I stayed here the first two weeks of April 08. I stayed as a guest of another couple at this resort. The resort was so bad I don’t know where to start.
Positives: Units were very good. We stayed in a three-bedroom unit with five bathrooms. The unit had good showers with excellent pressure and plenty of hot water. The interior cleaning staff was friendly and competent. It would appear that these units were built as houses. Each unit has a large flat screen TV with all the basic Sky channels. About half are in Spanish only. The small restaurant near the “beach” was ok but be sure you check your bill as we were overcharged.
Negatives: The pool is small and filthy. Guests had written their names in the grease on the surrounding coping. The pool is concrete with a rubber liner with so much water or air under it you feel like you were walking on a giant balloon. The maximum depth of the entire pool is 3 ½ feet. My wife wore a brand new white t-shirt into the pool and came out with black grease on it. I liked the temperature of the pool; you probably won’t, as it was in the low 90s. To hot for you, head over to the hot tub. As long as you don’t cut your foot on the broken drain you’ll find it cooler.
The beach is a manmade sandy section of about 500 square feet over looking the marina. Don’t worry about being over crowded; I never saw a living soul on it. This is right next to the restaurant and children’s play area. The children’s play area consists of what was called a jungle gym in my youth. Located just 6 feet from a steep embankment leading down to the water. I wouldn’t be overly concerned about your children drowning; they will probably be killed on the sharp rocks long before they hit the water.
Isla Mazatlan is a small manmade island that appears to be owned by three or four separate entities, and in some sections two of these companies own every other unit. This leads to a lively social life discussing which company is worse and the owners retelling of their trips to the US and Canadian consulates, lawyers, tourist bureaus etc. Two of the companies seem to want to renegotiate their contract offering little or nothing in return. What was promised in writing no longer exists and managements solution is “SUE US” I probably don’t have to say this but run don’t walk away from any offer of buying a timeshare etc. here.
I have spent over six months over the years staying in various hotels, timeshares and rentals in Mexico and never had a serious complaint with any of them. The best advice I can offer is to do your homework. Check out the forums, as a lot of sites will not accept negative reviews of hotels they receive advertising dollars from. The main reason I am writing this is review is that it is the only review good or bad. There are many negative comments in the forums, why no reviews?
See forums at http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g150792-i257-k730744-o10-Isla_Mazatlan_real_estate_pitch-Mazatlan_Pacific_Coast.html
You might want to also check; Isla Mazatlan Grand, Villas Coral, Golf and Yacht Club, and Playa Maria Beach Resort.