This was my fifth vacation in Ixtapa and my fourth stay at the Presidente. In our initial decision to go to Ixtapa I researched the town/area and found building of the town started in the 1970's by the Fonatur Group as a tourist town. Just from that I knew that many of the hotels would date back that far and when you have a 40 year hotel you can expect to see the age in the structure. That being said, the Presidente has initiated renovations. The furniture in the rooms have been updated. The beds are firm (my personal preference) and comfortable, the pillows high quality, and the bedding is the current white "hotel chic". Renovations take time and money and in an economy where less people can afford to travel and hotels are experiencing great losses, I think this hotel has wisely prioritized their renovation strategy. What has not changed is the location. Who can complain about a beachfront hotel with convenient access to shopping, dining, drinking, and dancing directly across the street?

I'm often amazed when I read the negative reviewsabout this hotel, especially when it comes to staff and service. We never had to wait for a drink. In fact, on a few occasions we had to cut our waiter/waitress off. And the mixed drinks certainly weren't "weak". When I wanted to take a couple of glasses of wine back up to the room I was given a bottle of wine instead. The bartenders, waitresses, and waiters go out of their way to provide exceptional service and their service is not dependent on a tip. That being said, I have absolutely no problem tipping them given because they deserve it. I find there is more expectation of tip in the Canadian and American tourist cities and that is after waiting 15 minutes to get a $10.00 glass of wine that I could have bought the bottle for the same price.

We stayed at the Presidente from Feb 8-15/10. There were 11 in our group. Prior to our departure I was in communication with the guest relations manager, Esthela Buenaventura. She frequently comments on the reviews on this website and that is what prompted me to contact her. Every email I sent to her was responded to within the same day and she was very honest in what she could promise and not promise. When we arrived she was there to great us. She arranged for us to have rooms on the same floor and for my husband and I to have a balcony because we are smokers (the rooms and fully enclosed areas are non-smoking). She gave us our card with her direct extension in case we had a problem (we didn't). All of the staff, including the front desk, bellboys, concierge were extremely courteous, friendly and helpful. Everyone greeted you with hola or buenos dias/tardes/noches. What I did find, however, was that the guests were not always as polite and friendly and I can only assume that it is those types of people who were not getting the service they thought they deserved.

We booked oceanview rooms and were well aware that these rooms would be in the tower. That is what the Presidente website states and that is what the Nolitour brochure and website stated. Although it may be too subtle for some to pick up on, there is a difference between oceanview and oceanfront.

When we arrived we were suprised at the low vacancy and the low vacancy did affect the opening of the a la carte restaurants. I personally don't think the hotel can be blamed for this. Breakfast was buffet but there were also made-to-order eggs and the waiter would bring you bacon and toast to your table. And yes, the buffet did contain some traditional Mexican items but if don't want to be introduced into their culture then don't vacation in Mexico or don't stay at an all-inclusive. There are many restaurants across the street where you can buy breakfast, lunch and dinner.

For lunch you could do the buffet where they always had someone working the grill. Your other option was around the pool for burgers, hotdogs, fries, and natchos.

At dinner our group always found something to eat at the buffet. We were out and about a lot of the time and only made it to the a la carte twice and both times it happened to be Italian. I had no complaints because I could eat Italian everynight. One of the reviews stated that the Italian had a limited menu. Yes it was limited in the sense that you had four appetizers (salad/antipasto) to choose from; two soups; four or five pasta dishes (the four cheese fettucini was to die for); four or five entrees; and then a selection of desserts. That's a five course meal. Watch Ramsey's Kitchen Nightmares or Restaurant Makeover and the main issue identified for the failing restaurant is that the menu is too large.

If you want to be treated exceptionally by the service staff and get value for your money then I would highly recommend the Presidente. Whatever decision you make, do your research; maybe all-inclusive is not for you, or maybe this all-inclusive is not for you.

To my friends at the Presidente and in particular Esthela, Jesus, Tomas, Umberto, Luis, Mary Lou, and Viktor "mucho gracias" for another great vacation! (from your amiga, Lisa).

We just got back from 15 wonderful days at the Intercontinental Presidente in Ixtapa. This was our 5th time there and are already checking prices and hope to go back in August for our 20th anniversary. The staff is wonderful and we have made many many friends there! We had a beautiful pool view room close to the pool bar and service from the pool waiters was exceptional! We had 2 days of torrential rain and the staff did everything they could to keep the guest entertained - it's not the resorts fault it decided to rain in Ixtapa in February - we heard people complaining - well it's their own fault if they can't find something to do! They opened the lobby bar and had games you could play and even gave the guests cards and dice to play if they wanted to!

Rooms are being upgraded - new bathtub and shower - in room safe - flat screen tv!

We would recommend the Intercontinental Presidente any day!

Can't wait to go back!
Steve & Donna Wait
Michigan

We just stayed at the Presidente the last week in January. We had a large group and our rooms were all in the same area. Immediately upon entering our room we noticed a musty smell, but opened the patio doors and let the fresh air in and never noticed it again. The service was fantastic no matter what area we were in. The drinks were delivered quickly at the swim up bar and the maids did a fantastic job and always had adorable little flower pictures on the pillows. The grounds were impeccably clean and beautiful. It is in a wonderful location. The beach is wonderful and at night you can hear the waves roll in while in your room. The concierge was always very helpful and spoke really good English. The only thing that I would say was not perfect was the food. We got rather tired of buffets with the same food, etc. that we went to many of the little restaurants across the street and always had good food. Ixtapa is a fun place to go and never disappoints us. The weather was perfect every day.

We just go back from El Presidente Hotel, and we were not terribly inpressed. For an "ALL INCLUSIVE" we expected to be wined and dined non stop. it was a shame the bars would not open until 11 AM. You could not even get a soda (which we drank most of the time).

Breakfast started at 8AM - Noon (according to the marquee's), but usually opened by 8:15 or 8:30. They only offered buffets, and the food was the same regardless of which restaurant you went to.

Lunch started at 2-5 PM. You could eat at either of the 2 buffet restaurants (again the same food at both), or at the Hot dog and burger stand pool side. The food was usually good (not great) with enough of a variety. Everything was catered and made to the likes of the Mexican nationals that travelled there.

Dinner was from 7 PM - 11 PM. You could eat at either of the buffets which again had the same food, or they closed the buffets and you could eat at their ITALIAN place by the pools which ahd a limited menu, or their FRENCH Restaurant by reservations only.

In our 1 week there, they had the Itilian place open 3 nights, and the menu was the same for all 3 nights. When they have a FIESTA (3 nights), they close all restaurandts and you eat in the front of the hotel where they have a big shindig.

1 night they had a barbecue with Shish-kebobs and steaks, but the line was about 45 minutes long before you got to your plates to get the food.

They advertised an ice cream machine, but we could not find it anywhere. After 3 days, we asked management about it and they stopped ice cream a year ago. On our last day there, we caught a waiter delivering ice cream to rooms. Go figure.

The staff was very polite and friendly. The rooms were clean and well maintained. Our room attendant was a little too helpful a few times by throwing away things we needed and planned on keeping.

Oh! and the ppols. 3 of them but the deepest one was 4 feet deep, and they were not connected which made navigating kind of a problem. The steps into and out of the pools are in poor locations and opposite from where you would expect them to be.