The Melia Azul Ixtapa All-Inclusive Hotel

We went to The Melia Azul Ixtapa Hotel a few years ago and today I'm missing it! It was so nice there. We went in January - so the crowds weren't crazy like they are at the holiday season (which comprises of Thanksgiving through New Years).

My youngest was 6 months at the time and even with a baby we had a blast there. It's an all-inclusive so all of your food and drinks come with the cost of the rooms. My husband's family loves going to all-inclusive hotels in Mexico and I've been to quite a few with them but this one is my favorite. At most all-inclusive resorts the food is just okay, sometimes not even that. But we did not have one bad meal here. I'm not saying that it's 5-star, by all means, but they definitely have wonderful restaurants. Breakfast rocked it (and I'm not a breakfast gal). The pina coladas all day long at the pool was very nice as well.

For younger kids - they have a kids club where they can go sans parents and play. We dropped off our 3 yo and he was ticked when we left (but he's always ticked when we leave him with a sitter so it's nothing new then OR now!). When we came back a few hours later he would not leave. He was busy painting and having fun and would not leave! They also have crafts outside of the kids club for you to do together with your kiddos (they are fairly expensive though so beware). They have activities at the pool for bigger kids and they also have a ton of water sports at the beach.

The best part of this hotel is their location to the island near the coastline. We took a chartered boat over one morning and spent the day there. Beautiful water, beautiful beaches, sooo nice.

We also spent a few afternoons going into Zihuatanejo and shopping. It's a quaint little fisherman's town with a lot of fun tourist-y shops and great little restaurants. Seriously had some of the best guacamole and fish ever there. Ohhh soo good!

My understanding is that because this is mainly a touristy town that all of the water (or if not all - then most of it) is heavily filtered. We were able to drink the water everywhere we went and not once did we get sick. Hello double bonus!

I'm not sure how safe it is to travel in Mexico right now (lame drug cartels) especially since there were some recent beheadings in Aculpulco (Ixtapa is about an hour or more south of Aculpulco). So while I can't recommend anyone going to Mexico right now if you decide you want to go Ixtapa anyway -- this is a WONDERFUL place to visit.