The Villablanca Garden Beach Hotel has a lot of potential and the people are very nice but we wouldn't stay there again. First - ANTS! They're small but they're always there somewhere. (To be fair, there was a note on the refrigerator not to bring any food in the room EVER for this reason. We took them at their word.)The room we got in no way resembled the picture on the website. It was very spare - no amenities. Not that we need much but "No frills" sums it up in a nutshell. We only received one key - on a lanyard - that opened a lock flimsier than what's on my bathroom door. (This is not a gated or secure property, either. Anyone can walk up to any room.) There are no locked safety deposit boxes in the rooms - you have to rent them in the lobby. The shower head is probably as old as I am and it soaked the whole bathroom every time we took a shower. The one day I was out by the pool, it didn't seem like the bird poo had been cleaned from the lounge chairs in a while. The restaurant was not open the entire time we were there.

On the flip side, the location is good - an easy walk or cab ride into town. Papa Hog's is great next door. Everyone we met was very sweet.

The hotel is pretty basic but clean. We had a king size bed and for Mexico, it was rather comfortable. Our room was large with high ceilings and windows on 3 sides. The room had a small fridge. We paid $60/night plus tax.

The Villablanca is located on the south end of town. There are several restaurants within walking distance but we opted for a taxi ride into town for most evenings. Great restaurants to try downtown: Casa Denis and Casablanca - they are right next door to each other and we had fabulous meals at both. Most places you can get fairly cheap breakfast. If you are looking for an even cheaper breakfast and trying to make it to the dive shop on time, I suggest going to Mega (the big grocery store) and buying fruit and pastries the night before. We did this on the way back from dinner most nights. We would walk to the Mega and then take a taxi to the hotel from there. We had fun doing this and saved some money.

We used Papa Hogs Dive shop. We never had more than 6 people plus dive master in our group even when we went out on the big boat. Their prices are comparable to other dive shops we have used in town.

My boyfriend and I stayed here for 4 nights in March, and it was a nice little buget hotel. The room was clean, except for tiny ants in the bathroom. One of the greatest parts of the stay was the restaurant owner, who was incredibly nice and very knowlegable of the area. He was great to talk to, and the food was good there, but a little pricey. I recommend that if you are staying here, you enjoy breakfast at the place next door called Papa Hogs, where you can get a great breakfast for about $4.50. Also, the oxxo a few doors down sells things like coke and beer for a very good price! :) One thing about the property....in the pictures it looks like there is a beach across the street with a place to get a drink. There is NOT. There is a bit of sand, but there are no chairs to sit on or palm trees. The location was great though, especially for snorkeling or diving...and far enough from the city that you can get away from the party crowd.

Villa Blanca is a good value. For about $80 you can get a graciously designed, large room that is more of a studio than a room. They have a beautiful garden area and also a villa and tennis court (cracked, but playable for us anyway). The restaurant manager was personable and friendly.