This is a Mexican hotel, as opposed to an American-style resort, and that is its charm. That and it's unbeatable beach front location. If you are expecting instant service and constant, hovering attention from the staff, you'd be better off elsewhere. But if you have time to appreciate the unaffected charm and sincere care of the staff you'll end up feeling like family by the time you leave. Yes, restaurant service is sometimes a bit slow and some staff have better English than others, but what never varies is the innate gracious courtesy of the people and their constant effort to please their guests.

To get our suggestions for improvements out of the way, the old TVs really should be replaced by newer flat screen models. CNN is OK, but it would be nice to have some more English language channels such as ESPN and HBO. The last week of our stay was somewhat disrupted by three families with noisy children who appropriated the main swimming pool - even though it is technically an "adult" pool. There are two other pools that children can use, but the hotel seemed reluctant to enforce the adults-only rule. (In general, they avoid confrontations with the guests and are slow to enforce the rules - which can be a good thing!) This was more about the parents than the kids anyhow. Some basic discipline and consideration for other guests was really all that was needed. That's it, we really didn't have much to complain about.

The rooms are plain, but comfortable and meticulously clean (as is the whole property). There is an eco-friendly linen policy, with a full change every third day, but a daily change is offered on request and towels will be replaced any time if the used ones are left on the floor of the shower. Beach towels are available at the front desk, and they can be used to reserve your lounge chairs in the fabulous "beach club" area. This is where we spent most of our days, lounging under a palapa, mere steps from the beach and the ocean. And that's what's unbeatable about Villa Mexican - location, location, location!

The restaurant is good - at times excellent - and there are numerous others up and down the beach. Downtown is within walking distance, but it's a fairly long walk with a steep hill to go over, so best to go early in the day while it's relatively cool. There are always lots of taxis just up the street, or the hotel will call and your cab will arrive in about a minute. The local bus goes by the end of the road every 15-20 minutes.

Playa la Ropa is "our beach" and we've stayed at other places there, but we end up going back to the Villa Mexicana for its great location and value. And we're starting to feel like family.

Love this place because it doesnt have that resort feeling so much like other places in Ixtapa. Traditional food. Nice pool and beach club. Awesome coconut shrimp! You have to try them. Panuchos Tulum as delicious as well.

I stayed at Villa Mexicana for a week during a relaxing vacation with my cousin. The hotel is charming, with colorful tile fountains and terra cotta details. It's also quite minimal, meaning no frills. The rooms are quaint and don't have much to them, but you don't really need much. This hotel is right on the beach, with a large infinity pool overlooking the beach. There are lots of chaises and shade to be found, and the restaurant has really delicious guacamole (and I'm not a guac fan typically). There are beach massages onsite, and I'd recommend the restaurant for breakfast and lunch/happy hour. We paid $10 more per day to include breakfast with our reservation, and it was so worth it. Huge menu and really good Mexican and American breakfast choices. I'd also recommend paying extra ($20/night, if I recall) for an oceanview room. You can't reserve these ahead of time, but can request it at check-in.

If you're looking for fancy, this isn't your place. But if you're looking for great service, a bit of charm, delicious food, beach access at your fingertips, and a really great value, this is your place!

We have stayed here twice, both times for about a week, with four years in between. We come with a group of friends who come every year. We sat it out for a few years because we brought home bed bugs after our first stay, & if you've ever had bed bugs, you'll be surprised that we came back at all. So of course that colors my review.

We do enough traveling to know that lots of hotels have bed bugs, & the issue is whether you do what you need to do to prevent their transmission. In the case of this hotel the first time, we did everything wrong (stored our suitcases wedged between the wall & the bed, failed to recognized tell-tale blood stains on the sheets, left our suitcases on our bed for an entire day once we returned home). Our friends have never gotten bed bugs at the Villa Mexicana, & no one has reported them on Trip Advisor, so...do with that information what you will.

Our friends come here every year because this is the best location for the money of any hotel I've ever visited. As others have frequently mentioned, it's right on the beach, & this beach is no joke: beautiful, sandy, breezy, lined with palm trees. There is no better place to relax oceanfront for around $100/night. Really, the location is amazing.

The staff is decently friendly & helpful. The restaurant is similar in quality to other beach front restaurants around (great fish, eggs, pica de gallo), with the major added benefit of being right outside your door & available for (free) delivery to beach chairs and rooms/patios. We usually treat the place sort of like an all-inclusive, ordering what we'd like throughout the week & paying our bill in total when we check out. Sometimes we walk down the beach for sunset dinners, & it's an easy cab or bus ride to central Zihuatenejo and Ixtapa--a long-ish walk to downtown Zihua, if you like walking instead. The staff & clientele are laid-back & pleasant.

Our friends & we bring our young children, & this is a great place for kids, since there's an infinity pool for swimmers & a couple of wading pools, all in the shade at least for part of the day. There's also a lot of add-on beach entertainment right in front of the hotel; we paid a boat to take us to Ixtapa Island one day, rented a jet ski, painted pottery, had massages, etc. Lots of fun stuff to do.

Despite all the positives, though, & even if we hadn't suffered the bed bugs, we've decided not to come back to the Villa Mexicana for a major reason others have also mentioned: the beds are really insufferable. Near comically hard, with scratchy sheets & no blankets, they made it extremely difficult for me to sleep both weeks we were here. The second time we came, we brought our own blankets, but I still had a lot of trouble. My husband and one of my sons doesn't have this trouble; the other son & I both do. I guess it depends how sensitive you are to sleep conditions. I'm pretty sensitive, although not high-maintenance by nature, & these beds are too much for me. Next time I will go someplace where I can sleep.

In fact, if I were rating the rooms at this place, I'd give them a terrible--they're dirty, don't really have any amenities (even the hot water is unreliable), & the beds are rock hard. If I were rating the location & price, I'd give it an excellent. Service is average. But those beds are a deal killer for me.