We stayed at the Azteca for our last night in Mazatlan moving from downtown. The Azteca is in a great location for restaurants and little shops and you are across the street from the beach which you can access from the hotel across the street.

This hotel is a motel style place with rooms surrounding the pool or parking lot and I think 3 floors. Our room was on the 2nd floor facing the pool. This hotel is very clean. It was the first thing I noticed when going in that it was VERY clean. It was nice. The room itself was basic - 2 double beds with a dresser with a tv & cable. There was a closet for hanging clothes. The bathroom had a shower only that was a bit different as it had a partial wall and then a half shower door so you could see into the bathroom.

The beds were firm, but not horrible. The pool was small, but not teeny and it had a jacuzzi. I didn't notice the sound of a pool pump like others were saying to be loud. The one negative was that you could hear the others in their rooms because of how they faced outward and even the bathroom was facing the walkway.

I didn't use the bar or restaurant, but it looked like many were. All in all I felt for less than $60 per night this was a good value.

My wife and I decided on Mazatlan for Thanksgiving this year and were very aprehensive about staying at a low-budget hotel, but had no choice. My brother had stayed at this hotel only a couple of months before, so armed with only that little information we decided to book the Azteca Inn.
What a surprise! This little hotel was beautiful. It has a small pool and a great little sports bar, though I suggest you just walk across the street to drink and watch sports (more on that later). The beds were hard, but in good condition . The rooms were average size (like the size of a Motel 6) with little amenities other than a basic TV and phone. It was, surprisingly, VERY clean and smelled great. You couldn't walk anywhere without some worker asking "hello", or "How are you" with a smile. Everyone was about as friendly as I have ever seen. We had to leave late in the evening and they allowed us to check out at 3pm with NO charge! I was very pleasantly surprised at this hotel.
Okay, here are some tips. My wife and I were able to stay at the Azteca Inn and just walk over to the big resort across the street. you can eat there or have a beer, but I recomment going down the street to the big white hotel (sorry, forgot the name) but it has "Joes Oyster bar" connected to it. We walked in and sat down, were brought 2 beers and chips and we ended up just sitting in there pretty nice pool and drinking all day. Serious...16 Pacificos for about 8 bucks. The views of the ocean were just breathtaking. As long as you are buying something they really dont care who uses their pool, though I bet if I had bought nothing they still would have allowed it!
All in all, staying at the Azteca was the best choice we have made since my wife and I started to go to Mexico 10 years ago!

Just in the midle of the action, very clean, friendly staff. I will recommend this hotel for people who want to stay in the middle of everything.

We wanted a 2nd honeymoon, and had not been to Mazatlan before. We were woken up every night by noisy neighbors (College students, children, adults). The regulars say they just put in ear plugs and keep going. The staff are great, and the breakfast has great American and Mexican quisine. Free web access at computer in office. Next time we'll spring for something quieter and closer to the beach.