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.

Casa Tucanes is a family owned complex of three villas and two bungalows. My family stayed for three weeks in the Quetzal Bungalow and found this to be an excellent, relaxing place for a family with young children. We found Rosa (the owner) and her family to be kind, honest & helpful. Best of all, her three daughters were excellent babysitters!

Casa Tucanes is located at the far end of Playa la Ropa and is a short 5-10 minute walk to the beach. The compound consists of the living areas, a large lawn, stoned seating area with a grill, a pool and fishpond. The entire compound is enclosed by a large complex of fences and is always locked. We always felt safe during our stay.

The Quetzal Bungalow was perfect for our family with two small children. It consisted of two bedrooms, a bath, kitchen (small stove, refrigerator & dishes), dining/living area (built in couch, table & chair, bar stools, and hammock) and a patio. All areas are tiled, but only the bedrooms and bathroom are enclosed. The kitchen/dining/lving area is open to the outdoors on two sides and covered by a thatch roof. The patio area is completely uncovered surrounded by banana trees, a lime tree, plants and a high wall. Our children were able to play in the bungalow and not get out. The best part of this unit is that it gets the morning sun to warm up the unit and is shaded in the afternoon when it was hot.

The bungalow was cleaned Monday-Saturday, including dishes. Sheets and towels changed twice a week. Drinking water was provided. The showers, though very "low flow" were hot the majority of the time. There are ceiling fans in all of the rooms.

The pool was very nice, surrounded by coconut trees and palms with four reclining chairs. The water was crystal clear for the first two weeks but did get a bit dirty the last week. The large lawn was a great place for the kids to run. The stoned sitting area was lovely and though we never used the grill it looked in good order. The kids loved the fish pond and spent much time there.

The second bungalow, the Tzentzontles, was identical to ours, but did not have a patio area and did not get the sun like our unit. The first floor villa looked very large and clean. We did not see the upper villas.

While Casa Tucanes was a perfect fit for us, I can see that it is not for everyone. This is NOT a resort. There are no granite countertops, no designer decor,. Some of the dishes are cracked and it is not a complete set. The beds are not brand new and neither are the sheets, but it is large, clean and family friendly. This is more local, quiet living with normal noises. Roosters can be heard crowing in the morning, a donkey can be heard at night and there is some traffic noise during the day. There are also some normal household noises from Rosa's.

We were very disappointment with the experience at Casa Tucanes. When we arrived, the kitchen drain trap had food in it and the hot water didn't work. The service was very poor. We had to ask 4 times for the water in the bathrooms and kitchen to be turned back on. We had to request toilet paper and for trash cans to be emptied after the units were "cleaned." They did not give us any floor mats for bath/kitchen, and with a pool, and tile floors, they were always damp and slippery. When we requested additional towels, we were met with great resistance. The pool was pretty, but the pump was turned off so there were always bugs floating on the surface. It had a waterfall the was to fall into the pool, but that was turned off also, and the catch area for the falls was filled with algae and mosquitos were breeding in it. There were 2 fountains on site, but neither were working, and during our week stay, mosquitos and tadpoles bred in one, and I had to point this out to our hosts. After 3 days, I explained to Rosa Elena my concerns. She sounded very apologetic, but then never checked back to see if things had improved. She actually never spoke with us again the rest of the trip. And, in fact, things didn't improve. Chuche, who was most available to us, did anything we asked him to do, but only if we asked.

The villas themselves were beautiful, but there was the general feeling that the management had fallen on hard times, and was neglecting maintenance and services in order to save money. I don't recommend it. And DON'T go in the summer, as it was extremely hot, no a/c, no window screens, and mosquitos breeding on the property. The wet tile floors were also very dangerous for toddlers and young children.