We just returned from a very HOT week in Ixtapa. We traveled with our 3 year old son and 10 month old daughter. We traveled with Air Transat Vacations, and fortunately, they hire WestJet to charter their flights from Alberta. Westjet is always a great experience, and they now have tv’s in each seat, with satellite television, which was a huge asset for traveling with a 3 year old!

We arrived on time, and took the shuttle to the hotel. We had paid for a 1 bedroom suite, and we were very impressed. It has a huge bedroom, a king bed, and a full living room, dining room, and kitchen with a full sized fridge, microwave, sink, dishwasher and a stove top, and a nice sized patio. They provided an extra single bed as well as a crib for our kids. The only thing we expected due to our experiences with other all inclusives, was the fridge being stocked with a few pops, beers and waters. This hotel only provides a 4 litre bottle of water, and coffee grounds for one use. After that, you have to purchase your own supplies from the convenience store. We had room 2301, and our friends had room 2609. The rooms were very comparable, but the view they had was incredible! I read about the beds being uncomfortable hard, but I thought they were fine. The air conditioning works well, and you can set the temperature yourself or turn it off entirely.

I should tell you that we have stayed at Iberostars in Peurto Plata, Dominican Rebublic and the Mayan Riviera, Mexico, Occidentals in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, and Bahia Principe in Mayan Riviera Mexico, so these are the one’s we compare to.

The food at this resort was by far the best! There are three different restaurants for buffet… Mexican, BBQ, and Oriental. They also have 2 a la carte – Oyster (seafood) and the Costa Azul. We only ate once in the a la carte – the seafood. It was good, but, I think with kids, we enjoyed the buffets and the variety better. This hotel limits you to the number of times you can eat a la carte by giving you one card per adult per restaurant. Once you use your cards, you can’t go again. There isn’t ice cream available at the buffets, but if you ask the waiters, they will happily get you a dish of vanilla, chocolate, or coconut. Francisco, one of the waiters in the main buffet (above the pool bar) will offer you coconut ice cream with bailey’s on top… go for it! The pool bar served hot dogs, hamburgers, fries, chicken, pizza and chips, cheese and salsa. The kids like this.

There are waiters everywhere you go at the resort, so you never (seldom) have to go to the bar yourself for a drink. If you tip well, they will just keep them coming without asking! They have bottled water available at all the bars.

When you go to the pool or the beach, there are staff who work hard to get you chairs, umbrellas, and tables. I didn’t ever rush down to reserve chairs, there were always some available when you go down, and if there aren’t any umbrellas or chairs, they will get them for you. There are quite a number of lifeguards around all the pools, as well as on the beach. They are very active in their job, and it definitely is reassuring when you have children.

The sand on the beach isn’t white, but that is expected, it is also not fluffy and soft. We actually liked it better with kids, because they can make sand castles. The water is very calm and very swimmable. There wasn’t a red flag the whole time we were there. There also wasn’t much wind all week.

The temperature was extremely hot. We were actually told that one day it was actually 37+ degrees (Celcius)! I think the other days were probably low to mid 30’s. In the evening it barely cooled down to the mid 20’s. We never wore a sweater, or even took one with us in the evenings.

We went into Ixtapa twice. It is about a 15 minute taxi ride, and 80 pesos each way. There is some shopping and some restaurants. We ate at one restaurant in town, and the meal wasn’t that great, the portions undersized, and over priced (maybe called Laguana??). We would have been better off staying at the resort for dinner. We found the price of souveniers the same at the market as on the beach. On one of our taxi rides, we met a driver named Carlos. We really enjoyed visiting with him, and we actually asked him to give us a private tour of the Ixtapa and Zihuatenejo areas. It was great, we left at 4 pm and toured around, then ate at this amazing restaurant in Z right on the beach. He then took us to the markets at the Marina in Z for a few more souveniers. He actually stayed with us at the market, and helped us with the bartering. He was awesome, his English was great, and I highly recommend hiring him for the same experience. He charged 60 USD, and we gave him a very generous tip, since it was so worth it. He even took a number of family pictures for us along the way, and they all turned out great. His name is Juan Carlos Garcia Garcia (Carlos) and his telephone number is (55) 3 64 75, and his cell number is 044 755 55 9 20 05, he recommends calling his cell phone.

We bought silver on the beach and also at the markets, we paid around 100-150 pesos for a bracelet. We were actually told by the market vendors that the silver on the beach is only plated, and that they don’t have licenses to sell “real” silver, only in land is it legal to sell solid silver??? We don’t really believe that since all our silver has the same 925 stamp on the inside?

The other trip we took was to Isla Ixtapa. We walked down to the pier and caught a water taxi. We got off on the second stop, so we could snorkel. The first stop has a nice beach and better restaurants. The second has ok snorkeling, and ok food. We spent $125 USD for the day for 4 adults, 2 children for food, drinks, and snorkel equipment. I recommend taking beach shoes to the island as the beach is rocky and hot!

There were only 2 downfalls for us on this trip. The first one was that it was too hot for my daughter (10 months). We actually had her to the hotel doctor (Dr. Hector Garcia), because around her eyes were really swollen and he felt it was a reaction to the elements – sand, sun, etc. The other problem, was that I got a sickness during the last night from our supper in Zihuatanejo. The tour was a great experience, and it was a nice restaurant, but a friend and I split a shrimp dish, and both of us were sick by 1230 that night. We drugged right up and were both fine for the flight home.

My husband is a scuba diver, but even though he hauled his equipment all the way there, he never went out. The diving was from the Barcelo in town, and we were told by other guests that it wasn’t worth it. So he didn’t go.

The other comments I have are in regards to traveling with children. I highly recommend this resort, because of the activities for kids. There is a wonderful newly opened Flintstone playground. It is wonderful for the kids, especially in the evenings when there isn’t much else to do. The kids’ pool with the slides and fountains was a hit. We never used the kids clubs, but there were many and for different age groups. The evening entertainment was also good, and enjoyed by the kids.

I think this was our most authentic Mexican experience. The majority of tourists in our resort were Mexican’s, mostly from Mexico City, and I think this was why the food was so good. They were cooking authentic dishes and not trying to replicate American food like so many of the other resorts we have visited.

Got back a few days ago from this resort and felt the urge to write. I had previously read all of the reviews and was a tad worried. I like to have an accurate expection before I arrive at a resort....so here goes my rendition of a review....

Rooms - We upgraded to a Jr. Suite....highly recommended for families. Has a large kitchen, full refridgerator, microwave, table for 5, pull out bed, balcony, king bed in the bedroom, two large closets and a balcony. We were with a large party, we saw the regular rooms and if you have 2 small children with alot of junk like we do...check on the price...well worth it for the extra breathing room. If you don't, the standard room is great. Very roomy with lots of drawers. A couple of the others had problems with some items in the rooms (safe not working....drawers in the chest broken), one call down to the front desk and not only was a repair person on the way...but the supervisor calls every 5 minutes to see if it was fixed. S! ome found this annoying...I personally thought it was a very nice touch. My husband & I thought the beds were great. Keep in mind it is difficult to appease all kinds of sleepers...not like you can ask for a king bed/extra soft no matter where you travel.

Food - The food was VERY good. There are a couple things to remember about Mexico when eating. First and foremost, the Mexican government does not allow food to be imported when it can be made domestically. In other words...if you are looking for imported mozzarella on your pizza or american beef....look elsewhere, like New York or Chicago. The other thing to remember is...big shock...you are in Mexico. If want oriental food or a tasty New York Strip steak, probably shouldn't go to Mexico. The tamales, pico de gallo and guacamole were enough to keep my family coming back. My 4 year old ate guacamole for every meal and asked for it today (I'm not that good of a cook....so I will be going to the local market tomorrow). I wo! uld suggest that if there is something that you want at the restaurants...whether it be tortilla chips or french fries, just ask. I never encountered the words "we don't have it" on my entire trip. I have stayed at a number of all inclusive resorts and found that the food here was the best so far, both in terms of variety and quality. There are two "reservation" restaurants. One is Italian...one an "oyster bar" (quotes due to the fact that there are no oysters on the menu). The oyster bar is good, but the Italian is much better. If you are travelling with kids, I would suggest that you tell the waiter that you would like the service expedited or you will be there literally all night.

Pool - The pools (emphasis on plural) were incredible. The upper pool was great for families with infants as it had a shallow wading area with umbrellas in the water. The lower pool was good for older kids (mine are 7 and 4) the 4 year old needed a tube because it was 4' deep, those are avai! lable at the activities hut for no extra charge (we brought our own and left them for the maid). This pool has a swim up bar and it is in the shade. It was great for the entire family. The kids could swim up and order the "virgin strawberry daquiri" without a second thought. The adults could do the same...minus the "virgin" part. The best for the kids was the "kiddie pool" which was about 1 1/2' deep and had about 10 water slides. The kids of all ages loved that pool which I thought was a really nice touch for them.

Beach - The sand on the beach was brownish. It was not the white sand that you encounter on "Isla Ixtapa" (Ixtapa Island) which is right across the water. The really neat thing is that the sand has some metallic flakes in it which causes gold swirls in it. I tried to capture this with my camera and I hope it comes out. Suffice to say that although it is not "white sand", it is still playable, walkable and able to make some incredible sand castles. The water was g! reat as well. There is a large covered area on the beach with chairs if you don't like to take in that much sun.

Services - The hotel has a "spa". Manis, pedis, haircuts and the like. A few in our group found that these were both very good and very resonably priced. There is an internet cafe as well. There is also tennis courts (although how someone could play tennis in that heat is beyond me) and a soccer field.

Entertainment - Every night at the lobby bar there is a very good band (varies nightly). They play salsa, polka, samba, pop....whatever. Nice dance floor there as well. To the front of the lobby bar, there is a nice area for kids with pool tables, games (Jenga, Scrabble, Uno), foosball, and ping pong. Kids really liked that. The shows are good, dancers are great and there is alot of audience involvement. Disco is only open Wed - Sat and starts at 10:30. It is also open air. We would have liked this to be open all week, but danced at the lobby bar the rest o! f the time, so no real issue there.

Surroundings - The hotel is pretty much situated by itself. There is a small flea market down the beach by where you catch the "ferry" to Isla Ixapa. This has pretty much all you could need to purchase. There are very few vendors to bother you (unless you are on a first name basis with the jewelery guy like my sister). The hotel itself has 3 buildings. From the front, building 1 is the center, 2 is to the right and 3 is on the left (and kind of set apart from) building 1. Our whole group was in building 2 which we found very convenient to the pool, the beach and the restaurants. The new building (#3) has rooms that all have balconies. Some in our group did not have them. Ask when you arrive.

The towns (both Ixtapa and Zihua) are small and have retained all of the charm that I'm sure lead the developers there to begin with. If you are looking to "party" or to bounce from shopping mall to shopping mall....I would suggest you go to! Cancun or Vallarta. These are some quaint towns with lovely restaurants and shops. The people in both were courteous, friendly and non-americanized....I hope it stays that way.

Service - I saved the best for last. Suffice to say that I so overwhelmingly impressed with every aspect of the service at this hotel, again keeping in mind that this is an all inclusive resort, that I feel the need to comment repeatedly. At the pool, the waiters did not even wait for signal that a drink needed refilling. They simply arrived with drinks in hand. I had a hard time remembering when I had such great service even when I was paying and tipping on every drink in bars or restaurants in Chicago. We did tip every day ....although there were others that did not and I did not see a disparity in service.

The hotel has room service ($4 US per visit, not for what you order). This is great if you want breakfast in bed or just a late night cheeseburger and beer.

The maids were meticulo! us and came twice a day. Once to clean, next to turn down the beds and make sure all the dirty towels from showering after the day at the beach were refreshed.

Ages: 40+
Travel Dates: March 24-31 2005
Hotel: Melia Azul in Ixtapa Mexico
Airline: Air Transat

The flight going was approx 5hrs coming home was 4hrs. The bus ride to the resort was approx 20 minutes. When we arrived at the Melia Azul we were very impressed by the beautiful landscaping and the cleanliness. We were told on the bus ride we would not get our room until 3pm however we were pleasantly surprised as we got it immediately upon check in.

Rooms: Our room was spacious with a king size bed and a couch, coffee table and desk. The balcony overlooked the pool and beach. Everyday the maid decorated our bed with different flower/towel sculptures it was beautiful. At night our bed sheets would be turned down with candies. Beds are too firm for my liking but better hard than too soft.

Pools: Are clean and many. There have water slides so kids have a wonderful time. Reserve your chair early it gets busy. They have many umbrella for people that want shade.

Beach: Is not as bad as some of the reviews I have read. Yes the sand is darker than some white sand beaches I have been to. However it is not black sand. You can swim in the ocean, many people did. We took the water taxi to Ixtapa Island and had lunch at the restaurant with the Mexican Flag. I had garlic shrimp fresh and delicious, my husband had the rainbow trout which was also wonderful. You can also swim in the ocean there. There are many beach activities.

Food: We at the Costa Azul good food. The Italian restaurant was also delicious. We didn't get a chance to eat at the Oyster Bar but we spoke to people that gave mixed reviews. The buffets got tiresome but that is usually the case with any vacation. But the BBQ was pretty good.

Town: We visited both Ixtapa and Zhauatinayo. Ixtapa is the place to go more shopping and it is lively. We took a horse and buggy ride which was fun and romantic.