Four of us were planning our first getaway sans kids in a very long time when the opportunity presented itself at the Sea Garden through a time-share company. After it was booked, we found ourselves here on tripadvisor more and more often as it seemed every review of this place got even worse than the previous! It got to the point that the other couple booked an additional hotel room as we were now anticipating arriving to just an absolutely horrible place.

I can tell you that 10 minutes after arriving to our room and then sitting for lunch at the restaurant - our friends quickly canceled the other hotel room. The room was a very pleasant surprise (after the reviews) - the bathroom was updated and things were comfortable (we were in the "Coral Building"). The restaurant was great. We had two breakfasts there, one lunch & one dinner - all were delicious. (For everyone that ripped on the food - this is a restaurant at a hotel, in Mazatlan, Mexico. If you were looking for food that you only read about in Bon Apetit magazine, seriously?!).

The pool is really something. It's huge and we camped out by the waterfall. Use the gym, buy your eight-packs-o-beer from the market to save a few bucks and be sure to head downtown to eat at the Shrimp Bucket one of the days that you're there.

Also went through the timeshare presentation (No, we didn't buy). But we did get a nice chunk of change taken off our total bill at the end, and a free "Stone Island tour" out of it (taxi, boat, tractor, lunch/drinks, boat ride out to see some sea lions, taxi back). Tip: trade in an activity ticket for a "coco loco".

So, if you want to have a fun, laid-back, easy going time - stay here. If you want 7-star accommodations, an out-of-this-world meal program and a person to fan you while feeding you grapes - this place probably isn't for you.

I went for my honeymoon.The place was great and everyone was very helpful. The room was small but it was still very nice. The food was highly priced so we ate in town a lot. There breakfast is great though. I would suggest to rent and car at the airport. Always have paso on you because outside the resort a lot of places do not take cards. At night it is nice to sit at the bar in the hotel and have a drink. They always have something to do at night at the hotel right outside the resturant. There plenty of chirs by the pool. They have a special each day. The drinks are very high but good. It is always nice to come home to a bed that is pulled back with kisses on it. They were very prompt on any request I had. This is great place to visit. We spent the first three days traveling the town. The shopping is awesome because there is no set price. The people are very friendly. Go eat at Panchos and get a 25.00 message in town. If you like the out doors the hotel offers a dune buggy ride that takes you by the beach and to a mountain were you can see all of Mazatlan. It is 900 paso and a small snack is included. It is a 3 hour tour. You will love this place.

Am an owner at the Acapulco location, have been there and to the Nuevo Vallarta location.

2nd bedroom had window onto airshaft, like a monk's cell. They have gone full bore from selling 'timeshares" to selling "memberships" where you get credits, not points. After listening to their pitch, didn't spend the $ to upgrade and sales assoc. said "You have wasted my time!" Didn't get into it but what about our time? 1.5 hour commitment has no meaning.

Best dining deals are at "The Place" and Fat Fish, take the bus there and back. Get to Fat Fish between 5 and 6 to avoid line and get happy hour and 2nd entree free. The BBQ ribs are fabulous.

Food at the Sea Garden only so-so and very costly. They have converted the upscale beachfront restaurant there to a sales area!!!

We just returned from a pleasant week (booked through our timeshare Mayan Palace) at Sea Garden. I was somewhat concerned after reading some of the reviews however I tried to keep in mind the positive ones. We are Mayan Palace owners so perhaps that helped. However when we arrived (requested high floor w/ocean view) and did get the top floor of main building but "mountain" view-w/lots of street noise. They did move us the next day to the opposite side, and more updated side - not ocean view but lower and that was ok. (warmer)

The second small BR has now been changed to a 1 BR (by RCI)which we used as an extra "den". They have changed the furniture in there to include a small table and lamp - pleasant, plus a nicer bed if needed - for a small child perhaps.
Yes the furniture is not as comfortable as it could be - they call it Mexican Modern - and the bed was firm, but not too hard. The kitchen looked as if it had been recently updated and nice. Small refrigerator but quite adequate. Small balcony but we could still sit there and enjoy the afternoon sun if we wanted.

The grounds were beautiful and everyone was extremely kind and polite. They even gave us a free dinner (with wine) of our choice because of the inconvenience of having to change rooms. Again I think perhaps it may have had to do with being Mayan Palace owners. We were just adamant from the beginning regarding our room.

We did go to the free breakfast and presentation - but were not highly pressured to buy. We just made it clear we could not. We got some nice discounts including a city tour which was fun. However, if you go on this "free" tour, which was much longer than stated - be aware that at the end they take you to a restaurant buffet at the end and don't tell you until halfway thru dinner it costs $20 each (heard this from someone else staying at Sea Garden) We were glad we had decided to take the bus back to the hotel before getting to the restaurant. We had not been told anything about this beforehand.(King David Tour company)

We have to say King David did do a good job in many ways. Their guides were very knowledgeable and nice. Before our trip we contacted the hotel regarding transportation from the airport and they put us in touch with King David Co who offered a free bus (very nice and new) to Sea Garden. We paid just $9 ea on the return.

Even though we are not "tour" people we did take their tequila tour one day and it was really nice. Not only did we see how it is processed and offered tastes, but also went to a lovely little village with a wonderful bakery and delicious lunch (reasonable - we were told beforehand lunch cost was not included) We got back at the time were were told. We can recommend it.

The pool areas were nice and didn't really have trouble getting a lounge when we wanted. The beach was lovely for walking a long way. Too many chairs/lounges too close together though so usually sat further away. It was cooler than usual so didn't swim - main pool not heated. No heat in the rooms - cold at night.

Food in the restaurant & by the pool was very good. Excellent service. We went there several times. Their small grocery store was quite adequate but for more and less expensive things took the bus to Mega, cab back.

We had been to Mazatlan before and it is growing a lot out in the "newer" part with another Marina, residences, timeshares, hotels, etc so in a couple years that will be quite nice. It is quite a big city with much older areas so prefer either Cabo or Puerto Vallerta. However, did enjoy our week. Depends a lot of what you want to do. We like to relax, walk on the beach, enjoy nice dinners and quiet places.