More about El Cid Castilla Beach Hotel
Planning next year at El Cid
by A TripAdvisor Member
We stayed at the El Cid for 1 week, and coming from Florida, a hot spot among some people, we were very impressed about our time spent there.
We had a amazing ocean front room, and it was very clean, and spacious.
El Cid Castilla was recomended by our neighbours, who went last year for 2 weeks, and just raved about the el cid to everybody, so we decided to check it out ourselves. My wife and i never had a vacation quite like this one. It was vey relaxing, they met our every need. We are planning our next vacation to El Cid.
El Cid Blah
by TripAdvisor Member south2cabo
The blah reviews of the El Cid Castilla Beach are very accurate. The rooms are in deparate need of a remodel, the pool near the "all inclusive area" is in need of a good cleaning and some repair, and at least some of the staff, mostly in the reception area, acted as though they were doing us a favor by letting us stay at the resort (bad attitude). The all inclusive program is a farce! Anyone donning the all-inclusive arm band is required to visit a bar that is located clear across the resort from the main pool and good luck finding any wait staff when you actually get over there. The food and drink choices are very limited for the all inclusive guests. A single dining establishment open for dinner was a huge joke compared to the long list of dining choices that were provided when I booked this trip. The bottom line is that all-inclusive guests at the El Cid are treated like they have some sort of highly contagious disease and need to be kept in a separate area for the other guests. Never again at the El Cid! The Pueblo Bonito can take my money any day!
2nd trip even better than 1st
by A TripAdvisor Member
We spent seven great days and nights at El Cid Castilla from Dec 19 to Dec 26, 2003. We had been there in late Jan. 2003 and had a very good trip so this time we invited out two college age kids along. El Cid is a beautiful All Inclusive that is very clean, has very helpful and friendly staff and the food is excellent. On both trips we ate at the buffets and made several restaurant reservations on the property. We never had a meal that wasn't very good. On the last trip we had two rooms and both were kept very clean every day by the staff. The waiters at the buffets bend over backwards to keep you happy. (we tip, so that might help). I am baffled by the poor reviews this hotel recieves. Most of the substandard reviews have a major problem with the alcohol. We don't drink, so I can't comment on that. Other reviews comment on dirty pools. On both our trips the pools were perfectly maintained and we never saw anything in the water but people. If you get up early enough you will see pool maintainance working on the pools every morning. The night shows are fantastic and there is no good reason to leave the hotel for entertainment. You just eat at the buffet, enjoy desert and then enjoy the show. If you make a restaurant reservation there is still plenty of time to make it to the evening show and have a second desert. We are absolutely hooked on El Cid Castilla and will definately return. We have already recommended this hotel to friends looking at their first Mexican vacation.
Could not be happier with our experience!!!
by A TripAdvisor Member
I just had to write a review on our experience to El Cid's Castilla. It was more then I expected. I read some of the reviews after I booked this trip and I was alittle afraid of the experience I was about to have. Well, these reviews could not have been more wrong. I went with my husband, 2 daughters and a son(all grown) and we were treated like royalty. We did the all inclusive plan. The staff were so eager to help us in every way. There was 1 waiter for every 2 tables, now that is service. The food was good and plentiful and the drinks were flowing and not one was watered down (as some reviews were saying). We got our money's worth at this hotel. Our family had the time of their lives on this vacation and we will be going back soon. I really don't know what other people expected out of their experience at this hotel, but I know that ours was excellent. I recommend this hotel to anyone that is thinking about heading to Mazatlan.
Summer Vacation at El Cid
by A TripAdvisor Member
Summer Vacation 2003 at El Cid, where do I start.... This past summer my wife, 2 daughters and I decided to go on our annual summer vacation. We usually go to Mexico for two reasons, we are of Mexican decent, and we feel like we get a great value for out Money when traveling in Mexico. We usually try to stay at places that label themselves as five star facilities. In the past this has worked for us. El Cid calls itself a five star so we decided to give it a try. This year was the first time that we stayed at an all inclusive hotel. The first impression that we got of the hotel was that the place had a moldy smell to it and this was just the beginning. We were assigned a tower room on the fifth floor. When we went to the room the beds were not made and the room had not been cleaned. I went back down stairs and was assigned a new room. I had read from other reviews that the elevators were slow, that was an understatement. During check in I asked for a pool-side room and was told that one would be available on the following night (we stayed for six nights). I was glad to move. The only problem was that when I was moved I discovered the source of the moldy smell that I wrote about earlier. The poolside rooms were very smelly; the bed covers were the worst. We put our bed cover out in the patio area every night to try to keep some of the smell out. The entire hotel is in DIRE need of repair. The décor of the rooms is very 70s with a giant shag carpet picture adorning the main wall in front of the beds. The beds are O.K. if you like to sleep on had surfaces like concrete. By the second day I really missed my bed at home. The food, well lets put it this way, the food is O.K. the first two days. By the third day on, it all starts to taste the same. I cant prove this but I observed some food recycling, for example there was chicken with some weird spices for dinner and the next day for breakfast there were chicken enchiladas with the same spice, probably just coincidence but kind of makes you go hmmm. The sit down restaurants are by far the highlight of the entire facility. The pool-side food is pretty bad, unless you are a fan of soggy fries and hot dogs. The drinks vary in quality, from just plain bad to not drinkable, depending on the time of day and the bartender. The staff was not very helpful for the most part, most of the time they just stood around and do nothing. I am a big fan of tipping and that did not even help that much. One waiter stands out in my mind. He came up to me and asked me and my family to move from a pool-side tables because he felt that we had been sitting there too long, granted there were six other poolside tables that were empty. Why put tables pool side if you do not want people to sit it them? I told him that my kids were going into the pool and then they would come to the table and snack then go back into the pool again. I then told him that I was paying for all-inclusive and that meant that I could sit on that chair next to that table. He just mumbled something under his breath and walked away. The time share people are not too bad. They are your typical time share sales people, just be firm and they will leave you alone. I do not know how they could possibly sell any timeshare considering the condition of the facility. If I was to describe the pools in one work that word would be DIRTY. In fact, on our last day at the resort we were in the pool that has the water slide and my wife tells me look over there there was a condom floating in the pool not too far from our kids. Needless to say we ran out of the pool and never went into the pools again. I know that my experiences were not unique as I spoke with other hotel guest their experiences were similar. Overall this was the worst hotel that I have ever stayed at. I will never return to El Cid Castilla Beach EVER again. I should have listened to the other reviews on this website, most of them were right. If you want to save yourself some aggravation, stay somewhere else Trust Me.
Would not stay at El Cid Again
by A TripAdvisor Member
The El Cid is very overrated. The all-inclusive is a waste of money.
Too many other good places to eat with decent, hot food near the hotel.
The food was about the same for all 7 days there. My wife found hair in her food at least twice - I think it came from all of the kids that would play in the buffett line. Coffee was only available two times out of 7 days for breakfast - either they ran out or it never made it to the serving line. The drinks were awful; made with the cheapest booze available I think. Only one beer available most of the time - Tecante.
Sol was available part of the time, but never Pacifico, etc. From the time you walked into the front door until the time you left, the time-share sharks were after you in the front lobby, etc. Could not go onto the beach because of the "peddlers" of wares, i.e. hats, temp tattoos, etc. The daily activities for the all inclusive were poorly organized. My wife and I have been to several all-inclusives in the past and this is undoubtly the worse one ever.
El Cid very average
by TripAdvisor Member weasel20
Traveled to Mazatlan for the 1st time in June and had a great time.
Lots of things to do there. El Cid was ok however I think there are better places to go. We were dissappointed that all the restaurants weren't open, and the rooms were very average. Definately not a 4 star.
If you like to drink and you will be around the hotel most of your stay get the all inclusive. If you are there for the food, go somewhere else. The best thing there is El Caracol. The foam party was crazy, it is a must see.
A lot of people complain about the time share people. If you have about 2 hours to blow, go to the one at El Cid. You can negotiate a lot of perks just for going. I got a round of golf at the on site course and my wife and I both got a massage. A friend of mine got a half day fishing off-shore. So just go to listen not to buy and milk 'em for as much as you can.
Would go back to Mazatlan but probably wouldn't stay at El Cid.
Not what it used to be
by A TripAdvisor Member
I just got back yesterday. I stayed for 8 days and thank goodness only had all-inclusive for 2 days. The food was terrible. You could only eat and get drinks at certain resturants at different times of the day. We could get drinks at one pool but not at the other. What a pain. The hotel is in major need of repair. It was a very nice place in its day, but just doesn't cut it anymore. The tiles are all coming up in the pool. The plumbing is horrible, showers would be hot and cold, toilets would flush sometimes, and the faucets would only work half the time.
When I asked about it, I was told no other guests were having problems.
I have also heard there is alot of theft from the rooms-even the lock box in the closet. We had no problems with that, but it makes you wonder. I would not stay there again and definately would not do the all-inclusive.
Forum Posts
El Cid Hotel and Yacht Club
by 2putt
We are going to this hotel Nov.8/03 for a week.
Can we buy a food and/or food beverage all-inclusive band when we arrive, as the accommodations are already paid for through RCI?
Also, is there a free shuttle to the hotel from the airport?
Thanks,
Robert
Re: El Cid Hotel and Yacht Club
by YVRDave
Try contacring them from here Robert. I would assume that you should be staying in the hotel section instead of the time share section. i hope I am wrong.
There is no shuttle that I know. of.
Griff
Have a great trip.
Re: El Cid Hotel and Yacht Club
by seagoingJLW
If you booked through the cruise line, they will provide transfers. It will be in the booklet you get with all the other vouchers and tickets.
Joan
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