My husband and I just returned from a week at the Quinta Real Huatulco and loved everything about it. As travelers who prefer unique and casually elegant properties, it is the place to stay in Huatulco. Evidently successful businesspeople, government officials and international musicians think so too from who/what we saw during the week
Perched on top of a hill with great views of Tangolunda Bay, we loved the design and materials used throughout the resort and suites. Our suite was large and comfortable (my husband claims he had the best sleep of his life that week), the balcony wonderful with couch, hammock and table and we were lucky enough to have a private plunge pool & patio down our spiral staircase that felt like paradise on the edge of the jungle. watching the iguanas, butterflies and beautiful birdlife whilst lounging in our pool often demotivated us from exploring elsewhere.
food, while typical resort prices (but not overly extravagant), was imaginative, fresh and flavorful. head to town to save a couple pesos if that's your goal. we did both and enjoyed all (especially the restaurants around La Crucecita's plaza and on the beach at Santa Cruz).
the resort's infinity pools and beach were relaxing and never crowded. the many steps down to the area may bother some who might want to go back to their room repeatedly but we saw it as a gentle way to get some minimal exercise.
all the staff was very accomodating. just make sure to ask for what you want , as, in the spirit of relaxation, you will be left alone unless you indicate you want to be disturbed for food, drink, massage, etc.
after having traveled extensively we can truly say this is one of our all-time favorite resort-based vacations. we loved the quinta real and recommend it as the place to stay on Tangolunda beach unless you just have to have the busy and basic all-inclusive experience.

My husband and I stayed at this hotel last year, with mixed results.

The good: the views were breathtaking, the suites are private and very spacious, excellent service (everyone tried to help, although they did not all understand english), quiet and private beach. A beautiful pool. A short and cheap cab ride to La Crucecita. Fabulous Hermes toiletries!!! The private balcony with hammock was very romantic, and several birds stopped by each day to visit.

The disappointing: food was expensive and not very good - since there are no food other food options withing walking distance, this was disappointing. We had a jacuzzi in our bathroom but were unable to enjoy it because the water never got warm enough. When we checked into our room, there were crumbs on the nightstand, and the sheets had stains on them.

Overall a mixed-experience.

My wife and I stayed at the Quinta Real for two weeks in February 2007. I endorse pretty much everything positive noted in all the other reviews here, with just a handful of additional comments.

How one reviewer could say the restaurant service "sucked" is beyond me. We found the serving staff to be absolutely flawless -- unfailingly polite, cheerful, exceptionally helpful, friendly, efficient... I can't find enough good words to use. We ate breakfast there every day and dinner six times. The food is pricey but out of this world. On a scale of 1 to 10, the worst meal we ate in the hotel restaurant was an 8, the best meal we ate anywhere else (except for one place -- see below) was a 5. Don Porfirio just down the street opposite the Gala was awful -- rubbery, overdone lobster (at $10 a bite!); raw, gristly, fatty steak; and watery, over-cooked rice and vegetables. We thought L'Echalote in Chahue was overrated and Tostado's and Onix in La Crucesita mediocre at best. Similarly, the two restaurants we tried at the beachfront in Santa Cruz were eminently forgettable. By far the best non-hotel restaurant -- as long as you don't want to live on hamburgers and are prepared to be a little adventurous -- was El Sabor de Oaxaca just off the plaza in La Crucesita. (Say it "El Sa-bor day O-ha-ka".) It serves only Oaxacan style food, and it does it very well. We ate the Plato Oaxacana, a mixed platter for two for $35. If you are very, very hungry, you might finish it all! It was so good that we returned a couple of days later and ate the same thing again. We never got around to trying La Boheme in Chahue, which is generally highly rated. Interestingly, it is owned by the ex-chef from the Quinta Real.

One thing nobody has mentioned about the hotel is its ambiance. The architecture is a mixture of Moorish and Mexican and does a good job of combining the best of both. The materials used throughout are natural and appropriate, and the whole effect is very pleasant indeed. I hate to think how much must have been spent on stonework, even at Mexican wages! But don't go if you can't handle a lot of climbing steps. From our room down to the beach was just over 200 steps (and I joked that it was 600 back up), but even walking between rooms and Reception involves a lot of stairs. We refused to take the little beach shuttle up and down, on the grounds that using the stairs salved our consciences a tad about all the good food we were eating.

The only real fly in the ointment was maintenance. The hotel had problems with the hot water boiler all the time. In one room (we moved because we were incorrectly assigned a room with two beds rather than the king I had booked) the air conditioning started emitting a foul smell and couldn't be fixed, so we moved a second time. There were a lot of small but annoying issues, as well: incorrectly mounted clothes line in the shower, curtains that didn't slide properly, doors that rubbed against the floor, ceiling fans that either wouldn't work at all or that were too noisy to leave on, a sink plug that wouldn't stay down, burned out light bulbs, and the like. To be expected, perhaps, in a $50-a-night hostel, but hardly what one expects for $340 a night. I believe they need to do some serious work on this issue, or they are going to lose things like their Apple Vacations Golden Apple rating.

But despite the maintenance issues, we would -- and probably will -- go back in a heartbeat. As a much-travelled 64 year old, I have to say the Quinta Real in Huatulco ranks up there with the very best hotels I have stayed in, mostly because of the ambiance, the food, and the incredibly friendly staff. The all-inclusives along the beach (Gala, Barcelo, Crown Plaza Suites, Las Brisas) looked like the very essence of what I hate in a vacation: crowds of people, constant noise and activity, no shade, no peace at all, kind of like a cheap cruise. Maybe when I was 30, but not now. Only the Camino Real Zaashila seemed like an attractive alternative, and the general consensus seems to be that it is falling apart even more than the Quinta Real.

We probably paid twice as much to stay in the Quinta Real than we would have in any of the other places. It was worth every penny.

The Quinta Real is a truly beautiful hotel, set on a steep hillside overlooking the Pacific. Most of the staff are friendly and helpful, and in February, 2007, we had a very nice stay.

A few caveats: the hotel is set 150 steps above the beach, so those who have difficulty with stairs should seriously reconsider (golf cart service is available). While some of the staff speak rudimentary English, many do not, which sometimes posed problems. We had a few minor problems with inconsistent service, but it was overall good to very good.

The one difficulty that bothered us was that when we arrived, the specific type of room we had chosen was not available......wound up in a more expensive room for which they charged us the higher rate......most luxury hotels would have charged the lower rate. We had to move halfway through our stay, and there was confusion about what had been available, etc. The bottom line was that most luxury hotels would have swallowed the difference in rates to keep the customer happy and coming back, but Quinta Real chose not to do that.

TripAdvisor members, Washington, DC