November 22nd to 29th 2016
The Huatulco airport is very small. Clearing Customs was a breeze and in no time at all we were on our way to the Castillo Huatulco Hotel & Beach Club (17 min. ride by van).
The majority of the Guests are Mexicans and then primarily older Canadians and those of us who want to enjoy the real Mexico and embrace the beautiful culture.
My Husband and I were warmly greeted by Edwin, at the reception desk and were given a nice cool punch to sip on. We got a kick out of the life-sized pirate statue with a treasure chest.
The Castillo is an older hotel and it is very tired in some places. Do not come here on a high horse or, with big expectations or, you will be very disappointed. The Castillo is a great jump off point to discovering Huatulco; it is close to the Marina, Santa Cruz and La Crucecita. Because of the location it is not the type of hotel where you can really rest and relax, lots of young Families and traffic noise.
The open-air lobby is very small, with the small bar a spit away and definitely a haven for smokers.
Our first room 222 was perfectly located, close to stairs; elevator and it had a walk out veranda with chairs, table and umbrella, which faced the noisy street. Unfortunately there is no privacy division on the veranda so you could step over the railings and gawk into all the other rooms.
Our room had a nice fruit plate and lovely flowers, which was a beautiful touch. The hotel also provides plenty of bottle water.
The room had a king sized bed, very small closet with key access safe and TV and small chest of drawers (no fridge or, coffee maker). Unfortunately the TV had only two English speaking channels and no codes for English subtitles, even on their movie channels. First time we have experienced this in fifteen visits to Mexico.
I recommend bringing your own shampoo, conditioner, body wash etc. There is a store called the “Chedaui” which is comparable to Costo and Walmart Superstore. Here we found the best prices for alcohol, better than at the small duty free store at the airport and in town. You can walk to the store or, time a ride with the hotel shuttle or, take a bus or, cab.
I do recommend bringing a strong scented candle and or, putting aromatherapy oils in a spray bottle with water, because the cigarette smoke does drift up from the lobby and some guests do smoke in their rooms, despite this being against the law in Mexico. The rooms really do have a strong mildew odour, which can be typical in older hotels at tropical destinations.
Between the noise from the street and hallway, after three days we ended up moving to 407 (pool side), which was much quieter and had no heavy smell of cigarette smoke in the hallway. We had no problems with our toilet flushing, getting hot water and decent pressure in the shower or, air-conditioning issues, in either room.
We ate Breakfast and Supper at the hotel and Lunch at the Beach Club; we enjoyed the freshly made orange and vegetable juices and most all of the food. I did go out of my comfort zone and tried new dishes, even the grasshopper salad. The freshly made to order guacamole and salsa were to die for and the barbecue ribs were melt in your mouth outstanding; over all the food was delicious.
I cannot say enough good things about ALL of the Staff at this hotel; they literally turn themselves inside out to please you. If you ask for something the Staff will do their very best to get it or, a good substitute. I was impressed that the Staff in the Buffet wore hairnets and at how diligent they kept the hotel and beach club clean. Their work ethic is exceptional and this is why I have given this hotel a 4 star rating. I could fill this page up with Staff names, but will stick to the following Staff who were consistent and went the extra mile. Our maid in 222, Racquel, Vincente, Frederico, Gloria, Miguel, Alberto-Luis, Marco, Jose-Manuel, Jemny and the wonderful Luis Sanchez.
I would recommend purchasing a fresh coconut from the street vendors, not only is the coconut water refreshing, the fresh coconut meat mixed with lemon juice, hot sauce and spices is a real treat and for 35 peso’s you just can’t go wrong.
The Castillo is not beachfront, but the hotel does provide a free shuttle to their beach club that runs every thirty minuets on Mexican time LOL! When the shuttle arrives at the beach club the driver will ring a bell to indicate that it is departing back to the hotel.
We did hotel hop and can honestly say the beach club at the Castillo is the best in the area.
The beach club is not exclusive only to the Castillo guests and there is no section set apart for their guests; so it is first come, first serve. Anyone can walk off the street or, beach and use the chairs and limited shade for fifty pesos during low season and one hundred pesos during high season (Food and booze is extra). It really surprised me the poor condition of the beach lounge chairs and disgusted at how many plastic chairs were cracked and repaired with screws (safely issue). The fabric on the lounge chairs is in the worst condition that I have witnessed in Forty-one All inclusive vacations (badly stretched, faded, sweat stained, bird poop was well embedded and torn in places). On the back of the lounger chairs some of the plastic backings were broken, so you could not elevate the chair.
Despite the claims from property reps in Mexico City, on the TA question and answer page that state otherwise; there are NO cushions for the beach lounge chairs. You can ask the bartender, reception and even have a representative from the hotel come down to the beach club, but trust me at this time, there are no cushions. If you like to spend allot of time like we do at the beach, I strongly recommend bringing yoga mats or, some kind of padding. Extra beach towels do not help at all.
The hotel also books private parties at the beach club. During our stay there was a birthday party for a little girl and it dominated a good part of the day; even the games branched out onto the beach. I felt bad for the Guests with Children who were obviously excluded from the games.
The beach is beautiful here and kept spotless by the Staff. We were so fortunate to have great weather and the ocean was calm. At first I could not understand why the red flags are never changed, but after being in the Ocean several times during the day we could well understand how the currents are ever changing especially when the tide goes in and out. Also there is a steep incline going into the ocean and there are times when you drop in and have no footing. You could be just zoning out in calm water for about thirty minutes and then you can feel the pull of the current, so you need to be aware and vigilant. I would not recommend young children or, people with mobility issues going into the ocean at this beach.
There are no problems or, issues with being harassed by the beach vendors, if anything we had to make eye contact and look interested, other than that they just walk by and leave you alone.
I highly recommend Huatulco and getting out and exploring the area. We did allot of walking, got lost a few times and felt totally safe. This is the cleanest and friendliest area of Mexico that we have experienced; we would love to retire here. You can shop to your hearts content and the vendors in the store are not pushy at all. Not once were we approached to purchase drugs. We found the best deals at La Crucecita, that town appears to be older and more real Mexico than Santa Cruz.
Huatulco airport accepts Mexican pesos, Canadian and American dollars for purchases and will give change according to currency used. I hope you enjoy as much as we did.
Any questions feel free to send me a PM.