Living the Resort Lifestyle: Acapulco, Mexico
A few months after returning from Italy, our next stop was Acapulco Mexico for a surf contest! Shaun had been to Acapulco for this surf contest at least 4 or 5 times, but it was a first for me! The contest is sponsored by the Princess resort, which is on the sand at the contest site. We typically opt for Airbnbs or boutique hotels, so the resort lifestyle was a little different for us, but we definitely enjoyed the 4 pools and 5 restaurants over our 7 day stay.
Above: View from our room! This room wasn't marketed as an "ocean view" (because those rooms that are have a full-frontal water view) but this side view was a pleasant surprise!
Below: We were up on one of the higher floors, with this vantage point at the elevators. The Princess Mundo Imperial resort has three separate buildings all comprising the overall resort, with four pools, five restaurants, and a spa/gym.
Above: The breakfast and dinner buffet restaurant (to the left) overlooks the edge of the pool with a beautiful ocean view, too.
Below: View of the surf from the center tower. One of our favorite restaurants was this little beach shack directly on the sand- you can barely see it's thatch hut roof through the palms below. They served street-style tacos and bar snacks, whereas the other restaurants were more "formal" dining.
As beautiful as the Princess Acapulco resort is, we did start to go a little stir-crazy... Although we've both explored Mexico multiple times, Acapulco has a high crime rate and unlike the other more tourist-friendly destinations we've visited in the past. Basically, you're told to not leave the resort. We only left once (for the whole week), when we walked a few blocks down the road to Walmart and picked up some groceries and snacks for our room. Even that, most other people would've ordered a taxi for the short errand.
We were fine and our quick walk was totally okay, BUT Acapulco is known to be dangerous in general. I believe at one point it was the murder capital of Mexico.... however, it's also a super popular tourist hub, with resorts lining the coast. The resorts all take extra precaution, though. For example the entire property is gated and you can only enter with a registered guest.
Don't get me wrong, the food was delicious. However, eating at the same restaurants for every single meal for seven days got old, quick. We tended to order the same dishes, in a few-meals-rotation. Also, where we've explored Mexico before, food is dirt cheap, like amazing tacos for for just a few bucks. But since the Princess is geared towards bougie tourists, the restaurants are setup as fine dining. It's still affordable prices compared to home (like $12-20 for an entree), but it felt weird to spend that much in a place I've typically spent so little.
We went in the middle of July, so it was super super hot. The temperature only hit around high 80s or 90, but it was so humid and sweaty the second you walked outside. It required dipping in the many pools, many times a day. Even the ocean was super warm, and the sand so hot you had to wear shoes. I spent most of my sunbathing times by the pools (versus the beach) because I was still working while away- and the wi-fi signal worked at the pools!!
Also, the beach is covered in beach cabanas, which you had to pay to rent/sit in. (No one is sitting on the sand, like we do at home.) I think the cabana was about $10 for a day, but it felt like an unnecessary cost when I have a perfectly fine lounge chair at the pools! We usually prefer to stay in little boutique hotels or Airbnbs when traveling international to get a better experience and taste of the local culture. However, in a place like Acapulco you definitely want to splurge for the resort experience.
