One hears all of the negative reports of going to Mexico and are leary to go. I dont know where people get these twisted ideas. Just got back from our golf vacation and stayed at ElCid Castilla hotel. The staff are WONDERFUL, pools heated and clean, food Exceptional in all ala carts, rooms spotless and maid service wonderful and friendly. We were in Room 1502 starting Jan 31st 2012. I thank all the staff for there friendly service with special kudos to Alisha and Gisel at the Elite club and Carlos in Customer service desk. And one cannot forget Ramone in the El Cid Marina ala cart dinner. What a gentleman and pleasure it was to dine there. We went back it was so wonderful. Thankyou one and all from the Elite club staff to the gardeners. You people made our vacation a memorable wonderful experience.Walking through town was also a non issue. The towns people were friendly and greeted you with a smile, yes they want you to shop in there stores but what store keeper dosent. I felt safer walking through Mazatlan than I would right here in Toronto any day of the week, day or night. The golf course ( 27 holes) was a treat and great fun with great caddies that sure help your game. My only issue was internet service was on and off, but that happens in my own home with ROGERS . Ide give El cid 4.9 stars with great thanks and an assurance Ill be back but for LONGER next time. The vendors on the beach will try to sell to you of course but a simple no thankyou or no Gracias is all it takes. Be civil to people and you will have No problem. I firmly believe the trouble on trips we read about are from those who do not use there heads and do foolish things or treat the people badly and ask for trouble. Treat them as you wish to be treated.Thank you EL CID and Mazatlan one and all. Youll be missed untill next time . Esta la Vista

Mike Pantalleresco

We only stayed 1 week, next time will be longer. Excellent service, extremely friendly staff in all areas of the hotel. They really know how to spoil a person. From the moment we woke up till bed time we were made to feel very special. We especially appreciated "Angel" the waiter at "La Conchita snack bar". He is extremely friendly and courteous. We could not have had better service from anyone. His smile is always on high beam and we made it a point to always sit where he was working. Once his english improves, he will make a great manager in any department. He is smart and a quick learner. We will recommend this hotel to our friends.

My husband and I just returned from Mazatlan (Feb 2-9), where we stayed at El Cid Castilla. Although we had 3 cloudy days, we still had a great vacation. From the check in to the check out, we have no complaints about the hotel or the area. The room was super clean, a safe is included, the beds were comfortable and the view from our room was beautiful! We have been to a number of other all inclusive hotels in Mexico, so we have a good sense on quality of service, cleanliness and food. We would recommend this hotel to our family and friends and would return ourselves.

There is buffet for all meals, as well, there are al a carte's for all meals at a couple of restaurants. The buffet service for breakfast and supper, at the Pergala, was excellent, very attentive and friendly staff. There was lots of selection and the food in the serving trays were always plentiful and hot. Lunch is served poolside, over looking the ocean. It, too, was really good with lots of selection and great service.
We never waited in lines for meals or drinks, which was an added bonus. We also ate at La Cascada Restaurant (Mexican) for breakfast and supper. This restaurant is al la carte for all meals. It was super, we really enjoyed it! Lastly, we also had dinner at El Patio (Argentinian). The ambiance and setting was so beautiful and the dinner and service was good as well.

The pool was heated, which was a big bonus because 3 of our 7 days was cloudy and a little cool if the wind picked up. We bought a couple of air mattresses for the pool at Mega (large grocery/dept store), which was a 20-30 minute walk or a 10 minute bus ride from the hotel. We also took the city bus to the Market in Old Town (bus name: Sabalo Centro for 9 peso, 50 cents). It was super easy from the hotel and a great way to see the different parts of the old town.

We hired a cab for a city tour one morning. The tour was quoted for $20 USD and the tour lasted approx 1 hour and 30 minutes. We paid $35.00 because it was interesting and he took the time so we could ask questions and take photos! Call Jorge (pronounced Hor-Hey) at [--]. Originally from Mazatlan, he has just relocated back to the area after living in Los Angeles for 20+ years. He knows the area and speaks perfect english, so he's able to give you a great tour.

On recommendation, we also went to Pancho's restaurant (15 minute walk), were they serve complimentary marlin stuffed jalapeno's and torilla chips with fresh salsa. We shared the coconut shrimp, delicious, and rounded our the meal with complimentary kahlua and milk. We highly recommend this beach front restaurant.
Both of us enjoyed 2 one hour massages for 25 USD each at MYO Massage, just 1/2 block down and across the street from the hotel. Very clean and professional!

It is evident the economy is struggling, as a result, the taxi's are reasonable, the tours are less expansive than other Mexican resort areas and the shop prices are moderate, as well. We walked at least an hour each day, both on the street and the beach, no problems at all. Yes, there are vendors selling their products and others wanting you to attend a time share presentation, however, as soon as we politely declined, we were left alone, so it wasn't a problem at all.

Pack your bags ~ you won't regret it!

There were 7 of us that went on this trip and we had a wonderful time. We went from Jan 5th -12th. I had heard from some reviews that they weren't allowed to use the sister hotels pools and restaurants but we didn't have that problem at all and we were NOT upgraded to the elite package. My older boys used the weight room at the Granada,we swam in the El Moro pool and ate at the El Cascada Mexican a la carte which by the way has the most fabulous strawberry icecream to die for. The El Alcazar Italian restaurant was very good. The plating of the food was very fancy and pretty. I had to take pictures of my food which I never do. We really enjoyed going to the La Pergola Dinner Theater every night. Even when we had eaten at one of the a la carte we still went there for the show. they were fun to watch and participate in. Not sure what the guys name is but, in one of the shows he was absolutely amazing doing an impersonation of a Celine Dion duet.It was sooo good. The food was good, the service was great except for one time. We didn't have any cash one night so couldn't tip the waiter. We felt really bad but decided that the next time that we had the same waiter we were planned on tipping him big for both nights but he totally ignored us that second time. He only came to the table three times the whole night and never cleared off any plates at all (probably ticked off that we hadn't tipped him the time before)so we only left him a small tip for the time before cause he sure didn't deserve it for that night.
There was one pool bar waiter at the beach names Francisco Renteria that was fabulous! He brought us drinks constantly and even brought us a plate of tortilla chips and cheese with salsa and guacamole that we hadn't even asked for. What a nice little treat that was.
We stayed in the pool view rooms on the 2nd floor and it was great cause we actually had a great ocean view from our room as well as the pool. The rooms are a bit dated but very clean. It did smell a bit musty at first but what can you expect, your by the ocean. After a few hours we never even noticed it any more. Everyone was very kind and accommodating.
Raole (not sure how you spell it) that worked at the beach shop where you get the boogie boards and such was wonderful. The kids enjoyed boggie boarding, parasailing and seadooing. He helped us a lot and our family would consider him our friend.
Thank you El Cid for making our stay a great one!