Trip report Club Intrawest Zihuateanejo
Aug 7th, 2007, 01:42 PM
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Trip report Club Intrawest Zihuateanejo
I will keep this brief but I did want to report back that I just returned last night from a 4 night stay at Club Intrawest in Zihuatenejo.
First of all, I thought the room was beautiful, we had a one bedroom suite with a king bed and one sofa bed for our 2 kids that converted into a KING bed. It was the first time my kids shared a sofa bed that they didn't complain. Maybe the only drawback was that the A/C didn't work unless all the doors were closed and since the door to the terrace was wood when the A/C was on you couldn't enjoy the view.
We enjoyed La Playa beach very much...everyone in Zihua told us it was the nicest. It was a nice mix of locals and tourists. Maybe Sunday was a little too crowded for my taste as all the locals come to enjoy the beach and sit out in front of the hotel.
We only had two problems which I will warn you about.
The first was that against my better judgement my husband booked a small boat tour for Sunday with a guy soliciting on the beach. He was an older gentleman who led us to believe that he would accompany us on the boat and that the boat would be at our disposal until 4pm and we could go anywhere we wanted. Well, when we arrived at 10:30 to meet the boat there were 2 kids driving the boat who couldn't have been older than 12 and 16. They took us to Isla de Ixtapa which was very far away on the open sea. We were supposed to fish our lunch but learned that they only had a couple of rods they let off the boat as it moves and we didn't catch anything. Isla de ixtapa was a huge disappointment, very crowded and not a pretty beach. We then realized that they brought us to eat there because they get a comission from the restaurant. Anyway, to make a long story short, the problems began when we didn't want to stay on that beach and we asked them to take us to Manzanillo or las gatas beach. We also then realized they were just a taxi service which planned only to leave us for the day at the Isla Ixtapa and then pick us up at 4pm to bring us home. We were then told that our trip only involved going to one location. Anyway, it was a learning experience, especially for my husband.
The other problem we had was with the hotel. From the time we booked the reservation and every day during our stay I asked about getting a late checkout beacause we had an evening flight in and out of Zihuatanejo. I was always told that we have to ask the day of checkout. Even the night before checkout I inquired again and was told that no one was supposed to be checking into our room so she didn't see any problem but still to confirm in the morning. When I called in the morning, I was told that they could only extend the checkout by one hour until 2 pm and that their policy is to charge $1000 pesos plus 22% tax for checkout at 4pm and a full night for checkout after 4pm. I was very angry that in all those times that I called they had never stated their policy. I had even spoken to the manager at one point who never mentionned any charges for late checkout. I paid the $1000 pesos plus tax because i didn't want to ruin our last day there. I still wonder why they never bothered to state their policy from the beginning.
Other than that there were many highlights. The weather was much better than I expected and we loved the singer who plays on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights at Zihua Blue.
I guess I didn't manage to be so brief.......If you have any questions let me know.....
First of all, I thought the room was beautiful, we had a one bedroom suite with a king bed and one sofa bed for our 2 kids that converted into a KING bed. It was the first time my kids shared a sofa bed that they didn't complain. Maybe the only drawback was that the A/C didn't work unless all the doors were closed and since the door to the terrace was wood when the A/C was on you couldn't enjoy the view.
We enjoyed La Playa beach very much...everyone in Zihua told us it was the nicest. It was a nice mix of locals and tourists. Maybe Sunday was a little too crowded for my taste as all the locals come to enjoy the beach and sit out in front of the hotel.
We only had two problems which I will warn you about.
The first was that against my better judgement my husband booked a small boat tour for Sunday with a guy soliciting on the beach. He was an older gentleman who led us to believe that he would accompany us on the boat and that the boat would be at our disposal until 4pm and we could go anywhere we wanted. Well, when we arrived at 10:30 to meet the boat there were 2 kids driving the boat who couldn't have been older than 12 and 16. They took us to Isla de Ixtapa which was very far away on the open sea. We were supposed to fish our lunch but learned that they only had a couple of rods they let off the boat as it moves and we didn't catch anything. Isla de ixtapa was a huge disappointment, very crowded and not a pretty beach. We then realized that they brought us to eat there because they get a comission from the restaurant. Anyway, to make a long story short, the problems began when we didn't want to stay on that beach and we asked them to take us to Manzanillo or las gatas beach. We also then realized they were just a taxi service which planned only to leave us for the day at the Isla Ixtapa and then pick us up at 4pm to bring us home. We were then told that our trip only involved going to one location. Anyway, it was a learning experience, especially for my husband.
The other problem we had was with the hotel. From the time we booked the reservation and every day during our stay I asked about getting a late checkout beacause we had an evening flight in and out of Zihuatanejo. I was always told that we have to ask the day of checkout. Even the night before checkout I inquired again and was told that no one was supposed to be checking into our room so she didn't see any problem but still to confirm in the morning. When I called in the morning, I was told that they could only extend the checkout by one hour until 2 pm and that their policy is to charge $1000 pesos plus 22% tax for checkout at 4pm and a full night for checkout after 4pm. I was very angry that in all those times that I called they had never stated their policy. I had even spoken to the manager at one point who never mentionned any charges for late checkout. I paid the $1000 pesos plus tax because i didn't want to ruin our last day there. I still wonder why they never bothered to state their policy from the beginning.
Other than that there were many highlights. The weather was much better than I expected and we loved the singer who plays on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights at Zihua Blue.
I guess I didn't manage to be so brief.......If you have any questions let me know.....
Aug 7th, 2007, 02:46 PM
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Thanks for your trip report, nancyjacky. I plan on being there this weekend, so your report was really timely for me. Especially appreciate the warning about the fisherman. I'll tell my husband!
I've wondered about the A/C at the Intrawest, too. Seems a shame to have to close out the view to have a/c on. Oh well. Would you return to the Intrwest, or did their service leave a bad taste? Thanks, any other advice is much appreciated.
I've wondered about the A/C at the Intrawest, too. Seems a shame to have to close out the view to have a/c on. Oh well. Would you return to the Intrwest, or did their service leave a bad taste? Thanks, any other advice is much appreciated.
Aug 10th, 2007, 05:45 PM
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Hi frankie,
You must already be at Intrawest since you were going this weekend. But anyway, to answer your question, I would stay there again. The problem we had with checkout really left me with a bad feeling, but the room and the view and the beach can't be beat.
Hope you enjoy as much as we did!!!
You must already be at Intrawest since you were going this weekend. But anyway, to answer your question, I would stay there again. The problem we had with checkout really left me with a bad feeling, but the room and the view and the beach can't be beat.
Hope you enjoy as much as we did!!!
Aug 17th, 2007, 07:24 AM
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hi there, nancyjacky,
well we're back, and the Intrawest really is a very beautiful hotel. Just stunning upon arrival...we had a 3 bedroom unit with a great view and plenty of space. My only complaint was that it was so high up on the property that by the end of our stay, we were exhausted by the stairs and all the climbing! Next time, I think I'd forego the amazing view and stay in the lower half of the property! (Also, the 3rd bedroom was a little cave-like, small, and damp smelling.)
My daughter's friend had a minor injury while there, and the manager of the hotel was very helpful in the situation, we were very impressed.
La Ropa was gorgeous, and Zihua was a friendly place with great food! Not sure if it's a town I want to return to, but glad I went.
well we're back, and the Intrawest really is a very beautiful hotel. Just stunning upon arrival...we had a 3 bedroom unit with a great view and plenty of space. My only complaint was that it was so high up on the property that by the end of our stay, we were exhausted by the stairs and all the climbing! Next time, I think I'd forego the amazing view and stay in the lower half of the property! (Also, the 3rd bedroom was a little cave-like, small, and damp smelling.)
My daughter's friend had a minor injury while there, and the manager of the hotel was very helpful in the situation, we were very impressed.
La Ropa was gorgeous, and Zihua was a friendly place with great food! Not sure if it's a town I want to return to, but glad I went.
