Please help. We have been looking at this for so long and can not come up with an answer. Family will be traveling to Houston for a few days to visit friends and would like to go on to Mexico for 4 days. Have basically looked at everything I think. The two that sticks out the most for me is the Capella in Ixtapa and the Omni in Cancun, mainly because they have a 3 bedroom villa and we stay at a lot of Omni's, will be traveling with our two kids, ages 19 and 21. The main con on the Ixtapa is the beach area I feel. Can anyone who has been to either or both of these help any? We are mainly looking for sunny, warm weather and relaxation in a nice setting. Thanks.

Ixtapa is a much slower pace. It has an excellent beach but not the pure white powder of the Caribbean. Much smaller with only about 12 beach front hotels. The real plus it is but about 4 miles from Zihuatanejo a real Mexican fishing village with a ton of great inexpensive restaurants. No college crowd so your kids may like Cancun better if they wish to party.

thanks for the reply, can you recommend a resort/hotel in ixtapa?

Cancun wouldn't be my first choice on the Mexican Caribbean. Playa del Carmen, Akumal and Tulum are great desinations. Have you checked out locogringo.com?

Your choice is high end. Another is Las Brisas. The Dorado is very popular & one of the few that is NOT AI allowing you to enjoy all the great local restaurants in Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo.
If you want to consider Zihua I highly recommend Brisas del Mar (no connection to Brisas in Ixtapa) with huge patios offering a incredible view, large suites on zihua's most Mexican beach. In the heart of Zihua's
Gourmet Ghetto & a short stroll along a bay side lighted walkway to El Centro with shopping plus many fine eateries.

Just be aware, the beaches in the main part of Ixtapa are very poor for swimming. The currents can be very challenging and red "no swimming" flags are not uncommon. That is particularly true at Las Brisas.