Stayed at the Balboa Towers from Jan. 22 to Feb. 5 , one week each in units 401 and 1401. These are huge one bedroom units. The two bedroom are even better. This is not a resort as some people may expect. there are only 52 units in this building with 4th floor and up with only 2 per floor. The pool area is nice and quite. The one restaurant is good but does close at 9. There are plenty of others around. The balconies are the full length of the unit, and they have ocean view with the spectacular sunsets.

The higher you go, the noisier they are from street noise. The building is on the main road. The units vary with which ones are renovated and redecorated. The staff was very prompt, though many did not speak any English. The location is great. Busses and taxis right there. All services near by. Laundry across the street, conveniance stores, internet, coffee shops etc.

Cleaning staff is not as great as in some places, even when you tip well.
Not a 5 star, but could be a 3 in some suites. Bathrooms needed work.

There is no "entertainment group" here but people know each other from year to year, and it is small enough and friendly.

Would definatly stay here again.

We stayed in the 'new' room at the Club, right on the water w/ the jacuzzi on the deck. Wonderfully remodeled room, etc. wish the TVs received more than the 3.25 channels...LOL. We love the 'old mexico' charm of the Club-- cozy up in a chair in front of the fireplace. No sacreaming kids on spring break. Very quiet. We didn't want the glitzy american version of a hotel-- we fell in love with that old world charm. We had a flood-- when we filled the jacuzzi it backed up sewage into the master bathroom and that was a mess, but they powers that be fixed it in no time and made us very happy with meal credits and a bonus week for our troubles. This time we're staying in the Towers in a 2br master suite, feb 4-18, '05 so we'll post a report upon return.

mb

We were also coersed into attending a presentation by these people - part of the hotel we were staying at. We also stayed way longer than the 90 minutes.
BUT BEWARE! We were also given the "boat tour" - however when we arrived by THEIR taxi to the marina- several miles from the hotel. We were told the tour had not been paid for and we could pay for it ourselves or not go. To return to the hotel they would charge us taxi fare!!! What a rip! We did NOT go and we started the long walk back!
Yes, I paid for a taxi back - but I wasn't going to give THEM my money.
After return to the hotel there was NO ONE to talk to - no one in sales, no one at our hotel (remember it was part of the Balboa Club) no manager. For 2 days there was no one around! Sound unbelievable? I would think so too, but I swear I tried at all different hours, unanounced, whatever- and NO ONE! They know the scam.
I will NEVER go to that hotel again, but I did love Mazatlan!
Great night life, beautiful beaches and most of the people were great. We didn't have time for much TV or being bored. We went to old Mazalan, and the cathedral and shopping. Loved it all expect this scam!
Just be careful!

Balboa Club is far from being a 5 star hotel. The few ads that I read online about the hotel gave me little information to go by so we just had to make our own impression of the hotel when we arrived. Not even 5 minutes after we arrived into the airport, not knowing of timeshare presentations, we were approached by a man who offered us a free taxi ride to our hotel and breakfast the next morning in which we had to reserve our seats by giving a deposit of $20.00. Not only did we think we were going to meet with him the next morning for a time share presentation, the people from our own hotel would not let us leave and trapped us into staying there to see "their" own presentation after telling us that, that is what we signed up for was to see a presentation at our "own" hotel, which proved to us what kind of people they were to lie straight to our face. We looked at what the hotel had to offer to people who bought timeshares with Balboa Club and I just felt ripped off. The rooms they showed us (unfinished) were much nicer than the one they put us in. Note, when you go to look at pictures of the hotel online before vacationing there, they only show you the newly remodeled rooms, not the old ancient rooms that you will actually stay in. They did give us a couple free coupons to go on a few tours which were worth it but let me tell you, the 90 minute presentation is not 90 minutes...2 hours later when you are frustrated and feel like you are ruining your vacation time just repeating the word No, Thank You, it gets very old especially when you tell them you already have one and cannot afford another one at this time. We definitely felt very pressured by the manager there. And just so you know, once you have told them no, their attitude towards you changes throughout the rest of your stay there. I must admit though, the waiters there are very nice and very helpful. The food was not the greatest but with nice people catering to you sure makes a big difference At night, not only does everyone on the beach leave fairly early, there is absolutely nothing to do in your hotel room. There are only a few t.v. channels available and only to those who can speak spanish which is very frustrating. You can not call out using their phones either. You must go downstaris and have them dial for you. They are not helpful in mailing post cards either. They did not sale stamps or did not mail out for you. Basically, I was on a very secluded vacation where I could not speak to the outside world which made my family worry about us. Overall Mazatlan was a very different experience for us. It was fun and exciting certain days, that was when you were not being harassed to purchase things on the beach and get called Cheapskates when you didn't want what they had to offer you! We did get a chance to go parasailing..which we had never done before. If you ever want to do so, definitely do it there. The prices are much cheaper than I have seen elsewhere. The City Tour and Boat Tour that we took were interesting and worth doing. If we do ever go back to Mazatlan, we will look elsewhere when booking a hotel room for sure!