TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

We booked this trip through West Jet Vacations after reading all the reviews. Well NOT what we expected to say the least. Came with another couple and all 4 of us have had a stomach flue. The food is average at best and very hard to book into the one ala carte restaurant and then that food just looked more like the buffet food. Waiters don’t wipe tables with a wet cloth in between guests, quite a few are very grumpy or speak very little English. It feels like they really don’t want us Canadians here. It is 90% Mexicans so be up on your Spanish. We tried to order off the menu and after our husbands got their meal the manager told us what we ordered wasn’t available. To pay for the steak they ordered we had to go to the front desk. We asked for room service when we were too sick to go down, they told us there was a $10.00 fee. The pools are very busy with no adult one. The hotel is getting run down, it needs a good clean. The elevator is quite often broke down(good thing they have 2) and the windows in it dirty. We have met other Canadians here and they too a very disappointed with some families crying after seeing their rooms. No dressers or place to store your cloths except a closet with hangers. Internet gets overloaded and it’s not secure (no password needed). The coffee maker in the room stinks like electric/plastic overheating when used. There are some great staff like our waiter Filiberto and our west jet rep Isidore feels bad but isn’t able to do much for us. We booked an Ecco tour but due to us all getting the stomach flue we have to cancel as we don’t want to be far from a bathroom. Don’t think we’ll get a refund though. Also they don’t want to exchange American dollars for Pesos at the front desk which blows our minds. So disappointed!

Everything was great. Special thanks to Miguel at Front Desk and Georgina and Natalie the excellent camaristas! Thanks for everything!

The Holiday Inn Ixtapa was a very good choice and was as we expected. The hotel is a bit dated, but totally acceptable and priced accordingly. Our room was very good… clean, and the bed was comfortable. Angelica’s towel creations made us smile each day upon our return to the room. Food was average…”Mexico Nights” were the best. The staff were a highlight of the trip. Very friendly and happy to help. Shout out to Adolfo who took god care of us each day on the beach. We noticed that the resort was very popular with families from Mexico, which we thought was a positive indication.

We probably won't return. We re-visited this resort after a 16 year absence. We had such a fantastic time 16 years ago and even sent a glowing compliment email. Back then it was a El Presidente hotel which featured 5 a la cart restaurants (Including an original for it's time a Sushi Martini bar) We came to celebrate our 30 year anniversary/35 years together after proposing Ensenada , Mexico all those years ago. This time the hotel had changed to a Holiday Inn resort with only 1 a la cart. This hotel offers a snack bar but you have to line up 40-45 minutes in advance and stand in the exposed 32 degree sun. Their used to be a adult only pool but that also disappeared and the pool was always over populated along with the hotel property. Line-ups for everything was quite common and long. We have traveled many times and many places over the years to Mexico and found the people of Mexico to be very excepting and friendly. When we arrived at the hotel on the first day we thought it was gonna be great being that we only counted 10 maximum Caucasian guests at the hotel in one day and that we would be able to spend time with the Mexican hotel guests. Our experience became the opposite. We were bumped into, run off the pathways and yelled at with racial slurs by some of the Mexican hotel guests. The positives: On our 6th day we were sitting on the patio of our room when a hotel staff member came to visit us and asked if we were willing to answer a few questions about our stay. We agreed to and we mentioned about the line-ups and that we would probably not go to the snack bar during our stay and would eventually go to the counter to book an a la cart. We told the employee the story of returning to the hotel and celebrating our anniversary. The employee ended up being the General Manager Alberico Gutierrez Tavira. Alberico congratulated us on our anniversary and instructed us to go to the hotel lobby desk to pick up orange VIP wristbands which enabled us to go to the front of the line (no more line-ups) and he booked us a table that night at the a la cart and surprised us with a bottle of sparkling wine. I wish to include a list of the hard working employees that made the difference in our stay. Alberico Gutierrez Tavira - General Manager Carina - Reception Very friendly and helpful a la cart - Ignacio - a la cart (we remember him from 16 years ago) Freddy & Oskar Claudia - Buffet waitress Hugo - Pool Bar Umberto - Sports Bar We remember him from 16 years ago and is still always smiling Silva - our room maid ( thank you for all the bed decorations - I took photos for memories) Alfredo (slim) and Razil (sp) - Buffet waiters Samuel - Pool drink waiter (many enjoyable discussions)

Rita was great at keeping my room clean. I got a towel animal every day and that just really brighten my day after coming back from a hard day work inthe mission field. The staff was helpful and accommodating with my AC wasn’t working right and they got me another room then that one wasn’t worth right so they got me another room then they were able to retrieve my belongings that I had left for the first room. They were very professional and very kind.