Hotel Playa Bonita

The bugs were everywhere in Ocean View Penthouse #437, and I had to keep my shoes on all the time. On arrival, the smell of bug spray was obvious. I spent the first three hours trying to get a refund or another room because what they sold me was so different from where I ended up staying. They said they were sold out and couldn’t refund me at the hotel, so I’d have to call the toll-free number, even though I booked through the hotel website. The AC shuts off repeatedly every day, so we’ve had to call staff 3-4 times a day to reset the breaker. Only they can access it with their screwdriver, and sometimes we wait an hour for them to come turn it back on. It was just switched on again at 10:46 pm. They tell you to call 7575 for maintenance, but of the 20 calls I’ve made, they’ve only answered once. I leave tomorrow and have never been so happy to get away from a place. I’ll return to Mazatlan, the people are beautiful, but I won’t come back to this all-inclusive. I’ve heard nothing but complaints from other guests.

The place looks nice from outside, but the inside is a different story. Staff are rude, and there’s no change available at the front desk or even the bar when you need to pay for a cab or delivery. They don’t allow alcohol in the hotel. The water pressure is awful in some rooms, and you’ll get warm water at best if you want a hot shower after the beach or pool. The elevator was broken, so you have to take the stairs. Bring hand sanitizer, too: if you return from shopping with your hands full, you’ll have to put your bags down to get searched. Beds are stiff, pillows flimsy, and towels rough. There’s a 250 peso deposit for the TV remote. You can hear everything on your floor through the weak doors, and there’s a small wooden window above the toilet. No microwave or refrigerator either. All in all, go somewhere else.

The rooms are basic, but the view is nice and the location is good. The rules make it a hassle, though: you can’t bring in alcohol or anything because they sell it downstairs, but the bar restaurant was always closed.

Reservations seem to mean nothing here, even if you arrive on time. We booked 11 rooms in February, two studios and the rest with double beds. At check-in, the concierge tried to give us fewer rooms, and smaller ones, saying she’d overbooked them to other people. It took almost three hours of going back and forth. When we asked for a manager, she said no manager was on the premises. Another group was also disputing rooms she had reserved for them. She told that group its three reservations could be changed to two with no refund. Eventually she found some “extra” rooms, but we were still one room short and got no refund. We showed her what we paid and are still waiting for an answer.