It's all true -the good and the bad reviews. It just depends on how you "roll with it". We spent 2 weeks at the Fontan in February 2012 and were happy with our decision. Having read all the reviews prior to going, we weren't surprised as to what we got. Here's my long winded review. FOOD: True - there was a lack of fresh fruit and it is a small buffet with limited choices BUT we always found food we liked which was tasty and hot and it was always plentiful. The egg lady at breakfast did a fantastic job keeping up with everyone and the waiters were great. The hotel also cooked some sail fish that we caught at a cost of 50 peso per person. It was very, very yummy! True -There is a restaurant called the Miramar that is at the end of the pool beside the bar that is included in the all inclusive option. It's open from 1 - 5 pm and is a great little place with excellent service. AMENITIES: True - the hotel fills up with Mexican families on Friday - Sunday and there are line ups at the bar and buffet. Everyone is friendly but there are definitely a lot of kids. We made those days our exploring days and went to Ixtapa Island, Zihuatanejo, etc. We had breakfast at the hotel and then had dinner across the street at one of the fantastic restaurants. There is a show 5 nights/week that starts at 9pm and lasts close to an hour. They are really good and worth staying around for. Sunday night is karaoke in the lobby bar and Wed., I think, there's no show. True - no wifi in your room but it works well in the lobby bar area. The pool area and chairs are cleaned every night, the pool towels are clean. There is a Sports Bar attached to the hotel that has pool tables but FYI, any costs incurred there aren't included in your all-inclusive package. The Hacienda restaurant is a really cute place and the food is good. This is where your al a carte dinner is served if included in your package. Otherwise you can go there and pay the price on the menu. ROOMS: True - the beds are hard (they usually are in Mexico) and the rooms are quite worn and old. True - they are clean and housekeeping is awesome. True - there is a musty smell in the room but you don't really notice it with the AC on or the balcony door open. Most of the balcony rooms in the building above the office have a view of the ocean. True - not all rooms have balconies, blow dryers or mini-fridges but many do and you have to ask. True - there aren't any dressers to put your clothes in but there is shelving in the closet that works just as well. True - there is no clock (I brought a travel alarm), no iron (you can ask for one or bring your own), limited plug-ins (I brought a small extension cord). The beach is great and easy to walk on. We would walk the beach to the Marina area and then back on the street. A good walk in the morning. The market area behind the hotel has many good restaurants and shops. We bought water for our room at Scruples Market or the Mini-Super right outside the Fontan front door. The gift shop in the hotel is very expensive. AREA: Bus to Playa de Linda is 13 peso, bus to Zihau is 9 peso, water taxi to Ixtapa Island is 40 peso. Taxi from La Ropa to Ixtapa is 90 to 100 pesos. We ate at several restaurants, walked and explored a lot and spent a bit of time at the marina. If you have any questions, email me. All in all, don't expect a 5 star hotel - it's not. It is a good value. We felt safe and the place was clean. Thank you to all the Trip Advisor reviewers that I emailed prior to our trip. The information you provided was appreciated. Knowing what to expect made our trip very enjoyable. We would go back again.

Four couples spent the week. We all received ocean front balcony rooms with exceptional views. Daily breakfast buffet offered grill choice and other options, all good. Lunch beachside had a varied menu from club sandwich to garlic shrimp and we all enjoyed meals there. Snack bar was average. Place is outdated and needs a facelift/update inside and out but was kept clean and the staff were all great. Shout out to Hugo, the lobby bartender. He got fresh mint to make my requested mojitos and there were delicious.
Tips: walk across the street to rent bikes, shop, have a beer. Best Cuban sandwich for about $3.50 found there. Bus to Playa Linda then water taxi to Ixtapa Island for lunch at Luilli's and snorkel. Best Mahi Mahi tacos there. Bus to Zihuantenejo for shopping on Cinco de Mayo Avenue. Check Park Royal Lobby for tour guides Luis and Jose...made our vacation special.

After the doom and gloom reviews over Christmas we were a bit apprehensive about going but had a good time. Just to be clear we have been at 12 different hotels in Mexico and a like number in Cuba and the islands. The hotel is older and is showing its age, needs some cosmetic touch ups, but it was clean, friendly, well kept, in an excellent location and the food was fine.
Its all a function of your expectations and what you pay, if you pay 5 or 4 star prices you will be disappointed, set yourself for a older less flashy place around a 3/4.
From Fri to Sun noon local families flock in, knowing this we ate out across the road for Fri and Sat and took a day trip on Sat. Don't get me wrong Mexican families are great, really into their kids and are for the most part well behaved. We were still able to get sun chairs at 2PM on sat. In visiting other hotels on the strip they also invite locals in to help keep the place open.
The level of tourism in Ixtapa is down particularly from the US, but Ixtapa is a great place, safe and quiet.
So keep what you pay down and you will be fine. BTW I slept fine, the beds were not that hard and as to the drinks just say 'poquito mas' and they will keep pouring.

We stayed at the Fontan January 21 for 2 weeks and overall it was very good for the price that we paid. Most people that feel negative about the resort are forgetting that it's a Mexican resort and therefore there will be Mexicans and Mexican food. For an all inclusive the food was quite good, better than we expected. The quality of the alcohol was not good at all though but what can you expect for the price? There was only one lobby area and the bar was not open till 5p there and it was not too big so that was a drawback is that there was no other places to hang out in the evening if you were not wanting to go off the resort. The service at the hotel was very good, the staff are awesome.

The hotel is on a great spot on the beach and the beach is gourgeous. Nice silky brown sand and nice waves to watch. During the week the hotel was fairly quiet with non Mexican tourists and then on the weekend it was quite busy with the Mexican tourist and the hotel hope to sell some vacation time shares to them, We never once were approached by the salesman at the hotel so that was great. In town you were asked but not aggresive like other areas of Mexico.

The weather is awesome there, we are used to going to Huatulco as we love the weather and Ixtapa weather is very similar.

We booked a fishing trip off Gustavo on the beach and caught 4 black tuna and 4 mackeral, it was a good day.

There are many shops, restaurants and bars behind the resort zone ( the beach has only a few hotels and lovely condo building on it), beer is very reasonable ranging from $1 and up but the hard alcohol is expenive - $7-8 a shot! There's a couple access points to the beach and no bars and restaurants on it therefore mainly condo/hotel residants on the beach so that is nice too. We do like to go to bars on the beach and you would have to go to Zihuatinao for that. There are a lot of cabs and a lot of buses that go in so would be easy to get to. We were too relaxed for that!

If you do not want to be in a hotel with a lot of Mexican tourists then this hotel is not for you. One week at the hotel would be fine and 2 weeks if you plan to go off and out and about. If you plan to park yourself than 2 weeks would be long re the lack of places to hang out and the quality of the booze.