We had a very nice Mazatlan vacation at the Mayan Sea Garden. The resort is right on the beach with palapas, drink service, and activities. There are two swimming pools of moderate depth, so that is great for kids and fun for adults. The grounds were kept very nice with lawns and tropical plants. We did not eat at the on-site restaurant, but went to their little store many times for a wide variety of food; fruit, some vegetables, tortillas, chips, salsa, beer, etc... They also had an afternoon BBQ grill going where you could buy grilled chicken or beef w/torillas. The unit we stayed in had a sink, a little stove, and fridge, which was perfect for us.
On the down-side, we were apparently staying in the older portion of the resort so our 4th floor unit did not have an elevator but did have a view of the Pacific Ocean. We got used to walking up the stairs...
Also, we were contacted everyday about attending the "Welcome Breakfast", which we knew would be a time share pitch, until we finally gave in. It was a pitch... I later talked to a guy that knew about a "No Timeshare" T-shirt he could get from cafepress.com and I think I'll get one of those for my next trip.
Overall, it was a good place to stay. We walked on the beach a lot. The surf was quite rough for swimming but excellent to watch from the beach and for wading. The taxi (or pulmonia) was only about $12 to the Zona Dorada or the Malecon; the local bus was 8 pesos (80 cents) each...
Have a great time...

The common grounds at Mayan Sea Garden are beautiful and well-manicured. The restaurant and other hotel staff are friendly and helpful. However, there is significant pressure before you even get to check into your room to commit to a timeshare presentation.

The Mayan Sea Garden buildings were built in 1972 and look it -- not luxurious in the least. Furniture is dated and faded and room is cramped, even in the 2 bedroom. Terrace is almost non-existent with a very low railing -- not safe for kids at all! Had several problems with the in-room safe which required us to call maintenance. However, if you are lucky enough to be booked into the Mayan Palace building, the rooms are modern, luxurious, and spacious.

There are 3 pool areas, 1 large unheated with a waterfall and plenty of pool chairs; another 2 which are heated to a wonderful 90 degrees, also with lots of chairs. There is a large game room area with pool tables, ping pong, video games, air hockey, internet, etc. which is great for kids. Nightlife at the resort itself is pretty much non-existent, but there is a bar with live entertainment on Fri, Sat and Sun, but very few guests attend.

The resort is about a 15 min. cab ride (about $5-$7 US) into the Golden Zone where there are many shops, restaurants and other resorts, as well as nightlife.

We stayed for a week, 4 adults and 2 teenage girls. The room was adequate in size, but very old, and very musty smelling. We had problems with our room almost every day. Lights not working, coffee maker not working, curtain falling off the rod, toilet wouldn't flush and excessive noise from the other guests. We can party with the best of them, but these neighbors stayed up until 4:00 a.m., outsite their room and were not quiet. Every time we had an issue with the room, the staff came immediately and repaired the problem. I was quiet disappointed with the room and would not return to this RCI resort.

The food in the restaurants was good, good pool side service, too many trinket vendors hasseling you every day. They were nice, but you just got tired on constanly saying "no thank you" for a week straight. I found out at the end of our stay that this part of the resort is being torn down and new buildings to replace them. They should have done this a long time ago.

Four of us were planning our first getaway sans kids in a very long time when the opportunity presented itself at the Sea Garden through a time-share company. After it was booked, we found ourselves here on tripadvisor more and more often as it seemed every review of this place got even worse than the previous! It got to the point that the other couple booked an additional hotel room as we were now anticipating arriving to just an absolutely horrible place.

I can tell you that 10 minutes after arriving to our room and then sitting for lunch at the restaurant - our friends quickly canceled the other hotel room. The room was a very pleasant surprise (after the reviews) - the bathroom was updated and things were comfortable (we were in the "Coral Building"). The restaurant was great. We had two breakfasts there, one lunch & one dinner - all were delicious. (For everyone that ripped on the food - this is a restaurant at a hotel, in Mazatlan, Mexico. If you were looking for food that you only read about in Bon Apetit magazine, seriously?!).

The pool is really something. It's huge and we camped out by the waterfall. Use the gym, buy your eight-packs-o-beer from the market to save a few bucks and be sure to head downtown to eat at the Shrimp Bucket one of the days that you're there.

Also went through the timeshare presentation (No, we didn't buy). But we did get a nice chunk of change taken off our total bill at the end, and a free "Stone Island tour" out of it (taxi, boat, tractor, lunch/drinks, boat ride out to see some sea lions, taxi back). Tip: trade in an activity ticket for a "coco loco".

So, if you want to have a fun, laid-back, easy going time - stay here. If you want 7-star accommodations, an out-of-this-world meal program and a person to fan you while feeding you grapes - this place probably isn't for you.