I'll try to categorize this to make it easy for you to scan through this. I do love the location of this hotel, and have stayed there many times, but I think my disappointment this year may make me pick a different hotel next year. So sad, because I was becoming a "regular" with a bit of loyalty. sigh.... I really hate to give this a bad review, because I have loved it so much through the years.

-- In general, my thoughts about our February stay --

1.) PEEING KIDS IN JACUZZI was my biggest complaint. Many kids, even though the sign with rules said no one under 16, the jacuzzi was filled with many tiny kids from opening to closing, undoubtably peeing beneath their "water wings", or one brave tiny boy who stood up and showed everyone at the pool what he was doing. AWFUL!!! You cannot get into the jacuzzi to watch the sunset because it was filled with kids, most of which didn't appear to be staying at the hotel. This has been going on at Las Floras for the past several years, but this year I finally complained about it. 4 days in a row, and management did NOTHING about it in the remaining days, even when I reported it and waited. AND, the jacuzzi closes at 8:30 PM (or earlier depending on the mood of the chemical guy), so there is no chance of a late night dip while the kids might be away. With some cooler nights, it would have been nice to keep it open for adults a bit longer. I get the feeling the hotel owner/management just don't care about their paying guests. The girls at the front desk are wonderful and very helpful, though, for anything that might be within their realm of control at the hotel. I think they were almost as frustrated as me that hotel security and management ignored them as much as they ignored me.

2.) Still catering to cruise ship people! They bus in cruise ship people on Tuesday, Wednesday and possibly more days and the Las Flores beach becomes a zoo of non-guests which are flocked with too many vendors. They all seem to be sharing their latest colds and flu from the boats from the states and China with the Las Flores guests, and there is never enough toilet paper in the pool-side bathroom for all of them :-)

3.) High prices at the restaurant & bar. The food is only mediocre, and high priced for what you get. I don't understand why they need to mark up a single Pacifico beer to $4.50 USD! Not sure if Costa De Oro hotel has done the same thing, but you used to get great service and low-priced refreshment at the pool in past years in Mazatlan. And really, don't bother paying $20 for a breakfast for two with 2 under cooked fried eggs and a one inch square of processed hash browns and a small juice. Skip that and walk down the street to Anthony's, Jungle Juice or Panama's.

3.) Broken elevators - I got stuck in an elevator who's door wouldn't open five or six times during one week! They have always had trouble with the elevators, but couldn't they replace them with the money they are bringing in? I'd take the stairs, but they are very steep and don't have hand rails.

-- What to take with you if you have never stayed here --
1.) Bring coffee filters and your own dish soap and a sponge. They don't give you dish soap and you are charged $3.00 USD/day to wash dishes, even if it is only coffee cups. Or you can leave a note in spanish asking for soap and you might get some. Take enough coffee filters and buy a can of coffee down the street at the small market (walking distance) or larger super if you wish. No coffee packets are available for the coffee maker.

2.) Towels are provided, but keep an eye on them - several times mine were stolen or almost stolen, and they charge for that.

3,) Bring a hair blow dryer if you need one - they are not supplied.

4.) You can use the purified water spiggot next to the elevator for your coffee - seems to be safe, but we might want more opinions on that.

5.) No bath tubs. Would be okay for those old bones that need a warm soaking if that jacuzzi wasn't full of pee ;-)

6.) There is not a microwave in the kitchenette.

-- For people that know this hotel --
The big "remodel" seems to only be a new empty meeting area build east of the hotel with covered parking reserved for *someone*, not sure who. The meeting rooms looked hot (lots of windows), was not in use, and was not used for anything related to guests (other than reserving all the tables at that end of the pool so guests could not use them for the shade of the umbrellas. There was an odd door 2 stories up that dropped right onto the pool area without any stairs! There was a bit of fresh paint around the hotel, but that is standard for any beach front place, right? Oh, they took away the place the cat slept under the bush in front of the hotel and put in a little decorative pool with 3 palm trees. The poor resident cat occassionly finds a chair in the lobby by Las Rejas to sleep in. Give him a pet if you see him.

Pulmonias are getting more expensive. They try for 40 or 50 pesos each way for a restaurant WITHIN the Golden Zone. Please offer them only 20 pesos and contribute to the cause of another participant here in the Mazatlan forum who wanted to push prices down to a resonable level. If everyone walks away if they won't take 20 pesos, maybe they will re-think their pricing.

-- Positives --
Okay, I've gotta give them credit: great location on the beach, with an amazing view if you are in a front tower suite. Several restaurants to walk to, but even better ones a bit further off the beaten path.

-- Other --
Weather was very cold and windy in afternoons/evenings. Not the hotel's fault, but take a decent jacket to wear.

High rises are here and more coming soon. Apparently there are 17 high rises in development. Guess they didn't yet hear about the recession their potential buyers are living through... ha ha. Also noticed a huge decline in the number of American travelers to Mazatlan & Las Flores. Are the tides changing?
Another weird thing - - I saw two middle eastern guys walking down the beach in long pants and turbans!!!! That just isn't the Mazatlan I've come to love over the years., especially in the 1980's. The local Mazatlan people are so friendly, artistic, and endearing, but I fear things are changing for the worse. They even discovered imports from China and plated and fake silver, so buyer beware!