We just returned from a week stay at the Barcelo/Royal Villas resort with our 4 children aged 14 to 22. We were celebrating 2 of their graduations. I had stayed at the Barcelo (Sheraton) in 1984 and was surprised by the growth of both Zihuat and Ixtapa but it still had the same feeling. My husband and I had an Ocean front room in the Barcelo and the kids stayed in one of the Villas. We did the all inclusive plan and felt it was well worth it both for the convenience and the price. (3 kids were of drinking age). The service was excellent and the facilities were above average and the food was great. All of our kids can't wait to go back. The older 3 danced the night away at Senior Frogs just 2 blocks from the hotel. The bell captain watched for their early morning arrivals even walking them home one night. Cabs were highly available and the trip to Zihuat. was only $5 including tip. All the locals were very informative and spoke very good english. The best for me was a half mile down the beach, just past Carlos and Charlies, the first massage tent closest to the water was Isabelle and her girls where I got a 1 hour massage on the beach every morning for $15 us. Highly recomend it for both honeymooners and families alike. The beaches and the views are breathtaking.

Shelley and family from Oceanside CA.

After several years of east coast vacations, we were really looking forward to our third trip back to Park Royal Villas in Ixtapa. It has been three years since our last visit. Starting a the airport, things were not quite the same. A fellow who identified himself as a representative of our vavcation club (with appropriate tags) got us a cab at $20 over cost. To get our $20 back we had to sit through one of those awful time-share presentations the next day. Apparently these vendors have ID tags (Fake?) for multiple locations, and depending on where you are going, have one for most of them. Oh well, we did get our miney back plus dinner, so......I guess it worked out.
Check in was very interesting. We got there at check in time - stated right at the desk 3PM.
We were told that check in is 4PM. Since we had come from northeast USA, we were not quite dressed for the hot weather. Were we offered a place to change. NO WAY. Instead at 4 PM we were told our room will be ready in 1/2 hour. The people who were in our room had not left yet. Check out time is noon, so they were a little (4 1/2 hours) late.
Finally, we did get into our room, while the maid frantically tried to hurry up while we were there. We got out of our sweaty clothes, and got changed.
We made it to the beach for our next surprise. On the weekends there are hordes of people who bus an car trip in for the day. I live down the Jersey shore. We called them "day-trippers". They bring their coolers, and beach supplies. These groups parked themselves just a couple of feet from our roped-off resort beach. I have no problem with that. But, the problem is, when they leave, the beach is litterally full of debris and trash. The streets outside our resort were stuffed with trash bags overflowing the small bins that were available. The bags were all over the sidewalks, and it was like ringing the lunch bell for all the neighborhood dogs and birds. By morning the sidewalks were full of garbage. It took until Tuesday for the town to be cleaned up like it usually is. Also, with our
beach showers right at the roped off area, and the entracne to the pool right there, continually the lifeguard or security had to chase the day-trippers away from our showers.
It was as though no planning at all had been put into providing bus parking, changing facilities, and trash containers for these people, so they just used our resort. It was a mess.
Other problems including the loss of electricity for almost a whole day, throughout the area.
The curcuit breaker in out room tripped at least 5 times a day, so we did not have light in our bathroom many times. The day-bar was unlocked the 4th day we were there, We only told the front desk 4 times by then. What do you want for XXX dollars a day.
The final insult was when the front dest called us at 11AM to check out. They told us to hurry up/ they needed the room!!!!
Nevertheless, we did enjoy Ixtatpa and Ziwah. We always enjoy the people, the restaurants and the bars, and have attached some photos for a possible iterniery and some places to visit while you are there. Just because we were not 100% satisfied with some of the conditions, we still love the town.

This resort has a great location but don't expect much for the rooms. The decor is "Mexican Ugly" The beds were hard. Bring your own blender or buy one to make your drinks. We only had sporadic hot water. The building we were in had multiple plumbing leaks. We were forced out of our room while they tore into the walls to repair pipes. We had a 1 bedroom 2 bath. The "hot tub" on the deck is a nothing more than a bath tub. There is no cooktop, only a microwave, small refrigerator, and sink.

The all incluslive was offered to us for $60 PP per day. Not worth with all the wonderful restaurants nearby! Also, ask for a hair dryer upon check in if you need one.

Ok, some good points. The pools, beach, view, and grounds are wonderful. The resort is within an easy walk of the bank, restaurants, small supermarket, etc. The maid service was very good. We brought are own food & drinks to the pool & beach palaps. Oh my, I even broke OSHA rules and had glass beer bottles by the pool. The staff never said a word. Bravo!!

Oh yes, the waves never cease to crash providing a wonderful restful sound.

The bottom line is we had a great time here. But, if you are picky about the room you stay in then this place may be a problem for you.

There were few beach vendors to bother you but watch out for any offers for anything from the timeshare sharks. Royal Holiday memberships can be bought for pennies on the dollar. I own one but bought very cheaply on the secondary market. This is a fouled up company with all sorts of awful sales practices.

For groceries, beer, and booze take a cab or bus to Zihua. When you enter town on the right is a big Walmart style store. We found the beer and other items half the price compared to Ixtapa.

I stayed at the Park Royal Villas 1/28 - 2/4. These are timeshare units and I went as a guest of an owner. I have traveled to Cancun (twice), Puerto Plata and Punta Cana and I enjoyed Ixtapa the most. The villas are all oceanfront and anything above the ground level has an open air balcony with a jacuzzi. I didn't see the ground level rooms but I was told the patio was enclosed. The stretch of beach is maybe about one mile with approximately 10-15 resorts along it. I would walk it every morning and it would take me about 40 minutes RT to do the entire stretch. The waves crash and sound like thunder. It was truly mesmerizing and I spent many hours just staring at the waves and listening to the surf crash in the evening. Everything is done throught the Barcelo. You can use all of their facilities, restaurants, towels, fitness room, pools, safety deposit boxes, money exchange. I had a one-bedroom unit and it had two full bathrooms, a kitchen (microwave, toaster, coffeemaker, and mini-fridge) another mini-fridge in bedroom - this one was actually the mini-bar. You stepped down 2 steps into the living room with 2 wide sofas (almost like twin beds), a tv and a huge picture window. The bedroom was to the left of the kitchen and was a nice size and had two double beds, another bigger tv and the bigger of the two full bathrooms. The patio opened from the bedroom and looked over the swim-up bar with the waterfall that would run from about 10 a.m. till late afternoon. This was my favorite pool. There were 4 total and I tried one of the more active/busy pools one day but lasted only an hour. I wanted to relax and read - not have music blaring. The chairs are also so much more comfortable at this pool. The weather was 87 degrees every day, not a drop of rain, no humidity and no bugs. I have never gone anywhere without returning with mosquito bites! The evenings were about 72 and I never needed a sweater. I went into the market in Zihua (there is also a smaller supermarked in Ixtapa) and picked up breakfast/lunch items and ate those meals in the villa. In the evening I would walk across the street to Ixtapa where there are lots of good restaurants and shopping. Not commercialized restaurants - the only chain was a Subway. I ate dinner twice at the Barcelo in the restaurant off the lobby. There was a buffet for $22 but I opted to order off the menu. One night a cheeseburger & fries and another night a club sandwich with fries. Each was $10 and were very good. One night I ate in Zihua (Jarrobo's and had an excellent red snapper meal). Went to Senor Frog's two nights dancing. There is also a Carlos n' Charlie's and disco called Christine's at one of the hotels but I didn't go there. Took a day trip to Isla Ixtapa and snorkeled. I booked through the Royal Holiday but it is much cheaper to take a cab or the bus to Playa Linda and get a water taxi to the island itself. You can rent fins, mask and snorkel (and life jacket if you feel you need it) from Tony Macaroni. I just enjoyed the entire area. It was so quaint and everyone was so nice and friendly. I am a single female (39) traveling alone and felt extremely safe walking through town. Traveled with others at night (not because I didn't feel safe because that is how I feel comfortable regardless of where I am). Staying in the villas you also have free daily internet access from 1 - 4 in the Royal Holiday office. There are 4 stations set up and they ask you to only be logged on for 15 min. although many abused the time. I know my mother appreciated the daily e-mail check-in. Anyone wondering about cell service - I have Cingular and had no problems calling the states. You just have to dial 001 before the area code and number. Sorry that I skipped around so much. There were so many things I wanted to say. The maids came every day and they work hard and did a wonderful job. I tipped $1 everyday. I feel if you wait till the end of your week and tip one time the maid that may have cleaned all week could have that day off and someone who didn't clean all week would get her tip. I know there is so much more - if anyone has any questions about the villas please e-mail me. If I had an opportunity to go back to the area I would (although there are so many places on "my list")to travel to it may be some time till I would get back but only for the reason of wanting to go other places. Enjoy your travels to Ixtapa/Zihuatenjo - I know I did!