We spent 2 weeks (Dec 18, 2010 to Jan 1, 2011) there with our 16 year old twins, it was supposed to be just my wife an I, but the twins whined enough that we took them too, so much for a romantic vacation...

When reading in these reviews I see comments about the lack of maid service and one complained about insufficient towels/linens. I find these comments odd because they are complaining about "Costa Bonita" when it was not "Costa Bonita" renting them the condo, they rented a privately owned condo that happens to be in the "Costa Bonita" complex. They should take it up with the people they rented the condo from, not complain about the complex where the condo is situated in... As for organized activities, there are none, the building is not a hotel; the condos are all private residences in a complex on the beach. You have to find/make your own activities. This is probably not the place to stay if plan on spending all your time at the complex expecting to be entertained.

The condo and the resort is extremely clean and well kept. The restaurant and bar is run as a not-for-profit by the HOA so the prices are very low. There is a huge selection of books to trade in the room behind the jacuzzi. We found the snowbirds to be friendly and outgoing. It is a quiet place, no organized activities, but one of the snowbird ladies gives free water exercise classes each morning. We spent most of the time exploring Mazatlan, We signed up for several trips, rented a Hobie Cat 4 times (1 hour each time). we booked the Huana Coa Canopy Adventure zip line tour (12 lines) at the tour desk, what a blast!!!!!! They even include beers or soft drinks and a great Mexican cheese fondue meal after the zipppppingggggg. The guys are really funny and they know what they are doing, highly recommended!

The resort beach area is gently sloped, it does not drop off quickly like it does in many other parts of Mazatlan, you can walk out a long ways before it gets deep. The Golden Zone is around 10 minutes away by bus (60 cents), there is a bus every few minutes, so we didn't bother with a taxi (around 7 dollars) unless we were going back to the condo with a lot of purchases.

No complaints whatsoever! We rented a 2 bedroom condo from an owner on vrconnection.com. The suite was very clean and well kept. They stocked it with everything that you would find in your own home. There were plenty of good quality towels and linens, lots of dinnerware, pots, pans etc. The washer and dryer came in handy. Having a 2nd bedroom with its own TV was great because we have 2 kids, we got to watch our programs for a change.

We had been to Mazatlan many times before; the hotels we stayed at in the Golden zone are all noisy until 2 or 3 in the morning. Costa Bonita is a quick 10 minute bus ride away from the noisy part of town, so we could spend time in the “touristy” area and go back to the condo for a quiet nights sleep. The complex is stunning, the staff and the resident snowbirds are super friendly. The suites are 3 or 4 times the size of a hotel room. The beach is undoubtedly the nicest in Mazatlan. The place is dead quiet after 10 at night.

We stayed there twice so far; 2 weeks in March of 2009 and 2 weeks in March of 2010, we are going back for 2 weeks at Christmas/New Years 2010 and another week in March 2011 without the kids. Yeah baby, hormone day at the mink ranch!!

Don’t believe what some grumpy heads are saying, maybe they forgot to take their meds, the place is great.

It was comfy, cozy, affordable, on the beach, just enough off the beaten path. Some people prefer glitzy but we liked it. Lots of retirees winter here. Only one restaurant, but the food was fine. Excellent pina coladas and friendly service!

First time staying at Costa Bonita. i noticed that most of the negative reviews were from a few years ago, and most of the recent reviews were pretty good, so my expectations were mid/high. The biggest advice I can give is to make sure you bring CASH! This resort doesn't take credit cards. One must put $100 (or 1,000 pesos) as a deposit to eat at the restaurant and then at the end of the week, you are either refunded or owe from there .. again, CASH. The resort grounds are indeed beautiful. We were there off-season, so we were always some of the only ones at the pool; and sometimes it felt like the only ones in town. We like that though. The restaurant has terrific food, and very reasonable prices. If you want pool service though, you must get up to order - it isn't like a regular resort where they constantly check back with you. We even tipped very generously and it didn't change the attentiveness of the waiter. Very nice though.

We were looking for a quiet place to basically do nothing but lay in the sun all day, so this was the perfect location. If you are looking for nightlife or lots of activities; I do not recommend this place. The unit itself was less than average. The sofas had some stains on them and I agree with other reviewers that the beds were uncomfortable. The kitchen had pots/pans, but they were in really sad shape. And DO NOT use the dishwashers - apparently in talking with other people who have stayed there, the fact that our leaked all over the floor was of no suprise. We tipped our maid generously on a daily basis and she did our dishes each day.

The gym was only for owners which was a real let down for all of us. Since I am single, I wasn't comfortable walking/running on the beach in the mornings before my travel partners woke up (I get up earlier) and so I wasn't able to work out the entire week; which is iimportant to me even on vacation.

I will admit that upon first checking in, I thought that we might have to find different lodgings, but by the end of the week,we had settled in nicely and I would actually return; especially now that my expectations are set.

Pool - A+, Beach - A+, Service - B, Unit - B minus, Location - depends on your needs, but A for us.