My husband and I just got back from our fourth stay at the Holiday Inn. We come back for the beautiful grounds and infinity pool, the comfortable rooms, fabulous service, and the great food and drinks. We really enjoy that it is a quiet resort. Not the typical large resort with music blaring all day. The location is also a plus. Very close to great restaurants, and a quick pulmonia or bus ride to the market, Cathedral, and other areas of interest.

I do want to share three of our favorite restaurants we visit when we come to Mazatlan.

The first is "Carlos and Lucias" which is located just outside of the Holiday Inn. When you leave the hotel on the street side, just take a right and go about 75 feet. They are a family run business with fabulous food. Their daughter Jacqueline has been our waitress whenever we go and greets us with a big smile. Try the fresh fish of the day prepared to your liking. The shish-k-bob has shrimp, fish, and beef with vegetables. They are also open for breakfast.

Our second favorite restaurant is the "Arre Lulu" located in the Golden Zone next to the "Shrimp Factory". This is a gem of a restaurant. Order Margaritas or a bucket of beer, enjoy the chips, salsa and guacamole. Order the tortilla soup, shrimp tacos, fajitas, or the garlic butter shrimp and you will not be disappointed.

Finally, step out on the beach and walk North about 2-3 blocks to "Tonys" or "Chilis Pepper" which are located next to each other. We have eaten at both places and they are equally great. We enjoy the ocean view while sipping our margaritas and eating the great mexican food. We also discovered that taking a long walk on the beach and finishing it with a "Bloody Mary" at "Chilis Pepper" is a nice way to start the day!

If you decide to stay at the Holiday Inn Sunspree you will be in for a very relaxing and peaceful stay.

First time to Mazatlan - the hotel is somewhat small compared to the new mega resorts which is exactly why this property is so charming. The service was terrific, the food excellent and the folks working there were super friendly. Highly recommend this hotel.

HOTEL
Great as others have mentioned. Restaurant prices are fair, the infinity pool is fabulous and clean. Only problem is that the windows are single pane and with masonry wall and floor finishes everywhere it does not serve as the best acoustics for reduced ambient noise. You will need to place a towel under the front door to help reduce the noise. Another con is the issue of rocks in the sea. Not sure is this is common to the whole Mazatlan beach, but there are some large rocks at the Holiday Inn beach which made it tough to go out confidently and have a swim without worrying about not scrapping my feet and running to a hospital. If it wasnt for these cons I would have given a 5 start review.

FOOD
- Holiday Inn restaurant called Oasis is pretty good. I had a hamburger for lunch and it was surprisingly pretty good.
- Villa Italia (Italian restaurant across from El Cid), the prices were expensive, food quality is lousy and not one local person there. Dont go.
- Chilli Peppers was not as great as the reviews made it out to be. It was OK, prices were about $5 per dish (for breakfast) but the meal portions were small and not as fabulous as others have made it out to be. The neighboring eateries are better.
- Fat Fish is also good, we got dinner for two for less than $15USD with some of the best ribs I have eaten (cross the main road, looking at the sea, go right for about 150-200 yards.
- Minnesota Café, go north, cross the main road and it’s about two blocks up ( past Fat Fish). Its located with a corner hotel, so watch out for it. Good breakfast for 29 pesos and fair dinner, i.e. 130 pesos for two.
- For good coffee go down south past El Cid about 500meters to a place called Rico. The Mexican hot chocolate is fantastic.
- I highly encourage eating from the local street food vendors. Food for two costs less than $4USD. The food is fabulous especially in downtown and around the market area.

TRANSPORT
Take the buses. They are dirty and rough, but that’s the beauty of it. They are cheap and efficient. Also if you need to get somewhere hop on the polmonas taxis. Make sure to bargain with them. I always got away with halving the quoted price.

We happened to drive into mexico from california & I'd never driven in mexico before,on our way to our hometown we needed to rest so we drove into Mazatlan, i would hear from my parents how their honeymoon was like 40 years ago in mazatlan, and truly it was an unforgettable experience!! Holiday Inn Sunspree was it!!!