From the moment we arrived we knew we'd done well! The place is amazing! Had a junior suite, 22nd floor with jacuzzi on terrace. Very private!! Very, very nice room. Great restaurants for breakfast and lunch. Never had dinner there except room service, which was very good. Nice beach, 4 pools, very few children, very friendly staff. Don't do all inclusive; too many wonderful places to explore! Up the hill is Villa de la Selva, a MUST for a magnificent sunset dinner, as well as La Casa Que Canta, a $12 cab ride into Zihuatanejo for an even more romantic sunset dinner. The place is truly breathtaking! Great silver shopping at Ixtapa Commercial. Beautiful jewelry, great prices. Las Brisas is a little slice of heaven!

We just returned from a week long stay at Las Brisas and are already planning a trip for 2009. We stayed in a room on the 21st floor as part of the Beach Club plan which included a complimentary Continental breakfast and a free cocktail and appetizer buffet from 6:00 to 7:00 PM. We plan to do the Beach Club plan again as we felt we got more than our money's worth, plus, the view from the higher floors is spectacular.

About the Beach Club plan: the breakfast, available from 7:00 to 11:00 AM, offered a variety of cereals, pastries, juices, and two hot items that changed daily. The only other breakfast option we found at the hotel was a $20 per person breakfast buffet. The cocktail/appetizer buffet offered wine, Mexican beer, pina coladas and margaritas for drinks, and chips, guacamole, salsa, and special appetizers that changed daily, plus a sweet pastry.

The Beach Club buffet service is top notch and we liked the intimate venue. We met other travelers and compared notes on things to do and places to eat.

The rooms at Las Brisas are generously sized and the private decks with their unobstructed sunset views are a real bonus. The chairs and table on the deck are teak, not plastic. The beds are very comfortable, amongst the most comfortable I've slept on at a hotel. The bathroom is roomy and features a spacious shower, but my one quibble is that the water pressure is very low and the hot water was a tad intermittent.

The pools: there is one for the kiddies (of which there were few) and one for adults. We spent the majority of our time at the adult pool, reading and relaxing, taking a dip whenever we felt hot. Cocktails, food and beer are available poolside, and the multi-level design surrounding the pool makes allows guests a nice level of intimacy. We loved that beer was served in a bucket packed with ice, ensuring that the beer stayed cold to the last drop.

The beach: nicely spread out with ample umbrellas for shade, and great service. Not a great beach for swimming though, as the waves were 3 to 4 feet while we were there accompanied by a strong undertow. That made it more difficult to cool off from the heat. Still, we loved the sound of the crashing waves and it was a great place to relax and hang out.

Walking: expect to do some walking at Las Brisas as the hotel is ten stories up from the beach and the pools are a sustantial walk from the hotel. We did not mind this at all as it ensured we got at least a bit of exercise and the steps/walkways are surrounded by tropical foilage and ocean views. There are also alternatives to walking: an elevator to the beach and shuttles to and from the pool every quarter hour.

The prices: this is the only area I have for complaint. The prices range from the quasi-reasonable ($2.50 for a Gatorade) to outright gouging ($16 for a Black Label on the rocks in the lobby bar.) Coffee in the room is not complimentary but $5.80 per packet of coffee. Mexican beers are $5.50 each (which is why we were grateful to drink them for free at the Beach Club cocktail hour.) I would recommend only going to the Lobby Bar from 6:00 to 7:00 PM when they feature a 2 for 1 drink Happy Hour special.

Service: we found the service level to be outstanding. The concierge, Jasmin, was very helpful booking all of our dinner reservations. Luiza, who tended to the Beach Club buffet, was very warm and personable, and she gave us the best restaurant recommendations. The Business Center supposedly charges for use of the computers but Juan would wave my charges each day since I was on the computer for less than 10 minutes.

If you find creative ways to sidestep the high incidental charges, Las Brisas will ensure a relaxing and memorable vacation.

Beautiful Resort, with amazing views from the balcony. Loved the beach, loved the food, loved my tennis lesson with Mario.

Rented bikes in Itapa (which is really not that far away, I can't understand how lazy some people are) and enjoyed a wonderful self guided tour

Now, not too many people on these boards mention how amazing the all inclusive is. Buffet breakfast, 1 a la carte lunch and 3 a la carte dinner options. Not to mention snack food available by the beach and the pool delivered right to you, and included in the price!!! (there are a few restrictions on shrimp, lobster and lamb) Also, you can have breakfast brought to your room via room service at a pre selected time (eggs, sweet breads, juice, yoghurt, fruit) and this is also included in the all inclusive!!!

The prices are absolutely ridiculous if you are paying for each meal. Our tab for the week (you have to sign each bill to your room and then they magically dissapear) would have been over $1000 and we hardly drank. (The alcahol is also somewhat restrictive on the all inclusive, ie domestic drinks only, no scotch or ryes etc)

The service was great, everyone went out of their way to help, it is no wonder that so many people return here year after year. However if you are not on the all inclusive I highly reccomend dining and drinking elsewhere.

I have to say first that this was a completely pleasant experience: our room was great and extremely comfortable, the beach was beautiful, pool very nice. The staff was also incredibly accommodating and kind; the service couldn't be beat.

However, I don't give the Las Brisas 5 stars because of the distance from either town (Ixtapa or Zihuatenejo), and the expense of all the food and drinks. The food was okay, but the meals we had in the towns were far better and cheaper. We brought our own coffee, which I highly recommend doing. The mornings sitting on the beautiful balcony, looking at that beach while we drank lots of coffee are some of my best memories from the trip. If we'd used the hotel coffee pot it would have cost us a significant amount.

There are a lot of great things about this hotel! They were having a promotion when we went and put ~$200 toward food/drinks--look for this! It really softened the blow when we had to pay at the end of the trip.