I read the negative reviews and am disappointed. I believe you find what you are looking for. We took our daughter and our twin grandboys, ages 7. We had a wonderful time. This is a third world country. Go into a country as TRAVELER NOT A TOURIST. My wife and I have traveled over 30 years and have never had a realy bad experience.

The Sea Garden is not a 5 star resort, possibly not a 4 store, but you will find what you are looking for. We were pleased every aspect our stay and we had a great time, but of course that was what we were expecting. Nice grounds, nice food, resort. But not 5 star.

Actually, we own 4 weeks at the Grand Mayan which is a 5 star resort. But, we are looking for a wonderful adventure. Frankly, 5 star resorts are not my cup of tea. As an example, we have been to the Grand Mayan Emerald and we probably will never stay there. We go to Mexico for the people, the food, the weather and to relax and get away from the American way of life. We loved it and had a great time.

Go with our attitude and have a great time. We go the the Sea Garden at least once a year.

Grounds, staff are wonderful and accomodating. Satisfied with food and drinks although I think they do not offer enough to keep the guests involved. People are willing to spend $$, but Mayan does little to keep guests at their facility.

We were dissatified with our room even after they switched us. T Though very clean,they come with an odor.The second bedroom is a room with a pull out sofa, that's it!

Radio, alarm clock, a clock, dishwasher, iron and board are not part of the room.

The bathroom was just that.

WeI would not recommend this facility because of the rooms and we were grateful that friends did not join us on this trip. We made the best of it, but would havebeen embarassed with friends While little time may be spent in a room, it plays a vital part of making or breaking a vacation.

By the way, The new time shares on the facility are absolutely beautiful, but if you have no intention of buying one, do yourself a favor and avoid the welcome desk after check in. A free breakfast, and a few other freebies are not worth the pressure and bait/switch tactics to get you to buy!

Another tidbit of info that we learned. Call RCI immediately from any resort that you are not satisfied with, They will do all the leg work for you, even moving you to a different resort!

Let me start by saying that we are Mayan Palace owners and have been to most of the Mayan Palace locations. We are satisfied with our timeshare purchase because, when we go, we know it will be a high quality resort. We started out with the AI (all-inclusive) experience and it just didn't suit us. Understand that Mayan Palace needs to sell timeshares to keep growing. If you aren't interested, say no to all presentations. The sales people will give misleading information. Just ask to see, in print, everything they tell you. If they refuse, walk away. As owners, they give us the best rooms. Ours had a pool/ocean view. It was certainly large enough for the two of us however we used the second bedroom as a closet. It would be an OK bedroom for young children but too cramped for adults. The maid service was great however we tip $5 every day. Amazing what that does for service!
I read extensively about Mazatlan before the trip and it didn't disappoint. It is a great city with a mix of tourism and real working industry. We rode the bus everywhere and had no worries about safety. Many good restaurants in particular Casa Country and Pedro y Lola in the old city. We spent the second of our two weeks in the new Mayan Regency building at the same location. The master suite was huge for the two of us - almost too large, like the Grand Mayan. We would certainly go back to the Sea Garden, just have to understand that it is older than other Mayan's but is as clean and perhaps more cozy.

My cousin and I just returned from a week at the Mayan Sea Garden. We booked thru RCI. After reading the reviews on this site I wasn't sure what to expect. I had prearranged shuttle service thru the resort to pick us up at the airport and they were there waiting for us. The Sea Garden was not a brand new resort but still very nice and comfortable. The grounds were gorgeous and well kept. The pool area was large with plenty of lounge chairs around the pool. We had a one bedroom suite with a partial kitchen in the Coral Building. I brought a small electric tea kettle and my own tea bags and was glad I did. They provide a coffee maker but no coffee. My cousin brought her own coffe from home. We also brought from home instant hot cereal, microwave popcorn for the room, and granola bars to put in our purse for downtown and on the airplane. The onsite market is very small and does not have a large selection. We made a trip to the Mega supermarket (Mexican Superstore) for a few items like fresh fruit, pastries and bererages. Bus down, pulmonia back. The room was a bit small but comfortable. We did not have any problems with anything in our room. The balcony was small as well but the pool/ocean view was lovely. The resort staff were all friendly and worked hard to maintain the grounds and the buildings. Ask them about places to eat and shop. The pulmonias (open air taxis--looks like a large golf cart) are everywhere, so there is no problem getting transportation. We opted to take the city bus which stops right outside the resort. The white bus is 6 pesos (60 cents) and the green bus is 8 pesos (80 cents) and is very easy and safe to take. Yes, there are vendors and timeshare sharks everywhere. Just say a firm No Gracias and keep walking, no eye contact! Just like anywhere, you get more flies with honey than with vinegar. If you act stuck up and look down your nose at people you are not going to get as good service. If you are friendly and try to learn a little of the language the Mexican people will bend over backwards for you. The resort automatically adds a 15% tip on any food item you buy, even a can of coke. That saved us the hassel of trying to figure out what a fair tip was. Don't be afraid to negotiate when buying things. Cut the price to just below half so it leaves you some room to meet the vendor in the middle. Alot of the silver jewlery sold on the beach or in outdoor markets is only silver plated even though they tell you it is real silver. It was my first time in Mexico and I really enjoyed it. How much you enjoy your vacation depends on you. For 2 women travellilng alone we took the usual precautions and we felt safe. Even tho we did buy bottled water we still drank the water at the resort restaurant and had no problems. Take acidophilus capsules for a week or so before you go. We ate at the Shrimp bucket and the Chilli Pepper and coffee at Ricco's (like a Star Bucks), food and service were good. I liked the fact the resort was not right in the Golden Zone, it was quiet and peaceful. I would definitely stay at the Sea Garden again.