I recently stayed in the Pueblo Bonito Emerald Bay in Mazatlan, MX. and it was just wonderful. The hotel ambiance is just absolutely fabulous. It has great food, outstanding activities for the young and old(chess, wine and cheese tasting, cooking lessons, water-polo, beach volleyball, trivia, etc.) The service was also excellent and with the kindest people working there in order to insure a wonderful stay. Its location is excellent for people to be away from the busy city streets and commotion. :-)

My boyfriend and I stayed at Pueblo Bonito Emerald Bay (PBEB) from 5/18/08-5/23/08. It was our first visit to Mazatlan, but not the first to Mexico. Overall, PBEB exceeded our expectations. Parts of the resort are still under construction (and there are big plans for expansion), but our stay was not impacted. We booked our room online following correspondence with the hotel (our email inquiry was quickly responded to). Based on the information provided to us, we requested a room in Bldg 10, overlooking the adults-only pool. We had no issues with the construction (or really any noise for that matter) during our stay...at least not in our room. The biggest negatives (and not that big in the scheme of things) of PBEB is as others have noted in prior reviews...time share sales and announcements made around the pool (often about time share opportunities!). Unfortunately, the sales pitch is the first impression you get of PBEB. At check-in, guests go through a run around just to get a room key. You check in at the main desk, are directed to pick up your key at another desk (time share central!), and your key is then given to a bell captain at which point you are finally taken to your room. It could have taken half as long. After a day of traveling (and when the lobby was crowded and warm), our welcome could have been better. As a gay couple, we were not sold as hard as straight couples, but that was fine with us. We were offered the opportunity to attend a seminar (another gay couple we met at PBEB were not invited - and took offense), but chose not to. The rooms at PBEB are lovely - all suites with ocean views. We had a room on the second floor of Bldg 10 with a decent view of the pools and ocean. I'd recommend a higher floor for a better view (and air flow), but we were satisfied. The rooms include a kitchenette, indoor seating area including full table/chairs, two closets, safe, and large bathroom (with beautiful tilework). The balcony was very large as well, with two full-size chaise lounges (w/cushions). The bed was very comfortable and the hotel even offered a "pillow menu" where we each could order an additional pillow of our desired firmness. Great idea! The A/C system had a fan that was a bit loud, but we were able to cool down the room after dark and then shut the A/C off for the night to allow for a peaceful nights sleep. The room was clean and daily maid service kept it that way. Turndown service was available and we took advantage of that a couple of nights. Overall, the room was very nice and matched online photos at the resort website. The resort grounds are amazing. Lush plants and flower are everywhere and it's dotted with Greek sculpture and even a flamingo habitat. The pools are incredible. This was our main requirement and PBEB delivered. We ended up at the pool every day, often for 6-8 hours. PBEB has three pools. The smaller adults-only pool was nice and quiet - and offered a swim-up bar. The other two pools were the ones we visited the most. The upper main pool with an infinity edge ended up being our favorite as the lower main pool (with its swim-up bar) tended to be louder. Not only was music a distraction, but various (and frequent) announcements and organized volleyball games/aerobics classes added to the noise. We often got to the pool around 10AM and had no trouble finding two chairs, often with an umbrella and table. This may not be the case in season, but chairs were always available, although the better locations were filled up by 11AM. Happy Hour at 11AM and 4PM were a hit - and the service was great. We often ordered lunch by the pool and were not disappointed in the fare or service. One warning about the pool is the tile. Be very careful going in and out of the pool as it can get very slippery. Not only did I fall and skin my knee, but we saw several other guests tumble, so watch out! PBEB also has an expansive private beach with chairs and cabanas available. We walked (or jogged) the beach a few times, but the high surf makes PBEB not really a beach resort. There were guests using the beach each day, but swimming wasn't the best. PBEB is definitely a pool getaway. As to other amenities, we did not use the resort gym since there was a fee (and it was smaller than we hoped - maybe 8-10 cardio machines and weights), but we did a boot camp on the beach one morning! The resort has two convenience stores, which fit the bill and met my boyfriend's caffeine addiction each day. We ate at two of the on-site restaurants for dinner. The main restaurant (I can't recall the name, but I think it was "The Candles" in Spanish) was the best PBEB restaurant. The service there was so-so (slower than I'd have expected), but the food was decent. The fresh fish was excellent and the menu was varied. I wouldn't say the dining on-site was phenomenal, but it was certainly adequate. PBEB offers hourly shuttle service into Mazatlan (about 10-15 minutes) and we took advantage of it a few times. The motor coach was comfortable (air conditioned) and the drivers kind and on time. One night the line to get on the shuttle was long, but another bus was right behind to take the overflow. The shuttle drops you at PBEB's sister property, Pueblo Bonito Mazatlan. PBM is a nice hotel too, but older and with fewer of the PBEB amenities (especially the pool was small, comparatively). We ate one night at one of their restaurants that hangs out over the ocean - it was a great spot to watch the sunset. From this hotel, it was a quick cab ride into the Golden Zone for more dining and shopping options. Overall, we had a wonderful time at Pueblo Bonito Emerald Bay and would definitely recommend the resort for travelers looking for a great pool getaway in sunny Mazatlan.

We booked transportation from the PBEB website. It was inexpensive, $19US pp for both ways. There was a wait to round up all the people, but we were lucky that PBEB was the first drop off. They service PBEB, El Cid Marina, PB Maz and the Inn at Maz. Coming back, our bus broke a fan belt- we had to wait for a replacement. They came quickly, and the drivers were efficient and apologetic- even though it was something he couldn’t help. PBEB is located in Nuevo Vallarta, north of the Golden Zone. Take the PBEB free shuttle to their sister resort,- it runs every hour from 10am -11:00pm then take the bus or shuttle. We took the “express busses” which are $.80 US per person. Once you get off the shuttle, use the buses. They are super cheap and will get you where you need to go. Golden Zone, Plaza Machado, etc. The thought the resort should start the shuttle earlier, so you can go to the GZ for breakfast. The resort is immaculately groomed. We loved the clean and pristine landscape. I love taking photos and the flowers were exceptional. The employees work hard and are friendly. I was amazed at the wildlife: peacocks, flamingo’s, white and black swans, lizards and these black birds that are everywhere. We had a junior suite, which is a studio. It was quite large. There was a kitchenette with a coffee maker, blender, toaster, refrigerator, pots and pans. The room had two full beds, dresser, 2 closets, electronic safe and a nice balcony with 2 recliners and a table. Also a dinette table with 4 chairs. Plenty of space. We were in building 17, 4th floor (top). Ask for the 3rd or 4th floor to be over the palm trees for a nice view. The resort has purified water, but I never drink tap water away from home. Around half way through our vacation, there water had a strange odor, so I didn’t even use it for coffee. Come to find out that guests were given a notice the system was being worked on- but we didn’t get a notice under our door. Most time was spent in the large pool. The waiters were great, even during happy hour. The pool water was actually too hot some days, but it is the summer and isn’t like they could control it!! The pool is multi level, so you can find the area that makes you happy. We didn’t go to the adult pool, it was much too sedate the few times I walked by. There was some trouble getting a chair at the pool, because people save very early. I didn’t notice the staff removing towels, but we had a low key crowd. The activities hut has a book exchange. There is a ceramics hut, where you can paint a item that you choose. After you finish it, they will spray glaze it (and touch it up, lol). The beach has the Pacific grainy sand, cloudy water like Puerto Vallarta. I usually swim in the ocean, but there was weird undertows happening. Although the jellyfish warning flag was flying each day, I only saw one- which was enough to keep me out. We didn’t eat much at PBEB.-We went to Mega and loaded up on snacks and breakfast/lunch food.The biggest downside to PBEB is that there is no place besides the fancy restaurant to eat at night. One night we had the room service pizza. It was pretty good, for pizza in Mexico. The nachos by the pool were pretty bad. The deli has good sandwiches, which for $9 US you get a sandwich on your choice of bread/hero roll, soda and piece of cake. The coconut cake was good! We had some amazing meals in local restaurants. We ate at Mr. Lionzo’s Playa Bruja ( excellent shrimp), Pedro y Lolas at Plaza Machado, Panama Bakery, Los Arcos, Las Brochetta’s and Chili Peppers (great Molcajeta). The construction never disturbed us, we couldnt hear it in the unit. We did hear the neighbors- the walls are very thin. Bring ear plugs if you are a light sleeper. We enjoyed our stay at PBEB. Our timeshare only allows us to trade in there once every 4 years, so if we go back it can't be until then- and all of the construction will be done.BTW, the construction is away from the pools and you won't even notice it.

In all fairness, we were coming from a stay in a wonderful B&B in the historical district and the PBEB was an RCI exchange. We did not expect a customized vacation, artsy shopping or friendly chats over wine with the owners. We expected a great beach, beautiful grounds, a unit with a sunset view, and an easy week--and we got it! There were minor irritations. We asked for a unit with a good view and a balcony. The unit we ended up with had two double beds and the concierge promised they could be put together to make a king. That never happened, but it was not a big problem. The sheets are very scratchy--watch out if you have a bad sunburn! The unit could, at times, be very noisy. We finally figured out that the people above us must have had small kids--objects were constantly dropped on the stone floor and furniture was moved around a lot. At 5 am this sounded like it was happening right in our unit! We didn't hear much noise from outside, however. The air conditioning was very cold and I don't think you can adjust it. It is unbearable, at least in June, to have it off, so you put up with the cold at night. At least it muffled the noise from above! I got "tourista" on our fourth day. My husband never got sick although we had eaten the same thing (at the PBEB restaurant) during the past 24 hours. I did drink the tap water which we had been told was safe. Sure enough, about two hours after I started getting sick we noticed a paper that the maid had placed on the counter that same afternoon--it explained that Neuvo Mazatlan was having its water system "upgraded" and requested that the guests drink bottled water until further notice. At the same time I noticed yellow water coming out of the tap. After experiencing a very unpleasant 18-24 hours I would recommend drinking bottled water exclusively! The restaurant (beautifully located looking over the ocean) which we used several times for convenience, was OK--we had a pretty good Chateau Briand there. The pasta dishes were mediocre and the seafood and a ribeye steak were not very good. There are two happy hours (1100-1200 and 4-5 pm) with two-for-one drinks. We noticed the happy hour mixed drinks were much less potent than regular hour drinks were. You can be served dinner on the beach in one of the little tents that is wired for light. We did enjoy Kelly's bar. It has nice decor and the live piano music was good. You can order appetizers (good octapus!) and drinks and make it a dinner--much more reasonable than the main restaurant. A new restaurant is planned and much needed for variety. OK, the good side--the grounds are beautiful in kind of a mellow Disneyland-type way. There are all kinds of birds, including black swans and flamingos, iguanas crawling around, doves cooing in the trees. The staff is attentive and a little OCD about upkeep--the sand on part of the beach is raked daily, need it or not. The unit was immaculate and the housekeepers are so appreciative of your tips. In fact, all the staff, from waiters to housekeepers were very accommodating and friendly. We really enjoyed the balcony and being on the third floor where the view was above the trees. The beach itself was wonderful. We saw no jelly fish there (the jelly fish flag flew continually) and we swam in the ocean every day. The waves ranged from gentle to moderate and perfect for body surfing. We had no trouble with currents or the slight undertow, but we are good swimmers. There are a few rocks right off the hotel that you need to be careful of. A few yards to the north of the resort there didn't seem to be any rocks. We had no trouble getting a tent every day--they could use a few more for high season though, especially for those of us who sunburn easily. Overall, we had an excellent time at PBEB. Yes we would have preferred to be closer to shops and restaurants--it's pretty isolated out there--but for relaxation, swimming and sun, it can't be beat.