I am sorry ahead of time if this gets a little wordy, but trust me, it’s worth it. Firstly, I am 29 years old, have been to Mexico 7 times before all on the East side (Yucatan State/Cancun/Playa Del Carmen/Etc.) and I have always come back for a reason; beauty, excellence in service, and adventure. I was getting married on my trip this year and I really wanted something special. Knowing this, my fiancé (who has never been out of the country) and I looked the world over to decide on a destination, and eventually landed on Mazatlan Mexico because of review and reports we had digested from probably over 150+ sources. It seemed that Mazatlan was not only safe and welcoming, but also seemed like it would be a fun and beautiful place to go to celebrate such an important event in our lives. After deciding the ultimate location, our hotel was the next choice.
To keep this part of the story short, we went off of reviews from several websites and pictures. We chose Pueblo Bonito Emerald Bay.
We booked our adventure a year out and let me tell you, Mazatlan and Pueblo Bonito Emerald Bay (PBEB) were absolutely a dream in all the sense of the word. Mazatlan/PBEB is not just a place for retirees to lay back and enjoy, nor is it a no-holds-barred spring break nightmare, it’s an incredible mix of both (hard to believe!).
We were immediately greeted by an amazing staff at our hotel who were so welcoming and adaptive that they were able to give us what we needed/wanted non-stop from the moment we arrived until the moment I was writing this review. Having been to many 5 Star resorts in my travels for both work and pleasure, and PBEB is really something special. The things I think are really worth noting are the staff/people, the facilities, the accommodations, the feel/safety of the resort/surroundings, the notable bad, and the overall summary.
The Staff/People: The people in the service industry in Mexico (especially at 5-Star resorts) are very well known for excellent service. However, the people of the general area are not always so pleasant. My adventure to Mazatlan and PBEB was honestly a shock to the senses; for I was greeted by an ENTIRE city of amazingly kind and loving people from start to finish. The staff at the hotel treat you like a rockstar and will accommodate your style with crazy precision no matter how you like to spend your vacation time. The staff pridefully say that “anything is possible” while you stay with them, and boy, is that the truth.
A special shout out is also needed for our bar staff at Kelly’s Bar Jesus, Luis, and Oskar. We also had excellent service from the logistics coordinator Caesar. Ultimately, there are too many people here to thank individually but they are each individually awesome!
The Facilities: If you do any research for the PBEB you will see that it is beautiful, but honestly, it’s super hard to find pictures to give you an exact idea. Do not worry, you will be immersed in a desert paradise that will blow your socks off. Lots of birds, flowers, palms, coconuts, and anything tropical you can imagine in exception to the care that is taken to make sure you aren’t bothered by bugs. The grounds are excellently manicured and you can even break off a piece of aloe here and there should you desire for that tropical tan you are destined to get. Everywhere you look it is picture perfect and when we had our wedding, every shot was world class. (Special thanks to Carlos Sarabia Photography)
The Accommodations: The rooms whether a junior suite, master suite, presidential, or villa are all awesome in their own right. All with spacious hangout areas, beautiful decorations, good cooking space, and comfortable bed rooms, you just cannot be disappointed. There is also 24/7 room service for a small fee that is delivered in a world class manner. Room cleanings, special requests, flowers, crazy personal needs, and even cake delivery can all be had in your personal kingdom! The room offerings basically include safeeverything you could need to live in the room entirely or be a darn good home base.
The Feel/Safety of the Resort/Surroundings: First, the resort is super-duper-don’t-even-ever-worry-about-it safe and secluded, no more needs to be said. Secondly, don’t be afraid of this part of Mexico on the whole; when I got off the plane I literally said to my fiancé, “Never leave my side, just to be safe”, this was totally misplaced fear based on previous trips to Mexico. PBEB and Mazatlan are like the safest places I have ever been to, even more than my home town in the USA. There are actually school children in uniform and babies in strollers at midnight walking on the side of the road. Not only does it feel safe in obvious tourist areas and at the hotel, but we also got dropped off in alleyways and back dirt roads with wild cats, and, to my amazement, were in absolutely no danger! You couldn’t be in danger here unless you really tried, and at times, we were pushing it.
As for the overall feel of PBEB, its paradise, no question. As for its ranking on my personal scale for luxury (which is pretty high honestly) it’s an 11/10. If you want to know if you will be happy here, the answer is more than you would ever think.
The Notable Bad: PBEB has a lot to be amazed about and I feel like I need to say this first and foremost (as stated above), but like any slice of heaven there are one or two things that prevent it from being an absolute complete heaven on earth. The saddest part of being at the PBEB is the overall food quality, the food (especially if you have the all-inclusive plan) is pretty mediocre considering the incredible surroundings and service. The food is, in general, not as good as the amazing food in the town. The only other bad thing about PBEB and Mazatlan has nothing to do with them, it’s the ungrateful & cruel tourists. We have met many mean and frankly unhappy people visiting the town of Mazatlan and the hotel who have no respect for human kind and this is very abrasive. That being said, if you are ready to have a great time, you will find it no question!
The Summary: PBEB and its beautiful city of Mazatlan are incredibly safe, welcoming, full of friendly people, full of good food, and will accommodate any taste. As far as we are concerned PBEB and Mazatlan are most likely two of the greatest places on earth. No matter where you may want to go on vacation this year, or this month, or even if you have been to Mazatlan before, you need to experience this resort. This place is truly special and if you ever live or have a nice visit to our planet, your stay will not be complete without a trip to PBEB in Mazatlan.
