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A little about Playa Zipolite, The Beach of the Dead . . .

Playa Zipolite, Oaxaca, Southern Mexico, on the Pacific Ocean. A little bit about my favorite little get-away on this small world of ours.

Zipolite, a sweaty 30-minute walk west from Puerto Angel, brings you to Playa Zipolite and another world. The feeling here is 1970's - Led Zep, Marley, and scruffy gringos.

A long, long time ago, Zipolite beach was usually visited by the Zapotecans...who made it a magical place. They came to visit Zipolite to meditate, or just to rest.

Recently, this beach has begun to receive day-trippers from Puerto Angel and Puerto Escondido, giving it a more TOURISTY feel than before.

Most people come here for the novelty of the nude beach, yoga, turtles, seafood, surf, meditation, vegetarians, discos, party, to get burnt by the sun, or to see how long they can stretch their skinny budget.

I post WWW Oaxaca, Mexico, Zipolite and areas nearby information. Also general budget, backpacker, surfer, off the beaten path, Mexico and beyond, information.

REMEMBER: Everyone is welcome at Zipolite.

ivan

Friday, April 6, 2012

Huatulco 2012 - Review of Dreams Huatulco Resort & Spa ...

Huatulco 2012 - Review of Dreams Huatulco Resort & Spa ...
Dreams Huatulco Resort & Spa: Huatulco 2012 - See traveler reviews, 1016 candid photos, and great deals for Huatulco, Mexico, at TripAdvisor.
www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g150789-d152279-r...






“Huatulco 2012”
5 of 5 starsReviewed April 4, 2012 NEW
1
 
person found this review helpful
This was our Third trip to Huatulco but our first time to a Dreams resort. Everything was fantastic. The hotel offered many small amentities that made our stay very welcoming and enjoyable.
Our room decor was very pleasant and comfortable. The house keeping staff did a great job with making up the room daily and the bar refrigerator was will stocked.
If you choose to enjoy the spa services you will not be disappointed.
Hotel staff very friendly and helpful.
Huatulco is a favourite place of ours and we will go back again in 2013. '
The location, weather, amenities of the area will not leave you disappointed.
Room Tip: The Jacuzzi tub located on the balcony's are very small.
See more room tips
  • Stayed February 2012, traveled with family
    • 5 of 5 starsValue
    • 5 of 5 starsLocation
    • 5 of 5 starsSleep Quality
    • 5 of 5 starsRooms
    • 5 of 5 starsCleanliness
    • 5 of 5 starsService
Was this review helpful?Yes
Ask stephie46 about Dreams Huatulco Resort & Spa
sasksodbuster
Saskatchewan Canada
1 review
2 helpful votes
“Relax”
5 of 5 starsReviewed March 31, 2012 NEW
2
 
people found this review helpful
This was our first time to a Dreams and first time to Huatulco . Everything was great, The food, not enough sea food but he best deserts I've had at a hot resort, the staff was friendly and helpful, the entertainment staff worked very hard to make all the activities fun, then put on the show at night which was a lot of very good dancing , also I liked the time 8:30, as we are usually asleep by ten and miss most shows elsewhere. The drinks were excellent as was poolside service there was no swim up bar but it wasn't needed as they would hand you your cerveza right to your floaty. The beach was about a half mile long so walking to the end and back in sand was a good workout. If it was a black flag day you could walk on the road as there are good sidewalks with intermitent shade. You don't have to book a la carte restaurants, and if the one you go to is full they will take your room number and you can have drinks while you wait, or go elsewhere. The wi-fi at the resort is not worth the money, it is very slow and cuts out sometime (it is worse than dial up at times). I would recomend this place to my friends.
  • Stayed March 2012, traveled as a couple
    • 4 of 5 starsValue
    • 4 of 5 starsLocation
    • 4 of 5 starsSleep Quality
    • 5 of 5 starsRooms
    • 5 of 5 starsCleanliness
    • 5 of 5 starsService
Was this review helpful?Yes
Ask sasksodbuster about Dreams Huatulco Resort & Spa
TravellingFamily_8
Manitoba
2 reviews
7 helpful votes
“Hot Huatulco”
4 of 5 starsReviewed March 31, 2012 NEW
2
 
people found this review helpful
This was our first trip to Huatulco as a family of 4 (2 kids 14 & 12) and we stayed in a partial-ocean view regular room. The room was clean and modern, small flat screen t.v. which we didn't watch, large bathroom with 2 sinks, shower should have a way to close because water came out and made floor very wet, no fan in bathroom to clear out steam, watch out for ipod docking station alarm being set for the middle of the night when you first arrive, balcony was great and also handy for drying clothes, loved free mini bar and limited room service. Biggest complaint about the room: 2 double beds made for cramped sleeping with 2 people per bed. Best things about the room: very clean and modern, air conditioning nice and cold, comfy beds with different pillow choices if you needed, very sound-proof rooms (didn't hear a lot of noise...average age of people at resort would be middle to older age, and we liked that...not a lot of loud kids partying). Animation team was not too loud, no loud music by the pools all day long, just a couple of activities you could hear once in a while. You could participate if you wanted, but no pressure.

Huatulco itself was beatiful, small town feel, not commercial. Felt safe. Mountains all around were beautiful, almost desert like conditions with cactus plants growing on the hills. It is a dry heat and you could actually lay in the sun without feeling overheated (which surprised us with temperatures of 36 degrees). Went on one tour to see the bays and snorkel, this was a nice excursion to break up the week. Took a 38 peso cab ride to Crucecita to shop and sight see a couple of times. Not much shopping to be done but managed to find enough trinkets. Coffee is wonderful from here. I was looking forward to buying vanilla but after smelling a bottle of it, realized it wasn't the same as the vanilla we bought in Cancun previously (disappointed). There is also shopping to be done at Huatulco airport while you are waiting. Helped pass the time. Best thing about Huatulco: everyday you wake up to guaranteed sun and heat (I think they said it rained last in June!!). Biggest complaint: beach was not ideal for swimming and water activities in the Tangolunda Bay.

Beach at Dreams was a little disappointing compared to the Mayan. It depends on the waves when you are there, unfortunately for us the ocean was only swimmable 2 days out of 7, and even on those days you had to be quite careful. The undertow is strong and it drops off quickly. The water is up to your waist one minute, then over your head the next as a wave comes in. Water colour and clarity were prettier than I expected, nice green colour. Water trampoline and iceberg were not in water to use because of rough conditions (again, you may or may not have rough conditions when you are there). Beach not ideal for walking because it is quite steep and not very long/scenic. So in summary, if you are a beach person and this is most important to you, you may be disappointed. If you are ok with pool days, Dreams infinity pools are THE BEST (and super warm)! Didn't think it was important to have poolside/beachside drink service, but it was sure nice to have drinks brought to you all day long!! We really enjoyed this, and trying the different drinks of the day. Kids were disappointed that the bungee trampoline was not in working order either. Never used the kids club because kids are older now. Nothing planned for teens unfortunately at Dreams.

Food at Dreams was good. Found enough in buffets to satisfy us (daugher liked pasta made to order for her). Fruit was plentiful and a good variety (aside from regular melons typically found at all inclusive resorts, we saw strawberries, mangoes, kiwis, plums, pears, peaches, raspberries on different days). Got our fill of Mexican salsa and guacamole, but at seaside restaurant not buffet. If there is anything you want but can't find, just ask one of the employees there and it will be "a pleasure" to check for you. We asked for guacamole, coconut icecream, and mangoes at buffet and if they had them, they brought them out for you. Best food we ate at restaurants: onion rings appetizer and filet mignon (ask for potato puree with meal), as well as ribs, at Seaside Grill. Oceana didn't stand out for me, not best selection of seafood, mostly fish (no lobster, scallops, etc.), the shrimp risotto was tasty, kids didn't like it. Loved Himitsu japanese restaurant. Husband liked mango curried shrimp, kids and I loved beef teppanyaki with rice and veggies. Coconut shrimp were good. Fried icecream and banana tempura were the best. The Mexican was least favorite. The Italian was just ok for us. For lunch you could go to Seaside Grill buffet and have fresh made ribeye steak and burgers which were really good. The Coco Cafe was nice to get different coffee drinks and hot chocolate (but they need a blender for frozen coffee drinks, and whipped cream to top off hot chocolate). The best thing about food at Dreams: nobody got sick and food was quite yummy.

Shows were nothing special. We've been at hotels with better entertainment, in terms of hotel hiring professional entertainers not just animation team (don't get me wrong, they were great people and were entertaining, but compared to other hotels we stayed at, there was more variety...not animation team EVERY night). For example, Iberostar in the Mayan had magician brought in for kids, clowns with balloon animals, pinata, etc. Other hotels had not only Mexican dancers, but rope guys too, as well as acrobats, magicians, and other professional type shows. Dreams had a movie in the evening for the kids showing on a wall, sometimes in english, sometimes in spanish. There were bags of popcorn which were tasty and fun. Jets games showed in Desires nightclub on site for hockey fans. Majority of people at resort were Canadian which we liked. It did get busier on the weekend with locals at the hotel, but didn't make a difference.

In summary best things about the trip were: hot and sunny guaranteed weather, beautiful warm infinity pools, no towel cards, no reservations for dinners, unlimited dinners, no wrist bands, free mini fridge and room service, very clean, super nice people working there, nobody got sick.

Most disappointing things about the trip were: the beach and ocean swimming, no trampoline/iceberg in water (due to rough conditions), no bungee trampoline, not very good seafood at Oceana, beds are too small for 2 people to sleep in (you can ask for a cot if that helps), no tennis courts, archery hurt your arm very badly because they didn't supply arm protectors like we've seen at other resorts (after husband's arm was badly bruised, we didn't let the kids even try it), they need more seating around pools...particularly shaded seating, didn't like that they charged for wifi (should be free).

Would we return to Dreams...absolutely!! Overall it was a wonderful, relaxing family vacation!
  • Stayed March 2012, traveled with family






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ivan