Studio units are large and comfortable. A separate living area has two couches, a coffee table, and a small dining table with chairs. The king-size bed has a TV nearby. For a studio unit, the bathroom was quite nice! There is a full-size Jacuzzi and a separate shower room. We enjoyed the sounds of ocean waves hitting the beach. They will lull you to sleep if you leave your patio door open! Sadly, there is not much of a balcony – only a place large enough to stand and view the beach or sunset. On the downside, there is not even a small fridge or coffeemaker in the room.

Located far from downtown, you will enjoy a very long and quiet beach. The ocean is quite rough, but that means you can use a boogie board and even try a little surfing!

There are tons of activities daily – Spanish lessons, water volleyball/aerobics/polo/basketball, diving, bingo, handicrafts, kayak races, and dance lessons, to name a few. A kids’ club has activities to keep the young ones busy as well! Another popular spot for families is the water park.

The pool is a wonder – supposedly the longest in Latin America. Many people walk back and forth through the long channel-like pool.

The spa and health club also boast an ocean view. Massages, facials, manicures, pedicures, and other body treatments can be purchased either individually or in packages. The health club was quite impressive, with modern cardio equipment, and it also had both free weights and machines.

There are three restaurants. Bakal is the main restaurant, with a nightly theme buffet (Mexican, Spanish, Italian, International, Seafood, Steak, and Oriental). Cost is between 185-200 Pesos. Buffet breakfasts are 140 Pesos, except Sunday – where there is a fabulous champagne buffet brunch for 200 Pesos. You can buy a package of seven dinner buffets for 980 Pesos or seven breakfasts for 700 Pesos (both include tip). We enjoyed the food here – especially the steak buffet.

There is also a seafood restaurant – Tumtah, on the waterfront. Also Cha’an Kah – a fusion cuisine overlooking the ocean as well. Live jazz bands play on Friday and Saturday nights. You will need reservations for either of these restaurants.

There are two bars on site, and the lobby bar has nightly entertainment. Live music or games are typical. Every bar has a different happy hour.

• Unit Type: Studio
• Activities: Excellent
• Amenities: Excellent
• Unit Satisfaction: Very Good
• Family Friendliness: Excellent
• Service: Excellent

The resort is very clean. We stayed for a week in a studio unit and another week in a one-bedroom unit. The unit has a small kitchen with a two-burner hotplate, a small fridge, coffee maker, blender etc. There is an L-shaped couch; each segment also has another bed which pulls out from it. There are two televisions, but there are less English/American channels on the satellite here than at the Mayan Palace.

There is a restaurant on site and room service is also available. Across the street, there is also a snack bar near the beach.

The area immediately around the resort is quite small. There is a pool, an activities centre, and a pond surrounds the pool. The activities staff was friendly. There are kayaks and rowboats to use in the pond if you wish.

For us, the biggest disappointment was that the beach was not even visible from the resort. To get to the beach you have to walk across the street and behind the Sea Market -- an overpriced, but conveniently located store owned by the Mayan Resorts.

There is a 24-hour shuttle service available to Mayan Palace/The Grand Mayan.

• Unit Type: 1 Bedroom
• Activities: Good
• Amenities: Good
• Unit Satisfaction: Good
• Family Friendliness: Fair
• Service: Very Good

I would recommend the house salad – it has apples, goat cheese, nuts, and a wonderful dressing. The Caesar salad was also good. The filet mignon was fabulous. I also had shrimp with my steak – which was also very good. We were provided with several sauces at our table for our food: butter, garlic butter, an orange sauce, a Mexican sauce, and gravy.

For your sweet tooth, dessert was sliced apples and bananas fried and dusted with cinnamon and served with vanilla ice cream. Excellent.

These brave divers swim across a narrow channel 21 feet in width and climb up the side of the cliff across the way using their bare hands and feet -- no ropes! They climb over 100 feet above the treacherous waves that are crashing into the rocks below.

After a brief prayer said in front of a small monument, they take their turns in the fantastic dive show! Some jump solo, others in pairs or triplets! The water is only 11 feet deep in the channel below, so their jump timing with the incoming waves is critical!

Dive shows happen several times during the day and night. At night, they jump holding flaming torches. Both shows are different in their own right, so if you have time, try to see both!

Taxco is about 1700m above sea level and after rich mineral deposits were discovered in the area it became a mining town. There are still working silver mines in the area. The streets are cobblestone and are extremely steep. Be sure to wear proper and comfortable walking shoes for this trip!

On our tour, we were shown how minerals appear in the stones as they are removed from the earth. The stones are crushed and processed. The silver is bound to an alloy and is then sold to the banks. 0.925 silver means that one kilogram contains 925gm of silver.

We were able to visit a silversmith and observe him while he worked on making the small clasps that hold gemstones in the necklaces he was making.

There are so many silver shops here along the streets of this city that it is impossible to imagine someone leaving without a little something! The deals are phenomenal. You will find jewelry of all types, picture frames, vases, napkin rings, fabulous art, and much, much more. Be wary of some places that may sell silver plated imitations to you unknowingly.

We visited La Posada de la Mision, which is a charming colonial style hotel that is a renovated monastery. Apparently, John F. Kennedy and Jackie Onassis stayed here on their honeymoon as they traveled from Mexico City to Acapulco. The monastery was built in the 1500s, but in the 1960s, it was converted into a hotel.

At the center of town, you will find the beautiful Santa Prisca Church, which was built in the 1750’s. Here you will see a church with 12 altars, and many unique portraits and sculptures.

We ate at a quaint restaurant called Del Angel Inn. We sat on the rooftop patio that allowed us to enjoy the meal while taking in the picturesque hills of the city.

This day trip was sold at local travel agencies for between US$80-110 per person, including lunch. However, we received it as a gift for previewing a timeshare presentation.