We booked thru Apple and flew Ryan International. The plane was delayed one day due to a snow storm and it was dirty when we boarded. It didn't take long to get thru the Mexican Customs line at all, and we were on a bus to our hotel in a short time.
Upon arrival we were told that we were in the Royal Club as a bonus for booking early. The Royal Club allows you special privileges such as members-only areas on the beach, separate pool areas where you can actually get chairs, preferred reservations at the ala-carte restaurants and free cocktails from 2-8 PM daily, with appetizers from 5-8 PM that were better than the buffet food. The staff members in the Royal Club were better at speaking English and were especially friendly and wanting to serve us.

Our room was clean and well kept, but some might say it was a bit worn. I am overly picky about cleanliness and it was very clean in my book. We had a small but adequate balcony overlooking the ocean, and it was very pleasant.

The buffets were not spectacular, but what buffet ever is? The theme nights were not anything special either. The ala-carte Italian specialty restaurant served a very poor excuse for Italian quisine, but stupid us, why go to Mexico looking for Italian quisine? Where they shined was their Mexican specialty restaurant, where I had an excellent steak with Mexican cheese. Service was mediocre, but servers were polite. Our best meal was had at Don Porfirio's right across the street, and it was reasonable. I had the best steak of my life there.

The beach was nice, but like everywhere else, if you didn't reserve a beach chair by 6:30 AM you were out of luck. Chairs under palapas didn't open up until mid afternoon. The waves were big and the red flag flew the whole week we were there, but we swam a bit anyway. There are poolside bars serving until 5PM, but use caution- I saw dirty ice being served. If you must drink anything with ice, better have some alcohol to kill the germs.

The shows were a waste of time but the performers really tried. There was way too much lip- syncing, and most high school musicals are better.

The front desk had a great exchange rate of 10.5 to 1 (Pesos to Dollars), and they gave you dollars when you asked for them. At the Barcelo they only gave Pesos when cashing a traveler's check, and they only paid 10:1.

Overall the hotel was very nice, and we would go back, but now the Gala is gone. A new Gala will reportedly be opening on the bay to the east, Conejos Bay, in a couple of years. The old Gala will reportedly re-open as a Dreams Hotel around December.

If booking tours, we recommend the coffee plantation/waterfall tour, but book it through Apple, as their guide, Miguel, is great. We enjoyed his company and his insight very much. Also, take Apple's Villages and Traditions tour, as it is eye-opening to see the third-world poverty in our back yard. The people you meet on the tour share their way of life with you and make you a meal of tortillas, salsa and juice squeezed from flowers. Again, use caution with the juice, as we didn't see toilet paper or soap nearby and the juice is hand-squeezed. My wife drank some and was violently ill about 6 hours later. The Cities and Shopping Tour was a waste, as the guide spent one of four hours slamming shots of Mezcal. We got so bored we left the tour and discovered the shopping on our own. If you tour the bays, use extreme caution when ordering food at the beach at San Augustin, as the sanitation is scary! Check out behind the restaurants first and you'll see the dirty dishes and some raw food sitting out. Soap is hard to find too.

Shopping in towns is fun, but do not buy anything at the marina until you scope out specialty shops in Crucecita. Prices were a lot lower. Things to buy include silver and gold, both at reasonable prices.

Our return flight was cancelled after people had already checked into the gate at the airport. Like Ryan International didn't know they couldn't be in Mexico with time enough to give us some advance notice. Since the Gala had closed, we were put on buses to either Las Brisas or Barcelo, and we got stuck at the Barcelo. Our flight was rescheduled 4-5 times, and we stayed in Huatulco 42 hours longer than we were supposed to. We felt like prisoners in our hotel as we didn't dare do anything or go anywhere, as the flight time was constantly being changed on us.

Making things worse, we were lied to by the staff at the Barcelo, we were ignored and were treated rudely. Our room needed major repairs and was just plain dirty. They told us the room was clean (they put four of us in one room when the Apple rep said we could have two), and there were pubic hairs and crumbs in my bed when we arrived. Service was horrible. Pool chairs were impossible to get unless you reserved them at 6 AM. The only bright spot for us at the Barcelo was an angel of a bar maid in the lobby bar. She was great.

Huatulco is a beautiful area, it is very safe and it has a lot to offer, but it is not a partier's haven, which suits me just fine. The biggest problem we had was stomach problems. My kids both got sick (fever, vomiting, diarrhea) from eating/drinking only at the Gala, within 24-36 hours of our arrival. My wife was the next to drop, but she made it about 3 1/2 days before falling and admittedly, she drank liquids in towns and on tours. I picked up a bug too, but was not incapacitated. A week later and we are almost back to 100%.

My advice is that if you cannot afford the Quinta Real, wait to travel to Huatulco until the new Gala opens.

My husband and I stayed at the Gala after reading different reviews and have to say that we had a fabulous time! The area is so beautiful, and quiet. It is a place to go if you love sun, ocean and friendly people. We have stayed at more upscale hotels and found the people rather unfriendly. I would go back tomorrow if I could. We went fishing with a local named Raymond... as in ...everyone knows Raymond. He knows fishing and is a safe person to go with. Coco is another local that is trustworthy.

Stayed with my family from March 14-21. This hotel and destination was great. Huatulco is paradise. I have been to Cancun, Acapulco, and Manzanillo.. None of these can ever compare to what you find in Huatulco.

I will be going back to this place next year. There is so much to see and do, and the weather is fabulous.

Go and check out this place, as of November 2008 it will be Dreams... great name, as this destination is a DREAM COME TRUE...

Thank you to all the staff and people we met there, they were all just amazing and friendly!!!

This is our 2nd time, and our friends 3
rd time back and its very hard to go elsewhere once you've been there.
We stayed at the Barcelo last year, and we heard how much better the Gala was. I didn't find a huge difference in the rooms, and really the only time you are in them is to sleep. The rooms were very clean, and the maid service is excellent. The staff is amazing, the people at these resorts are very hard working individuals. We made sure we took care of all them, we tipped and and thanked them continually. If we could get the same kind of service back home, life would be wonderful.
The food was very good, and a huge selection so we can't understand why people couldn't find something that they liked.
We did have one issue, we were a group of eight and within 48 hours 6 of us became ill. For some they were will ill for a few days and a few for 5 days, myself I am still not 100% and its been 4 weeks. We all had stomach cramps, pain and Diarhea, Flu like symptoms. We took everything we could find to feel better. We did visit the Dr. and just advised to keep drinking fluids and it run its course. We did ask if there were other people at the resort that were ill as well, he did mention a few. Talking with others at the resort we heard there were several people ill there. If there is anyone else reading this that became ill while they were there, let me know. We believe that there was some kind of "bug" that has gone through the resort during the last 2 weeks of February. We were there from Feb 22 - March 4. Other than that we had a great holiday and enjoyed the 30 plus and didn't miss the 30 below back home.
We will be back again, will go back to Barcelo.