My husband & I are both professional and also run our own businesses in Canada. We had traveled to Zihuataneko in 1999 and in 2001 with family and friends and stayed with Rosa the owner of Casa Tucanes on those dates as well.
YOU are welcomed like family, the property and rooms are very secure. The pool beautiful and private. I can's say enough about all the wonderful things about our stay. For the price you pay, it is just fantastic!!! Is it like a 5 star hotel in major metropolitan centers? No. However, the experience is just full of lovely Mexican charm. It is very clean, bright, the kitchen has full sized fridge, full stove, blenders and all that you need for the times you cook while away from home.
We loved it again, and would go back again hopefully "sooner than later"
Ruth & Frank Hartmann

1. Poorly equipped kitchen: no ice cube trays in freezer, no corkscrew or can opener, no sharp knife of any kind, no toaster, no microwave, inadequate pans, strainers, etc.

2. Water: we had to ask 3 times for the hot water to be turned on and there was no water at all on 2 different occasion.

3. No place to hang up wet towels, etc.

4. E-mail access is advertised but the owner told us she didn't have a computer(!) That's how we reserved the place!

5. Distance from beach: only as advertised if you walked through the jungle.

I just returned from my eighth winter trip to Mexico, visiting Zihuatanejo this year. In the interest of warning others who hunt down lodging ideas via internet, I have to report my unpleasant stay at Casa Tucanes, operated by Rosa Elena Alvarado, last month (Jan. 2009). The place was rustic (read that: intermittent water supply and housekeeping, and bring your own toilet paper). Our “kitchenette” was a camp hot plate and a tiny refrigerator on a postage-stamp patio 10 feet from a construction zone (only barrier was a trellis)(see photos). The place was PAINFULLY noisy. It was also claustrophobic, airless, with a very poor lay out, and it came with two crying, starved cats. To crown the experience, the caretaker died in one of the units while I was there, and a wake (with coffin) was held in the entry (rude to guests and family alike…) Now, I’ve stayed in other rustic places in Mexico, but they were in remote areas and cost about a quarter of what this place cost. I eventually found that Casa Tucanes is priced about the same as many other, much nicer places along La Ropa. Since I had to pay IN FULL IN ADVANCE for my entire visit, I could not afford to move elsewhere. Otherwise, I would have left after one night. I felt gypped. Other travelers beware!!

We recently stayed at Casa Tucanes near Playa la Ropa at Zihuatanejo. We prepayed for 100% of a ten day stay. Arrived and were given a different unit than we had booked - supposed double booking. Loud construction noise 10 feet away til after midnight night after night. Loud, late parties occured in adjacent units on several nights. The units are close together and beside a busy road. A really bad experience. We walked away from the last part of our prepayment and checked into a nearby hotel. Presto, our real vacation started. There are numerious beautiful and quiet hotels and bungelows nearby at similar prices. Avoid this one.