Villa Vera seemed nice at first glance, but after a week it was apparent there were many problems. As RCI members, my wife and I were given the smallest room on the property (#307), with noisy guests above us. When we asked to be moved, the staff informed us of ongoing construction, preventing a room reassignment—we soon discovered that to be a lie. There was no shuttle service to the beach—it was either a taxi or a long walk down a narrow sidewalk beset by holes, unevenness, and smelly. Although the service was friendly, it appeared that Americans took a back seat at this facility. Upon checkout, we were hit with many surcharges (seven in all), even after using a phone card, the hotel took its share. It smelled of a scam. Our little room was next to the main street and truck noise was overwhelming. Maybe it was nice during the fifties and sixties, but it appears to be struggling now. There’s no way I would return to Villa Vera!

I had the great opportunity to stay at Hotel Villa Vera for a long weekend in April. Everything was really amazing. The hotel was just off the main strip along the beach. There is delicious restaurants all around, including a small place named Restaurante Flor a block down the hill. This is a great place if you want a truly home-cooked meal for next to nothing. Also a five minute walk down the hill and across the street (next to the ice cream shop) is a path that takes you down to a beautiful sandy beach. It was not crowded at all and a umbrella will only cost you a few pasos for the entire day; not to mention there will be a waiter at your service.

As for more about the hotel, the pools were breathtaking and uncrowded; I booked a room (201), which was one of the cheaper rooms, and it was perfect: jacuzzi tub, king size bed, AC, and double sink. And the reception was even lenient about checking out after the check-out time. (I don't remember the exact time, but we were late by a couple hours...although this may not happen to everyone,there was not extra charge.)

The only caution would be if you do not want to walk the short 2 blocks up and down the hill. Taxis are always available, and if you ride one up, which we often did after dinner, they'll even drive you to your room.

All in all, this was everything I could have asked for and more.

Villa Vera was very charming. It was a very quiet time at the resort (September) and we had most of the pools to ourselves. I think the best kept secret about this resort is that it has two actual villas. Casa Teddy and Casa Julio each have two wonderful bedrooms, 2 baths +jacuzzis, private outdoor living space (living rooms + kitchens) and their own private pools. This is where my friends and I stayed. It was our own private paradise. I've posted pictures to share, since I haven't seen anyone else talking about them. Apparently, Julio Iglasias actually lived in the Casa named after him at one time.

The staff was pleasant, but not extremely attentive. I think they might have been short staffed due to the low season. Though the maids were wonderful and kept our place very nice.

I'm a real beach person, but I didn't mind the pools here at all. There were plenty of them to change things up, and our private pools were super relaxing!

This was our first time to Acapulco. We didn't realize how quiet the city would be in September. Apparently, the summer is very busy there due to vacationers from Mexico City, and the winter is busy with tourists the rest of the year, and September is the one quiet month. We didn't mind at all! We had fantastic service at all the restaurants and the taxis were plentiful!

Villa Vera is located on a hill and the 10 minutes walk from the main street wasn't a big deal for us, although in the extreme humidity and high heat it could be a challenge for someone.

We stayed in a regular hotel room (they also have bigger separate units). The original room they gave us was for smokers and smelled very bad. But we asked to be moved and the front desk gave us a nice non smoker room. The room was quite large with high ceilings and marble tile floor (which was a bit dangerous for a toddler but looked good to us, adults). The maid service was very good. I wish the bedding was 100% cotton and not 50% polyester and 50% cotton. The so called Business Center offered internet access but the speed was really slow and the price was ridiculous. The plumbing was less than excellent - the water in both sinks and tub took a while to go down.

We were there with our 2 year old son and were only allowed to use 2 of the less nice pools. Because of that we didn't even bother to look around the complex and missed on the beautiful Casa Mila (I believe that was the name but might be mistaken) which had a magnificent pool, nice view and great shade - too bad we discovered it the day before we left. I'm still not sure if all guests can go freely to that place or they let us there because we gave the bell boy a good tip on the last day.

The hotel restaurant was nice with a great view, medium quality food and way too overpriced. We ate mostly in a local health food restaurant chain called 100% Natural, which had one of its restaurants close by on the main street. The food was great for a vegetarian and the prices were reasonable. We did not like a close by restaurant La Tortuga - the food was less than good and we think they took advantage of us and overcharged us when they saw us in a hurry to run home with our child getting a fever.

We hired a local taxi driver and a great guide, Sebastian (eskp_rsh at hotmail dot com), to take us around in his air conditioned car and show us whatever was worth seeing in Acapulco. He showed us to the perfect beach for small children called Puerto Marques - beautiful place, shallow water, barely any surf). We thought Caleta Beach (recommended by the hotel staff) was overrated. We took a nice boat ride around the bay at sun set - Sebastian took us directly to the departure place (if you do it through the hotel I think they charge extra). The Chapel of Peace was the most beautiful places we visited in Acapulco. Sebastian took us there right when they open in the morning, so we were by ourselves for a little while. The view from there is spectacular. The Cliff Divers show was interesting. The Diego Rivera mural was worth seeing.

If you go the market don't get caught with the prices they give you. We found that even after bargaining quite a bit, we got things at a much higher price than we got the same things on the beach at Puerto Marques.