it is too bad to see the tourism so badly hurt in mzt. somehow tho the Mayan Palace is keeping reasonably full relative to the rest of the area. We were very pleased as always with the staff at MP. They want you to enjoy yr vacation. the staff has no leeway to make that happen. the hotel is removed from the old town and hotel zone which makes walking a non starter and going anywhere a long ride. mzt doesn't have the tourism services of pv so you are on yr own to figure it out. The buses and taxis are an affordable working alternative to the pulmonias which are choking with their exhaust and the pulmonia is now the same price as a taxi. the hotel offered no fun programs, ltd menu service. Buffets are the order (supper) of the day but only if you want to overeat. you can lie by a nice pool. have a good drink. enjoy a nice suite. Not all mp rooms have water views and ours did not despite being veteran mp members. we much more enjoyed our stay at casa de leyendas in the old zone. we received excellent restaurant recommendations from the staff. The spa is pricy as is the case as most AI or time shares or US-franchised hotels. Free airport transport was to the hotel not back. there is no wifi. By this point a place of this level should have it for free. instead it is the remote internet room devoid of interest etc. We'll go to PV or Yucatan in the future.

I just went last week with my family to the Mayan Resort, stayed in the Mayan Palace. We had a great view of the pool and ocean. Everyone is very friendly, and helpful, concierge their helps you book your activity's... you just have to pay at least a day b4 u r to go, which is reasonable. Everyone speaks english very well, for me would have gone either way because I speak Spanish, but for those who dont, you do not have to worry. Bellboys and doorman r great and on are ready when you arrive from the airport or grocery store to get your luggage/groceries out of the taxi and take it to your room. Pool was amazing very clean everyday I saw ppl cleaning it, has a waterfall, they have a DJ as well, and at night karaoke,pool side drinks, beach is walking distance from the pool..literally only takes about 1-2minutes to get there.

Weren't sure about staying outside of the Golden Zone are but were glad we did. The bus is right outside the gate, costs under 20 pesos(less than 2 bucks) and takes under 10 minutes. If getting on the older buses always check if it goes to Golden Zone as we once took a bit of a tour with the locals. Never a biggie as someone will overhear and help you get on the right path! We did see the Mega Sore this way. Bus back well before 10 or grab a cab. Negotiate for as little as 5 bucks- tip in. The Golden Zone was not really as "Golden " as I was maybe expecting so were not that sad to get back to our place at the end of the evening. Mazatlan is a little more "old Mexico" than say PV or Cancun. Price wise that works to your advantage as food prices are great! 3 of us ate salad. great ribs, baked potato, rice, veggies and a bucket of beer at Fat Fish for under 30 bucks! Take your lap top or Ipod Touch when going into the Golden Zone and you can find all the free wifi you need. If you can't find it... walk 10 feet and you will! El Paraje(close to Pueblo Bonito) has good lobster special and the BEST tortilla soup EVER! Arribiata (close to Holiday Inn)was really good (especially the pizza and the chicken ceasar panini) and had 2 for 1 drinks. Balboa Club at the Balboa Towers(close to Aqua Grand) was tasty and the margaritas were a little too good (big and strong)! Los Realos beside Senor Frog"s was also really good and had great mango margaritas. Los Choperia (Terazza) across from Pueblo Bonito had the most amazing Imperial Shrimp (ask as it's the chef's specialty but not even on the menu) with cheese and wrapped in bacon. Mayan Palace was very nice overall. Much nicer than the Sea Garden, and bigger rooms(we looked). Pool was very nice and the iguanas(s) around are quite cool!? Pool side cafe was good for snacks and the odd 2 for 1 drink but too pricey for what you get and drinks were just okay. Take a soft cooler bag to take to the beach for beer and waters. While walking on our last day I did see a restaurant right on the beach a few places down (towards town). Wish I had spotted that earlier on in the trip for lunches and snacks! Beach was just okay (especially if you've been to the Riviera Maya side of Mexico. Rocky, rough and lots of shells. Gotta admit the vendors are pretty aggressive and wait at the steps to the beach for you. But hey they are trying to make a living! Time share people in town are some of the most aggressive I've seen as well. Gym was very well equipped. Sun Market was good for picking up groceries. Our 1 bedroom was huge with a king bed and 2 huge couches with trundle beds underneath and lots of extra pillows and bedding. Extra sink outside the bathroom is good and the full size moisturizer and shampoo were very nice. Kitchen has small fridge, microwave, 2 burner stove (don't think it worked though), sink, blender, toaster and coffee maker with filters take coffee and sugar maybe). We originally had a room facing the road (as the desk clerk insisted that was the only thing available even though the fellow Winnipegers right in front of us at check in, we found out later on, somehow got ocean view). Got to say that was pretty noisy by 6 or 7 a.m.. Asked the next day and got no where. Lo and behold the next day, (which was obviously the original desk guys day off), we asked yet again and were given ocean view. Much better! Just have to be persistent. First part of the week the joint was really quiet but as Holy Week was beginning, it really filled up with Mexican vacationers come the weekend. Weather was nice and hot for the most part and we just could not use enough sunscreen it seemed! All in all the Mayan Palace was a big thumbs up for our vacation and we enjoyed Mazatlan! Oh yeah, contact the conceirge about shuttle from the airport, They will do it for free on the way there and charge 90 pesos on the way back. We negotiated with a cab driver for the way back for $30- tip in.

Let me start off by saying that after reading some of the other reviews in advance of my vacation I was a bit nervous. However, my initial fears were completely unfounded and the Mayan Palace Mazatlan turned out to be a very nice resort. I've stayed at a variety of places in the last fifteen years - places ranging from sub 1-Star hotels during college spring break to 5-Star luxuries such as the Four Seasons and St. Regis. While the Mayan Palace will not be mistaken for a 5-Star resort, it is a very solid 3.5 to 4-Star hotel with a nice, clean decor, friendly and helpful staff, and amazing water views. I'll walk you through the pros and cons below, but overall you can expect to have a wonderful week....we certainly did and would highly recommend the Mayan Palace Mazatlan to any of our friends.

Mayan Palace Pros & Cons:
Views - The views from our room were simply spectacular. The Mayan Palace building has ocean view rooms that face directly out at the water and if you are able to secure one you are in for unbelievable sunsets and the sound of the ocean lapping the shore throughout your trip. It was a major highlight.
Building/Rooms - Although the main buildings of the Mazatlan Mayan compound were built in the 70s (lobby, restaurant, and Sea Garden hotel), the Mayan Palace building is only a few years old. We found the buildings (and grounds) in general to be impeccably clean and the Mayan Palace rooms to be very nice. While they could probably use an update such as a flat-screen TV, we don't travel to the beach to sit and watch television so it wasn't a big deal. Also, there has been some chatter in other reviews regarding the room-safe being too tall. I'm no giant (5' 10'' on a tall day) and didn't have any trouble using the safe. They also provide a stepstool for smaller guests. In short (pun intended) we wouldn't worry about it.
Staff - The hotel staff (from the front desk to the waiters to the cleaning crew) were all exceptional. Very nice, very helpful, very willing to do something extra to help you enjoy your trip.
Food - Room service, meals at the poolside bar, breakfast, and non-buffet dinners meals at the restaurant were very good. Our favorite dish was the fish tacos, but the burger and fries, club sandwich, and other mexican dishes were also quite good. However the dinner buffets (theme buffets) were terrible. The food sat out way too long and had become very rubbery. As long as you stick to ordering off the menu and avoid the dinner buffets (the breakfast buffet was good) you will be fine.
Pool - The pool was very nice, had an interesting waterfall feature, and was very well kept. However the pool was not heated and I doubt it will be warm until April at the earliest. It was great for the occasional cool off, but a bit cold to swim in for long periods of time.
Location - The hotel is north of the main tourist area, which led to quiet, peaceful nights and mornings. However there is almost nothing within walking distance, so if you want to go somewhere else to eat you need to take the bus or a cab. We used the busses exclusively, and for about $0.50 you can take a 10 minute bus ride from in front of the hotel to the "Golden Zone" tourist area. It's very convenient and unless you're in a major hurry we'd highly recommend the busses.
Safety - Besides the fact that Mazatlan is very safe, the hotel also had a good security presence and as a result we felt very secure throughout our trip.
Other Amenities - The Sun Shop on the premises sold most of the items you'd need for a week-long trip. If you're going longer (or have a larger group), people really raved about the Mega. But because we didn't want to spend time grocery shopping on the trip we opted for the Sun Shop for all our needs. Although the cost was slightly higher than the Mega, beers still only came to $1 a piece, so we can't complain too much. In addition to the sun shop, there is a computer center for internet in the hotel, and 30 minutes cost $2 - again not too bad.

Mazatlan in General:
-Mazatlan is a tourist community, and the locals really know how to take care of their guests.
-It is incredibly safe and we never for a second felt in the slightest bit threatened (including when we wandered aimlessly around the city).
-The busses discussed above offer a safe, reliable, quick, and extremely inexpensive way to move around the city.
-The "Golden Zone" area of resorts/hotels offers a bunch of restaurant options should you venture out for dinner (which I highly recommend - the restaurants offer more variety and are less expensive than the hotel).
-In general, the tourists visiting Mazatlan were an older bunch and mostly retirees. This didn't bother us as a 30-something married couple, but if you have teenagers or are in your 20s there may not be much nightlife of interest.
-The beach is very nice, but because all beaches in Mexico are public there are lots of vendors. Just say no thank you and they'll move on. Also the water was pretty rough. I'm not sure if it is always like that or just because it was February but we didn't see many people in past their waists.
-The weather was perfect. High of 80 and low of 50. Sunny every day. Just perfect.