Villas El Rancho Green Resort

We stayed at Villas el Rancho for two weeks with friends. This quaint little resort is tucked between high rises on the shoreline past the marina. We liked this location better than staying in the golden zone because it's peaceful--there are no Mariachi bands and not a lot of venders! The resort is dated; everything is old and not in the best working order. The swimming pool is not heated and the "hot" tub is lukewarm and in need of repair. WIFI was very spotty for the first few days but staff responded quickly to our complaints and by day 3 or 4, we had fairly reliable WIFI. We had no issues with hot water in our unit, but some of the other guests complained of no hot water. There were two bedrooms in our unit; one kingsized bed in a loft overlooking the living room (sound and light travel!), and two queensized beds in a separate bedroom. Maid service came every day with fresh towels and made up the beds. The restaurant is quite limited in its offerings, but the setting is fantastic! You can eat your lunch under a palapa overlooking the ocean or watch the sunset there. I enjoyed the coconut shrimp and my husband liked the shrimp toast. It's pretty easy to get around in Mazatlan using the buses or the many pulmanias. Staff were generally very responsive and pleasant to deal with. The resident tame duck (black-bellied whistling duck, aka Mexican shrieker) was really interesting to watch and interact with. Shoutout to Pablo, the bartender! It's doubtful that we'll go back, but the place was memorable in a good way!

Located in the middle of the Golden zone, the hotel is very close to the beach. The suite we stayed at had two rooms and more importantly two bathrooms. The kitchenette and living room areas were spacious. Drinking water was provided. The WIFI was acceptable. The staff was very helpful and friendly. The bathroom fittings and shower area seemed dated. Wasn't a huge fan of the dining table having been set. The kitchenette was missing some essentials like salt, pepper, dish soap, etc