cecelia

Enjoyed the cliff divers two shows last Friday night February 3. Supposedly, they have more frequent shows (every 30 minutes) on the weekend nights and it wasn't at all crowded.

Don't go to the lowest level as you have a much better view by staying higher up. A perfect spot was near the top, right in front of the shower room for the divers, as the view to the diving spot was wide open. Watch for the 12 year old girl who's training as a diver. We didn't get to see her. The Mirador Hotel beautiful but I hadn't read anything good about the food. The Zocalo (historic town center) is near the cliff divers and down hill. Lots of restaurants and entertainment there, especially weekends.

On the return flight we spoke with a couple who had a day trip mini bus tour to Pie de la Cuesta. It included a visit to a simple farm and the lagoon cruise with pick up at their hotel. I regret not doing that as the farm sounded very interesting but I wanted to alert others who might also enjoy it.

We stayed near the cliff divers, by Los Flamingos Hotel, and loved the location. We are not disco/beach people. We walked all around the area and took the collectivos (pick up trucks with awnings) up the hills when we tired out. Sometimes we took the VW cabs and learned that locally the cost about $2.50 almost anywhere in the historic area. When you want to go to a specific restaurant, make sure the driver knows it. That caused us a headache when we wanted to go to a special pozole place on Thursday. We enjoyed taking the buses, air condition ~.50 American.

We took a cruise and chose the sunset Bonanza boat cruise over the Aca Rey. It was fun and nice--like a tour of the palaces of the rich and famous and cost 220.00 (~$22/person American) pesos including free drinks, lots of music and humorous narration. Bring binoculars! It's enjoyable to see Acapulco from a different perspective. We met some thrifty American retirees who got free tickets from listening to a timeshare presentation for the Mayan Palace. Not worth it to me but maybe to you.

Something else I regret not seeing was the bullfights. My husband had been a few times already so I felt maybe I didn't need it. Now I wish we'd attended because I heard later about the beautiful music, pagentry, color and culture. They are held Sunday nights (?7:30) near Caleta Beach at the arena del Toro and you don't need reservations. Buy the cheapest ticket for ~$16 and you will be able to get good seats. Learn from my mistakes.

On the Costera, we enjoyed Papagayo Park with the monkey's swinging in the trees overhead and a nice silver jewelry market. They offer free drinks and nice restrooms and don't pressure you to buy. You can watch jewelry being made and see a replica of the Taxco silver mine.

Also for anyone interested, the best coffee we made in our rooms. We bought it at Gigante on the Costera and it was in a green package. There's a cash machine in Gigante too, in the front far corner, by the cash registers. The packages read that the coffee was from Veracruz and much better than any we had in restaurants. Very smooth and full body. I wish I'd bought more of that and I think it cost ~400 pesos.

The historic Spanish fort near the Zocalo is wonderful. Signage in English and air conditioned so a nice break. Spectacular views of the bay.

BigBopper

I just got back from my weekend trip there also. Great way to unwind after being on the road for all be 2 nights since the first of the year.

My wife and I stayed at Las Brisas resort and barely left our casita. Exceptional service, relaxing, private accomidations....even a private pool. Couldn't be better. The restaurant served one of the best desserts I've ever had (being the big fat guy you all complain about sitting next to on the plane I can vouch for desserts ) To top it off, my wife is in the middle of a plat challenge and got some valuable Q points.

As far as AA losing out of this fare, to get "free" tickets, I bought lga-atl ft for 2 and upgraded my wife on 6 of 6 legs. AA won, I won...everyone wins.

vickh

about the El Mirador Acapulco. I have a expedia.com coupon that would knock the price down to $47 a night. ($60 w/o coupon)

They claim:

This hotel is a 10-minute walk to the beach is it?

Complimentary airport transportation is offered, along with two fresh-water pools, a special sea water pool, and a swim-up bar. how much would that save me?



either that or stay at the Calinda Beach Acapulco
(Rates from $74.00)

This beachfront hotel is on Acapulco Bay in the city’s Golden Zone, 2 blocks from the convention center.

Guestrooms with balconies offer views of the jungle-covered mountains, the golf course, or the ocean.

The hotel offers two restaurants, two outdoor pools overlooking the bay, a fitness center, and tennis courts.

anyone stay there?

jbn8

Check out tripadvisor.com regarding places to stay. They have comprehensive user reviews (and their Acapulco forum is very helpful too). I too was looking at El Mirador, but after reading the reviews, I will not be staying there. I am leaning toward the Fiesta Inn.

GregL

I stayed at the Calinda Beach when I was there 1/20-22. The hotel is basic but good. The floors are tiled rather than carpeted, the rooms a little bit worn but adequate. The staff helped me out quite a bit when my reservation through price-travel.com got messed up (they never received the payment from the website). The crowd seems mostly Mexican.

If you're looking for something 4*, this isn't it. But it you want a basic, affordable 2-3* hotel, this isn't a bad place.

Greg

vickh

thanks for the replies!

shiner

A few people have mentioned taking the shuttle from the airport to the hotels. Does anyone know how you actually go about doing this? Do you need to make reservations? Where at ACA do you catch the shuttle?

robbob90210

Howdy
Just got back from our ACA weekend trip. (2 nights)
Special thanks to all who have posted there tips about the place, they came in very handy....

Flight Down ATL-DFW-ACA - Normal pain in the a_s AA flight connecting at DFW. I must say with every trip through DFW, I wonder more and more why I fly AA. (Except $0 fare, of course)

Dont get me started on that SkyTrain.!!! Geez, how does it take 20 min to get from one terminal to another (C to D) is amazing...

AC in Terminal D - Only 3 minutes to use the bathroom and grab a bottle of water. Bar women was an absolute bi_ch, and was worth a complaint on exit to the front door attendants...(Wont go into it)

Arriving in ACA - Oh, how it is to a movie star, at least for 2 minutes. Everybody loves you and wants to talk. Come see this, come see that, Taxi to ACA $40, blah, blah, blah.... After 5 minutes of saying , No, No, No. I want to pay $15 , No , No, No. We ended up with a $20 ride. Which I was happy with..

Fiesta Inn - Again thanks to others who stayed and posted, I asked to see the room before check in. Room was nice, on floor 7, but wanted a room on the corner, on the beach.. After a couple minutes of careful negotiation, we ended up on the 15th floor , on the corner...
I have never stayed in ACA or even been to MX before, so I had nothing to compare it to but, we had a fantastic time there. Everything was perfect. The staff were great, security was there but not intrusive. There wasn't one thing that was disappointing about it.
Food, was good when we ate in the hotel. Breakfast was yummy but a bit expensive at US$15 each, but well worth it.

Every staff member was helpful and patient, even know there was a language barrier, most could speak a bit of English..

Taxi back to ACA, - $20 which again I was happy with. Others say you can get it for $15, but hey, who wants to argue after such a nice time.

Airport - Turn right up the escalators for a quick trip through security...

Flight from ACA-DFW-ATL - ACA-DFW flight was actually good.
DFW Airport - For a non-citizen, this was the first time it was quicker to get through customs. Nice surprise.
Then were faced with a massive security line as Intl passengers have to go through security again... Why, Oh Why. Anyway......

DFW-ATL - Crappy flight. Flight 100% full, no policing of carry on's. Everything was full, Ended up putting our bags under the seat, so others could have there jackets/coats and handbags in the overhead...
Seated next to a guy who I think had turrets. 5 times for the first 15 minutes, he blurted out "Bulls__t" then went silent.... Hmmmmm.

Anyway, all in all, we had an fantasic time. Loved the place, loved the people and loved the hotel.
Starting to hate the airline....
Anyway...

jbn8

I am looking at staying at the Fiesta Inn too. Did you have a reservation? How difficult was it to negotiate for your corner room and was it much better than the regular room?

jerry crump

I hope I learned from my bull fight mistakes. The last one I went to in Costa Rica in 91 started with a fireworks display every night. The night before our show a dozen spectators in the audiance were severly burned by the fireworks landing in the bleachers. The newspaper reported some were reportedly children not expected to live. Our show was the same, all of the fireworks ended up exploding in the crowd, just don't don't know what the injuries were if any that night.

Then after the the pros fought the bull they invited the men in the croud to come into the ring and give it a try. Needless to say a lot of drunk macho latino guys (and one american I resemble) ended up in the ring with some huge bulls. If anyone tried to jump out the crowd would throw them back in and most of us had enough drinks in us we couldn't put up much of a fight. I remember one guy being stomped by both the bulls front legs (entire weight of the bull) 3-4 times. When they drug his lifeless body out of the ring I remember the announcer immediately saying the paramedics say he is OK.

I'm not saying this is what the ACA bull fight is, but with 3rd world adventures it is good to check things out before going.

robbob90210

Hi
The corner rooms a little bigger, but were finished the same as the regular. Only difference was the view from inside the room. Looking at the rates, they only seem to be $15 more expensive. I would have paid this but the room wasnt available on Expedia when I booked.

Not difficult to negotiate, but I was very flexible, and very polite. The receptionist said it was going to be 2 hours for that room to be available. I said, no problem, and thanked her for her help, checked in and asked for a map of so we could go for a walk. 2 minutes later, it was ready.

Be careful with 'El Presidente" air conditioners next door being very noisy, and can be heard from inside the room (TripAdviser Reports), but on the other side, the only thing I could hear was the ocean.....

Rob

heathriel

Just got back at 1:30AM last night - switched my return DFW-ATL leg for DFW-BOS so I could get home faster (and with less hassle).

Stayed at the Qualton Club Parador del Sol and loved it. Very, very serene. Rooms smell moldy but are clean, but the place is RIGHT on the Pie de la Cuesta beach, in the middle of absolutely nowhere. Walk out onto the beach and look in either direction and you'll see nothing for miles. The only peddlar you'll find is a man who stands with his horse on the beach, patiently waiting for someone to pay him $50 for an hour and a half ride.

The staff at that hotel are the friendliest group I've ever met, anywhere. It says it is a 4 star, and maybe it was, once, or is for the area, but I'd give it a 3. The staff, however, learned everyone's names and gave us personal attention. We asked if they had any Coco Loco's available (it was an all-inclusive resort) and the activity director said that they didn't carry that drink, but if we gave him a few hours he'd have someone get a coconut for us, then apologized for it having to be an extra charge. We said that was fine, as we wanted to try one. When we got it, it was this huge, freshly picked coconut, and he shamefacely asked for - wait for it - 10 pesos.

We went to see the cliff divers on our second evening and ate at La Perla because I didn't feel like standing. Food wasn't great but not terrible, service was exceptionally slow, but we got to see the show twice. Man, those guys can dive.

My father is a member of Club Regina, so we went over to the Villa Vera to scout it out. He'd made a reservation there for us for Sunday evening and we reluctantly left our original hotel. The VV put us in room 601, which is in the Casa Lisa - absolutely gorgeous. The only problems: no door on the bathroom. Like, really no separation for the bathroom at all. Also, no windows, just screens and wood slats, so since it is in the middle of the city we kept hearing all the dogs barking and cars driving by all night. The room was to die for though, and having a pool all to ourselves (the villa has a pool just for the 6 rooms in it) was nice.

People were nice at that hotel too, but not nearly as much as at the PdS.

Downtown was busy, busy, busy. Monday morning we were looking for breakfast and I found a place on the beach that seemed to be called "Free Beer Tomorrow." We walked in and were ushered to a table, then served fresh fruit without asking and given menus. I ordered eggs and my husband enchiladas, and they were served with the most wonderful potatoes I've ever had. I think they were boiled, then fried in vanilla.

Anyway, we had a great trip. Rented a car from Alamo and had no trouble except for the fact that the streets all have no name and the drivers all are idiots.

bspencerco

I just got back this week.... ACA was a blast. My first time to Mexico, and I will be back for sure.

On the way back in DFW, I heard my favorite airline announcement... " the flight is oversold and overweight, we need volunteers...."

My friend and I both got bumped, $250 each for our next AA fare error!

vickh

any good recommendations for
*inexpensive ground transportation and relaxing things to do in Acapulco
*peso conversion in Phoenix or use dollars,

bspencerco

You can use dollars ANYWHERE I found.... taxis are extremely cheap... 5 bucks or less inside the ciy gets you almost anywhere. Beware the cabs at the airport.. as well as the guys eager to let you use their phone cards.... they will try to tell you the phone charges are in US dollars, not peso's...Try to have your transportaion from the airport worked out in advance... either way, don't pay over 15-20 bucks for a trip from the airport. Make sure the fee is agreed to in advance.