We stayed at the Villas El Rancho resort for 10 days at the end of January. I usually don't write reveiws but this place was too good to not share with others. My girlfriend and I came for a much needed vacation and we were very pleased with our choice. We were greeted at the airport and taken directly to the resort. There are trees and plants every where you look. It looks like a little oasis! We reserved a poolside villa and it was very impressive. It was not new, but very clean and bright. The people who work here appear to be very happy to be there and are very friendly. We spent some quiet time alone and enjoyed both the pool and the private beach. There is also a very romantic jacuzzi where you can watch the sunset. Most of the guests that we spoke with were there to relax and enjoy some quiet time too. When we wanted more action, the staff happily suggested places for us to visit in town and helped arrange transportation too. The restaurant La Fonda is very nice, It has great margaritas and makes the best food too. (We had a seafood platter for two including lobster for only $39!) It was a very relaxing and quiet place. The individual units makes it feel like you are the only people around. We greatly enjoyed our stay and will be back again in the future. Thank you to everyone there that made our vacation so great!

We visited Mazatlan in January 2012 and stayed at the Villas El Rancho much to our delight. It is a small cozy resort with individual villas, so you don't have to worry about people hearing your conversations through the walls like in highrise hotels! Like any other good resort or hotel, we were not the only guests there, so one night we were able to hear a few other guests having fun and enjoying themselves on the beach but they were not totally out of control and they did quiet down after a bit. Overall it is a very relaxing and laid back place. Our villa was very clean and bright with an "Old Mexico" flavor in the decorating. One whole wall is glass so you have an amazing view of the ocean, we even saw several dolphins one day! The food was great and the staff very friendly and efficient. Totally recommend to anyone looking to relax and kick back!

We had a wonderful holiday at El Rancho. This was our 2nd stay in 3 years and I wouldn't hesitate to go again. There were 7 of us ranging in age from 17 to 75 years and we felt safe the entire time. The villa we stayed in was lovely, comfortable and clean. The staff were friendly and very helpful and did not hesitate to help us with anything.
El Rancho is a peaceful bit of paradise located outside the Golden Zone which is only a short bus trip away.

Where to begin?? ….. I travel extensively on timeshare exchanges and this was my worst resort stay ever! So bad, that I wanted to cut my vacation short and get the heck out of there! It definitely is not the quality of others within the Interval International system and definitely not what I expected. Basically it is a hostel in a tropical setting on a great stretch of Cerritos Beach with fabulous sunsets. I felt so uncomfortable in my unit that I never even unpacked my suitcases during my one-week stay.

The units are 25+ years old and inside they look it - the counter tops, tile, furniture, lamps and fixtures are all very dated. The units are dark, stuffy and smelly. The remodeling they brag about is basically putting newer appliances in each unit. The modern high-rises surrounding not only block the afternoon sun, they make you wish you were staying in one of them. The resort is small, which is fine, but there is absolutely nothing to do onsite – no activities at all - just the small restaurant and palapa bar, which was usually unattended except for the ever-present timeshare salesman sitting there. Granted I was traveling solo, but I have no problems joining in with others socially.

The only items in the bathroom were a bar of soap, two towels and a bath mat (no washcloths, no toiletries, no hair-drier, nothing). The shower head was rusted and corroded, and the water came out brown for the first minute. There were lots of dead bugs visible in the bathroom light fixtures, the skylights were disgusting and you could see daylight around the vents, A dead spider on the shower floor in the 2nd bathroom stayed there my whole stay – even though the maids “cleaned” every day.

In the kitchen there was a daily parade of ants on the counter (they said they don’t use pesticides inside but would spray outside??). Utensils were rusted (can opener, veg peeler, corkscrew) as was the rack holding the “purified” water jug. Kitchen walls, light switches, exposed oven fan were all very gross and grimy. I had to request a microwave to be put in my unit. Wine glasses/corkscrews must be special at this resort because I was told they couldn’t give me any for my room?? (The timeshare salesman arranged for them to be sent to me.)

When I asked if I could move to an ocean-front room that was unoccupied, I was told by the timeshare salesman it might be arranged if I purchased. I looked at it, and it was no different than my unit other than it was hotter from the afternoon sun – but you could hear the waves. It is hard to avoid the timeshare guys – they are basically hanging around onsite all day – and this is a very small resort so you have nowhere to go to get away from them. I was approached to purchase four straight days in a row – each day a different “deal” – really, have you looked at what you're trying to sell? The beach vendors are allowed on the property so there is the constant parade of interruptions when you are trying to relax. The pool is not chlorinated or heated, had a film floating on the top and is shaded mid-day, so it is way too cold at this time of the year.

One thing that did help get me through …… Winston makes fabulous margaritas at the bar and they are very inexpensive!