November 17, 2009

Mazatlan, Mexico: Playa Mazatlan; hotel review

ocean view from Playa Mazatlan hotel in Mazatlan, Mexico
Av. Playa Gaviotas 202, Zona Dorada (Golden Zone), Playa Norte, 3 mi. from downtown, 800-762-5816 in the U.S, 669-989-0555; direct to hotel 011-52-669-989-0555. 423 units; $110+/2. 3 pools; indoor & outdoor hot tub; fitness room; spa.

Built in 1955, this low-rise (four stories) colonial-style resort features rooms with either a terrace or private balcony. Its choice beach-front location faces Isla de Venados. The beach is sandy, the surf is gentle, and thatched palapas provide respite from the sun. The quietest rooms are in a three-story section surrounding well-tended interior gardens; those by the restaurant and beach can be noisy (the beach is one of the town’s liveliest). Rooms are decorated with dark wood furnishings and colonial accents.

Fiesta Mexicana

For more than 40 years, the hotel has hosted Fiesta Mexicana on Saturdays, and fireworks light up the sky on Sunday nights. A popular passtime is relaxing in traditional rocking chairs from Concordia and watching the lobby action. The resort’s open-air La Terraza Playa restaurant-bar overlooks the beach, and rock climbing walls, a zip line, and a spa with a temazcal (an igloo-shaped sauna room where guests are seated around red-hot lava rocks) and a cenote (cave pool).

image c2009 Carole Terwilliger Meyers

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