We just returned from our second trip to the area in the past 5 years. Last time we stayed in Ixtapa but felt Zihuatanejo would be more fun this time...we were right!!!. I read the reviews before going down but a lot of these seem to be sour grapes or from people that have a different expectation to what visiting Mexico is going to be about. As far as Club Interwest goes, we travelled there with friends on their membership and stayed in an amazing 3 bedroom unit that over looked the bay. We found the staff to be amazing. Elowyn, Fransisco, Jesus (pool bar) and too many more to name were very gracious and fun to be around. I will admit that there are a lot of stairs and staying at the top meant 216 each way but we considered it our way to stay fit since we were missing our workouts anyway. I would have to say though if we were staying in another unit I probably would be less happy if we were one of the many that had patios right on the walkway or next to one of the many gethering areas such as Zi's or the pool. One recomendation I would make is that you will want to go to the mercado (store) and buy your booze and water (20 minute walk or 30 peso cab ride)...as with most resorts they charge as much as they do in the states for these items and you will go through your spending money quickly if you dont ($3 beer, $8.50 drinks U.S.). Zi's and the surf club had great food although it was a bit pricey for what you recived. There are some great eating options within walking distance if you choose (Il Mare, La Casa Cafe, were favorites) and if you want a real romantic meal out go to La Cala which is a 40 peso ride from the club to the oter side of town. Just make sure you get reservations and ask for a table on the lower level...you will be treated to an amzing dining experience as far as the view and the service (we heard people claim it was too expensive, but compared to the states our $100 meal would have cost us 2 or three times that for the same food in the asame location) . As for bugs...Its Mexico people...your in a warm and humid enviroment, expect them. Dont leave your food out (put ieverything in the fridge or bring ziplocks like we did for storage). Best breakfast is a short walk towards town, just past the cab stand go down the hill and follow the signs to La Casa Cafe. Here you will meet a very friendly American family from Portland who will serve you amazing breakfast (esspresso if you need one) and lunch for a very fair price. Dont let the location fool you we saw many poke their heads in a leave for what I am sure was a more comfortable location. We ate there multiple times and found the food and conversation to be great...No stomach issues here whatsoever other than we left a little to full.

The only place anyone in our party got sick from was at Paddys which is the next place up the beach from Club Interwest...based on the handwashing and restroom facilitys my guess is that was probably the cause and with pepto and yogurt things cleared within 24 hours for all 3.

You can certainly find nicer "resorts" to stay at in Ixtapa but ultimatley you are not getting to experience the beauty and culture that Zihua has to offer and you will be paying a lot more money for everying on and off resort property and I can tell you from experience that the staff at the big resorts will not compare.

My husband and I just returned home from a week in Zihuatanejo at Club Intrawest. We were impressed from the start of our trip to the end.

The property itself is gorgeous. Very bright colors, great architectural features. However, if you are not able to climb numerous stairs, this hotel might be problematic for you, as there are no elevators. Our room was immaculate, and the Intrawest staff took every measure to make sure it stayed that way throughout our trip.

The hotel is right on the beach, so we were able to do some swimming both at the beach and at the pool, which we loved. We also enjoyed the mango margaritas at the swim-up bar, especially at happy hour (usually around 3pm ~ when the bartender blows the trumpet!)

The hotel restaurant Zi was also lovely, the food wonderful. However, if you would like to venture beyond the hotel and try some new places, which we did, there are some great options nearby. In particular, Zihua Blue and Il Mare, both within walking distance of the hotel. In Zihuatanejo town, we enjoyed Bandido's and Capricho's for dinner. For breakfast, we loved walking to town and going to Margarita's.

Overall, when we return to Zihua (and we will), I would not hesitate to stay at the Club Intrawest again.

We have been club intrawest members since 2003. This was our first trip to the Club location in Mexico. We went for 10 nights, arriving on Dec 18, 2007. The location of the club is beautiful, but we had some disappointments.

A service offered by the Club is to supply some food in your room, which he had prearranged by email, as we were arriving later in the evening. There was no food in our room. When we mentioned this at the front desk, we were referred to the Food Services Manager, who blamed someone else.

The sink in the master bathroom was cracked and stained, and the shower in the second bathroom smelled bad so our daughter didn't want to use it.

People would get a lounge chair, put their towel or other belongings on it, and not even be in the pool area. One day, I noticed that there was not a single lounge chair available at either pool, yet there were only 6 people in the pools. I think the staff should monitor this better for the comfort of all guests.

We had arranged ahead of time to have a reservation for the Zi restaurant for Christmas dinner on the 25th, as we knew it would be busy. I received an email back from the Food/Beverage manger that we were booked for 7:00, as requested.

A few days after we got to the Club, we received a notice that there would be two seatings, at 6 and 8 PM. We rebooked for an 8 oclock seating, but when we checked in just before that time on Dec 25, we were told to wait as it was busy and the first seating had not finished yet. Then, we saw other people being show to tables, and figured out that the staff had forgotten about us. By the time we actually received our food, it was 10 PM, and although it was a good dinner, we had lost interest somewhat, not to mention our Christmas was kind of spoiled.

There was also another mix up with a reservation for breakfast at Zi restaurant after that. The restaurant manager definitely was very disorganized, and when we tried to complain to her, she was defensive, and not at all apologetic to us (high) paying guests. She was always very quick to try to point the blame towards one of her staff, and would accept no responsibility for any problems.

We had a lot more pleasant dining experiences in town, and just walking to some of the restaurants along the beach from the club.

The Splash night event was good food, and fun, but ended at 9:00 PM, and many guests thought this was much too early. It's not like any of us had to work in the morning!

One last point is that there are activities which can be booked through the club, such as a cooking class, and horse riding. I would have loved to do the cooking, but didn't find out about it until the day after there had been one. My daughter would have liked to ride, but didn't have anyone to go with, and I wasn't sending my 15-year-old off with a horse and a strange Mexican. The Club should have a sign up board in the lobby, so people can join others in activities. The Club missed out on some business there.


For those of you who are not Club Intrawest members, there are benefits, and CI are adding more uses for your points all the time, such as cruises, and the Hilton Grand Vacations. However, be forewarned, it is very difficult to get into the resort at Whistler in ski season, and extremely difficult to go on a vacation at one of the clubs when kids are typically out of school, such as Christmas, spring break, and summer. If you don't have children, or yours are grown, you will have more flexibility and it may be easier to go on a vacation using your points. To stay at least 6 nights, you can book 11 months ahead. Of course, in January, everyone is trying to get in for the following December. To be able to go for 10 nights to the Club in Mexico, we had to book on Jan 18 to arrive in December 18. If I had waited until Jan 23 to arrive Dec 23, all the units would have been booked, so we had to opt to take our daughter out of school early.

I asked one of the managers at the desk what the price was for our room if we were paying cash. I was told that our unit (1 bedroom, 2 bathroom) would be $650.00 US a night, going up to $850.00 just before Christmas. I think we could have stayed somewhere better for that kind of money!

Upon our arrival, we were handed a wet towel and a bottle of water, a nice gesture after a long trip and a dramatic change of temperature. One of the staff brought us to our room with the golf cart. He carried all of our luggage to our room without any complaints. We ha reserved a room with two bathrooms.
The room itself was fabulous with an open space concept facing the ocean. We even had our private little beach, a hammock, dip pool and plenty of chairs to sit on. Our room was located seconds away from the pool and the beach.
The weather was nice all week long but really hot for our taste. Other than walking along the beach or go in the pool, we did not feel that we had enough energy to do anything else. We heard of people that tried to play golf or tennis but they could not complete either because of the hot weather.
That being said, the beach was cleaned every day and was very enjoyable except for some jelly fish. There were locals around but other than peddling some of their products they have not disturbed us in any way.
The pool environment was also spotless. As we were there during the low season, we did not have any problems finding chairs and enjoy the scenery. You could sit in the sun or under a gazebo. The only unpleasant experience was people leaving their towels to reserve chairs and not come to the pool before late in the morning.
The zi restaurant favors casual clothing and the food is quite respectable for such a place. True, they did not have lobster or lamb, but all the other plates we quite appetizing and very good overall. Furthermore, if you do not want to climb the 137 steps to go to the zi, the same menu and more is available in your room, including wine. Service was very courteous and delivery was surprisingly quick.
The il mare restaurant, located steps away from the resort provide us with a good dinner and was well worth the change of pace.
As to bugs, we have seen a few salamanders, termites, ants and some cockroaches. We called the office and they sent someone to spray our room and left us a can of Raid. Regardless, bugs of that type are to be expected in such a tropical climate.
The only negative was our request for a full daily clean-up. It was done but afeter many phone calls. At the end, though, after talking to the housekeeping manager, all charges were waived.
Overall, a very pleasnt experience from all aspects and we would certainly go back.