My family has been to the Villas at El Rancho twice and I found the hotel was entirely what you hope for in a vacation. There was enough room for everyone and everything worked as well as you would expect. The really great parts of El Rancho are the views, the staff and the restaurant. We had a beach side Villa both times we stayed there and the view truly is spectacular. The Staff are very friendly and helpful. I forgot my purse in the restaurant and one of the staff members personally brought it back to me at my Villa which I am incredibly grateful for. The restaurant has really great food and also has good service.
One of the other really nice things about the resort is that it is right on the bus routes so you can easily catch a bus into town(which is much cheaper than taking a taxi).

I really enjoyed my time at El Rancho and would recommend it to friends.

After 21 years of Spring Breaks at Villas El Rancho my family and I finally spent Christmas 2011 there. As always, the facilities and staff were excellent. In March 2010 my daughter had a destination wedding in Mazatlan. Eighty four friends and family stayed at the El Rancho in a most memorable experience. Again, the El Rancho and the staff were up to the demands, both in the villas and the restaurant. The El Rancho has been perfect, especially for children. The El Rancho is on the beach, has multiple pools and is off the main road. The resort is relatively small with 29 villas and is ground level so it has no elevators. The plush grounds are kept immaculate. We plan on going back to the El Rancho for many many more years and give it our highest endorsement.

We decided to go back to this resort for Christmas, for a second time, and were not disappointed. We go with our large family, which includes late teens to grandparents, which the Villas can accommodate easily. We've only stayed oceanfront and absolutely love the unit we've been in. It is clean and bright and offers an "old mexico" charm. The poolside villas also look lovely. The only complaint our young adults have is that you can only get wi-fi around the pool but they survived and probably wouldn't have minded so much if the weather would have been warmer! The gardens are beautifully kept and the staff is friendly and helpful. The on-site restaurant has great food and we visited it often. We enjoy this area of Mazatlan as we feel safe and it is peaceful and quiet yet if you want more action you can take a short bus or taxi ride into the Golden Zone. When in the Golden Zone we did certainly notice that the economy has taken a hit here, as with everywhere, with a lot of shops shut down but it looks like it is slowly recovering and there were good deals to be had. I'm sure we'll be back to Villas El Rancho Green Resort.

We took our family to El Rancho for Christmas 2011 and had a wonderful time. We love the beach, the lush gardens, the private villas, and the quiet, laid-back atmosphere. And the food in their restaurant was superb. The weather (and pool) could have been warmer but we adapted in the hot tub, and walked more. We frequently walked or ran all the way to Cerritos Point (past The Rui) to a great coffee shop/internet cafe, The Looney Bean. Nearby we could watch the surfers. We like the area. There is evidence of a recession all over the city but also signs of recovery.