In Mazatlan, beach day at the Hotel Playa, or Stone Island?

[SusieS]

In Mazatalan, we’re debating between a beach day at the Hotel Playa, or Stone Island, by Lety’s Restaurant. Any thoughts or suggestions?

[Taer al Saefer]

Ok so...Stone Island. It's very rustic. And when I say rustic, the host of our excursion joked that yes, they do have running water. It's all unpaved roads and bumpy tractor rides, if you do the Stone Island Beach Break excursion.

 

I absolutely loved loved loved it. I loved the privateness, the lack of overdone fake stuff to draw tourists in, no Senor Frog's...it was incredible. I got to hang around the beautifully quiet beach and enjoy my time there. That being said, my fam was expecting a resort and luxury and was taken aback at where we actually went. So it's up to you on how you prefer to spend the day, but I LOVED Stone Island.

[SusieS]

Great feedback! Thanks!!

[Taer al Saefer]

One thing I will say is that the food included was not good, and that was my one issue with it. We had fried fish filet, grilled chicken, cheese quesadilla, and beans and rice. All ordered by the cruise line and served to us, plates. I could get much better food at home in Seattle. We ventured off the menu and ordered some ceviche and seafood and THAT was delicious. So bring some cash and order off the menu if you're into Mexican food because nobody really enjoyed the pre-ordered stuff.

[Level six]

A couple of years ago we went to Stone Island on our own. There is a boat that will take you and pick you up for maybe $5. We then spent the day there, ate and drank. I had a massage on the beach. For 4 people the total was $50. We had a FULL day of drinking. The food was great. Massage awesome. I don't know anything about the other, but Stone Island was a fun day. They also have beach rentals, like boogie boards, etc.

[bostonfred]

Went to Stone Island about 10 years ago on a private excursion...Randi’s Happy Horses....turns out we were the only ones...picked up in a pickup truck...took the boat mentioned and then another flat bed...visited Antonio’s home before saddling up....he was fabulous, Island incredible, and spent about 2hrs on horseback, we are not horse people, but horses were gentle...finished at stunning beach for a mandatory beer, Antonio slapped horses butt and told them to go home, called his wife and said horses were on the way...then we repeated transit in reverse to ship...saw no hotels or development anywhere on our travels ...was a memorable day, although in retrospect, no one knew where we were or where we went, so we could have went missing and no one would have known...

[jasbo49]

I'd go for the Hotel Playa Mazatlan myself. We stayed there a couple of years ago for a week, and they have nice pools and are in the Golden Zone, which means the tourist center, where there are lots of things to do, good shopping, restaurants, etc. The hotel has a kind of international feel, with lots of Mexican families and people from Europe staying there, as well as people from the U.S. and Canada.

 

The beach there seems unstable at best. It was nothing like the postcard beach you'll find in the hotel literature when we were there. Largely washed away by winter storms, I guess.

 

Stone Island was just not for us. It is a large, long, desolate beach with a few restaurants and other buildings. When we were there in January 2016, it was quite deserted and it kind of felt like there was nothing to do or even see other than just walking along the tideline and looking at the ocean. That was fun for about an hour, then we just wanted to bail.

 

So the short version is, there's stuff to do at and around Hotel Playa and not much we could see on Stone Island.

 

P.S. Just saw bostonfred's post before mine, and they had a completely different experience at Stone Island. Just goes to show you. We all see things differently and I guess that keeps it interesting.

 

Jim

[SusieS]

Thanks so much, everybody! This information is incredibly helpful. I think we’re leaning toward Hotel Playa. So that we can walk around town, as well.

[Cruise Raider]

I am not a fan of Mazatlan so now just stay onboard, but have done both of those before and Stone Island would be my choice between those two.

[Mike45LC]

I took the boat to Stone Island and walked around for an hour or so before taking the boat back. I did this on my own, before my wife was up and ready to go out. The boat is about a 10 minute walk from the ship. I enjoy Stone Island.

 

For my wife, the hotel day pass is far more attractive. Attentive waitstaff. Nice modern restrooms. Nice modern café/bar. Showers to wash off the sand. Good quality loungers. And the Golden Zone to walk around in and shop at.

[WmFCoyote]

We have been to Stone Island on 3 separate cruises. We love the little restaurants and find it is a wonderful way to spend the day. Fresh (as in swimming less than 1 hour ago) seafood including Lobster are on many menu's. The price is great as a group of 4 can spend less than $50 for a days food and drink. The only drawback is that there are beach vendors that will try and sell almost anything but at a more reasonable price than in the city of Mazatlan.

Most of the beach front restaurants have cabanas and full size loungers plus shade . Bathrooms are satisfactory and clean. The ocean is good for swimming and the beach is clean.

If You haven't guesses it by now, we definitely prefer Stone Island and consider it one of the highlights of any Mexico cruise.:D

Edited January 9, 2018 by WmFCoyote
Missing information

[BlessedandGrateful]

We have gone to Mazatlan twice. First time was two years ago and we took our 4 kiddos ages 7, 10, 14, and 16. On this trip we did the Salsa and Salsa excursion. Fantastic! Everyone had a blast, great drinks, food, dancing, and fun. Hotel had a nice pool and beach available to use before going back to ship.

 

Last year my husband and I returned to Mazatlan without the kids. This trip we went up Stone Island, did horseback riding through Randy's Happy Horses (Randy is no longer there but I believe it is the same family.) we had a wonderful time, great guide, beautiful ride through the coconut trees, stopped for fresh coconut, back to ride on beach. Lovely day followed by lunch on the beach.

 

 

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[BlessedandGrateful]

Correction, we went with Maria's Happy Horses not Randi's.

 

We have gone to Mazatlan twice. First time was two years ago and we took our 4 kiddos ages 7, 10, 14, and 16. On this trip we did the Salsa and Salsa excursion. Fantastic! Everyone had a blast, great drinks, food, dancing, and fun. Hotel had a nice pool and beach available to use before going back to ship.

 

Last year my husband and I returned to Mazatlan without the kids. This trip we went up Stone Island, did horseback riding through Randy's Happy Horses (Randy is no longer there but I believe it is the same family.) we had a wonderful time, great guide, beautiful ride through the coconut trees, stopped for fresh coconut, back to ride on beach. Lovely day followed by lunch on the beach.

 

 

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[Bemidji Ty]

We have gone to Mazatlan many times over the past 25 years. Mostly by cruise ship but also for resort vacations. You can't do it all in one day. Pick one. We love Stone Island and the last few times we were there, we just walked out the cruise terminal, turned left and walked about 1/2 mile to take the short water taxi ride to Stone Island. We walked to Lety's for some wonderful shrimp, cold beer and a great day at the beach. I would recommend you take and use insect repellent. I can testify that leaving it on the ship doesn't work.

[justafem]

I would recommend you take and use insect repellent. I can testify that leaving it on the ship doesn't work.

 

I did that with sunscreen once. I can also testify to the fact that it doesn't work that way either.