We stayed at Las Brisas four nights (June 23 - 27) for our honeymoon. Most of what I have to say has already been said and then some (gorgeous views, great service, quiet, etc) but I have a few things, mostly reactions to what other travelers have said.

1. I think the food was priced very reasonably -- ex. $10 salad at lunch (I want to know if the people complaining about food prices have been to a local Applebee's or Olive Garden lately, it's the same prices!!!). My husband and I spent $260 on food in 3 1/2 days and we ate out only once (hamburgers at Ruben's in Ixtapa -- delish!)

2. If they offer you the "Brisas Beach Club" option, take it! We had a free breakfast buffet and happy hour every day and GREAT service from Luisa. Granted, they don't have as much selection as the $20 breakfast buffet for everybody else but it's freakin free! We ate (ahem, and drank) so much at happy hour we skipped dinner once! Cha-ching! saved us $70.

3. My only issue had nothing to do with the hotel really, but the season. Even though I found the June weather beautfiul (not too hot and only rained one night) there was NO ONE at the hotel. My husband thought it was cool but I was creeped out. Also, the main restaurant is closed which kinda sucked.

4. We took a tour to Isla Ixtapa offered by the American Express tour counter -- definitely recommend although slightly pricey ($100 for two, includes lunch and all transportation). Miguel at the tour counter was very nice as was Juan, our tour guide.

5. OMG people, the walk to the pool is nothing and it's kinda neat like you're walking through a rainforest exhibit at the zoo. Besides, we thought the pools were nasty anways (lots of debris and hot and there were people doing dirty things --- ewwww!) The beach is much nicer.

6. The nuts in the Lobby Bar are awesome. As were any and all forms of avocado. You should leave this place pumped full of unsaturated fat!

All in all, we say GO! You won't be disappointed, unless you're a party pooper, in which case, you don't deserve a vacation.

My wife and I have been to Mexico many times, but never to Ixtapa. The Las Brisas hotel is located between Ixtapa and Zihuatenejo and has it's own private beach. The hotel is built into the side of the hill, shaped like a wedge down to the beach level. The lobby is on the 18th floor with the rooms and beach being below. Everyone working there could not have been nicer and accomodated us in the few requests we had. We only ate two meals there, a brunch on Sunday and a beach lunch the other time. Both were excellant. The resturant offered excellant service, but we found ourselves going into town to try to get a local feel.
The town of Ixtapa is really just a collection of resorts, nice restaurants, and a Marina at the end. A true sense of Mexico can be found in the other direction in Zihuatenejo. Taxis are easy to get from the hotel in eather direction and are everywhere for your return.
Our room was wonderful and every room in this hotel has a water view. The service was outstanding with again, all people we came in contact with being as nice as they could be.
If I had any complaint at all, there were two. Unless you venture out in either direction to explore, shop, and eat, it is expensive to eat and drink at the hotel. I had read a review of this hotel and was somewhat prepared. It is not excessive, but a bit more than what I was used to for Mexico. Going out is fun and we did explore. That leads to the next complaint and it is not with the hotel, but the car rental service there. We rented a car for the day and upon receiving it from the company, it had no gas! The answer to my question was "we rent them like this all the time". The instructions for the gas station were wrong and I found myself coasting down hills to conserve fuel until we found a service station. Word to the wise.
In all a wonderful experiance and highly recommended for all occasions. Watch out swimming, the undertow is bit strong at the hotel beach. Explore, there are numerous beaches all around you.
Finally, go deep sea fishing. I caught four sailfish, releasing two. My wife wanted to release all four as did I, but the hook placement prevented it. Have a great time, we did!

We stayed at the Las Brisas Ixtapa 7-14 June 2008. The hotel was bright, clean and well maintained. The rooms were ample with a large balcony complete with a hammock. The rooms contained a safe with pay mini bar and pay coffee maker. You receive two free, small bottles of water but only on the first day. The maid service was great with occasional flower decorations left in your room. The hotel staff was efficient and friendly. Views from your balcony, lobby bar and other vantage points were fantastic. The beach was beautiful with an attractive pool bar, nice sand and the water clear but with a strong and powerful wave action. The pools were nice with the adjoin pool bar/restaurant.
The meals offered at the buffet breakfast were satisfying. The ala carte restaurants were fine dining with multi course meals, great food and excellent service. The cost of meals, drinks, and hotel shop items were well above average.

Some personal notes:
*The layout of the hotel and the various times restaurant/bars were open were definitely not that user friendly. The only bars/restaurants open from noon to 6pm were the pool and beach bars so if you wanted a drink or food, as in our example, you had to walk for 10 minutes and take two different elevator systems. The opposite was true so if you were down at the pool/beach after 6pm, you had to do the reverse to get back up to the lobby bar.
*The cost of meals made the AI plan a necessity unless you plan on eating out regularly. If you don’t mind paying 1,000 pesos or more for two people for dinner, then not a problem.
*The hotel has many long corridors, steep steps and a two elevator system to get to the pools and beach. There is a free shuttle from the lobby to the pools.
*The hotel is a 20 minute walk to the shops of Ixtapa and there is a hill walk involved so it is a bit isolated.
*Taxi’s are readily available (40 pesos to Ixtapa – 70 to downtown Zihua) and the mini buses are 7-10 pesos to Ixtapa/Zihua on a frequent schedule.
*Bus/boat trips to the many beaches, Isla Ixtapa, Petatlan, Zihua shops and plaza can be done easily and at little cost, there are great times to be had in the nearby area.
*I have to mention Il Mare, the cliffside restaurant in Zihua. I choose this place for our anniversary dinner based on reviews that I had read. Just fantastic in food, service, reasonable cost and absolute killer views, highly recommended.

We had, without a doubt, a fantastic time in the Zihua area and really enjoyed our daily excursion adventures.

This hotel is amazing!

I disagree about the price of food being overly expensive. Compared to several other resorts/hotels my husband and I have visited, the food was very reasonably priced. We were there for 5 days and ate all but 2 meals (breakfast, lunch, and dinner) there. We ate very, very well at Las Brisias for $400 for 5 days...including room service, nice dinners, lunch on the beach, breakfast, drinks, and 20%+ tips. The service alone was worth the price of food. I have never encountered staff taking so much pride in what they do. The staff we encountered were never looking for tips or handouts (they very much appreciated them) they just honestly did an excellent job. I don't know if being there in their off season helped with this or not, but I have never seen service anywhere close to what we received.

The rooms and hotel itself are not new. Yet, they are beautifully maintained. Each room has a hammock and outdoor seating with a very nice view of the beach on the balcony. The pool is lovely. The grounds are beautiful. Everything was so quiet, and staff was everywhere to help if needed.

We actually stumbled upon Ixtapa as well as Las Brisas for this vacation, but I think we will definitely "stumble" here again.

Overall, I can't say enough good things about Las Brisas. I would not hesitate to recommend anyone to stay here. In fact, we have actually recommended it to several others already.