Riu Emerald Bay: Love this resort! Been there 4 times now

Very clean, well maintained. The staff is amazing! Especially Raphael and Daniel in the dining room and Eric at the swim up bar. The last time we were there was 7 years ago and there is a new section now. Now there are 2 swim up bars and a whole area with water slides for both adults and kids to enjoy. Can’t wait to go again!

Riu Emerald Bay: last time we will use this Hotel , maybe even all Riu hotels,

hotel room was average, hotel grounds , bars , and entertainment was below a 4 star rated resort , liquor was very low grade , only spoke spanish at the theater when we were there , PCR testing was terrible , two and a half hours in a room with 200 people ,did not get results back till 3 hours before we had to leave , Italian restaurant never did open , Riu hotels are be coming more of a hotel for the local population .

El Cid Resort Castilla: One staff member.

There is an extordinare employee on this resort. Daniela. Without her, we would have moved. She was kind, thoughtful, action oriented, fluent English, and understood major follow up. Located in the Elite Club, we would not have stayed wihtout this incredible insightful smart lovely classy employee. Move her up. You will be well served.

El Cid Granada: Very satisfactory

Stayed at the Granada and the staff were very friendly and pleasant. The Hotel lobby was very tidy and the rooms were very clean. Large studio rooms. Prices were were good. Only one complaint would be the constant phone calls the first couple of days from the welcome committee to invite me down to participate.

Riu Emerald Bay: Best 36th Anniversary EVER!!

I went through a Travel Agency who recommended this site to me. The price, the room category, the flights/times, the dates and the cost were exactly what I was looking for so went ahead and booked. Previously I've always booked myself ie: flights and hotel/resort but nothing I could find hit all the right notes. I then started reading the reviews and have to say, most of them were right on target: 1: Elevators - can be an issue 2: Beach Bands - can be an issue 3: Al a Carte reservations at [... read more] 7:00am These were 3 issues I was extremely concerned about. ..... and they were all right on target. We just felt they were really, no big deal!! Our flight out through Sunwing was great. My wife had come down with Vertigo a month before we were to leave and Karol our Travel Agent with Trip Central got us arranged to have a wheelchair assist and the Sunwing folks were great, both at departure and arrival in Mazatlan. Flight was great, paperwork done, food good. Loaded onto a bus to head to the resort. Sunwing reps talked, ...... and talked ........ and talked. Trying to sell excursions and beer. Okay I get it. But how about being a "Host" on the 30-45 minute trip. I'm used to questions like "Who's here from out of town?" or "Whos here celebrating Honeymoon, anniversary, etc" Nope. Then it was just plain inaccurate information. ie: Worlds largest shrimp fishing fleet. (sorry, but nope), or Tourism is the #1 income generator in Mazatlan and so "We're the boss!" Um, well, no. Got to the resort and its a mad house in the lobby. Buses coming and going. folks lined up with their luggage to get on the bus we're getting off. Battle through the crowd to the reception desk to get wrist band, keys etc. In line for the desk, someone starts talking over here, then someone else starts talking over there. Can we hear? No! Get to the desk. Get registered. All set to head to the pool or beach because its like 10:30 in the morning and there's no way our room is ready and...... What!!?? Rooms ready! Fantastic!! Wheres our luggage?? No idea. Have to ask 3 people how to find our luggage. Just sitting in the lobby, no one around. Got ours (Could have taken anyone's) and headed to the elevators, 6th floor. Room 637 Junior Oceanview Suite! Wow! Double balcony. 6th floor was great. Great room. Quickly unpack, change, head to walk around, find the restaurants, pool, bars etc. You know, get the lay of the land. Easy. Well set up. Liking the 6th floor. No sweat walking down the stairs and could go up in a pinch. Remember, I'm almost 60 and my wife has vertigo so the elevators will be needed. Get to the pool, spend some time there, get some lunch (we've been up since 2:45am CST) and decide we might want to take a bit of a nap. There it is!! 2:00 and the world famous beach mariachi band (Not really because its a trumpet, trombone, Tuba, snare drum, base drum, cymbal and other such noise makers that make sleeping at 2:00 in the afternoon simply impossible) I even believe that at one time that day, there were 2 of them! No sleep. Great dinner, went to bed and up until Lord Only Knows what time as there was a party on the other side of the hotel, out on the street and when you phone to see if something can be done? No, public land. So much for tourists being in charge. Can't/Won't do anything about the bands or the noise. We met some great folks that work at the Riu Emerald Bay. Ernesto was our breakfast waiter, everyday (other than the one day off a week he gets when he made arrangements for one of his co-workers to take care of us). Julian was our dinner waiter (small world, Ernesto is Julians Tiu or Uncle). Beranice would cook my eggs every morning, with a smile. Head Chef Jorge starting coming over and saying hello when he's see me. Even cooked a special dinner for us on our last day. In a Buffet!! We ate at the Bamboo restaurant twice. First time I was able to book a reservation for the 6:00 sitting at the front desk, at Noon!! The 2nd time we got there around 6:00 and asked if they had room for 2? Yup! c'mon in!! Remember, al a cartes are buffet too but to our way of thinking, that's better because you can try everything you want and more if you like it! Just Remember Tempura Shrimp!! Mmmmmmmm!!! We also ate at the Italian restaurant where no reservations are required. Were kinda inconsistent on when it was going to be open but no matter. The food was really outstanding no matter where you ate! we were very impressed across all venues. Jorge, Pedro, Genaro, Leonardo were some of the very hard working bar tenders who took excellent care of us around the more quiet infiniti pool. Maid service in the room started off exceptional. Every day a different towel figure. We did leave a tip every morning however unfortunately, later on over the 2 week period were there, it really dropped off. One day we left around 9:30am, put out the Please make up the room sign and when we got back between 3:30 and 4, the room still wasn't done. This is when we like to shower, lie down and get ready for dinner so, no way are we calling for someone. After that day, no more towel figures, took all out glasses without replacing them and then the last day, my wifes Norwex facecloth she uses was gone:( Also, we would generally go for dinner around 6:30-7:00. We got back to the room to find 2 additional pillows on our bed. Odd. I went down to the reception desk and asked who was in our room and why. They had a record of us calling at 7:59 (this was around 9:00) asking for more pillows, body lotion and something about the air conditioner. Wasn't me. Confirmed the room number. Yup, my room number. Wasn't me! Went back to the room, looked in the bathroom and sure enough a bunch of hair conditioner and body lotion on the counter. Then the phone rings. Its the desk asking if we would remove our Do Not Disturb sign so they can come see us. Odd. Removed the sign. 20 minutes later 2 guys, obviously maintenance come in and are checking the plugs in the bathroom and by the fridge. I explain that everything is working fine and we did not call them. They left with a shrug. Never heard anything back from anyone on that fiasco! Odd. Spent 2 weeks, eating, drinking, sleeping when we could, drinking some more and generally enjoying ourselves. The 2nd Tuesday was our Anniversary, our 36th to be precise. Ernesto brought us Mimosa's at breakfast and Julian decked out a table with red table cloth, rose petals, Sparkling wine and a really nice cake for dessert. Could not have asked for a better bunch of people! I went dreading the bands. I went dreading wasted time waiting for elevators. I went dreading having to line up for everything, reserving loungers at o'dark hundred and getting bored of the same ol food day in and day out! What we got, were, well, yes, those dreaded bands. What we got was some slow elevators but really no big deal. What we got was absolutely no line ups and pretty great service all in all with such a wide variety of food in the buffet that I don't know how anyone could complain. Lots of fruit, a great salad bar, desserts you want to eat but cant because you've stuffed yourself with so much food but do anyway. I took a photo of my plate on our anniversary. It had Beef Tenderloin off the grill, Lamb, Grilled Shrimp and Carved Roast beef!! All on one plate!! I wanted to hate the Riu. That Big Corporate Approach where you're treated like cattle but after discussing the pro's and con's with the little missus and some other friends, not to mention Ernesto, Julian and Jorge, I think we'd like to go back next year. You know, I'm practicing for our upcoming 40th.... :)

Riu Emerald Bay: Lovely resort

I didn't realize that it was a family resort but even though there was a lot of young children, it was actually nice to watch them have fun. Our accommodations were good, the food was good except for the Italian restaurant. Not enough true Italian food. The grounds were beautiful and well maintained. The drinks were okay except for the beer. My husband bought his own supply at the Kiosko across from the hotel. Overall we had a great week.

Riu Emerald Bay: Nice Resort!

Accommodations was great, food was awesome. Flight was good. Transfers good. They do need more elevators. There was only one type of beer, red wine and white wine. Just so happens that is what we drink so would have liked a better selection.

The Local Hotels Mazatlan: Incredible Staff!

This was our second vacation at The Local Hotel. All the staff are still amazing and always smiling! The stairs down to the beach from the pool area are a great addition, as well as the music in the lobby bar. Arthur is doing a great job in there! The impeccable service from Able, Ricardo & Lewis should be commended. They are most definitely what draws us back to this hotel each year. It has become our home away from home and can't wait to return next year.

Riu Emerald Bay: Pretty good fr

The worst part of this resort is the elevator situation. Only two elevators work and they take forever to get one, it is very frustrating. The food is pretty average in the main buffets but the Asian restaurant Bamboo is very good. You have to ask the front desk to stock the water bottles in your room but that’s probably because they don’t want you to waste plastic bottles. There are lots of loungers around the pool and on the beach which is nice. The rooms are nice and clean but the double [... read more] beds are pushed together so you are very close the everyone.

The Local Hotels Mazatlan: Amazing

Thelocal is a wonderful hotel with great staff and an even better location. If you are choosing to stay here with the all inclusive option, you will have access to free bicycle rentals at Mazatlans downtown boardwalk along the ocean. It is close to everything, and it holds some of the most beautiful views of the surrounding islands. The food and drinks are absolutely delicious. If you are looking for a more quiet resort with not too many tourists, this is definitely the place to stay.

Playa Mazatlan: Great Resort

The hotel is very clean ;well looked after. The beach is the best in that area. Location is very ideal for the golden zone tours and walking. It is within walking distance to stores, restaurants, bars and the Malecon. Customer service focused. Cannot say enough nice things about the hotel staff. Food and drink were much better than anticipated considering it is all-inclusive resort. The Italian a la carte restaurant was our favourite...beautiful, delicious, well presented and served meals!  [... read more]Their Casa Roberto a la carte restaurant offered amazing Mexican food.; we ate their twice. The Brazilian barbecue a la carte restaurant on the premises offered delicious food too. The sports bar at the resort felt just like home. We were there from 18th to 25th February. 2020 Mazatlan annual Carnival week was from 20th to 25th February which we didn't know when booked. Their Carnival is the 3rd largest World Carnival. It was very busy with tons of people out and about. The local transportation was available but some areas was challenging. We will return next year but not their Carnival week. We went out to explore and it was wall to wall people. Very interesting. However our next trip back will be better ( not Carnival week). By then Mazatlan will be back to their norm and easier to explore and venture off resort. This is what we like to do; get out and check out the area. Tip: find out when Mazatlan Carnival week is but that's only if you want to avoid being there Carnival week.

Riu Emerald Bay: Stunning Resort

First off, the staff were very welcoming and friendly. All areas of this resort were clean and well taken care off. Our room was well kept by our house keeper who also made lovely animal objects with the towels. Impressed by how reliable the wifi signal was while sitting under the coconut trees and all over the resort. All dining areas gave top notch service. Meals were exceptional. Being all buffet, the food stations were always kept clean by the chefs and servers. Bartenders also made su [... read more]re they remembered what drinks you liked and made special ones for you as well. Great job!! Entertainment was exceptional with seamless performances by the talented staff where we noticed some were also involved with the daily activities. BONUS: I am a part time dj, and also had the opportunity to play alongside the resident dj/ staff member Carlos Arturo at the Pacha Niteclub. That was the icing on the cake for me. The entertainment manager, Victor, invited me to come back and mentioned that I can DJ at the foam party. Very honored and humbled with this invitation. The elevators were not so bad as some reviews indicated. Overall, this was a fabulous resort in a very quiet and relaxed location. Friendly kind staff that offered superior service

El Cid Resort Castilla: Disappointing trip

Our trip didn’t start well. Soon after our takeoff from Mo treat, the captain announced that we would have to make a stop at Windsor for refueling. This should have been mentioned to the passengers BEFORE embarking. We were kept on the plane during this process. Towards the end of the flight, it was announced that the three Lavatories on the plane were blocked and we were advised not to use them, unless it’s an emergency. The crew stopped passing drinks and water.... Upon arrival at the H [... read more]otel El Cid, the bus left us at a lower level and we had to take the stairs or a ramp up one level with our luggage! We were given a dark, smelly room in a passage on the ground level. We were told that nothing was available and to come back in the morning. We did and we finally were pleased with our new room although it didn’t have a fridge. No snacks are available between the meals and the only choice of coffee at the hotel is the watered down American coffee. The only place to hang out in the evening seemed to be the lobby or the bar with VERY loud music and VERY limited seats....

El Cid Resort Castilla: Slightly disapointed

The first room we got was horrible. It took a lot of pleading to change but they finally did. We were happy with the other room but none of them had fridges. There is a lot of construction in that area. If you want to go for a walk outside the hotel, its very dusty and noisy. The beach is ok and you can also go for long walks, however the waves are quite high and there is a lot of undertow. The grounds are kept well. The staff is very friendly. You will not be able to find cappuccino or esp [... read more]resso anywhere in that hotel. There were 6 or 7 options to chose from for reservations at restaurants but we were only able to signed up for 2 in 7 days. everything was booked.

El Cid Resort Castilla: loved the El Cid Castilla resort

Cleanest, friendliest, resort ever stayed in. When anything went wrong they fixed it. They cared. They began working early in the morning and never stopped, such hard working people with smiles on their faces.

Riu Emerald Bay: Amazing

We stayed at the Riu Emetald Bay from Feb 4 to Feb 18 2020. This is a beautiful place I think the cleanest weve ever been to. The bus ride from airport is about 35 min and Sunwing gives you your welcome chit chat on bus so no meeting the following day which is a big bonus.The checkin with Sunwing was quick and painless.10 minutes at most to get your room key and up to your room. The service in all aspects of the resort extraordinary. We had a deluxe junior suite oceanview with a double balco [... read more]ny and enjoyed every morning and eveningooking at the stunning view of the ocean. The sunsets are different and beautiful every night. The only thing is there are no coffee makers in your room which we knew so we took our own. The only fault about the resort are the slow elevators and very inconsistent. We were on the 4th floor so we always walked the stairs down. You are only holiday so just be patient.They are like rush hr traffic if you use them at rush hr be prepared to wait. All and all we loved it and definately will be back.

Riu Emerald Bay: Beautiful Resort!

We arrived prior to check-in time but that was fine; grabbed our suits and went off to the pools, which were amazing. Lounge chairs were plentiful and the beach front was great, very walkable. Could use a couple more a la carte restaurants as the buffets get a bit tired after a few days but we made due. Resort was quite a ways out from the Golden Zone but the Green Bus gets you there for 11 pesos/person each way. Our beach view room was perfect for us; good size for two and double sinks were a p [... read more]lus. Overall, we would return; only drawback was the location of the resort but as I said, the Green Bus gets you where you want to go so not a huge negative.

Riu Emerald Bay: Nice Resort but needs improvements

Looks very nice on first glance, but needs some improvements.Elevators are a nightmare on the tower side! Check in was a joke, Didn’t get the room that we had booked and payed for,Then got a room in the new section but when I opened the door I walked in on a family just putting on their bathing suits😡!! So back to the front desk, finally after just about 2 hours and 5600 pesos later we finally had our new room, which was a very nice room! Pools are nice, dining was alright. Resort was a l [... read more]ittle too big for our liking.

Pueblo Bonito Emerald Bay: Beautiful Resort!

The Pueblo Bonito Emerald Bay Hotel is one of the nicest Hotels I've stayed at. The master suite was extremely clean, well stocked with towels and essentials and the living area was large and comfortable. The balcony was roomy with lounges and overlooked the beautiful main pool. The two other pools were also very nice. The grounds of the entire place are well kept and lovely. All restaurants (3) served a huge selection of delicious foods and it would be difficult not to find whatever you  [... read more]desired. The staff were very friendly, very helpful and extremely courteous. This is truly 5 star hotel!!

Riu Emerald Bay: Beautiful resort

Well the weather and construction was the only main issues we had Unfortunately there is nothing we can do with the weather but if the pools were heated some we would of been able to enjoy them a little more. most of our times was spent on the beach The construction with the elevators was the worse just the waiting time for an elevator was insane, at one time we waited for 6 elevators to go buy before we were finally able to get in one to come to the lobby, and at another time we were in t [... read more]he LL lobby and got in with only 6 people in the elevator we got stuck and we kept ringing the bell but nobody came so my Husband who works in maintenance knew how to get us out and sure enough we finally got out after being stuck for 10 minutes But the resort itself is very beautiful and the food was amazing, we did not go to the a'la cartes has the buffet was excellent and many choices to choose from Over all we made the best of it with the bad weather and had fun anyways