Is Tequila Beach Club really that bad?

[coastergirl98]

Hi Everyone.

 

I've been a cruisecritic lurker for quite some time. This is my first post since I've always used the search feature to find answers to my questions. But today, I had a question and I wanted to get member feedback.

 

My family and I will be on the Valor on June 10, 2007. We were considering Tequila Beach, but after reviewing the latest reviews, I'm second guessing that decision. We were going to purchase the all inclusive package. At best guess, I'd say each person would order 4 drinks each. Should I book the all inclusive package for $35 or would it be better to purchase each drink individually? Also the earlier reviews (March and beginning of April) of Tequila Beach made it seem like a good place to hang out but the most recent reviews made it sound as if it should be avoided. Has Tequila Beach Club gone that that much in the past months? I've read only good reviews for Pez Quadro (sp?). Should I go there instead? We're looking for a place with a nice beachfront as we intend to get in the water, reasonably priced drinks, and decent food.

 

Please advise. All comments are welcome :)

 

Thanks.

[Crusing Bob]

coastergirl98-my wife and I have been in the same boat as you except that I bought the Captain's Pass from Otto a few months ago and had never seen any negative comments at that time as you also said. I have had a number of e-mails from Otto who has been conveying these stated problems to the owners each time I have advised him. I believe he will see that we are taken care of by getting us with an attentive wait person. I'm concerned that some have either been very critical over matters when they didn't let Otto help them out for a pleasant stay. We only have time there to 1PM based on our ship departing at 2PM so I have expressed we didn't want to deal with any unpleasantness.

[lazygal]

I was at Tequila Beach in Feb, and was very happy with it. Then again, we just wandered into it from purchasing $15 snorkle excursions at the port. They certainly treated us well enough, considering we didn't purchase any daypass. Clean restrooms, clean operation, lockers and they were great to us. We were not hassled nor bothered in any way. We paid as we went for food and drinks and waverunners. We loved the snorkle trip and the beach afterwards.

 

For people who pre-pay and think this is a world class resort with Americanized service - you will be disappointed. It is however a great lttle resort for Mahajual.

 

My sincere advise to anyone would be to not pre-purchase any of the passes.

You can go there without the pass!!! They are not going to turn you away if you only buy one drink.

 

You will actually find the passes available for less at the pier if you change your mind. We snorkled with people who paid $20 for an all you can drink pass. The cruise critic discount people speak of is in reality a generic "discount" because you are overpaying to begin with. Enjoy the beach, have a drink, snorkle or rent a waverunner - then move on to Majahual and experience the charm it has to offer. I would definitely have a Margarita at the Cat's Meow ( order it yourself at the bar to avoid the brazen tip hustler) My fear is they are going to be much weaker now in light of the bad press.

 

Someone else said it best. Do not overthink and overplan this port. Get away from the pier, go into Mahajual and experience it before it is completly destroyed. It seems to be happening quickly.

 

We had a great day there - after reading the boards and feeling very iffy and concerned. People and their expectations are all different.

[coastergirl98]

Thanks for the replies.

 

I think we'll just pay as we go and if we're unhappy at Tequila Beach, we'll just move on to the Cat's Meow or Pez Quadro. I'm not expecting stellar service, only reasonable service. I'll be sure to go to the bar and get the drinks myself.

 

Thanks for the tip about the Cat's Meow. I'll definitely stop there before returning to the pier. I love a good margarita. :)

[Crusing Bob]

lazygal-where did you get the $15 deal on the snorkel excursion. If at the Port, can you guide me to which kiosk or whatever. Thanks, Bob

[lazygal]

Bob, as you walk through the port, you will see kiosks on your left. They will be calling to you to sell their tours. Keep walking - the tour we bought was at the last kiosk on the left, almost at the exit. He saw we were carrying snorkle gear and called out the $15 price. We had heard that was the going rate, which is VERY reasonable for a boat trip offshore. It was an hour and a half trip. One hour snorkling plus travel time. They include gear, you do not need your own. Olinca tours also has a booth. Since you are already going to TB, make sure your snorkle boat leaves from there.

 

You can also bypass the booths altogether and go right to the dive shop at Tequila Beach.

 

We went to the bar for all of our drinks and were waited on very promptly.

Have a good time - It's a great sleepy little town.

 

There is no one answer for the inconsistant service. Sadly, I think with pre-pay passes, the establishment already has spent your money and doesn't understand the power of bad word of mouth. I've seen the same attitude when I go to a nail salon or spa with a gift certificate.

[TeeBuccs]

DH and I cruised on the Valor just two weeks ago and spent the better part of our day at Tequila Beach while in Coasta Maya. We actually chartered a private fishing excursion there and upon return opted to just stay at the resort. We ate and had drinks, etc.

 

I found the resort pleasant - although the wait staff a little hit or miss on speed of delivery. I am sure if you tipped a few bucks up front you would capture plenty of attention. Seeing how we abrubtly arrived off the Hannibal fishing charter we hadn't established ourselves with them yet. Food was good and drinks were reasonable. Beer was about $3 and soads in cans about $2 from what I can recall. (If you want with a glass of ice ask for specifically).

 

The beachfront was nice with chaise loungers and chairs - also tables with umbrellas for those seeking shade. The water appeared quite nice and many folks frolicked in the water, snorkled or sunbathed. I thought the place seemed quite nice although a little ways down the road in Mahahual, places were nice as well. Tequila beach is more of a "resort" feel while the others are smaller, indepedent restaurants with chairs. I guess it depends on what you are looking for.

 

Enjoy! It is a wonderful port, no matter what!

[J Free 203]

I was just there last week and we got there from a kiosk, we pad 80.00 for 2 people for the following

all you can drink anythings

all you can eat snacks (fry's nacho's)

1 entree (we had fajitas and they were terrible!!!) Portions so small!!!

1 1hr snorkel tour.

 

not bad for the price but as others said the service was hit or miss. Jaun took good care of us once we founf him I tipped him 10 up front and never went thirsty. Wave runners are 50 for a half hour and 90 for an hour...

[Crusing Bob]

lazygal, TeeBuccs, and J Free 203- all of your comments are very helpful. I wanted to snorkel and my wife would like to do a parasail if any of you have any comments for her interest. Thanks again, Bob

[Crusing Bob]

lazygal-I meant to ask if you thought the snorkel was great with many fish, etc to see. Bob

[J Free 203]

Bob the snorkel was decent, they take you right out to the reef and the water is so clear! not alot of big fish but lost of color!

[lazygal]

I agree. We had a good guide who would dive down and pull up rocks and small, colorful tropical fish would emerge. We were in spots where there were tropical fish, but I've been in better snorkling areas in Cozumel and St. Thomas. We came upon a bg rock wall that seemed to come out of nowhere. The water was very choppy, and I could see where inexperienced swimmers and snorklers may have problems. We are used to having no guide and going off on our own. He did make sure we all stayed with him and would call to any strays to rejoin the group. We wore vests. Still, for $15 it was well worth it, compared to what you would pay for a ship's tour.

 

I didn't see anyone parasailing. We rented waverunners for 1/2 hour for $45, but the guide kept us out for an hour. It was REALLY choppy and rough on the waverunners.

[Crusing Bob]

Thanks again guys.

Bob

[Crusing Bob]

Did either of you guys experience the below:

"John warned us that since they recently started the speed boat excursions it is dangerous to swim to the reef. He said the boats go right over the reef and a snorkler was recently hit by a boat. I guess there is a petition to have the speed boat path moved away from the reef."

[J Free 203]

not at all....

[lazygal]

No. I didn't see any speedboats, but agree that you should not swim to the reef. I almost swam back from the waverunner though. I was a rider and hated it. The waves were simply too rough.

 

I thought the guide and boat were a good operation with good equipment.

[Crusing Bob]

Thanks to you both for your replies.

Bob

[pink roses]

I was at Tequila Beach in Feb, and was very happy with it. Then again, we just wandered into it from purchasing $15 snorkle excursions at the port. They certainly treated us well enough, considering we didn't purchase any daypass. Clean restrooms, clean operation, lockers and they were great to us. We were not hassled nor bothered in any way. We paid as we went for food and drinks and waverunners. We loved the snorkle trip and the beach afterwards.

 

For people who pre-pay and think this is a world class resort with Americanized service - you will be disappointed. It is however a great lttle resort for Mahajual.

 

My sincere advise to anyone would be to not pre-purchase any of the passes.

You can go there without the pass!!! They are not going to turn you away if you only buy one drink.

 

You will actually find the passes available for less at the pier if you change your mind. We snorkled with people who paid $20 for an all you can drink pass. The cruise critic discount people speak of is in reality a generic "discount" because you are overpaying to begin with. Enjoy the beach, have a drink, snorkle or rent a waverunner - then move on to Majahual and experience the charm it has to offer. I would definitely have a Margarita at the Cat's Meow ( order it yourself at the bar to avoid the brazen tip hustler) My fear is they are going to be much weaker now in light of the bad press.

 

Someone else said it best. Do not overthink and overplan this port. Get away from the pier, go into Mahajual and experience it before it is completly destroyed. It seems to be happening quickly.

 

We had a great day there - after reading the boards and feeling very iffy and concerned. People and their expectations are all different.

So are you saying that I can just show up at this beach and do not have to have a pass/or is there no cover charge. This is something i am confused about reading everyone's posts. Thanks.

[smalltowngrll]

So are you saying that I can just show up at this beach and do not have to have a pass/or is there no cover charge. This is something i am confused about reading everyone's posts. Thanks.

From my understanding, and I will confirm this after my trip in 7 weeks, is that it's an open beach club. There are a lot of excursions that leave from this place. You can show up without pre-purchasing a pass and enjoy the beach. You can choose to purchase a pass that day or pay as you go.

[liasophia]

I emailed Otto about these reviews today and received a personal phone call from him within 30 minutes. He assured me that Tequila Beach club is under new management and working very hard to correct these issues. He said the majority of these complaints came out of Spring Break cruisers and TB was just not ready for the amount of customers they had. I sure hope it's better by our cruise in June. I'm taking 18 people there, most of whom have never cruised before!! So...we'll see!

[Crusing Bob]

liasophia-Otto has assured me things have improved and he keeps on them. I will be interested in your experience.

[pink roses]

From my understanding, and I will confirm this after my trip in 7 weeks, is that it's an open beach club. There are a lot of excursions that leave from this place. You can show up without pre-purchasing a pass and enjoy the beach. You can choose to purchase a pass that day or pay as you go.

Thanks so much. Hope you have a good trip .

[J Free 203]

I was there in May and I can say as I said above the resort is nice, the food is terrible and the drinks were small and warm. just my .02

[pink roses]

I was there in May and I can say as I said above the resort is nice, the food is terrible and the drinks were small and warm. just my .02

I noticed you paid for a package of sorts. Did there seem to be a cost to just get in. We do not drink alcohol. We do like good food though. We will have our kids with us we really just want a nice spot of beach for a couple hours and are happy to buy food and drink.

thanks for any help you can give me.

[coastergirl98]

I went to Tequila Beach Club on June 15. We were a party of 8 people and 1 child. We had a good time. Two people in our party purchased the Captain's Pass at the pier for $25 a person. There was a guy with a Costa Maya Tours shirt selling the Tequila Beach drink packages. The service was slow but it wasn't a big issue. There were only 2 servers so we didn't expect much. We were there to enjoy ourselves and when drinks weren't brought quick enough, we just went to the bar. We got hungry and paid an additional $5 to upgrade our Captain's Pass to include one main entree. Our server was very friendly and apologetic for the slow service. After awhile, he started bringing several drinks and food at a time. Again, we're on vacation and in extreme chill mode. The water was very shallow so that was great for the child with us. All in all, it was a good time. My only complaint was that they ran out of beach chairs and they were to be included in our package. But that didn't ruin our time there. We instead sat at a table on the beach and got in the water when we were ready.