MAZATLAN, MEXICO

Mazatlan, Mexico

Where we stayed: Hotel Riu Emerald Bay
Where we ate:

We went to Mazatlan with our company, Construct x Design, for our Christmas party. We chose Mazatlan for a few reasons, one being it is an area of Mexico that we hadn’t been to yet, and the other reason was its affordability. Mazatlan is a less common area for tourists in comparison to Cancun and Puerto Vallarta.

Mexico can be very dangerous; it is a good idea to read all travel warnings and in Mazatlan to stay inside the golden circle (a large city area). Stay alert and avoid wandering alone. We explored in groups of 4-11 people and felt safe at all times.

When we got to the hotel, it was busy and chaotic, with our package we had an airport to hotel transfer on a bus full of other people going to the same hotel. Check-in lines were long but moved quickly and suprisingly efficiently. We settled in our rooms which were nice but slightly out-dated; the bed didn’t have a duvet, just a sheet. We went down to the main buffet and loved our first dinner, which could be because we were hungry, but we had a great time. After a few meals there it got old eating the same food every day.

The Riu Hotel does nightly events like dance parties, foam parties, movies or shows. The Riu many amazing pools, we spent our time at the adult-only pool with a swim-up bar. The awesome bar tenders kept the drinks flowing and we had a great time.

What we enjoyed most about Mazatlan wasn’t the resort but the city. We took open-air taxis to the downtown area (Golden Circle (their central area)). Open-air taxis are by far the best way to get around Mazatlan, similar to a golf cart with massive speakers attached they are heavily regulated by the local government. It is fairly inexpensive to take their open-air taxis, just make sure you agree on a price before hopping in.

We explored Old Mazatlan which is an area with tons of heritage buildings. It is beautiful, tons of areas for great photos and cool restaurants and bars. Among them was El Presidio (OMG EL PRESIDIO!!!!). We ate dinner here twice, it is so delicious and an awesome aesthetic. We sat in a courtyard covered in plants and twinkly lights and ate the most divine food we’ve ever had. The service was incredible and I can’t mention enough how phenomenal the food was. Our favourite dish was the Brussel sprouts, order it, thank us later. The drinks at this restaurant were also amazing. El Presidio is a high-end, Mexican restaurant and we ate way too much and enjoyed many, many cocktails for $33 per person with the tip; super reasonable. The first time we tried to go to El Presidio it was closed, so we ended up at a restaurant around the corner called Rico’s. Rico’s is a chain restaurant with a few locations in Mazatlan. They have amazing tacos and milkshakes. We also had a few great breakfasts here, there was one very close to the Riu Resort. If you’re staying at the Rui, check out Mr. Lionso. It is a restaurant up the beach, you can walk there via the beach from the Riu. Mr. Lionso also has amazing tacos, but they also serve their own tequila, which they let you sample for free. If you wish to purchase them, they are also reasonably priced. They also have a massive tequila bottle that has a rattlesnake in it, they let you have shots of. This restaurant was awesome because it was so close to the hotel, and it made it very easy to avoid the buffet.

The Riu is massive and does offer a lot, but while we were there, they were doing maintenance and construction on a few elevators; it made it hard to love the resort itself. The elevators were tiny and took very few people at a time; this wasn’t a problem for people staying on the early floors, but we were on the 22nd floor, and so the stairs weren’t a great option. The elevator construction also made check out, hellish. It took Marika nearly an hour to get an elevator to bring our bags downstairs for check-out. We fell in love with the city of Mazatlan and we constantly talk about coming back.