We stayed at Balboa Towers for one week with my daughter and 3-year old grandson. It was so noisy that my daughter had to move the mattress from her room into ours because her bedroom faced the street. That back bedroom gets a tremendous amount of noise! The countertops in the kitchen are terribly stained, the faucets have a build-up of crust around them, the tile in the bathrooms is black in 70% of the grout. I bought clorox & splashed it around before I could use it. There is an awful sewer smell that comes up in the bathroom vents. It took forever to get hot water & sometimes it came out brown.The water to flush the toilet was brown all the time. The furniture coverings & bedspreads are threadbare. The elevator worked 40% of the time and we were on the 15th floor. Twice they couldn't offer us beach towels because they ran out & the lounges (if you could get one) at the beach were broken and the little tables were either filthy dirty or stained so bad you wouldn't want to touch them.

Have stayed at Balboa Towers twice and love it! Think of the US in the 50's and 60's -- less regulations, knowing your neighbors and stopping to talk with them, not rushing around but taking time to see the designs in the sand, the shells, the sunrise and sunset, and riding in the back of a pickup. Yes, you need to watch where you walk because of chipping concrete and the elevators don't always work, but we are in Mexico and on Mexican Time, so lower your blood pressure and take things as they come. The balcony views are spectacular, the ocean relaxing, and the staff so helpful. The 2 bedroom units are huge with plenty of closets, the stove works to boil the fresh shrimp, and the refrigerator cools the shrimp, fruit, and adult beverages, the coffee pot brews, and the microwave nukes -- what more could you want? We feel too many updates would take away the "feel" of being in another country and having some adventures.

My husband and I just got back from Mazatlan, Mexico two weeks ago. We had a great time. Loved the area! We stayed at Balboa Towers in the Golden Zone. The hotel was right on the beach. There was a beautiful pool area. We were close to everything. We can walk to restaurants and shops. There were plenty of plumonias to take us in town.

The bad part about the hotel is being hit for timeshare in the hotel lobby. There seems to be something new everyday to ask us take accept "an invitation" to a new hotel nearby and offered us all kinds of freebies. The hotel staff seems slow at requests we asked of them. Some spoken English well and other knew very little.

My family and I visited from 2/26/05 through 3/5/05. We stayed on the 10th floor and regret only one thing. Having to leave Mazatlan. It is true that some of the tiles are chipped and that a little updating is needed; however, in a way, the fact that the Balboa Towers is NOT your everyday cookiecutter megaresort, overrun with 1000 people, gives it that special charm. It sounds stupid, but my normal 10 minute showers often lasted 30 minutes, due to the tinted windows in the shower allowing a beutiful view of the area and allowing me to sit in hot water while watching the crazy traffic below. As for the view, the balconies run the entire length of the unit. This allows you to see/hear the ocean 24 hrs. a day. This place was by far the greatest experience I have had in many years. The restaurant has wonderful food, the staff is very helpful and extremely friendly, and best of all, the pool area is quiet and not overrun by a large number of people. Did I mention that EVERY ROOM in the tower overlooks the ocean??? The sunsets are incredible and the Balboa Towers is close to the best restaurants and shopping around. I struggled as to whether to give the place a good review, only because I would hate to see it become too popular. Thank you Balboa Towers from my entire family!!!