Manzanillo resort for the day

[SNJCruisers]

With regards to Karmina Palace...they sent me an email back in May and it stated it was 69.00 pp for their all-inclusive.

I just received an email from Tesoro, with the response to my day pass request of 9/26 that we will be there and they quoted me 490 pesos, if it's 10/1...thats 49 bucks.

Looks like it'll be Las Hadas or something else that day.

[Kokopelli2]

Has anyone been to Las Hadas? Is that nicer than Tesoro? Is that a walk-in resort (not all-inclusive)?

 

Thanks....

[bonzijam]

Las Hadas would be our choice of the two big ones. Karima palace is too expensive. Las Hadas has always been beautiful, yet not much going on. We would just walk in, pick a place to sit, and order food and drink, seems less trouble and expense than negotiating a $35/day deal at the front desk.

 

Las Hadas below

 

Las Hadas below

 

We prefer, nearby to Las Hadas, Audiencia beach, it has a large welcoming resort and lots of beach visuals and activities

 

Audiencia beach

 

 

If we wanted to go to Audiencia Beach and NOT use the AI, where would we tell the taxi to drop us off? Also, I noticed you had a snorkeling area on one of your maps. Have you snorkeled the Audencia beach area? If so, tell us about it. Is it worth bringing our snorkeling gear along? Your advice is always greatly appreciated.

[Kokopelli2]

Does anyone have any updated info/prices for Manzanillo?

[CupKayke]

Does anyone have any updated info/prices for Manzanillo?

 

All the private tours listed here and on other CC Manzanillo threads have been researched by me... every one of them are $10 to $20 more per person than Carnival's excursions.. first time I've seen that! :eek: FYI

[Kokopelli2]

All the private tours listed here and on other CC Manzanillo threads have been researched by me... every one of them are $10 to $20 more per person than Carnival's excursions.. first time I've seen that! :eek: FYI

 

Wow, that IS a first! :)

 

I guess I should have been more specific as to my post. We are looking for a resort to hang out at.

[bonzijam]

If we wanted to go to Audiencia Beach and NOT use an AI, where would we tell the taxi to drop us off? Any idea of taxi pricing to and from that drop-off area? Also, I noticed there were snorkeling areas on some of the maps throughout this thread. Has anyone snorkeled the Audencia beach area? If so, tell us about it. Is it worth bringing our snorkeling gear along? Your advice is always greatly appreciated. :)

[SNJCruisers]

Wow, that IS a first! :)

 

I guess I should have been more specific as to my post. We are looking for a resort to hang out at.

 

Don't know whether you're looking for AI or not, but there are 3 basic choices. The Tesoro and Karmina Palace by Barcelo are AI. Tesoro is charging 490 pesos, around 42 bucks. Karmina is charging 69 dollars. The concierge at Karmina also said a taxi costs 400 pesos, that seems a bit much to me. This is also the resort that Carnival has as it's resort of the day excursion. This is verified through pictures, specifically a white mayan sculpture which is poolside (could be a slide). The concierge at Tesoro told me to confirm 1 week a head of time. This is of course because they only offer the AI day passes if they are not at 80% occupancy.

 

Another option is Las Hadas. This is an older property which costs 30 bucks and you get vouchers to use for food and drink. Do a specific thread search on CC for each of these properties and you can get more information, as well as on tripadvisor.

[zanydoc]

Could you please post the email address of your contact at the Tesoro resort. I could not find it on their website and I wanted to know if they were offering day passes in late September on a Monday when we will be visiting on the Carnival Spirit. I hope it'll be still 29.00. They are running a stay two nights, get a third night free, so obviously, it's the slow time of the year for them, but then again, because of the promotion, they might reach the occupancy percentage to not offer day passes.

 

We are going on the Spirit in October--hopefully, you'll post a review! And you are only a month + away! Yea! I would love to also know about this resort and how things go in Manzanillo for you and your family.

[cathyz]

Don't know whether you're looking for AI or not, but there are 3 basic choices. The Tesoro and Karmina Palace by Barcelo are AI. Tesoro is charging 490 pesos, around 42 bucks. Karmina is charging 69 dollars. The concierge at Karmina also said a taxi costs 400 pesos, that seems a bit much to me. This is also the resort that Carnival has as it's resort of the day excursion. This is verified through pictures, specifically a white mayan sculpture which is poolside (could be a slide). The concierge at Tesoro told me to confirm 1 week a head of time. This is of course because they only offer the AI day passes if they are not at 80% occupancy.

 

Another option is Las Hadas. This is an older property which costs 30 bucks and you get vouchers to use for food and drink. Do a specific thread search on CC for each of these properties and you can get more information, as well as on tripadvisor.

I can confirm that Karmina Palace is the resort for Carnival's resort excursion. We took that excursion last time in Manzanillo and will probably go there again, via Carnival, in October.

[SNJCruisers]

I can confirm that Karmina Palace is the resort for Carnival's resort excursion. We took that excursion last time in Manzanillo and will probably go there again, via Carnival, in October.

 

So, obviously, you had a great time there and it's worth the 86 bucks a head. The website though says it's a 5 hour excursion. Is it about a 1/2 hour drive? If so, that would reduce it to 4 hours at the resort. Was the food buffet or a la carte dining? Remember how upscale the alcohol was? 86 bucks is a lot for only a few hours and I want to make sure it's top shelf. Thanks.

[SNJCruisers]

We are going on the Spirit in October--hopefully, you'll post a review! And you are only a month + away! Yea! I would love to also know about this resort and how things go in Manzanillo for you and your family.

 

When I contacted them recently, the concierge said that they are charging 490 pesos per adult. This is about 42 bucks. Plus taxi of course. All of the private tours that I have researched online in Manzanillo are very expensive. We're still up in the air as to what and where we're going.

[Rottie55]

When I contacted them recently, the concierge said that they are charging 490 pesos per adult. This is about 42 bucks. Plus taxi of course. All of the private tours that I have researched online in Manzanillo are very expensive. We're still up in the air as to what and where we're going.

 

Hey SNJ,

 

Richie1 and I were think'n on trying out the Hotel Tesoro on our cruise.. Looks like it might be the best deal for the $$... At $42 it doesn't sound bad at all... Do you know what their price is for children?... Just wondering how you contaced them...... wondering if we should also contact them for some details..... maybe they'll even give us a better deal if we have more people?.... Thanks for all the info so far, definitely helping us make a decision on what to do in Manzanillo...

[SNJCruisers]

Hey SNJ,

 

Richie1 and I were think'n on trying out the Hotel Tesoro on our cruise.. Looks like it might be the best deal for the $$... At $42 it doesn't sound bad at all... Do you know what their price is for children?... Just wondering how you contaced them...... wondering if we should also contact them for some details..... maybe they'll even give us a better deal if we have more people?.... Thanks for all the info so far, definitely helping us make a decision on what to do in Manzanillo...

 

Rottie.....CC does not like it when people try to recruit others for tours, so they may not like this....so I am going to respond back to you over on our roll call.

[xbatt8]

RE: Karmina Palace....

 

I have done the Carnival excursion here twice. Had a great time on both visits.

 

Yes, you end up getting about 4 hours of visitation time, which can be plenty..... We tend to be hard partiers, so 4 hours is enough to have us wiped out by the time we leave.

 

The food is available 2 ways. There is a very large and very nice buffet inside the dining area. Food was excellent and there were a lot of choices. There is also a snack shack near the beach where you can get street tacos, burritos, tostados, chips etc. We ate here once and while they were good, they were also kind of limited.

 

There are several bars all over the facility, so you are always close to a drink. You can wait for a server, but they have very few of them. Quicker to just walk the 50 feet to the bar. The alcohol is not top shelf, but it seemed fine to me... and it was plentiful. They fix just about anything you want as long as they have the ingredients. They didn't have Capt Morgan, but I was OK with just a plain rum and coke. They also do blended drinks including Miami Vices.

 

I can't comment on the beach, as we have never spent any time on it. They have several different pools (for floating, adults, kids, etc), and we have spent all our time there. One pool has a nice cave with a waterfall coming from the pool above it. There is also a very fast slide that comes down the inside of a man made mountain that they say is for kids under 16 only. I rode it many times. :-)

 

It is rather expensive considering the other choices, but the facilities are awesome, and the food and booze were great also.

 

If you just want to lay on a white sandy beach under a palapa, then this resort may not be the one for you. But for great pools, food, and booze, I thought it was perfect.

 

Bob

[cathyz]

So, obviously, you had a great time there and it's worth the 86 bucks a head. The website though says it's a 5 hour excursion. Is it about a 1/2 hour drive? If so, that would reduce it to 4 hours at the resort. Was the food buffet or a la carte dining? Remember how upscale the alcohol was? 86 bucks is a lot for only a few hours and I want to make sure it's top shelf. Thanks.

Yes, we had a good time, the grounds are beautiful with a nice little protected beach area and lots of pool areas and the biggest hot tub I've ever seen. The lunch was a buffet, but had lots of selections. The alcohol was included, but some in our group complained about the beer not being very good (Sol), but the mixed drinks were good and unlimited. It might be a little higher priced than something you could do on your own, but we like the convenience of the nice air conditioned bus ride and the 'insurance' of not being left behind by Carnival if there are problems/delays.

[CupKayke]

I realize this is an all-inclusive thread but I've noticed a couple of people asking about the beach. I posted this on my roll call and thought I would share it here, too. We are spending the day at Miramar Beach. I had been looking for something involving water since it will be nearly 100F when we are there so we are going to Miramar Beach for the morning/day.

 

We are either taking a shuttle from the pier (there are apparently shuttles at the pier now, offering rides to/fro various places for cheap) or a taxi (approximately $10 to $15 U.S. dollars each way ~ negotiate your price before getting in the cab) or a local bus (marked with Miramar painted on the front window, 4 pesos or 50/60 U.S. cents).

 

I found this picture of the beach (along with others) which initially got me interested...

 

The caption said - 4 chairs and a table for the day - $10. My research tells me you can get even more than that for the same price... and several bars and restaurants lining the beach will allow you to sit on their area of the beach, in their loungers and under their umbrellas, for free... if you will buy some drinks and/or food... and they will serve you... and I've seen some of the prices... which look very reasonable/cheap ~ $2.50 for Coronas, $6 for margaritas, $12 for fajitas, $2 or less for tacos, and some reports were even better than that.

 

There are places to rent boogie boards because the beach has a small wave ~ but nothing big if you are used to any type of surf area, this place isn't for you. There are also vendors offering massages (one guy got a 25 minute massage for $15), others offering banana boat rides, wave runners to rent, etc.

 

There is also an artist's market and an indoor market approximately 50 years north of the beach.

 

Anyway, I have been going online between here, Trip Advisor, and other sites and copying lots of info to a Word document today. If you are interested, let me know and I'll be happy to share more info.

[Kokopelli2]

CupKayke, Thanks for the info and I would be very interested in more!

 

We still have decided what we are doing in Manzanillo. I was looking at Tesoro, but what you are describing sounds a little like Medano Beach in Cabo. Would be interested in whatever info you have.... Thanks!

[CupKayke]

Here is all the info I have on Miramar Beach... most of this is cut and pasted from Trip Advisor, here, or other websites that I found were updated with current info. It isn't in any special order. Based on what I can find and what I've read... this is definitely where we are spending our day in Manzanillo!

 

Miramar Beach is in a region called Santiago Bay....

Bahia de Santiago takes on several other names for specific areas of beach. Miramar (View of the Sea), in front of Club Maeva, is marked by a pedestrian walkway over Highway 200. It is a good boogey boarding and surfing area, particularly at the Olas Altas section by Margaritas restaurant in front of the Hotel Vista Playa de Oro. Miramar Beach has thatched roof restaurants, beach umbrellas, boogie boards and inner tubes for rent, horseback riding and numerous open air markets (tianguis) selling all sorts of tourist treasures. Don't forget to bargain!

 

In case you are interested...

The road in front of Miramar Beach (where it runs alongside the ocean) is a paved pedestrian walkway.

 

 

Miramar Beach is nearly 5 miles long and has everything you would want to spend the day and is lovely to walk along and swim. There is a lovely new club on Miramar Beach called Club Oasis. Located in front of Club Santiago, it cannot be seen from the main street and offers some privacy. The owner is Diego and you can sit in front as long as you have some refreshments. They have a happy hour. If you are lucky there is a wonderful singer that who sings a lot of Elvis songs.

 

 

Just across the street from Margarita's/Bora's on Miramar Beach is a little shack that houses Colima Surf Side. They rent surfboards and boogie boards. Their website is http://www.colimasurfside.com/

 

 

Miramar Beach can be reached from Karmina Palace ~ if the gates are open ~ apparently, they put up gates and they have been locked recently so you can't walk through to the beach from their pool area. If the gate is unlocked the directions to the beach are... step off the Karmina property, walk through a small creek, and there is 5 miles of beach! The swimming at that direct area is a bit dangerous however... try the beach closeby towards Las Hadas.

(I was concerned about this and did some research. I found out that this is not the "DANGEROUS" area in Manzanillo ~ that is the other direction ~ but there are small waves ~ enough for a boogie board ~ but not enough to enthuse surfers or those who are into great waves... Basically, the further away you go from the center of the bay in either direction, the calmer the waters get. )

 

 

Here is another post I found.. The beach in Manzanillo for swimming and boogie boarding is Miramar Beach -- in the Santiago area -- great waves, lots of boogieboarders, bars, flea markets, outdoor restaurants, etc... There will also be guys renting wave runners, boogie boards if you do not have one, and offering banana boat rides.

 

 

All of the beachfront restaurants will have umbrellas and tables - most of them will allow you to sit there for free, as long as you're drinking and eating. And they'll bring everything right to your table so you don't have to lift a finger!

 

 

One lady said her favorite beachfront area was El Tablao. She posted a pic and listed lots of prices/took a pic of the menu too. Looked good. $2.50 for Coronas and several others. $5 to $6 for margaritas and such.

 

 

There are two areas to do souvenir shopping - the artist's market about 150 yards north up the beach and another little indoor market about 50 yards north up the beach - both of these are north of El Tablao, FYI.

 

By Miramar Beach there are a bunch of little shops. You can't miss it - that's where the cabs take you to shop. They also have a massage place there. Quoting from where I stole this... "My husband went in and came out with Jello legs. He said it was so good he was drooling and his headache went away. 25 minutes for $15.00. He was so impressed he was telling everyone on the beach to go there." (Again, just copied and pasted)

 

 

As far as getting there... I posted bus info on another thread I just started tonight - its 4 pesos each way or 50/60 American cents for the bus.... a taxi from the pier to Miramar should cost 200 to 220 pesos each way, and will be about a 20 to 30 minute ride, depending on traffic. Ask the cab driver to take you to the artist's market at Playa Miramar, or to drop you off near the El Tablao parking lot, which is about 150 yards south of the artist's market; from that parking lot, you'll have a selection of different restaurants to walk through and find your lounge chairs.

 

Here are some pictures of Miramar Beach... (I feel like I'm a travel agent, trying to sell someone a vacation here and I swear I did all this research for myself and my husband! HA)

 

 

 

 

 

Anyway, this is what I found. Hope it helps you and/or someone else. I've had the hardest time finding info on the Mexican Riviera so I plan to return and share everything I can with others. If anyone on this board has been to Miramar and can confirm or deny any of this info, feel free, I won't take it personally!! :)

[Kokopelli2]

CupKayke, thanks for the info and doing all that research!

[demsgirl]

Here is all the info I have on Miramar Beach... most of this is cut and pasted from Trip Advisor, here, or other websites that I found were updated with current info. It isn't in any special order. Based on what I can find and what I've read... this is definitely where we are spending our day in Manzanillo!

 

Miramar Beach is in a region called Santiago Bay....

Bahia de Santiago takes on several other names for specific areas of beach. Miramar (View of the Sea), in front of Club Maeva, is marked by a pedestrian walkway over Highway 200. It is a good boogey boarding and surfing area, particularly at the Olas Altas section by Margaritas restaurant in front of the Hotel Vista Playa de Oro. Miramar Beach has thatched roof restaurants, beach umbrellas, boogie boards and inner tubes for rent, horseback riding and numerous open air markets (tianguis) selling all sorts of tourist treasures. Don't forget to bargain!

 

In case you are interested...

The road in front of Miramar Beach (where it runs alongside the ocean) is a paved pedestrian walkway.

 

 

Miramar Beach is nearly 5 miles long and has everything you would want to spend the day and is lovely to walk along and swim. There is a lovely new club on Miramar Beach called Club Oasis. Located in front of Club Santiago, it cannot be seen from the main street and offers some privacy. The owner is Diego and you can sit in front as long as you have some refreshments. They have a happy hour. If you are lucky there is a wonderful singer that who sings a lot of Elvis songs.

 

 

Just across the street from Margarita's/Bora's on Miramar Beach is a little shack that houses Colima Surf Side. They rent surfboards and boogie boards. Their website is http://www.colimasurfside.com/

 

 

Miramar Beach can be reached from Karmina Palace ~ if the gates are open ~ apparently, they put up gates and they have been locked recently so you can't walk through to the beach from their pool area. If the gate is unlocked the directions to the beach are... step off the Karmina property, walk through a small creek, and there is 5 miles of beach! The swimming at that direct area is a bit dangerous however... try the beach closeby towards Las Hadas.

(I was concerned about this and did some research. I found out that this is not the "DANGEROUS" area in Manzanillo ~ that is the other direction ~ but there are small waves ~ enough for a boogie board ~ but not enough to enthuse surfers or those who are into great waves... Basically, the further away you go from the center of the bay in either direction, the calmer the waters get. )

 

 

Here is another post I found.. The beach in Manzanillo for swimming and boogie boarding is Miramar Beach -- in the Santiago area -- great waves, lots of boogieboarders, bars, flea markets, outdoor restaurants, etc... There will also be guys renting wave runners, boogie boards if you do not have one, and offering banana boat rides.

 

 

All of the beachfront restaurants will have umbrellas and tables - most of them will allow you to sit there for free, as long as you're drinking and eating. And they'll bring everything right to your table so you don't have to lift a finger!

 

 

One lady said her favorite beachfront area was El Tablao. She posted a pic and listed lots of prices/took a pic of the menu too. Looked good. $2.50 for Coronas and several others. $5 to $6 for margaritas and such.

 

 

There are two areas to do souvenir shopping - the artist's market about 150 yards north up the beach and another little indoor market about 50 yards north up the beach - both of these are north of El Tablao, FYI.

 

By Miramar Beach there are a bunch of little shops. You can't miss it - that's where the cabs take you to shop. They also have a massage place there. Quoting from where I stole this... "My husband went in and came out with Jello legs. He said it was so good he was drooling and his headache went away. 25 minutes for $15.00. He was so impressed he was telling everyone on the beach to go there." (Again, just copied and pasted)

 

 

As far as getting there... I posted bus info on another thread I just started tonight - its 4 pesos each way or 50/60 American cents for the bus.... a taxi from the pier to Miramar should cost 200 to 220 pesos each way, and will be about a 20 to 30 minute ride, depending on traffic. Ask the cab driver to take you to the artist's market at Playa Miramar, or to drop you off near the El Tablao parking lot, which is about 150 yards south of the artist's market; from that parking lot, you'll have a selection of different restaurants to walk through and find your lounge chairs.

 

Here are some pictures of Miramar Beach... (I feel like I'm a travel agent, trying to sell someone a vacation here and I swear I did all this research for myself and my husband! HA)

 

 

 

 

 

Anyway, this is what I found. Hope it helps you and/or someone else. I've had the hardest time finding info on the Mexican Riviera so I plan to return and share everything I can with others. If anyone on this board has been to Miramar and can confirm or deny any of this info, feel free, I won't take it personally!! :)

Thank you Cupkayke! I think we're sold on Miramar Beach for our day in Manzanillo; we had no idea what to do for this stop but really want to spend the day at a beach with amenities since we're travelling with 4 kids, so this is perfect!

[CupKayke]

You are both welcome.

 

I am still flip-flopping over the cheap & apparently adventurous bus ride or a taxi there ~ but we will definitely will take a taxi back to the pier ~ one adventurous bus ride is enough for me.

 

I am going to try and learn where the bus actually drops you off at in/near Miramar Beach. Apparently, Miramar Beach is an area of Santiago Bay ~ the good area ~ so that should be exactly where the bus stops ~ I suppose we'll see?! :D

 

I don't know when either of you are going to the Mexican Riviera but we are on the Sept/returning Oct 2nd cruise and I plan to right a detailed review rather quickly upon return so hopefully, I can answer any questions you have when I return. :)

[SNJCruisers]

 

I don't know when either of you are going to the Mexican Riviera but we are on the Sept/returning Oct 2nd cruise and I plan to right a detailed review rather quickly upon return so hopefully, I can answer any questions you have when I return. :)

They recently joined our roll call, so they are on the same 9/23 sailing that we're on.

[CaliforniaMama]

CupKayke, Thanks so much!! WOW! This looks better than one of the AI resorts. It looks like there is a lot to do... maybe boogie board, have some drinks, even souvenir shop. VERY cool! And we could cab it back when we are tired.

 

Can't wait for your review! We won't be in Manzanillo till December.

[CupKayke]

Thank you!!! I hope I can report some good info!! :D