Review of Sunscape Dorado Pacifico Ixtapa Resort & Spa 4*

Food poisoning is the reason for this poor review. After more than 24 hours of me being deathly ill, my spouse and I were forced to extend our stay by 2 nights. The General Manager agreed not to charge us for the 2 nights, and gave us an additional U$200.00. That money did not nearly cover our out of pocket expenses, or my emotional trauma. The fee for changing our flight was $400.00, the doctor who cared for me in my room charged $100.00, in addition to extra nights boarding my dog, and extra nights of parking fees at the airport. We were forced to sign a release at the hotel, or we would have received NOTHING. A year ago, I gave this hotel a positive review. I don't know what has happened in the last year, but the food is less than desirable. The breakfast buffet is acceptable, because omelets, eggs, pancakes and crepes are cooked to order. The majority of the food on the buffet is cold or dried out. Blue Water Grill and Barefoot Grill are good, but the Italian and Mexican are horrible. I travel extensively, and found this hotel to be sub par. The staff is great, the drinks are watered down, and top shelf "anything" is NOT available. The Unlimited Vacation Club members get extras, but not so for the regular guest. The weekends are over crowded with locals and their children, as the hotel offers good weekend rates. There is no peace and quiet in the evenings on the south side of the building, due to the live entertainment blasting the music. Keep in mind for those with children, or anyone wishing to watch a movie in their room, peace and quiet or sleep is impossible before 10:30 pm. Avoid rooms on any floor from 01 to 16. All are on the south side of the building. Back to the Unlimited Vacation Club members. The hotel concierge staff reserves chairs on the beach front on a daily basis for these "special" guests. There are tilapas on the beach that offer shade. The first row has eleven. Eight of those are reserved by the staff. The second row has twelve. Eight of those are reserved by the staff. The third and fourth rows are available to anyone, but the ocean view is mostly blocked by the first two rows. All of the best loungers around the pool are reserved also. The Sundial which is the hotels daily news letter states "We have supplied enough lounge chairs in both the pool and beach areas. For this reason it is not allowed to reserve the lounge chairs with any kind of object. If they are not being used for more than 60 minutes the items will be removed by our security or cleaning staff and taken to the lost and found". NOT TRUE! The concierge staff reserves lounges for hours. Beach towels are not allowed in the room, is another rule. However, as early as 6am the lounges not reserved by the concierge staff, are somehow reserved by guests who magically had towels at hand, even though the towel station did not open until 8 am or later. The hotel prohibits cotton t shirts in the pool because the fibers block the filters. This is understandable, but this rule is not stated anywhere around the pool, and staff members who don't know the rules tell guests who are wearing nylon, or polyester shirts they can't be worn in the pool. Someone from the staff should take a walk down the beach to some of the other resorts, and read their signs, which clearly reference "no cotton t shirts in the pool". This entire experience was pathetic. It was our 7th trip to Mexico in 15 months, and 4 of those trips were to AM Resorts. Sunscape Dorado Pacifico, AM Resorts, and Apple Leisure Group should take a serious look at the issues described.