My wife and I and another couple spent the week of 9/4-9/11/2005 in two separate condos in Plaza Mar. This building is in the "Romantic Zone", just south of the downtown area and directly on Los Muertos Beach.

We were in #606 which was on the south side of the building, overlooking Lazaro Cardenas Park and the beautiful mountains surrounding the area. We had a partial view of Los Muertos Beach and the bay from our balcony as well. Our friends stayed in #402 which faced the water and offered a view of Banderas Bay that was nearly unobstructed. Both units had one bedroom and bathroom each.

This building is gated and offers 24 hour security. You must be admitted to the lobby area through a large iron gate by the front desk attendant. Everyone we encountered at the desk was very friendly and personable at all times. There is a small indoor/outdoor sitting area as well as a computer for internet access in the lobby. The building has 7 floors, including the penthouse level. There is an elevator. The rooftop has a nice, small pool, public bar area with fridge, sink and grill and plenty of space for lounging in the sun. There was also one table with umbrella and chairs. The occupancy level was very low so we never had a problem getting a lounge chair and had the entire rooftop to ourselves most of the time. We loved spending time on the roof - the pool was great and the panoramic views from up there were incredible. We brought the blender up there on multiple occasions for making our own tropical drinks.

The condos were very clean and nicely appointed. Each unit has a locking iron gate at the door which obviously increased the feeling of security. The balconies had plastic table and chairs, the living rooms had built in sofas that were actually fairly comfortable, dining rooms had nice table and 4 chairs and kitchens were fully stocked with stove, fridge, microwave, coffeemaker, blender and all the cookware, dishes, glasses, etc that you could possibly need. They even provide bottled water and dispenser. The bathroom was not huge, but not too small and had a nice big tub/shower. Our unit had brand new granite countertops in both the kitchen and bathroom. The bedroom had a king size bed, decent closet with built in drawers and shelves, one dresser and one night stand. There was plenty of room for all of the clothes my wife overpacked! Both units had tv's in both the living and bed rooms.

The maid came on Monday, Wednesday and Friday for light cleaning. They don't do dishes and don't give you fresh sheets. They just make the bed, clean the bathroom, mop the floors, take the garbage out and give you fresh kitchen and bath towels. Bring your own beach towels for the pool and beach as these are not provided and you are not supposed to use the bath towels for these purposes. The entire building was clean and well-kept the whole time we were there.

One of the best selling points for this building is it's location. It is right on the north end of Los Muertos Beach which is a short walk to everything from the market to tons of great restaurants and shops to the main boardwalk area downtown, the Malecon. We always felt safe walking around the neighborhood, even very late at night. In my opinion, this is the perfect location to enjoy all of what the downtown and Old Town areas have to offer. We loved exploring the side streets and finding our favorite food vendors.

Overall, we very much enjoyed our stay at Plaza Mar Condos. I would highly recommend this building for anyone wanting to "do their own thing" in the Los Muertos Beach area. We would definitely stay here again without hesitation. Keep in mind that these units are individually owned, so quality may vary from unit to unit.