We selected this hotel based on the Travelocity reviews, in which one reviewer said that this was a hotel that people return to time and time again. That, plus its location on the hotel strip, directly on the beach, decided us. We were a family group of 2 grandparents, our daughter and 2 children under two. We requested two quiet ocean view rooms, as we knew we'd be early to bed - and up in the mornings.
The rooms were spacious and comfortable, though the mattresses were covered in some plastic-y material that rustled. It took some persistance on our parts, but we managed to get two cribs, with cute pillows and bedding. However, our rooms were far from quiet ! We faced the Oyster Bar/disco next door that blasted music for 12 hours, from about 5 pm to 5 am.
The hotel was definitely full, as it was Carnaval time, but after about 5 visits to the desk (the staff speak great English), making sure that we were on the "list" for room changes, we did get two nice rooms over the restaurant, with great view of the beach. It turned out that there is live music every night in the restaurant! so the new rooms were noisy, too, but at least the music stopped fairly early. But Mexico is a noisy country (take earplugs).
To summarize: great staff (kudos to Nelson at reception for his patience with us), free coffee for early morning risers (and milk for baby's bottle), lovely hotel, enjoyed the restaurants and pool cafe (the beautiful servers in ponchos were very kind to the kids), heated kiddie pools, lovely grounds, lots to do (aqua aerobics, pottery painting, bridge, dancing, etc), efficient beach towel exchange, great location (try Pancho's Restaurant down the beach, and the Panama cafe a few blocks away), and a very pleasant atmosphere.
The majority of the clientele were definitely older - some people had been coming to the hotel for 40 years!
Sadly, the hotel does tolerate that nasty habit where people "reserve" the best palapas by leaving towels on the chairs - even overnight! Some people "saved" their spots for the whole week. I think the hotel should remove those towels at night, to give everyone a chance at getting a good spot.
But we were very happy with our choice (we could see dolphins out in the bay at dawn!) We talked to "old hands" who had been coming for years, and they definitely suggested requesting quiet ground floor garden view rooms - you don't always get them apparently, but if the request is in the original registration, then the hotel will try to honor it.
Thanks, Playa Mazatlan! It was great.

Our large group of 17 stayed at the Playa Feb. 24 for seven nights. This is only my opinion and may not be the opinion of all of the group members. We arrived at the hotel at 11:15 a.m. and were able to check into our rooms immediately, which was a huge plus and very much appreciated. The front desk staff will answer all of your questions and will help you out as much as they are able, but....they are not at all friendly or make you feel welcome. This was how I felt of all the hotel staff. No one made you feel welcome. It was more like they were doing you a favor by being there. The Playa itself was all or more than I expected. It was beautiful, older, clean. Other than the staff being indifferent, the only complaint I had was there was no where other than the floor of the shower to put your shampoos, razor and other shower "stuff." This was ok for me but I wondered about the older people who visit the hotel. It is a lot of bending over to get shampoo, rinse, etc. It wouldn't cost much to put a hook over the faucet with a holder for shower stuff. The pools, hot tub, grounds, etc. were great. It was easy to find your way around after you got familiar with the property. The food at the Playa restaurant was good. The evening salad bar our first night was wonderful along with their entrees. The breakfast buffet for $10 was great, although I would have tired of it after a few days. We did not eat on site very often. The pool bar had a fruit plate that came with yogurt and that was great. The hotel is noisy as there is music in the bars and restaurants that surround the hotel. But it was easy for us to put up with the noise as the benefit of having those other bars and restaurants right down the street or across the street was awesome. If you are a light sleeper - take earplugs. Otherwise if you shut the bathroom window and the patio door, you should be able to manage. Another inconvenience was having to go to the window to order and pay for a drink and then going to another window to wait for the drink to be made (behind a door.) Hmmm. The majority of our group or those staying at the hotel for the day camped out on the south side of the hotel. Alfredo was our beach watier and he was always there. Seldom did we wait for a drink or for a chance to order food from him. You could then sign the ticket to charge to your room or pay cash. This part was nice and he was always there without ever a long wait. We did cheat a little and bring beer from the store across the street over a few days in an insulated bag. But we definately spent lots of money at the Playa bar too. We probably would return if the price was right. This was one of the nicest (cleanest, upkept) older resorts we have stayed at and we have been to Cabo, Negril, Cancun, St. Maarten and the Riveria Maya. Yes, the beds are hard, but all beds in Mexico are hard! Perhaps the staff was just tired from Carnival week - but they sure didn't go out of their way to make you feel "welcome."
Lemmon, SD

We stayed at the Playa last week. This was our third trip to Mazatlan and we were not too impressed with the Playa. No service when sitting by the pool. We had a beverage credit but had a tough time getting a waiter to bring us anything. You had to go to a window and get a ticket and then to the bar and wait for the drink. The bar was quite a way from the chairs. Talked to several people who were all inclusive and they were livid. The food in the restaurant was espensive and not very good. The hotel was clean and nice though. The maid kept our room spotless. Next time we go we will stay further to the north. That end seemed cleaner. Also, there were not enough chairs to sit by the pool and the ones in the sandbox were alway "saved". We usually stay at the Costa de Oro. We walked there for several afternoons and sat by their pool. The service was awesome and everyone was having a great time.

My wife and I took a long weekend to go to Mazatlan to escape winter in the Rocky Mountains. After doing a fair amount of research, we decided on the hotel La Playa Mazatlan, in Mazatlan's 'Golden Zone'. The good things: The hotel is pretty well cared for, maintained well, has nice grounds, and is very clean. The pool area is a real plus, the beach area good but not overly spectacular. Our room was spacious, clean, and everything worked (shower, A/C, televison, coffee maker, doors, windows, etc.). The view from our ocean view room was fantastic, just as represented.
The aspects of the hotel that need a little work: The restaurant and bar staff are somewhat less than enthusiastic about serving people. They seem tired of dealing with the same requests all the time. Having said that, there was the odd server that was just stellar and put the others to shame. Too bad that all of them couldn't be like the few who outdid the rest. Our room was right over the Terazza Restaurant, which had entertainment until midnight all of the nights that we were there. It was tough to get to sleep with the loud music and crowd noise. The garden view rooms didn't seem to have this problem, but of course the view was nothing special. Classic tradeoff, view for noise, noise for view.
Overall, though, it was a very good hotel made especially good by the excellent deal we got online. Although not perfect or of the highest caliber, this hotel served our purposes pretty well. We wouldn't absolutely refuse to stay there, but if we went to Mazatlan again we might try another of the highly-rated hotels.