Stay Jan 19-26, 2012

First off, a little about us. I’m 34 years old and I traveled with my father, who is 68. This was my father’s 3rd visit to Mazatlan and my first visit; however this was my 15th visit to Mexico in the last 14 yrs. In the past we have stayed at all different types of resorts, from 5-star all inclusive resorts to small family owned hotels.

When it comes to picking the ideal spot for us we always consider three things: price, location of the resort, and what the resort has to offer.

Based upon the overall positive reviews, along with the package price, we decided to stay at the Oceano Palace. Prior to leaving on the trip, I was most impressed with how the management took the time to personally respond to most of the reviews. Upon arrival at Oceano Palace, the management greeted us daily and helped us with all of our needs; they really went the extra mile to make sure we were looked after. I can’t say enough about how well the staff treated us.

Check in-
No problems with check in. It was prompt and professional and the fellow that helped us with our luggage was able to answer any, and all, questions we had.

The Room-
We had a West corner room on the 4th floor with an ocean view (highly recommend). It had a well equipped kitchen area and a view from the balcony that was beyond my expectations. The room itself had two single beds with firm mattresses (which were fine for us), and was very spacious. The kitchen had a microwave, fridge, toaster, coffee maker, blender, pots, pans and utensils. A nice treat if you want to grab a few groceries from the supermarket. The washroom area had plenty of space where the sink was located, and a separate area for the toilet and shower. The room was a bit dated but given the fantastic view from our balcony, along with the space and all the other little extras the room had, I really couldn’t complain. These rooms also have an access door to an adjoining room with two double beds and a bathroom. I doubt you will be disappointed!

Hotel Amenities-
The pool was well sized and looked like it had been refinished within the last 5 years. My only wish would have been a hot tub; however they did have a warmer circular pool. There were plenty of chairs by the pool and on the beach. The lobby of the hotel appeared to be remodelled not that long ago and off of the lobby was a sports bar area which had nice size TVs. The workout room was well equipped with newer equipment. I was surprised by how many different machines they had. For the size of this hotel, it was one of the best workout areas in a hotel I have seen in Mexico. Elevators were new, as well.

Food-
We only ate at the hotel a few times, however when we did the buffet was decent and the price worked for us. Service was great; if you needed a drink or anything the staff was there to accommodate.

Location-
For us, this is huge selling feature when picking a hotel. We found the location to be excellent. It wasn’t far to get to the Golden Zone area or to the older downtown area of Mazatlan. You can hop on the bus for 6 pesos and in 10 minutes you could be in the Golden Zone area. To get to the old area of Mazatlan, where the market and cathedral are, another bus would take you there for 9 pesos. I highly recommend checking it out. It is very cheap to get around with many little shops and restaurants all close by. We had no worries about safety what so ever. If you want trouble, you can find it just like in your home town.

Beach-
Great location and the beach had a beautiful view of the 3 islands. We were able to take nice long walks up and down the beach. No life guards were present when we were there, but people in the water looked extremely safe and had no problems. Weather conditions and time of year, obviously dictate the ocean safety.

Overall Hotel Impression.
The hotel does need some improvements on the exterior and in other areas, but overall it was fine for us, and it was worth every penny. We wanted a place that is clean and comfortable, and in a location that was easily accessible to all areas, and for us the Oceano Palace surpassed. This is rated a 3 star hotel; and I think it is a fair assessment. We spoke with many of the guests during our stay and we didn’t hear of any negative complaints from them. Based upon our experience we would not hesitate to stay here in the future.

Tips and recommendations. (Highly recommended).
If you are arriving by a bus shuttle, make sure your luggage is on that bus after every stop before your hotel. Get out of the bus and check! They accidentally off loaded my luggage at the Riu, and fortunately I was watching them offload luggage and caught this mistake. Fun Bus City Tour (orange bus) is a great way to see Mazatlan. This is a new tour that has only been around for 3 weeks. The tour is about 3.5 hours long and I highly recommend it. The lobby at the resort has internet, however the wifi is not the greatest. Only phone cards bought in Mexico, will work in Mexico, period! You can buy phone cards at the Oxxo. . If you are Canadian, I highly recommend bringing Canadian currency. There is a place right across from the hotel that was offering the same exchange rate as for US currency. If I had known this ahead of time, I could have eliminated paying the bank fees when I converted to US funds before I left.

Thank you for taking the time to read my review .I hope you found in helpful and if you need any additional information please feel free to message me.

Clean, spacious rooms- great beds and big new towels. Good restaurants galore within walking distant. Juanita's AAA!! Nice pool and beautiful beach!

Just got back yesterday Jan 21,2012,very pleased with hotel and staff. Great food at hotel and has the best beach we saw while in Mexico.Some rooms don't have box springs under the mattress so we asked to make sure ours did.Very clean basic hotel and would stay again. No ice buckets.we brought a folded one from home that worked great.We had jr. suit, mt view is just a busy street.Wish we had the service in the states that we got there. Great trip

The service was really great in the hotel as well as the bar, pool side, food Total. The food was very good, the rooms nice, the pool and beach are the Best!!!