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 Travel & Outdoors | June 2008 
The Mazatlans, Old and New, Are Beautiful Refuge
 Judy Wiley - McClatchy Newspapers
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| | Restoration of the Angela Peralta Theater was the catalyst for revival of the historic downtown in Mazatlan, Mexico. (Judy Wiley/Fort Worth Star-Telegram) | | |
Old Mazatlan is an excellent reason for a vacationer to forgo the usual trip to Cancun and try Frontier's new nonstop flight to (new) Mazatlan on the Pacific, a route just started last year. After the two-hour flight and a 30-minute van ride, you have a choice: Relax beside the ocean in peace (even the hotel beaches were pleasantly unpopulated) or head downtown for cafes, shopping, maybe an opera.
This city on a peninsula north of Puerto Vallarta has 16 miles of beach, a good chunk of it occupied by the Zona Dorado, (the Golden Zone) named for its tawny sands. Old Mazatlan, about 15 minutes from the Zona Dorado by taxi, is a trip to the past, its restoration bringing the city hope for the future.
Seeing a resort in another country on the Internet is one thing -- they're not going to put up ugly photos, after all. I stayed at El Cid Castilla Beach and checked out public areas of six more hotels. Rates shown here are shown in U.S. dollars for a double per night, looking at five days. They were posted at www.gomazatlan.com unless otherwise noted. Except for the El Cid hotels, the rates listed here are not all-inclusive. Any necessary peso conversions were made at 10.9 pesos to $1.
El Cid
The El Cid chain (properties in Spain, England and several in Mexico) has four resorts in Mazatlan: El Cid Castilla Beach, where I stayed (400 rooms, 27 suites, four restaurants, a snack bar and a Senor Frogs scheduled to open); El Cid El Moro Beach next door (190 suites, two restaurants, one snack bar); El Cid Granada (110 studios and suites, two restaurants), across the street; and El Cid Marina Beach (200 suites, two restaurants, two snack bars), the newest resort, farther away from the other three. Castilla Beach, where I stayed, was built in the 1980s. It was clean and perfectly serviceable but showing signs of age. Of the four, prices were lowest there in mid-November.
Families, groups that want to party, golfers and people who just love Mazatlan and want a good rack rate (room rate) will like the El Cid resorts.
Cost: We paid $140 a night including taxes for the all-inclusive plan at Castilla Beach, which was good for drinks at that resort from 3 p.m. to 11 p.m. and meals at two of its restaurants (the posted all-inclusive rates had gone up to $197 a night when I checked January dates). Meals at the reservations-only restaurant were not included, nor were meals at the other El Cid properties. A free shuttle will take you to the other properties. The rate also gets you boogie boards and kayaks for one hour a day and access to the fitness center, steam room and sauna across the street. Golf is extra, as is room service.
Currently posted all-inclusive rates are: $325 a night for a studio in El Moro, which was built in about 1992; $146 a night at Granada, connected to Castilla Beach by a skywalk and appearing about the same age; and $235 a night at Marina Beach, built in 1994.
Food: I tried room service's diet plate one morning and was not impressed. The egg whites-only omelet was heavy with grease; the hash browns were also greasy and tasted as if they had sugar in them; and, oddly, for a diet plate, the rest of the meal was pastries and toast. The all-inclusive buffet food was spotty. One night there was just-right blackened salmon. Another time, the only choices I could consider (and I'm not that picky) were overcooked roast beef and a tough hamburger.
Overall, the buffets seemed almost identical to those on a cruise I took a few years ago, with little Mexican flavor.
Information: www.elcid.com and www.gomazatlan.com. (Note: I did not find the above rates or any rooms available in January at www.elcid.com, but I did find availability at the same hotels through www.gomazatlan.com.)
Pueblo Bonito
This is a five-minute pulmonia ride northwest of El Cid Castilla along the coast and has a much more upscale feel, with its lush, carefully maintained grounds and well-dressed clientele. I had a delicious shrimp cocktail at Cilantro's open-air restaurant here for $11.50. The service was wonderful, the whole experience serene and relaxing. If I had the trip to do over again, I would try to stay here, even though the rate is slightly higher. The hotel has 247 suites, three restaurants and two snack bars. (There is also a second Pueblo Bonito, Emerald Bay, in Mazatlan)
Cost: Online nightly rates at www.pueblobonito-mazatlan.com, $143.25.
The Inn at Mazatlan
This resort a few blocks from El Cid Castilla would be my second choice to try, after Pueblo Bonito. It stood out for the pretty flowers bursting from boxes at each floor and well-kept grounds. The vibe here when I visited was quiet -- more conversation, less loud, piped-in music than at Castilla Beach. The resort has 215 rooms, including suites and a penthouse; and a beachside restaurant, Papagayo.
Cost: Online nightly rates, $115 at www.innatmaz.com.
Costa de Oro
This didn't look like one of the newer hotels, but the public areas were clean and maintained. Vendors have set up a shopping area next door (not a part of the hotel); the prices were far from cheap. A plastic shopping bag cost $10, for example, and a simple, cotton, green-and-yellow tablecloth was $55. The resort has 230 rooms and a restaurant. Cost: Posted rates at the hotel were $130; online rates for mid-January, $86.
Royal Villas
This one also was older looking, similar to El Cid and Costa de Oro. It has 125 suites and two penthouses; two restaurants, one cafeteria style.
Cost: Posted prices at the hotel, double: $261; online, $145.
The Melville
This boutique suites hotel in a restored 1870s building is downtown, away from the beaches. It's the place to go if you want to avoid the resort scene and catch a ride to get to the beach. The Melville has 20 suites and serves breakfast. It is within walking distance of the Plaza Machado, where the Angela Peralta theater and many cafes are located.
Cost: $100 suite; online, $80 plus tax at www.themelville.com.
The bottom line:
You're much better off booking online before you go. |
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