Pueblo Bonito Mazatlan

We have been going to Mazatlan for 16 years and stayed at a number of resorts. This was our first experience at Pueblo Bonito. Overall, it is a superior hotel for the area and charges on the high end. At check in, the first question was "Do you want an ocean view or pool view?" That's a pretty good start. Then they told us to go see a seniorita in the corner at a desk for our room key. That was not good. She was their time share rep and we got high pressured to go to their resort at Emerald Bay (for $200 food credit). We had already seen EB, but got tired of arguing and wanted to get to our room so took the deal. It's an older hotel that is a colonial style, which we like, but the chipped tiles are showing their age. Everything does work very well - lots of hot water at high pressure, toilet that flushes better than ours at home, and a very functional kitchenette. This is a plus since food and drink prices are relatively high at the resort itself. The beds are extremely comfortable, and the powerful AC drowns out any noise that might make it through very thick walls. The location is at the far north end of the Golden Zone. This is a plus for the beach since it makes it very private, and it's a nice, flat walking beach. However, it is further away from many of our favorite restaurants than we are used to. The bus does stop right in front, which is cheap and a big benefit. The staff was inconsistent. The room was not always done perfectly despite regular tips (maybe they weren't considered big enough). We don't leave a messy room by any means, and finally just started having the room done every other day. The pool waiters seemed a bit unmotivated in many cases. The drinks are $8 plus tip for a plastic cup national drink, so most people seem to wait for the single happy hour at 4 PM and get two-for-one, which is a fairer price. They add on a "donation charge" for each day you stay there, and it appears on your final bill, although they don't point it out to you. It is small and supposedly for charity. The cashier said they take it off if requested (we left it on). It was just a minor irritant that they seem to try to slip an unannounced charge past you - petty for a first class hotel I think. Not a bad two weeks by any means, but we will stay at another resort next time.