We stayed at the Hotel Fontan in Ixtapa for 7 nights in January 2012. I would rate the hotel as a 2 star. We opted for the AI option....and definitely got our moneys worth. The rooms were average with beds a bit harder than we like. The food was average to a bit above average. The only downfall was that they only had one bar open at a time and the lines would get a little long on the weekends when the occupancy rate at the hotel doubles.

Just returned from a week tonight and needed to write my review.
This hotel is most definately a 2 star!! I have been travelling since 1977 and have been to many 3, 4 and 5 star resorts and this is NOT a 3 star.

First the good ----- The staff is amazing, they can't seem to do enough for you. If something goes wrong it is fixed within 5 minutes. Give them a little tip and your drinks will never be empty and will be served to you on the beach!!
The hotel is extremely clean and the beds fairly comfortable. The location to the markets and the little town is literally accross the street and that was awesome!

The food was average and what you would expect from a 3 star hotel, but if part of your Mexico experience is the fresh fruit - you won't get any here - just water melon. We were always able to find something decent to eat so not really an issue. However -- this hotel will not even provide you with one bottle of water - you are on your own!!

Now the problems ........ OMG this hotel seems to be falling apart!! You can hardly find a beach chair which isn't broken, even the Beach umbrellas are about to collapse - every one was broken. Pool tiles broken, room tiles broken,
ceilings about to cave in from the water damage above in your bathroom. The wiring is so bad that you have to turn off the lights and airconditioning to use the blow dryer otherwise you the fuse popped.

There was very little activities at the pool or beach --- one water aerobics class in the morning at the pool and one beach volleyball game in the afternoon at the beach. No bingo, no spanish lessons, no dancing lessons, no games. No free boogie boards or kayaks, no free snorkel equipment ---- NOTHING!!

Evenings at the resort don't exist!! They might have 2 decent shows during the week, but if you don't speak spanish, you won't understand any of it because it is 100% catered to the local people. The rest of the nightly entertainment is kareoke --- and that singing is so terrible you find you have to leave. Once 11 pm comes --- that is it --- you can't get a drink or a snack or anything --- and there are no fridges in the rooms, so you can't even have a nice cold beer on your patio.

It is very true what some of the other reviews have written...... DO NOT GO during a busy Christmas, reading week or easter holiday ---- becasue the rooms will be sold out and the small facility can't handle that many people comfortably!
Also --- on Friday night and Saturday mornings ----- here come the locals by the bus load for their free weekend in hopes they will buy a time share.

For a little more money, there are so many better choices!!! Next time I will try the Emporio, Barcelo or Tessoro!!


Air Canada has no business telling their clients this is a good 3 star hotel --- it is CRAP - shame on them!!

Our family of four stayed at the Hotel Fontan from Dec. 25-Jan 1 2012. This was our first trip to stay in Ixtapa and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. The weather was perfect and the ocean and beach were beautiful. The waves were perfect for boogie boarding, which our family enjoys.

Hotel: The hotel was older and smaller than most in the area and located in a great location. The hotel itself was very clean and well maintained by its friendly staff. The rooms were adequate and the beds were relatively comfortable. Although the rooms did not have safety deposit boxes, you could get one for free at the front desk. We chose this hotel based on the price. Christmas holidays are a very busy time and the prices are inflated. We saved approximately $2000 for our family by staying here than staying at the Barcelo next door.

Food: The food at the buffet was below average. We had breakfast there, but then for lunch we would eat at the Miramar restaurant located onsite by the beach which was a la carte and included in your trip price. Their lunches were good and much better than the buffet or hamburgers and hot dogs being served by the pool. Also included in our trip price was to have one dinner at the Hacienda restaurant on site which we also thought was decent. For our other dinners, we chose to eat out with all the money we saved by staying here. There are many great restaurants in this area and in Zihuatanejo. If you enjoy nightlife at the hotel and being able to drink 24 hours a day, this place is not for you. The bars do not open till 11:00 am and are closed at 11:00 pm. There is no disco and the shows offered are all in Spanish and were okay.

Other: The New Year's Eve gala night was spectacular! The tables were all set up poolside and the entertainment and food was fabulous. They had fireworks along with all the other hotels in the area. We had a great time ringing in the New Year on the beach watching the firework show.

Summary: We enjoyed our week in Ixtapa. The Hotel Fontan is a clean hotel that is reasonably priced. Plan to go out for most of your meals and you will not be disappointed.

We recently visited Ixtapa. It was a beautiful place, but the Hotel Fontan....where does one start? We have been to many all inclusive resorts, but this one does not even rank. The beds were very small, there idea of a double/queen is like a big twin in Canada, the food was tasteless and not much variety. There was hardly any english spoken, mostly Spanish and there were alot of Canadians there between Christmas & New Years. We found out New Years Eve day that this property is actually a timeshare for the Mexicans, so they pretty much took over the second week that we were there, which was very unfortunate. There is a pool for the kids, but apparently the Mexicans don't have to adhere to those rules, kids were in every pool there was at the resort! Beach chairs unless you were up at 6AM to put your towel on a chair, you didn't get one! Some of the staff were very nice & helpful, but most didn't care and could hardly understand you when you tried to ask for things. Also the rep for Air Canada that was at this Hotel......couldn't speak english, spanish or any language very well for that matter. Unfortunately we will not stay at the Hotel Fontan again, but we will return to Ixtapa; it was a beautiful place & we met alot of really nice people!