Pueblito Escondido Review

[Renesis]

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:

[Renesis]

I just added a new video of the rooftop

[PlayaLove]

Thanks for sharing all your information this place looks amazing.

[Renesis]

I'd also like to mention that our unit was in front of the building (facing 38th) so the living had a good view (as seen in the pictures and video) but the bedroom had no exterior views, it was only the interior hallway.

So it might not be the best unit "view"-wise but since the location is so good I didn't really care, also not many units are for rent by the owners and if you look at tripadvisor.com it seems like the ones rented by the Resort are missing many features and aren't in such a mint condition.

[Coccinelle]

Hola Renesis.

Thank you for sharing your trip. Your condo looks fantastic! We have walked in front of this impressive building a few times and I have always wondered what it was like inside.

So glad that you both enjoyed Playa. Hope that you will soon be planning your next trip.

I really enjoy your input on this forum.

P.S. I wrote you a message on your website but it came back with a database error message. I guess you won't receive it.

[Renesis]

Originally Posted by Coccinelle

I really enjoy your input on this forum.

P.S. I wrote you a message on your website but it came back with a database error message. I guess you won't receive it.

weird, I know there's some db updating to be done as it's problematic sometimes but it's the first time I've heard of a problem regarding the messaging system. Sadly I did not get yours but I got one from a member too earlier today.

It must be a small glitch, sometimes when that error happens just a simple refresh will fix it.

I'm a bit busy but it's on my to-do

thanks!

[Coccinelle]

No problemo.

I tried 'refreshing' but my message disappeared.

How's school?

[Renesis]

No biggie!

school isn't very interesting I'd rather talk about playa, it's much better!

[Coccinelle]

Originally Posted by Renesis

No biggie!

school isn't very interesting I'd rather talk about playa, it's much better!

Yes, indeed.

[Renesis]

Originally Posted by Coccinelle

No problemo.

I tried 'refreshing' but my message disappeared.

How's school?

I just replaced the form with a simple mailto link, much less time consuming than finding the database problem

[Michele]

I'm glad you enjoyed your stay at Pueblito Escondido. We represented a unit up for sale last year in the complex and were always impressed by the up-keep of the facilities and the professional and friendly staff. People seem to have mixed feelings about the exterior design of the building, but so far, I have heard nothing but good reviews from guests and owners.

[Local_Envy]

We stayed here as well about 8 weeks ago in 2 of the penthouse units, very nice but all kinds of problems with water leaking from the rooftops into the units.We were in 4 different penthouse units and all had ceiling and wall damage, I would not be a happy owner. We loved the location and didnt mind walking back and forth from the heart of 5th/Beach.

as mentioned you can get much better pricing then what is advertised, if you go straight through the condo or through a owner do yourself a favor and haggle, we paid 60% less than the advertised price.

This has to be one of the best rooftops in Playa.

[Renesis]

Wow that's really bad for owners, especially since penthouses are the most expensive units.

Would it be because of the private rooftop pools they have? I find it surprising whatever the cause is, because it's not even 2 years old.

As for the exterior styling I really like it, although it's not really Mexican looking.. but some people told me it looked too commercial? go figure..

[Renesis]

In answering an PM about the condo I dug out my old emails to find the price difference between what I paid and what Pueblito Escondido charged for the same kind of condo unit (they call it a junior suite)

I found out that they quote it in Pesos whereas I paid the condo in USD meaning that since the exchange rate is much better now that at the time I booked, at the moment they are almost both the same price (instead of an approximately $300 USD difference at the time I took my decision)

nonetheless this private condo remains better furnished than rental condos and also much cleaner (judging from tripadvisor.com reviews).

[Local_Envy]

Originally Posted by Renesis

Wow that's really bad for owners, especially since penthouses are the most expensive units.

Would it be because of the private rooftop pools they have? I find it surprising whatever the cause is, because it's not even 2 years old.

As for the exterior styling I really like it, although it's not really Mexican looking.. but some people told me it looked too commercial? go figure..

No the problem in two of the units are the glass enclosures at the top of the stairs (palapa covered) were leaking like crazy & the other two we saw were leaking at various points in the roof but I dont believe the rooftop pools were the cause.

We like the look of the building too, different but very nice.... Looks like they has the restaurant on the first level when you were there by your pic, any good?

[Renesis]

Yes they had a restaurant, if I recall correctly it was called "Donatelo's"

it was the weirdest restaurant ever, each morning we would see them get the tables ready by about 10:00 AM and sometimes as early as 3:30-4:00PM they would start closing the restaurant.

I've never seen anyone eat there, but some reviewers on tripadvisor.com complain that the restaurant smell gets in their condo unit..

It happened to us once and we were surprised since we didn't see the need for them to cook if they have no customers, but while on the rooftop we saw people with take-out boxes quite often so maybe it came from down there, I don't know.

It looked pretty upscale but without a menu and any information on intheroo.com we didn't try it since there are so many other restaurants in Playa.

Maybe a local could get more information.

[Local_Envy]

thanks, I was just curious as it was closed the week we were there... I think it had a different name the 1st week of nov..

[Coccinelle]

I wonder if the restaurant is an extension or sister to La Pummarola? I believe la Pummrola's owner's name is Donatelo?

[Renesis]

now that I think of it again it might just be Donato's..

I just kept mixing it up with the Teenage mutant Ninja Turtle's character name (oh now I almost feel old! )

[Coccinelle]

You're so funny.