Superb Accomodations in the Best Location in Zihua

Stayed at Brisas del Mar Dec. 16-26, 2004. Playa La Madera is a fantastic location from which to go anywhere is Zihuatanejo, and the Brisas del Mar is undoubtedly the best place to stay. First the hotel: we had a junior suite (no kitchen, just coffee maker and fridge; bathtub/shower; 2 double beds) which looked out over the whole bay, including Zihua city. The a/c was helpful but not necessary, and the room had plenty of closet space for the 3 of us. The service was friendly and customer-oriented; for example, we couldn't decide whether to attend the Christmas eve dinner at the hotel's wonderful restaurant - not because of the food or price, but because the seating was at 8:30 p.m., too late for our 6-year old. Although we had made a reservation, the staff agreed to let us cancel, with no penalty, on the afternoon of the 24th!! Now, we later reversed our decision, and the dinner was just fantastic (turkey, vegetables and a marvelous dessert: mango tacos!). The pool is gorgeous, sufficiently big to get some exercise in, and has a long water slide built into the slope of the hill. Plus, even though we were there in a peak week, rarely more than 2-3 other guests were at the pool.

Regarding the location, the biggest advantage is you can easily, in 5-10 minutes, walk to the downtown, to go to a restaurant, to the pier to catch a boat to Las Gatas, or to browse for food, clothing or toys at the local Mercado. We had stayed at the Catalina on Playa La Ropa 3 years ago, and we absolutely had to take a taxi every time we went out. Not at all true for Playa La Madera. Also, directly across the small street from the Hotel is the Bad Bird Cafe, owned by an American woman who is active in the community, and run by a lovely Mexican family - they offer a simple breakfast, Starbucks coffee, and very inexpensive access to the Internet (I had my own laptop, and they gave me unlimited access for free if I had breakfast there!!).

Some other restaurant recommendations: La Casa Cafe, owned and run by another outstanding, on-site family, which serves a full range of breakfasts. The Hispanic American husband and American wife have lived in Zihua for 7 years, and know an awful lot - just inquire and they will guide you. Also, La Gula ("the glutton") restaurant, open for dinner only, is right across the street from La Casa Cafe. Absolutely best of the 10 or so restaurants we ate at (including the overpriced Coconuts) - get there before they receive the accolades they richly deserve, and raise their prices accordingly. Rooftop dining, food preparation can be observed through the glass windows, service simply delightful (carnations to the ladies upon departure), and the food very elegantly presented.

This hotel is a fabulous find!

All rooms face the ocean and have large balconies with lounge chairs. You can watch the sunset from your balcony and hear the ocean's surf all night long! The air-conditioned rooms are clean, spacious and nicely appointed.

As you walk down a flight of stairs from your room to the beach, the grounds are lush and well-maintained. Palapas are waiting in the sand.

The staff is extremely gracious and helpful with recommendations on day trips, shopping and restaurants.

We thoroughly enjoyed our stay!

July 4, 2004 I wanted to move there!

WOW, we were looking for a Mexican flavored vacation??? we found it! We LOVED this place, First of all: There is a top hill bar open in the afternoons (by the terrace at the front desk area) Let me start with the restaurant (Bistro del Mar) the best in the entire town if you compare $$$, freshness & quality. The waiters were extremely friendly and provided great service, we asked for special items for our 3 year old and they pleased us everytime (no extra cost). Overall, very quiet hotel. The beach "although is public" there is hardly anyone there, we felt as we own the place. The pool was 2 out of 3 times we used it no one there (but us)! There was bathrobes, slippers and all toiletries provided, the jaccuzi was nice, the best views from our room. It is good to keep in mind that (for those who have challenges for stairs) this may be hard on you, lots of stairs from the beach/restaurant area to your rooms/lobby.

We spent 4 days in Ixtapa and 4 days in Zihua, Ixtapa is a busy resort like style, open ocean and nightlife available. Zihua was relaxing quiet, and lay back athmosphere. We had a great rate for our Junior suite. I was impressed with their air conditioner it worked "Perfect". We've been in every resort in Mexico: Cancun,Cozumel, Puerto Vallarta, Cabos, Mazatlan etc, sometimes the amenities don't work as well as we are accostumed.

I can not give a fair description of this place you got to see it yourself. Not fancy, not luxurios, very clean and RUSTIC we just Love it and can't wait to go back and do it all over again.

Pure Mexican Charm

May 29, 2004

Hotel Las Brisas del Mar was a delightful retreat--clean, beautiful rooms with stellar views, unprecedented service and fabulous food. The beach had great surf for boogie-boarding and wave jumping. The pool was smallish but private. The gym was acceptable, with a nautilus-type workout machine, a bike and treadmill--just make sure the air conditioning has been turned on before you go. All in all, it was a wonderful experience and I can't wait to return!

Wonderful Hotel

My fourth trip to Zihuatenejo was made all the more enjoyable because of the terrific staff and very pleasant hotel room at hotel Brisas del Mar. The hotels decor and little touches all over the hotel make it a beautiful hotel. In the past I have stayed on Playa La Ropa but will return to Playa Madeira and Hotel Brisas Del Mar. I stayed in a suite which I enjoyed very much. The king size bed, kitchenette, sitting area, jacuzzi and great deck made a most enjoyable trip. Contrary to other reviews, the hotel does have a rooftop bar but it is only open for Sunset. I had such a great time I actually missed my return date and stayed an extra day.

Best vacations ever

I went to Hotel Brisas del Mar last month and spent my best vacations ever. It is a beautiful place, almost a paradise. The rooms are very comfortable, spacious and lovely. I'm very grateful with all the staff over there, because of the wonderful service. The restaurant offers delicious food. You can rest and have a lot of fun in the hotel, which has above all a very beautiful view from all the places.

A Perfect Vacation!!!

Hotel Brisas Del Mar is the perfect vacation spot. It is located between down town Zihuatanejo and the most beautiful beach, La Ropa. You can walk to where ever you'd like to go.

The hotel employees are so friendly. The room that we stayed in was large, clean, and very comfortable. We truly enjoyed our vacation in Zihuatanejo, and we would not hesitate to return to Hotel Brisas Del Mar.

Beautiful Hotel

We stayed at the Brisas del Mar for 5 days. What a beautiful hotel. The rooms were fantastic and each room had a beautiful view of the bay. The pool was lovely and the restaurant on the beach served wonderful food (the staff at the restaurant were extremely friendly and welcoming).

There were many steps to climb from the beach to the lobby, but this was my built in daily workout. We only had reservations for 2 nights, but wanted to stay so much that we extended our stay and had to move to 3 different rooms during the 5 days. One room had no door on the bathroom which was strange. However, each room was more beautiful than the last and we can't wait to return.

Loved Brisas del Mar

We spent the last week of our one month vacation in Hotel Brisas del Mar and it was by far the highlight of the whole tour. People is Zihua and specially in Brisas del Mar coul not have been nicer. If you do not want to spend 400 dlls a night and you want a nice, clean, mexican style hotel with an spectacular view of the Zihua Bay this is the place.

Hotel Brisas del Mar - good mid-range hotel

We just got back from a one week stay at Hotel Brisas del Mar in Zihuatanejo. We loved Zihuatanejo and enjoyed our stay at the Brisas del Mar. Zihuatanejo is a beautiful, bustling little town. The townspeople are so kind and hospitable, and rightly so, you get a real sense of civic pride. It's a terrific place to visit if you want an authentic, Mexican, small town experience.The hotel was nice although we experienced some minor problems in our first couple days. The hotel is pretty and clean, with lots of Mexican accents and potted plants. The views of Zihuatanejo bay are just incredible. Like most of the hotels in the area, the hotel is terraced on a hillside above the beach, with four or five levels of stairs and rooms all the way down to the pool, restaurant, and beach. We initially rented the master suite, which didn't really meet our expectations given the price of the room even at low season rates. The master suite had a huge terrace with an incredible view of the bay a big plus. Another big plus was the Jacuzzi on the terrace. However, the room was long, with no windows except for a floor-to-ceiling slider leading to the terrace, giving it a slight 'cave like' feel. It was a little dark. The bathroom had no door, which was a little weird, although the size and design of the bathroom provided sufficient privacy. The living room area was poorly furnished with a 'couch', very small coffee table and a refrigerator in the corner. The 'couch' consisted of two canvas-covered twin mattresses set on built-in platforms. It could have been more inviting, with pillows or other accents. We were okay but not thrilled with the room until we discovered that the toilet tank didn't fill well, and then the cable on the television went out. To the hotel's credit, they were very responsive to our requests for repairs. When we asked if another room was available, they immediately moved us with no problems. The staff was very attentive and gracious throughout our stay. The suite we moved into was fabulous. It was a beautiful room with an even larger terrace. The suite was smaller than the master suite, but pleasantly decorated with pretty accents, furniture, including a real sofa, and a huge bathroom with a door.A few other comments: The housecleaning staff was wonderful. They left flower petals and towels folded into swans on our bed every day. A nice touch. The beds in both our suites were rock hard. However, we have never found good comfortable beds in Mexico, so this is certainly not unique to the hotel. The pool is nice, but has no restaurant or bar service a huge disadvantage if you envision yourself drinking coco locos poolside. Purified water is available near the reception area, but buy or bring a gallon container if you don't want to cart water up and down the stairs every day.A comment re: Lonely Planet travel guide: Lonely Planet says that Hotel Brisas del Mar has a hilltop bar and that the better rooms have a kitchenette. There is no hilltop bar, just the one at the beach. We thought our room would have a kitchenette, but it did not, just a coffee pot and minibar fridge. There are a few rooms nicer than the suites which we were told have kitchenettes.The location of the hotel is great if you want to be close to downtown. The hotel is on Playa Madera, just five minutes from town. We walked back and forth to our hotel nearly twice a day, which we would not have been able to do if we had stayed on Playa Ropa. We would stay there again, even though the mega-hotels in Ixtapa were advertising less expensive rooms. (Our room was $120 a night for low-season rates, compared to $87 a night advertised at some of the mega-resorts.) It appears that hotels in Zihuatanejo are either mid-range, like the Hotel Brisas del Mar, or very high-end, like Casa Que Canta. Nothing in between that we could see.Final comments re: Zihuatanejo: We ate better in Zihuatanejo than we have anywhere in Mexico. The food was incredible, especially the pozole (traditionally served every Thursday) and the tamales. 'Tamales y Atoles Any', downtown, was so good, we ate there about five times. The manager, Jose, was just terrific incredibly professional and helpful about menu choices and the town in general. Also, a little place on Playa Las Gatas, Brisas del Mar (no relation to the hotel) was just wonderful for beach lounging. The manager there, Mario, was also terrific and kind, and the seafood was great. Just bring Tevas to wear in the water because the beach is a little rocky.