I don't know if it's the right place to post this, if not feel free to move it. My full trip report will come soon, been busy since school just restarted (oh god..
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***First please note that some aspects of this review might not apply to all units of the Pueblito Escondido Resort since we rented a private unit directly through it's owner, therefore i twas very well equipped and also a lot less expensive than what the management charges for the same unit. If you wish to have contact information of the owner to book his unit, just contact me.***
1. THE COMPLEX
2. LOCATION
3. COMFORT
4. EQUIPMENT / AMENITIES
5. STAFF / SERVICE
6. VALUE
1. THE COMPLEX
The unit we rented was #215, on the 2nd floor. This is the highest you can go in the building for a regular 1 bedroom condo. On the 3rd floor there are only penthouses which add a 2nd bedroom with 2 single beds and a private rooftop terrace. Honestly unless you have children that 2nd bedroom is rather useless since it's single beds, I wouldn't recommend it for 2 couples sharing one unit. And if you're only two, don't bother paying the ridiculous premium for that "private" terrace, it's still in the view of the common areas and we went there in the holiday season and we've ALWAYS been able to secure two lounge chairs, most of the time the place was almost empty.
The rooftop area is very large and features a bar, lots of lounge chars, and that awesome infinity pool with the best views you could dream of. There's also another pool and a kids pool on the ground floor with some more chairs. All pools aren’t heated, this could be an issue if you plan to go swimming at night, but during the day you get so hot with the sun that a short swim in the refreshing pool is very appreciated!
Close to the ground pool you can also find "public" restrooms (very handy when you just got out of the pool and don't want to make a mess of your condo) and also showers for when you come out of the beach with sand all over you!
2. LOCATION
The Pueblito is located in the north end of the city on calle 38. If you've seen maps of
Playa you might think it's too far away from some stores, restaurants, etc. Don't think so. It might be in a more quiet environment but it's still plenty close to all the cool stuff, and that way you don't have all the noises during the day and the night that some other condos / hotel can have.
How about the beach then? Well the condominium resort isn't technically on the beach but let me tell you this way: there's a side exit with showers and when you leave by that door, you have about 3 steps to do in the street (which is covered in sand at that point) and then you're on the beach. It's quite nice to see people go there by car or walk with their chairs when you can just leave the beach, shower yourself and be back in the A/C comfort of your condo in seconds.
3. COMFORT
This condominium resort was built in 2007 so everything is still new but for some strange reason stuff seems to wear out faster in Mexico. For instance the plumbing was poor in our unit. You had to be very careful with the shower in order to not make a mess in the whole bathroom (as others have noted) and the kitchen faucet was already broken.
But let's get to the important stuff: the air conditioning was working like a charm, both quiet, and powerful, it cooled the unit very quickly. Each condo has it's own A/C unit and has full control over it.
The bed was very comfortable as well and you have so many pillows that you'll find one that suits your preferences for sure. Everything was clean and in very good shape (once again this might be due to our unit being a private one)
The only problem with this condo was the noise. Since quite a lot of the units are offered as rentals, there are many visitors and that means slamming the doors shut, running in the hallways, the same thing that you'd get in a normal hotel. During our 7 nights stay however I can say that only 2 or 3 have been "problematic" and it's nothing worse than any other hotel I've visited but I didn't expect that from a condo complex.
The hard flooring also means that you will hear if someone is walking above you with high heels, but normal walking won't be an issue.
4. EQUIPMENT / AMENITIES
**please see the note at the beginning of the review**
This was another strong point of this condo, we had EVERYTHING we could need. Full cookware, Microdyn (we used it in the water to wash the dishes) lots of paper towels and a huge 18 litres jug of water (very useful to refill your water bottles or to cook with). The only thing missing that we found a bit weird was the lack of a toaster which could have been useful for breakfast meals. But unlike others who rented “rental” units, we had a hair dryer, dish soap, oven mitts, etc.
We also had a blender to make drinks! The wifi internet was very quick, the TV had almost all the channels you could wish for and many movies were in English with Spanish subtitles. We even had some books, magazines (all from the current month) and a few music CD's in the unit, this was very welcome and we liked these little attentions.
5. STAFF / SERVICE
**please see the note at the beginning of the review**
Since we had a private rental, check-in was as easy as you could dream of, it took all of 30 seconds to do, I had to sign a contract and I got handed the access cards while someone guided us to our unit, no deposit was required (since it had already been handled directly with the owner). Everyone we talked to have been very professional, the two young men we saw at the front desk spoke a very good English too. The barman (even though we didn't order anything from him) made very good looking drinks and was also acting like a tourist guide to some other customers.
In the contract it was said that we'd have maid service once a week but they came twice when we were there which leads us to think that in fact they came once every two days. Very nice since they did a very throughout cleaning: from changing the sheets to washing the floor.
6. VALUE
**please see the note at the beginning of the review**
It's a brand new condo, with an awesome location, for not a lot of dough. We had a very good deal on it (read hundreds less than what booking directly through Pueblito Escondido would have cost us for the same unit!) and for that money currently you can't beat that for such a luxurious 1 bedroom condo in
Playa, let alone one that is steps from the beach.
I definitely recommend it. To see more pictures and
a video of the resort and of our unit, feel free to go to
my website or click on the picture below:
