The lobby alone is worth a visit- a wide platform stairwell is surrounded by Koi ponds and impressive rock formations leading to the pool.  There’s a comfortable cocktail lounge here and a game section with everything from pool to foos ball.

The room was beautiful- large, very nicely decorated with comfortable beds and a full kitchen.  We also had a jacuzzi tub which worked for a little while and although they offered to send someone to fix it, they never showed.  Oh well, we got to enjoy it once   We had a great balcony which was spacey but not really private- A few ladies next door were caught spying on my fiance after he was out of the shower and became our frequent fans!

The pool was beautiful, located on a patio above the beach.  There was a fun slide off a rock formation but it was not turned on for the full duration of the pool hours so we unfortunately never had the chance to try it.  The pool opened at 9 AM and closed at 9 PM-  the slide was on from 11 AM to just after 6 PM- quite disappointing.

The staff was very friendly and helpful.  Service for poolside cocktails were fast once we started a tab.   Valet parking cost us around $3 USD a day and was well worth it.  They were fast getting our car and always helpful as far as providing information and directions.

We checked into our resort- which I’ll describe better in my next post. We checked in using our debit card to pay for the room (roughly $240 USD for 2 nights,) only to later discover a mistake was made and we were charged $600 USD at check in, and then $240 for the room when we checked out- a total of $840 USD. We were told the $600 was meant to be a “hold” for an open tab, and that the $600 would be returned to our account in “1 to 3 months.” Obviously, this was pretty shocking. For future Royal Villa Resort guests- don’t use your debit card at this resort!

Mazatlan itself was beautiful. It was much larger than Puerto Vallarta and sprawled out, and it certainly had a different feel to it. Since we only planned to stay in Mazatlan for 3 days, we decided to hire a taxi to give us a tour. It cost us $35 USD and included all the major areas of town, starting with the sunset from a very high peak. We went to the marketplace which was filled with vendors pushing souvenirs. We picked up a few small items before heading to old town. The parks here were absolutely beautiful, surrounded by well-maintained historic buildings, churches, and patio restaurants. We came back here the following day for daylight photos.

The Shrimp Bucket was our choice for breakfast. We dined with birds. No, I’m not joking- there were pigeons and sparrows on and off our table, under our feet, and flying over our heads. It was great.  Oh and the food was fantastic and surprisingly cheap.

Casa Manana’s rooms were cute and very clean.  Beds were hard but that’s typical of Mexico.  We really loved our balcony which looked out over the pool and the ocean.  We had a fantastic sunset from this point and made it a point to run upstairs to the rooftop terrace for a few photos.

Did I mention Casa Manana’s oceanview room was only $58 USD?   There was also free wireless internet and they offered simple conveniences- such as when I realized my phone card was low and asked where I could buy one; the receptionist pulled out a handful of cards and asked which kind I would like saving me a trip into town.  I love when they think of the little things!