Villa del Mar

They have a heated pool, and the rooms come with a kitchen and all the amenities. The service was excellent, and they’ll work with your budget. Great place.

The place was awful from the start. The water was cold, and at times there was no water at all. The toilets were clogged, the bathrooms leaked and flooded, and the showers had no water. Our room leaked too, and the pillows smelled terrible. We asked for towels, but they refused to give us more even though we’d booked two days. The loudspeakers were blaring, and they didn’t care when we complained. We had to get the lounge chairs ourselves because the guy wouldn’t even acknowledge us. Just horrible. Don’t book here.

The location is the one redeeming thing. At arrival, they inspect the kitchen, bedrooms, and bathroom in detail, and charge you if anything is missing. There’s no hot water, and when we asked for help, they said nothing could be done. There’s no cable or free TV either, and that problem never got fixed. The pool water had bedbugs. I highly recommend it. (Sarcasm.)

We booked four villas for the whole family and paid over 20,000 pesos in advance. For all the trouble, it really wasn’t worth it. I’m usually pretty tolerant and try to find the positive side, but I can’t do that here. The only kind person was a woman with long, curly dark hair who was very attentive. Everything else was a complete fail. Our room was meant to be ready at 2 PM, but we didn’t get it until 4 PM. While waiting for the villas, we had to stand in the sweltering heat. The mattresses creaked terribly from the springs, and there was no hot water until the day we left, when they turned it on so we could shower. They also made us leave the dining room because they said it was reserved for the owners. If you eat there, apparently you have to be quick. The toilet was clogged. When we asked for help, they said we must have clogged it ourselves because it hadn’t been that way when they gave it to us. And they wouldn’t let us leave until they’d checked everything in the villa, including towels, spoons, and dishes. They checked the towel labels and charged us 180 pesos for one, claiming it wasn’t the same brand as the others, though they hadn’t given it to us that way. It felt shady, but we paid. At checkout, they told us to wait while they counted everything, so you’re stuck if you’re in a hurry. I’d take pictures of everything, even sheet and towel labels, if you decide to go. Their speaker was blasting music. The pool was filthy and muddy, and they didn’t add anything to clean it until the day we were leaving. The owner of an upstairs room came with friends, drinking and dancing with music blaring right in front of the rooms. They kept us awake and only went in around 3 AM, even though the rules say the pool closes at 10 PM. Since they were the owners, we felt we couldn’t complain.