriced, rooms look like they were decorated back in 1960. Food was horrible. Water was shut off for one day. Showers could not be adjusted to correct temperature. Fornt desk staff were extremely slow.

Traveler's tip

Mazatlan is a little overpriced for Mexico. Don’t go to Casa de Loma (restaurant). We all got sick from their food.