Decameron La Marina Guayabitos, Ramada All-Inclusive Resort

The beds are hard as are the pillows. The food was average to above average. The staff are very friendly and helpful except that the front desk staff had very little English, all but for the night girl who had the best English of all. They were doing renovations that we were unaware of which made for noisy afternoons. The pool was spotless and the beach beautiful. The pool only had direct sun for 2.5 hours in the afternoon. The bicycles that they offer for use all need to be replaced, I had to purchase a pair of pliers to do my own repairs. The best feature in the room was a mini fridge. Overall a positive experience.

The first thing to know is that all 3 Decameron in RDG cater primarily to Mexicans from Guadalajara on 2-3 day beach vacations (80%) and to older Canadians on inexpensive all-inclusive vacations (20%). None of these hotels are luxurious in any sense. However, the setting is magnificent and the blend of vivacious, exuberant, fun-loving, music-loving Mexicans with, perhaps, more sedate Canadians is all part of the fun! We stayed at the Marina, which is near to the southern end of the bay. It has the Decameron U-shaped design with the pool in the middle and restaurants near to the beach at the open end of the U. The pool is very popular with families. The rooms are nicely appointee. Opt for an ocean view to have better-ish/semi view of the beach and sea. The room attendants are really good. And the staff are by and large very pleasant and welcoming. During the day there is always someone who speaks some English at the front desk. In the evenings you can be out of luck. But, the best advice is to talk with your fellow Canadian guests. All of the following info, we found out from them or just wandering about, not from staff. Things to know: 1) there are activities listed on the 1st floor. While a few are offered at the Marina, many are are only offered at Cocos which is about a 4-5 minute walk away and the road or beach. The bike tour is not offered but you can sign out bikes. The bikes at Cocos are better. We did yoga at the Marina a few times. Both instructors were good, very much appreciated Alex’s class. 2) there are shows nightly at Cocos at 9:30, followed by disco. There are no notices of this anywhere at the Marina. The shows at Marina are okay but very short followed by karaoke. If you are a fan, brush up on your Spanish and have your moment in the bright lights. 3) the Marina activities are all announced in Spanish. 4) we found the inside of the buffet restaurant at the Marina to be dark and depressing. It is mostly painted a dark gray. The outside seating is good. 5) if you are staying at the Marina you can eat all 3 buffet meals there or at Coral. This works well if you are walking to the far end of the beach where Coral is. Staff there are great, and very pleased to welcome you! Their buffet restaurant is bright and offers great views. 6) Cocos is the largest of the 3 Decamerons, and they have the largest buffet, with great views and staff, and with cloth napkins at every place setting (paper at Marina), pepper shakers at every table (at the Marina you have to ask for one), the best selection of items (eg. Specialty cheeses, bacon, fruit, and simply more choices of everything). If you are staying at the Marina you can go to Cocos for breakfast and lunch. They simply sign you in at the front desk of the restaurant. No big deal. After our 10 days they recognized us and knew our number by heart. 7) Ala carte dining. They are not offered every night. Now, to get into one is a big hassle. For the ala carte at Marina you check via a QR code beginning at 6am to see it is being offered that day. And dates always change, sometimes Monday, Wednesday and/or Friday. One week for us on Monday, and another on Friday. And the food is hit and miss. One time very good. Another time, no ceviche or salad, and the lime soup, you guessed it had no lime. 8) Ala carte at Coral and Cocos (steak house and fish Resto) or just the buffet at Cocos. You go down to the lobby at 8:00 to pick up a number. Ideally you get there early and get a low number. Then you go back to the lobby at 9:00 and in order of the numbers they offer you either Ala carte at set times, or the buffet at Cocos (as per earlier, it’s bigger and better.) 9) if you’re a wine drinker, the red is better than the white, which is okay on ice or mixed with something else. 10) there are good restaurants in Guayabitos. Mia’s has very good pizza, and has a good mix of Mexicans and Canadians. 11) their wifi codes change once a week. No one will tell you this, until you enter the “old” code a 100 times, until you go down to the lobby and they pass a new code to you with a smile. 12) there are weekly markets in La Penita and Guayabitos. 13) go on a whale watching excursion and stop over at Coral Island. Great price. Best snorkelling in the area (not great compared to other locations). All this being said. We had a great time. And would go back again, for a well-priced 10 days with our new Canadian best friends!

This was the worst place my family and i have stayed at on a holiday. The food was mediocre at best and the coffee machine was broken 50 percent of the time. There was nobody in the pool and when my 4 and 6 year old jumped in they were told they werent allowed to jump in! Our flight was delayed and we were told that we would get refunded for that night which never happened. Apparently i didnt book my kids on the reservation and they wouldnt let them in so i had to contact expedia who said i had to talk to them and was told i owed another 1500 dollars. We felt unwelcome and that we were an annoyance. Our rooms air conditioner leaked all over the floor i could go on and on. Zero stars dont stay here very stressful.

My family and I just got back from this hotel and had the worst customer service I've ever experienced. We got there a night late because of a flight delay and were told we were going to get refunded for the night which never happened. I kept going to the front desk and they kept brushing me off. Once we arrived they said my kids weren't on the reservation and that they weren't allowed in the facility! Finally paid another 1500 dollars for my kids to be allowed to stay. Our air conditioner leaked the safe didn't work and the food was terrible. Nobody was in the pool and they kept coming over telling my kids they couldn't jump in the pool. The coffee machine was broken 50 percent of the time. I give this a zero out 5.

Falta de servilletas en el restaurante, las bebidas saben orribles demasiadas dulces y la comida no tiene sabor

En lo general bien

we have stayed at this property for three years now. I feel like the pros outweigh the cons overall. The pros are it is close to the beach, it is clean. The staff is friendly and considering it’s all inclusive it’s relatively affordable. It is not a five star luxury resort by any means and we don’t always love the dinner options but breakfast and lunch are good. We’ve never had issues getting lounge chairs out front, the beach in front of the hotel is always clean and there is a security guard watching over the area. We have never once felt unsafe while staying here. The grounds are kept very clean, there’s always somebody doing maintenance and our housekeeping staff for the daily room tidy has done an excellent job. Now, onto the cons. The beds are not comfortable, but we have stayed in other places in Mexico and found that to be the same thing. They’re just very firm. Also, if you would like to have a quiet time earlier than 10-11pm, This is not the place for you. During the day there is music playing at the pool (which is spotless btw) and at night from 9-10 there’s karaoke or a band, it sometimes stretches past the 10pm mark. Also, at times there are “beach mariachi bands” that are hired by people staying in the hotel that play long past 11pm and it is quite loud. If you want a relaxing quiet oasis then this is not it. But overall we have been happy with our stays.

Great spot for the price. Was a little frustrating with how difficult it was to book a la carts restaurants after being told you would have access to all 3 Decameron properties in Guayabitos. But it was otherwise as advertised, clean, friendly, and great for the price. Definitely helps if you speak Spanish - it is a very local destination (what we wanted) vs international guests. Felt authentic and also still very inviting

Pésimo servicio, comida, no hay internet. Además se robaron su personal mis lentes, los reporté y nunca me dieron razón. No vayan ahí, hay muchas opciones más

Una muy buena experiencia, en general trato agradable, sin faltar un pelo en la sopa con alguien del personal del restaurant.