My family comes here every often during the summer. It's a hidden gem. It's a membership resort…read morewhere families can buy time share or you can rent on Expedia. The weather in Ixtapa is humid, but I love it. They have van transportation to take you to the beach area, room and dining areas. They also have the Gandolas that take you up and down and give you a beautiful view. The walk can be a walk, I wouldn't recommend it for individuals who need extra walking support, have injuries, or disabled. The hills are very steep. GREAT EXERCISE before you sit to have a delicious meal... but highly recommend the transportation options for those who can't make the walk. They do have meal options... I get the unlimited. Totally worth the extra buck! Unlimited food and drinks by the beach area ( does not include room service or exclusive menus) do inquire about the food options at reception. They will give you a wrist band for the duration of your stay. There is a huge variety of food!! So if Mexican food isn't your preference... which I will add is absolutely delicious.. they have other optional menus. Other than the main beach and pool sides down by the buffet area... there are also hidden pools throughout the whole resort ( dining May not near by) but you can bring personal snacks. The employees are very friendly and very humble!! Very informative... don't be afraid to ask. They can help and answer questions.

Amazing resort. So wonderful. I did the all-inclusive. Definitely worth it. So many different…read morepools, I swam in 7 of them while I was there. The beach is so warm. They have little bungalows you can reserve for free! A waiter brought me a new drink ever ten minutes! So helpful! Fun pool games for kids. And water aerobics, Zumba, and bike riding! Watch them feed the crocodiles. Enjoy the gondola rides up and down the mountain. Exciting shows every night! So so good!! Great for a family!!! Napoleon was amazing! He was our concierge. So helpful! Thank you Napoleon! We even walked to downtown Ixtapa. Very safe! Lovely little beach town.

We usually spend our vacation in Ixtapa as it is a very chill and the beach by the Pacifica resort…read moreis beautiful. On this trip we decided to spend a few days in the neighboring town of Zihua. We spent 3 wonderful days/nights at the Thompson. As others have mentioned this a beautiful location in Playa Ropa and service is 5-star. When you arrive, there is a welcome drink awaiting you. The front desk worked with us to secure a beachfront suite with a large deck and a plunge pool. Our room was spacious and decorated very tastefully. We loved the artwork. There is Comp coffee and water. On our second day, there were 6 additional bottles of water! We returned from the beach on day 2 to find a very personal note from the staff and a dessert. There are cabanas on the beach with drink and food service. The beach area also has an adult pool that is perfect for watching the surf, having a Marghie, and socializing with the other guests. Hao is their beachside restaurant and bar. There is another, more upscale restaurant on the property. It is so relaxing here, having an early morning breakfast or dinner and listening to the surf just steps away. We enjoyed the Paella theme night. The grilled octopus App was off the charts delicious. It was grilled and seasoned to perfection. The paella portion was very generous with seafood, clams, and chorizo. What a wonderful evening dining under the stars, a pleasant breeze, and the surf just steps away! We walked the beach multiple times a day, and there is a small market area where you can purchase souvenirs, beer, and sundries. If you feel adventurous check out Le Parla and La Pirata. Perla is a great beachside bar with good drinks and a seafood ceviche that easily satisfies 2 hungry vacationers. The Pirate provides some great local flavor. If you want to explore dinner off property, make a reservation at the "House that Sees" resort Casa Rumi. There is a Michelin-star restaurant overlooking the bay. As expected, the service and dinner was 9 stars, and the 3-course dinner will not blow up your budget. We are already planning our visit for next year!

I usually stay in Ixtapa, but know here in Houston, Tx they recently opened up a Thompson hotel and…read morewhen I found out that there was one in Zihuatanejo, I was especially excited. I just did a day pass where you can reserve a cabana at the pool area that affords you credits for food and drinks and is very proximal to the bar / restaurant, HAO. The whole hotel, grounds, cabana's and beach are stupendous. I'm sure similar to many great beach locations and this place is nothing short of spectacular. The beach cabana's are between the beach and the bar area where your closer to the water and get the same service for drinks and food. Wonderful and quite relaxing. The beach itself is clean, sand is white, water is free from any and all debris and grass and quite expansive. Jumping into the water is especially refreshing and great for tanning yourself. At nigh time you can dine in the sandy court area or on the deck at the Hao. I found the food options are all very good and drinks especially. I would encourage during the day you get a coconut with rum and coconut water. Oh, I almost forgot this location has awesome sunsets. The hotel is a close cab ride to the town / city of Zihuatanejo where you can walk around and check out the places here or other nice restaurants nearby. I didn't stay here overnight but the pricing isn't cheap but worth the price if you can stay a couple of nights, which I plan on doing the next visit back in town. Overall a memorable experience which I look forward to doing again.

Found this place surfing our time share points exchange thru diamond . AWESOME! Loved the place,…read morestaff was exceptional. We will be back for sure. Easy access to the beach, rooms were great, clean. Everyone from the reception to concierge were fantastic. Senor Ruiz will be back!

It's rare and fantastic when an experience not only measures up to my overactive imagination but…read moresurpasses my highest expectations - and EMBARC in Zihua did just that. The initial view was jaw dropping and we found no reason to ever pick it up. Just gaga over the accommodations, food, drinks, incredible service, weather, the friendly and kind people of this region, and to boot... caught incredible waves at some local surf spots. Zihuatanejo gained fame as the dream destination for the two prisoners of Shawshank Redemption - and the reverse effect is that when you return back to routine civilization it seems like prison by comparison. Marie, the General Manager, runs an impeccable operation with a world class staff. Bravo EMBARC Zihuatenejo! See you again soon. * be warned if you are stairs impaired because there is a lot of them, but thankfully we are not so we enjoyed every step.

Food was bland. Rooms were hot as well as the rest of the hotel. Maintenance is poor. Front desk…read morestole 100usd from us.

This resort is amazing. Our check was quick, personable and even offered my son a wheelchair due to…read morehis injury. All of the rooms are ocean front which makes for an amazing view for sunrise and sunsets. There are about four pools (one adults only), several hot tubs, nice work out room, mini golf and other activities. The infinity pool though was our go to every day, the view is beautiful and it is also connected to the small beach area. The infinity pool though has a lot of kids which is strange since there is a bar area under the waterfall that is adults only. My suggestion would be to make this pool adults only. This pool also provides a nice lunch section which offers plentiful fresh options (burgers, hot dogs, tacos, fruit and veggie options). The bar staff is attentive and more attentive if you provide a nice tip and will ensure your drink is always refreshed. By the pool, there is Zumba, water sports and pool volleyball as well as other activities. The resort offers three specialty restaurants (i.e. Asian, Italian and Mexican) in addition to the buffet. We tried the Mexican and the Asian restaurants. The Mexican restaurant offers nice ambiance and view of the oceanfront but the menu options need changing. I was looking for a little more authentic options outside of the regular buffet options. The Asian restaurant did not offer any view (it was located more indoor) but it made up for it with the menu and food options, very good! The breakfast buffet offered plentiful breakfast and brunch options and an omelette/egg station. However, the young guy at the omelette station was slow..on several days they had to provide him additional support as the line was long. The hostess and serving staff were very attentive and friendly. The grounds of the resort were always kept up and people tending to them to ensure they were clean. his resort is located some distance from the hotel strip which makes for a little more coziness. We spent 400 pesos upon arrival from airport and 300 pesos on the return to the airport. Cabs are readily available by the concierge shall you want to leave resort. Let me get to our room, can I say amazing!! Yes, it offered a huge living area with its own bathroom right at the foyer entrance, large sectional seating, flat screen television and connecting balcony to the master suite. The master suite offered another flat screen television with English speaking channels, huge whirlpool jet tub, a sauna that could four to six people, enclosed toilet and huge rain shower and a huge balcony that faced the ocean. There were plenty of mirrors, closet and bins for your items and stuff. The bed was very comfortable with lots of pillows and comfortable blankets. They provided us a rollaway bed (at no charge) because my son wanted to sleep in the living area for his own privacy. They offer shows several nights of the week but we chose to go to the lounge in the evening after dinner to hear the DJ/Band. They lounge has fools ball table, pool table and lots of comfy seating to talk and play card and/or board games. Don't miss out on visiting this resort. You will definitely enjoy yourself and have plenty to do without leaving!

I cannot say enough great things about the Catalina Beach Resort. It is an amazing resort with…read moregorgeous lush grounds, in a beautiful spot on La Ropa (with an easy walk to Madeira or downtown). It is close to a lot of restaurants on La Ropa and headed into downtown area. EVERY SINGLE STAFF MEMBER WE ENCOUNTERED WAS OUTSTANDING. From Alfred, Javier, and Hector. Everyone was professional, friendly, efficient, and made you feel at home. From the moment we emailed to book our room to the minute we left, we felt welcome and like we made the best choice. Our room was absolutely amazing (we had a Linda Vista) with an outstanding view of all of Zihua. We loved the veranda with deck chairs, a couch, and hammock. We loved the pool, the water was clean and refreshing, and loved that it overlooked the beach. The palapas fill up quickly but we never had a problem getting one even if we were way out to the side. The water in front of the hotel is swimmable and warm. The beach is clean and safe. Our bed was comfortable and the air conditioning worked great. Room service was prompt and well done. I felt like we got a good price on our room and I would absolutely book again for the same price when we come back. Overall I felt that the hotel offered a lot of value. I felt safe the entire time in Zihua and never once had an encounter that made me doubt my safety. The hotel is older but it is taken care of and you get the feeling you are at a boutique hotel where you are not nickeled and dimed and the employees actually care about your stay. There were just a few negatives: The Sodovento next door is under construction so if you like to sleep in or take naps during the day, you might be annoyed as we heard constructions noises starting at 0800 and going until sundown. We were usually out of our room and down at the beach or exploring most days but it was annoying a few times when we wanted to sleep in or take a vacation nap. There is no pool bar. I know this sounds like a silly complaint but often we would gather with friends we had met in the afternoon in the pool. We would have to walk down many steps to the pool bar and then carry everything back up. I don't know why they dont have someone provide service to the pool - they could have made a lot of money while we were there. The food is not great. We only ate our free breakfast twice before we decided to go off property for our meals. The drinks, on the other hand, were delicious and reasonably priced. The mojitos are to die for. From the beach to our room (top floor) was 265 stairs. That is a lot of stairs. We are in shape and it still kicked our butt in the heat sometimes. With that being said we didn't mind because it was good exercise to offset all the drinks and food we had on vacation. All told, we would absolutely stay here again.

Javier & Celso at the Front Desk are very helpful, friendly, and professional. They handled special…read morerequests with ease. Angel at the Playa Bar speaks excellent English and happily accommodated our special drink requests, which we enjoyed under the palapas on the sand. Salvador at the Panaramico Bar/Sunset Bar made the beautiful sunsets even more spectacular with his delicious 2 for 1 cocktails.

Beautiful and peaceful place to vacation or just stay for the weekend they have everything you need…read moreall in one place. No need to leave just Relax and enjoy!!!

Went for breakfast and got good food and coffee. The view…read moreis breathtaking. Very clean place and attention to details is evident. Will recommend to start your day after a sharp hike from downtown Zihua..

Ever since watching the ending scene of "Shawshank Redemption", where Andy Dufresne escapes to…read moreZihuatanejo, it's been on my "places to visit" list. Even though I later found out the beach shown in the movie is actually not even in Mexico. None the less, I still wanted to see this town people kept referring to as "paradise". So after looking at a few different hotels I landed on Capella. And, just a short 3 hour flight from LAX to ZIH and a 25 minute cab ride from the airport, I arrived at Capella Ixtapa. Usually pictures tend to look a lot better than the real thing with all the photo retouching but with Capella the pictures online do not even come close to truly capturing this hotel's beauty and the scenery it has to offer. As soon as you arrive the hotel staff is outside expecting your arrival and ready to greet you with warmth and smiles. They are BIG on customer service here and you can see it the minute you arrive. Upon walking just 10 steps toward the main lobby your mouth will literally drop as you hear the sounds of crashing waves and you take in the gorgeous views of the Pacific Ocean. I honestly took 5-10 minutes just to absorb it all... it's that beautiful. And, the hotel is a beauty all in itself. With only 8 years since it was built, it still feels very new, clean and definitely 5-star worthy. All the rooms at this hotel are very private and come with their own in-room, infinity pool! The rooms here are nothing short of amazing and all include an ocean view. They also feature a nice patio area with some comfy chairs to lay out on and sip on some of their thirst quenching Jalapeño Margaritas. I particularly love that the rooms have 2 huge glass doors so your view of the ocean is never blocked even when in the room. Nothing like waking up every morning to an amazing ocean view and the bathroom also has an ocean view! Every day at around 5pm, the hotel staff drops off some guac and chips with a couple of Coronitas in a mini ice bucket! Cool little treat! There are a couple of restaurants on the premises, a bar and 2 large infinity pools. The restaurants here serve up some very good dishes and everything I tried from the breakfast, lunch and dinner menus was very tasty, fresh and well presented.They have a daily event that starts around 6pm every evening where they bring in all the fresh catch of the day including shrimp, fish and lobster. You pick out what you want and they prepare it for you to your liking. Good stuff and it doesn't get any fresher than that! The bar offers a full variety of mouth-watering concoctions of which I highly recommend the Jalapeño Margarita. I think I ordered about 45 of them during my 5 night stay, including a pitcher which is not on the menu but they will make for you upon request. Capella also offers a Romantic Dinner which includes a 4 course dinner for 2 with a private table set up on their wedding deck overlooking the ocean. This package also includes a very romantic setup including candles, rose pedals and live saxophone musician! The dinner is private so it's literally just the 2 of you with your own table, waiter and musician who plays everything so i requested some Frank Sinatra of course! Capella even allowed me to alter the menu to my liking and all this for only $350! The food is delicious and the experience was well worth every cent or in this case, peso. I HIGHLY RECOMMEMD you do this if your budget allows. As far as location, Capella is just down the street (walking distance) to Playa Linda where you can take a ferry to Ixtapa Island and do some swimming, snorkeling, shopping, sun tanning, eating and a little drinking. The hotel offers it's guests complimentary bikes that you can ride down there if you prefer. In that same area there's a lagoon where you can find some large crocs, turtles iguanas and various other creatures. Just a 10 minute cab ride in the opposite direction from the hotel you have Avenida 5 de Mayo which is a cool little area packed with stores, restaurants and bars. There's plenty to do and if you need any help planning activities just talk to Connie Ochoa who is the Activities Supervisor and is there to help guests plan their ultimate Ixtapa experience. She's truly a huge help and super friendly. She's also bilingual so if you're not brushed up on your Español, no problema! Also, if you need to exchange money, you can do that at the hotel's front desk. Their rates are comparable with that of the nearby banks. So... next time you're thinking of heading South of the border for a little R&R, consider Ixtapa. And, if you're wanting to have an unforgettable and memorable experience, definitely stay at Capella. I honestly think I'll be making this a ritual yearly trip after this experience... see you soon Capella Ixtapa!

I have to praise the customer service at capellaixtapa, last night is asked what soups they were…read moreserving, My husband mentioned a Spanish meatball soup that was my favorite. 10 mins later the chef, Jesus Ordones, visited my table & asked if I preferred a white or tomato based soup. I said, I trust you! Can I share that this soup exceeded all expectations and has made the #hiddengem a new annual visit for the Friedmans! #capellaixtapa

A hidden treasure, truly spectacular. The moment you walk…read morethrough the gate you feel relaxed and confident you made the right choice. Be ready let go and enjoy!! Food is fabulous we ventured out one evening not worth it, I recommend staying put. Staff is so friendly you feel at home with a full staff all to yourself.

Extraordinary Cuisine, Romantic Dining!…read moreThere are very few places that are as special as Amuleto. Set way up high in the cliffs with the best sunset one can imagine. There are very few tables set in a tropical garden atmosphere. The menu is special but not over the top. The Chef is obviously very talented as the combinations work and are presented beautifully. Each plate is a work of art both visual and taste. The atmosphere is very relaxed. When we arrived there was no one at the desk and we had to find our way to the restaurant area. Not hard and a bit of adventure. The place only has six rooms so it is not over run with staff. I understand the rooms are exceptional but I have not seen them. You will need to take a taxi or drive. It is a bit out of the way. Arrive before sunset as it really is an extraordinary spot!