I always read reviews on trip advisor but have never written about my own opinions on a resort that I've been too. We just got back from Azul Ixtapa which was April 10th, 2012. After reading some of the bad reviews people put on here I'm very surprised cause I saw none of it. The service was excellent, you couldn't ask for better and that's from every department. The beaches are excellent for kids, the wet sandy beach is perfect for kids to play in and not burn their feet just walking through the white and dry sand that some adults would prefer along the beaches. Believe me when I say this, it is by far a FAMILY RESORT. This is why I have chosen this resort for my 20 month old son. More then enough things to do for them, for all ages. Daycare during the day and even nanny services at night to give yourselves a break. The food at their 3 buffets restaurants are good, but they could improve the dinner ones a little. They do have two excellent A La Carte Restaurants, Costa Azul and Oyster Bar and I suggest booking them as soon as you get to the resort. They had the dinner shows which I enjoyed and you need to do reservations for them as well. The rooms were very clean and the view was amazing especially when the sun sets behind the island that faces the resort in which all rooms have the same view out of the windows or balcony. If you like to snorkel bring your own gear and pay 40 pesos = $4US roundtrip to have a small boat bring you to the island and enjoy half a day there. Bring money, they only take credit card if you eat a big meal at one of their restaurants on the island. For the ladies, you can have a nice massage at the island for 250 pesos = $25US, my wife really enjoyed it. The snack bar was clean at all times as well as the whole resort. Don't believe someone when they say it's not on here, people will trash a resort and even lie about it only because they had a bad experience. The pools are huge and enjoyed every single day of it, especially by the pool bar. Like every busy resort I've been too, if you want a poolside lounge chairs, wake up early and put a towel on it to reserve it cause everyone else is doing it even though it's one of the resorts rules not too. I have not met many Canadians or Americans, but what do I care who stays there, I was treated like a VIP and had a great time. We took the city bus and went into town and felt very safe. I was a little concerned about it before I left since there were warnings of violence and all, but I was glad I went. You will not be disappointed and I hope you have as much as we did.

The negative reviews are surprising. There was a common thread, both complained about being around Nationals. This is a wonderful place. The food was good and the drinks were plentiful and generous. We have noticed an increase in travel by Nationals in Mexico and think it a welcome change. Tour of the ruins at La Chole was great.

Just back from a fabulous vacation at the Azul Ixtapa. Upon check in we were told they had bad news and good news, which is never fun to hear after an exhausting flight. The bad news was the only room they had for us was on the 2nd floor, the good news was that it was a junior suite, which meant absolutely nothing to us until we actually saw the room since it was our first time at this location... We were taken to the 2nd tower (farthest north tower out of three) and were DELIGHTED with what we ended up with. A huge king-size bedroom with room enough for two additional cots for the kids, a large size bathroom complete with shower/tub combo (tub great for small kids) a kitchen which we had no idea the hotel even offered in their rooms with large fridge, range, dishwasher, sink and microwave, plates, utensils, cups, coffee maker and a seperate living room area with two large comfty couches, large flat screen tv, nice modern furniture and a large balcony that opened up to the perfect view of the pools, beach and island ahead. We weren't up high and the location was PERFECT for us. 2 floors up on the elevator or stairs, put us close to the lobby and 2 floors down put us RIGHT to the pool/restaurant level. If you are traveling with kids, I highly suggest you upgrade to a junior suite and also request to stay in tower 2. The resort has 3 towers total...the disco bar is located closest to tower 3 and tower 1 is where the lobby resides and the lobby bar that plays live music LOUDLY until around 11pm, at 11pm the disco starts so I can imagine if we heard it farthest away from the other two towers, that those people must have slept with air conditioning units turned on high all night long with ear plugs on! So accomodations aside we were surprised each day with what the hotel offered, things I didn't even read on tripadvisor before we flew down. For example the hotel has a small 4 washer/4 dryer laundry facility that guest can use if they ask for tokens. How awesome for us who travel with kids! I had even packed a few single use tide detergent uses for the trip for bathing suits! Make sure when you check in, you reserve a night at the Oyster Bar for dinner and the Costa restaurant just to break up using buffet service. We thought the service, view and food at the Oyster Bar was just the BEST! Bring a sweater because your right outside basically in the ocean with the spray and all. Don't be afraid to ask for something different on the menu. For example..being a vegetarian, they made me a plate with sauteed veggies and pastas and all sorts of yummy extras that was amazing! Make your reservations for later than you usually eat dinner. For example 8:30-9pm! I say this because you will be at the pool with your kids (in the heat) until at least 6:30-7pm. We were fortunate enough to change our reservation when the time slipped away while we played in the pool and realized our reservations were in 15 minutes! They offer three seperate buffet restaurants. The breakfast is the same at each one, however at Colours Buffet, it is all open and you have the option to sit outside which we loved to do every morning. They really could have mixed up the buffet food a little for breakfast, by day 3 I was ready to skip eating breakfast all together because it was the same food the previous 3 days! If you are a coffee drinker like me, bring your own favorite coffee mug because the cups are SMALL and you will wish they server would leave the caraffe on your table!!!!!! Lunchfood usually changes daily at the buffet, but it's typically the same. They also offer quick snacks near the pool..which had the best quacamole I have ever tasted, yet the WORST pizza I have ever tasted also. Why don't they put sauce on the pizzas here??? Also offer hot dogs, hamburgers, chicken pieces (scary little bones! cut them up carefully for small kids!) and a fruit, ice cream. drinks of choice. Again, I was about done with the same food by day 3 and we ventured out to Zihua a few days after to have some other varieties. This resort has some serious security happening and you feel completely safe and well taken care of. From the minute you walk in and walk around, there are guys in gear with walkie talkies and mic's in their ears and lapels. You have a very safe sense of security. The pools are heavely watched and guarded by lifeguards as are the beaches. We saw one poor teenager that had obviously had too many rum-punches that was stumbling around be lightly coaxed by the guards to come back to shore because they were afaid he would drown. No drama whatsoever. What I also loved most is that we were not hassled in any way for time share presentations, or for beads in our hair or fake tatooes with promises they would last for weeks. Everyone we encountered was more than happy to answer any questions and provide assistance with anything we needed. Amazing. All in all a great time! Oh. Also make sure you book one of the two fiesta parties they throw near the convention center. You can do this when you check in! The food is good, the entertainment is really good and it's a nice break from the norm! When the host is about to take you to a table, tip him 100 pesos and say "nice table please" and they will put you right in front which is WORTH IT! The hotel offers all sorts of excursions at a cost. Do your own research, you don't really need a guide to walk to the pier located down the beach to pay for a water taxi for a trip to Ixapa island (make sure you check out the HUGE crocodiles to the right near the chain link gate. It's crazy to see!) ! If you want to swim with the dolphins, go downstairs from the lobby and a rep for the dolphin place is located and will book your trip without charging you extra fee's that your vacation rep who is located upstairs may try to charge you (like our's tried too!) Take the bus located right outside and for a few bucks you can ride the bus to Zihua to check out the real city. Make sure you let the bus driver know where your headed (for us we said the marina area) and he let us know which stop we should get off on. Same thing for the way home. It was so fun to walk around and check out the other beaches. Like some other reviewers stated, the beach isn't the best out front of the hotel, but oh well! The water feels great and the kids had fun! I keep remembering one other thing to mention...they spray this hotel like crazy for bugs, every single night around 5pm. Close your windows or cover your mouth because the insecticide smell is AWFUL! We actually thought we'd rather see a few geckos and other creatures than have to endure that smell that I swear killed a few of our brain cells! On the flip side, we didn't get bit the entire stay!

We traveled at the end of March and right before our trip we found out that Melia is no longer part of Azul. Upon arriving, the hotel staff ensured us they were making improvements and they chose not to be part of Melia any longer. Not so sure about that. All I saw was cost cutting on their end. All three buffets served the exact same buffet. So they advertise 3 buffets, but they mine as well only have 1. The rooms were nothing special. The sand look dirty and wet. Nobody was on beach. We were there 10 years ago and loved it. This time, we were out of there within 2 hours. It is not longer a 5 star resort by any means. Hotel management did refund our money and we transferred to Sunscape, which was 100% nicer. Unless you don't expect much, or haven't traveled a lot, I advise strongly against this resort. It is not worth all the money you pay. For those that gave good reviews, they must not have traveled much.