Mayan Sea Garden at Vidanta Mazatlan

We own timeshares at both Mayan Sea Garden and Pueblo Bonito Emerald Bay. We bought the PB timeshare first. We like Sea Garden better because of the nice grounds, the 2 pools, the great beach, friendly and helpful staff, excellent access to town (especially via buses), and it's quieter than in-town hotels/resorts. We come to Mazatlan for the warm weather, the friendly people, the many good restaurants, the beach, and all the activities available in the area, not to sit around the resort pool and in the bar. We are not interested in golf.

On our third visit to Mazatlan in October, 2004, we found the on-site restaurant, activities, and market to be good with reasonable prices when we wanted them. We liked the restaurant better (admitting it is less elegant) than PB Emerald Bay. The pool and beach are just as great as they were before. The laundry was pricey on our first visit, so we didn't use it on our last visit. The staff was very nice on our first visit and better on the last visit. We have to wonder about complaints about staff rudeness as we haven't found that to be true anywhere in Mazatlan.

Yes, the older (Vidafel?) units on our first visit in February 2002 needed some improvement. At that time we would have probably rated Vidafel at about 3.2. The upgrading progress is pleasantly noticable. The new Mayan Palace construction (on the tennis court site?) is starting. The existing facilities, landscaping, and staff are great. We think this resort is a good value now and getting better. It is definitely a good base for enjoying Mazatlan, which we are learning to enjoy more and more.

Because we know there are more expensive and hence more "elegant" resorts in Mazatlan, we rate Sea Garden at about 4.5 in suiting our desires. We'll be back to Sea Garden, and probably will rent out the other timeshare.

We own a timeshare here and thought we would check it out. What a disappointment. Very far from town which is a great place to hang out, eat and shop. Let's start with the room. What is considered a two bedroom and can sleep 8 to 12 is a bit bigger than a hotel room. You are constantly banging into furniture. The musty smell was very unpleasant. The only decent rooms are the top floor, one bedroom units which overlook the pool and the ocean. We tried to get into one of these all week but to no avail even though people were departing daily. We had some complaints and were treated rudely by one of the front desk managers. The one restaurant which offers a buffet breakfast and dinners was terrible: cold and dried out for the most part. After two tries we gave it a pass. The pool was literally freezing even on the hottest days. You are harrassed to upgrade your time share and the place is overrun by sales staff. Next time we will get a nice cheap place close to town.