We arrived Nov. 29, 2007 and left-with such sorrow!-on Dec. 5. We had a glorious room (#305) right on the ocean (it seemed we were right "on top"). The sound of the surf was fantastic, the hotel so very pretty and comfortable, grand views, bouganvillia, three pools, super palapa bar and restaurant on the beach, music, great service, happy hourS, plus great location!...just too much to tell. Would love to return and hopefully get room #300, a studio with dining area and fabulous balcony. Loved every minute of our stay!

This was our second trip to Mazatlan and our first stay at the Emporio. We booked this hotel because there was to be no buffet, well that was all we got, our son had stayed here last year and told us each meal he had he was able to order off a menu, after checking with our travel agent we found out this was true, our main reason for booking it, disappointment #1. #2 was that there was no elevator at the far end of the hotel so each time we wanted to go to our room it was a walk up the stairs. #3 I woke up early one day to have a shower and went to our suit cases (which we left on the extra bed ) I noticed this big brown clump on the bed, I then turned on the light to discover it was rat feces, it made me sick to realize that rats were crawling around in the room. The maid cleaned it and they stripped our room right away and sprayed for rats. Other than that must say we enjoyed the stay, we found we only got good treatment if you tipped, and tips were to be included with our all inclusive. All in all the staff were friendly and helpful, location was great and sunshine was marvelous. Enjoy your stay.

My friend and I stayed at the Emporio for 3 nights at the end March for a girls weekend..
First the positives:
Location was fantastic.. Within walking distance to food, shopping. Very cheap cab fare to get into the city.
Room was clean. Smaller than expected, but served its purpose.
The bed was super comfortable - and the comforter must have been 6 inches thick.
Staff was very friendly, but english speaking was limited so it was sometimes difficult to communicate our needs. I know the staff tried very hard to help when they could though. A+ for effort.
Pool area was nice - towel service available.
They also had a gym and boutique which we didn't visit but both looked nice.
We did decided to get pool side massages - and it was great! The price was cheaper than home - $45 for 60 minutes..

Now for the negatives:
Loud - Loud - Loud..... The hotel is located in an area which has several bars/nightclubs.. The music blasted until 4am.. I had read this in previous reviews, but thought how bad could it really be? Unbelievably bad - unfortunately.. A trick we figured out on our second night is to turn the fan from the auto setting over to the on setting so it runs all night. Combine this with ear plugs and it worked quite well the 2nd night.
The 3rd night however even this didn't work as we had a group of 6 spring breakers right outside our door partying and yelling at 4:30am. Luckily this only lasted about 30 minutes, but the hotel could really use some security to patrol the property.
This would be a great hotel if you are planning on staying up late and partying, but I wouldn't recommend it for families or morning people..

All the good stuff in past reviews are true, the staff and rooms are number one in my books. The noise level from the street make the street side units impossible for the average light sleeper. At 4 a.m. the idiot fringe is out with musical car horns, drunken shouting and all that goes with it such as screeching brakes and sirens. We were moved after the first night to a very excellent room on the beach end of the hotel and had a great stay for eight days. Only one night the disco went ballistic at 2:00 a.m. We plan to return to the Emporio next year as long as we are well away from the street.