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Sonoran Sea Resort: Traveler Reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Reviews

Reviews of Sonoran Sea Resort

( 10-14 of 26 )
“Paradise lost, in paradise”

Sonoran Sea Resort

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1 of 5 stars
Temecula, California
Mar 3, 2007
6/11 found this review helpful

When you consider what fans my wife and I are of Puerto Penasco and the Sonoran Resorts, it almost hurts to write a review like this, but here it is. Among other things, there is a complete and total breakdown of security at this resort. Simply put, it has become a Sprink Break free for all on the weekends, with everyone simply doing whatever they feel like. What happened?

Security issues: 1. The center pool for the resort was being drained for maintenance. Ouch! Naturally, this must mean that the weekenders can bring their skate boards and use the dry pool as a skateboard park. We threw the kids out of the pool, security did nothting. 2. ATV's made their way to the beach, which is strictly prohibited. Only after an ATV became waterlogged and stalled, did the kids leave (5 of them). Resort security did nothing. 3. Fireworks and firecrackers were going off everywhere, beginning friday night thru saturday night, from dusk to about 11 pm. Some of them on the rear lawn of the resort, and some of them right above the guard gate to the resort. Security would do nothing. We thought we left this junk behind in Ensenada. 4. People drunk, talking at the top of their lungs until 11:30 pm. While I was trying to sleep, my wife made her way down to the front desk 4 times. They would do nothing. Finally, I got up and threatened the final group of juvenile delinquents that were making some of the racket. After getting in their face, they left. 5. On sunday morning, while my wife and I were playing tennis, we noticed 4 college kids packing up next to our car in the parking lot. They were all drinking beer, and playing a game of soccer with a baseball bat next to our car. I asked them to move their game to the other side of the parking lot or beach, and they promptly surrounded me and started screaming curses, challenging me to a fight. I left for security, who showed up just as they were peeling out of the parking lot swearing at me from their car.

Other problems: Unlike the Sonoran Spa, there appears to be no insulation/sound barrier between the condos. As a result, there is nearly complete sound transmission between the units.
You can hear everything, from the flushing of toilets to people having sex. The first night of our check in, we were given a condo that had been frequented by heavy smokers. Unit 211W. It was disgusting, so we asked for another condo. After insisting for 30 minutes, they gave us 511W for 2 nights, and ultimately 212W for our final 3. They said there were no other units we could go to for 5 nights, unless we wanted to upgrade to a 2 bedroom for an extra charge. This being our 4th trip to the Sonoran Resorts, we had no idea you could even smoke in these units, and had never noticed evidence that anyone ever had. Policies have changed.
You must specify a non smoking unit.

Final problem: On our last trip to the Sea (14 months ago), I told them the tennis court net was a foot too low and it needed to be raised. I got no response, and no assistance. It looked like there was a problem with the crank. Guessing it may still be the same (center should be 36"), I took a variety of tools with me this trip to work on it. Well, the net was still at barely 24" and had never been touched. With part of the crank missing, I was able to operate it with a set of channel locks. I quickly discovered, that the entire assembly had been installed backwards and it was impossible to operate the net. So, I disassembled the crank, installed it correctly, and we finally have a tennis court with a proper net. This also means the court has been like this since the place was built, around 2 years ago. All 3 courts--Spa, Sea and Sun, are poorly designed asphalt, cracking apart, perhaps 1-1 1/2" thick, laid on sand. They were not built to last more than 12 months, and I'm wondering about the rest of the infrastructure at the resort, as things are also starting to fall apart in the condos.

This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
ActiveTravelers's Summary
Date of Stay: February 2007
Member since: July 07, 2005
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“Nice, relaxing trip”

Sonoran Sea Resort

Mar 2, 2007
3/3 found this review helpful

We booked through an online agency specializing in the area, and got a better price at one agency than the rest. That made me nervous, but it all worked out fine, apparently there was a sale, and some agencies lowered their prices, and others didn't. We stayed at the Sonoran Sun last year this time, and tried the Sea this year for something different. The units appeared the same, the property was similar. Nothing different worth mentioning. The property and condo were very clean, staff was very friendly. We didn't use the gym or free internet area, but they were open, and very nice. We had a ground floor condo, which was great because we could walk straight out to the pool and beach. It was also uncomfortable because people (and maintenance staff, which was common) walk down the path right next to your patio (we were on a corner.) We had an amazing view, though, and could listen to the waves from inside. The downside is maintenance staff was cleaning the pool area all day every day, although they weren't intrusive. The pool was heated, and defnitely comfortable to swim, although only one side was open, the other was not, and the swim up bar was closed. We thought we'd enjoy the sounds of the waterfall, but it wasn't on, since that side of the pool was closed. Our unit had a broken screen door, so we couldn't close it. We asked maintenance to come by and fix it, but they never did. We didn't care that much, so we didn't push it, they may have come if we made a bigger deal of it. Our unit was also missing drapes on one-half of the patio door, which was a big deal not only because of the light it let in in the morning, but also because we were on the ground floor, so people could see in. We hung one of the spare sheets over the door and covered it up, but it was a pain, and it was shabby. Otherwise the furnishings and everything were very nice, we were surprised it had these issues. We brought our own breakfast and lunch, and had two fantastic dinners out - really amazing food. We ate at the Friendly Dolphin, and some restaurant with Fountains in the name. We always go for shrimp cocktails at the wharf for appetizers, and they were great, as usual. We had shrimp cocktails one afternoon at the bar at the Sonoran Spa, and they were just ok, not as good as at the wharf (it's the same shrimp, so it must have been the cocktail sauce.) Otherwise it was quiet, peaceful, and clean, which is great for the price. We like to try different places, but not many of the places there have the rooms right on the beach like the Sonoran properties, many have the rooms set back, so we'll probably stick with the Sonoran until something better comes along.

  • This TripAdvisor Member:
    • Liked — The proximity to the beach and ocean
    • Disliked — The condo had some maintenance issues
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
taxcpa's Summary
Date of Stay: January 2007
Traveled with: Family with young children
Visit was for: Quality time with family
Age group: 35-49
Member since: July 08, 2005
  • My ratings for this hotel are:
    • 5 of 5 stars Value
    • 2 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 5 of 5 stars Location
    • 5 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 3 of 5 stars Check in / front desk
    • 3 of 5 stars Service
    • 3 of 5 stars Business service
Would I recommend this hotel to my best friend?
absolutely!
I recommend this hotel for:
Young singles, A romantic getaway, Girlfriend getaway, Older travelers, Families with young children, Tourists
I do not recommend this hotel for:
An amazing honeymoon
I selected this hotel as a top choice for:
Beach / Sun
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“Nice weekend”

Sonoran Sea Resort

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4 of 5 stars
Tucson, Az
Feb 19, 2007

Just returned from staying 2 nights at the Sonoran Sea Resort. I had read the other reviews and was slight nervous since I had orginally booked the Sonoran Spa because of its reviews. During the week prior our arrival I found out that we were rebooked into the Sea because of painting that was taking place at the Spa. The one bedroom condo that we were booked into was in the west building, corner unit, very nicely decorated, clean, and well equiped for our weekend visit. As it turned out we had a "great weekend". We enjoyed the sunset, the sunrise, reading, and watching the beach activity from our balcony. The sandy beach was nice for walks and to see others having a great time. The main pool was under maintenance at that time but the pool bar and hot tubs were open. The first night there we had dinner at the Sonoran Grill which the food was very good (took cash only). The second night we walked up to the Sun and had dinner at the El Catorce which was also very good. I had brought breakfast food and snacks with us to prepare in the unit. We also had with us a recent movie release that we wanted to watch on friday night but we could not get the DVD player to work. The desk sent up their maintenace person and he tried too. The next day we stopped at the front desk and requested another player and while we were walking on the beach it was replaced. Some of the staff at the desk seemed young and inexperienced but they handled our needs for the weekend. Our check-in and check-out went smooth. I would stay at this resort again.

This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
CarolTucson's Summary
Date of Stay: February 2007
Member since: June 07, 2004
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“Nice”

Sonoran Sea Resort

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4 of 5 stars
Cleveland, Ohio
Jan 11, 2007

Sonoran Seas is probably the nicest condo resort in the up and coming Rocky Point, Mexico area. We've been there 2 years in a row right after Christmas and it's been very nice. The condos are well-kept, clean and decorated nicely. There's also a hot tub, heated pool and swim-up bar. While the beachfront resort area is nice, the town around it is dirty. A lot of condos are under construction but it's slow going. There wasn't much of a change from last year at this time.

We recommend you bring a lot of your own food. There are a few restaurants in town, but they were only average. It's a fishing village, so there's fresh fish available in town every day at cheap prices.There are tons of cheap trinket places in town as well if you're the type that likes to haggle over prices.

I highly recommend the spa on the Sonoran Seas property. It's much cheaper than in the U.S. and they pay a lot of attention to detail with manicures and pedicures. Very relaxing atmosphere.

  • This TripAdvisor Member:
    • Liked — location on the water
    • Disliked — the town surrounding it. not much to do. dirty
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
beach bum in ohio's Summary
Date of Stay: December 2006
Traveled with: Spouse / significant other
Visit was for: Quality time with family
Age group: 35-49
Member since: April 30, 2004
  • My ratings for this hotel are:
    • 5 of 5 stars Value
    • 5 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 4 of 5 stars Location
    • 5 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 4 of 5 stars Check in / front desk
    • 3 of 5 stars Service
Would I recommend this hotel to my best friend?
absolutely!
I recommend this hotel for:
Young singles, A romantic getaway, People with disabilities, Older travelers, Tourists
I do not recommend this hotel for:
Girlfriend getaway, Families with young children, Families with teenagers
I selected this hotel as a top choice for:
Beach / Sun, Spa
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“Try somewhere else first”

Sonoran Sea Resort

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1 of 5 stars
Kansas City, MO
Oct 19, 2006
2/6 found this review helpful

We were traveling to Phoenix when at the last minute decided to take a side trip to Rocky Point Mexico. Upon arriving we drove down the corridor of new condominiums. We chose the Sonoran Sea Resort, it appeared to be very clean and fairly new. They quoted us a price of $160.00 for a 1 bedroom condo. That was very reasonable since all of the units are Ocean Front and Ocean View. Our room was not ready until 4:30pm so we headed to the pool area. There is a bar in the middle of the pool which is the center of the complex. The guest sitting at the bar were very intoxicated and the music was louder than any concert I have attended. Since we could not carry on a conversation outside we headed to the rooms. We had to keep the doors and window shut and the TV on to drown out the noise. Later we drove to town to eat dinner and escape the noise. When we returned we found most of the lights in the condo were burnt out. The next morning we inquired about the checkout time. The rule is 11:00 but since they were not busy we could extend to 12:00 BUT after that there would be a charge of 20.00 per hour.We waited until the last minute to shower and leave, only to find no hot water. We chose to take a cold shower than to risk the late surcharge.

This would be my last choice of Condo's in Rocky Point

This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Cayman1112's Summary
Date of Stay: September 2006
Member since: June 04, 2006
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Reviews of Sonoran Sea Resort

( 10-14 of 26 )
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Sonoran Sea Resort Address

Sandy Beach | Rocky Point, Puerto Penasco, Mexico