Acapulco Malibu

The lobby is dominated by a multi-level atrium that stretches up toward a glowing skylight. Long ferns dangle from the circular atrium, creating an ethereal connection between all levels of the building. It’s a feature that could look stunning in another hotel, but in the context of the Acapulco Malibu’s older facilities, it imparts a surreal, abandoned-building kind of ambience.

Like many of the faded hotels lining Santa Lucia Bay, Acapulco Malibu seems to have found its niche decades ago and stuck with it. With its creaky old elevators and old-fashioned decor, the hotel is far from polished but still packs in plenty of guests. Families are drawn by the two pools -- one more of a wading pool -- and the fine swimming beach, while revelers come for the easy access to the bars found along Avenida Costera Miguel Aleman. There’s nothing particularly stand-out about the hotel, but it offers decent mid-range value for guests who want to be near the beach and at the heart of the city’s action.

Acapulco Malibu is located in the city’s Golden Zone on Avenida Costera Miguel Aleman. This buzzing street is packed with other hotels, restaurants, bars, and shopping malls. The hotel backs onto picturesque Playa Icacos, one of the largest beaches in the area. The beach is busy but usually less crowded than neighboring Playa Condesa. It’s an excellent beach for swimming, as well as for such water sports as parasailing and wave-running.

The CICI Water Park is about a 10-minute walk from the hotel. Popular attractions like Zocalo, La Quebrada, and El Fuerte de San Diego are less than a 30-minute drive away. Acapulco International Airport is a 22- to 30-minute drive, depending on traffic.

Decor in Acapulco Malibu's 80 rooms is at best confused, with numerous clashing color motifs and design themes competing with one another. The pale-teal walls and white furniture impart a soft, beachy vibe, which contrasts jarringly with bold bed runner patterns reminiscent of 1980s sweaters. All rooms include mini-fridges and wall-mounted flat-screen TVs. King Rooms have small sitting areas with drab brown sofas and chairs. Balconies are furnished with tiny tables and pairs of matching chairs, in addition to sink units with no clear purpose. Some balconies overlook the hotel’s pool and the coast, while others face busy Avenida Costera Miguel Aleman.

Bathrooms, which come with hairdryers, include slightly odd shower/tub combos -- it initially looks like a deep shower but turns out it's a shower with a tiny square tub as its base -- with limp white shower curtains. Old-fashioned metal sink faucets set in white-veined black marble add to the rooms’ past-their-prime appearance. 

The hotel’s open-air restaurant, Tabasco Beach, is quite pretty with its pale-pink tablecloths and views of Santa Lucia Bay. The restaurant is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Room packages that include breakfast are available.

The octagonal main pool, surrounded of dozens of soft-blue lounge chairs, faces toward beautiful Playa Icacos, but it offers minimal shade with only a few umbrellas and sparse covering from palm trees. A garden-lined path behind the main pool leads to a quieter second pool, set in the shade of a large banyan tree.

The hotel is located on a wide stretch of Playa Icacos. Like Santa Lucia Bay’s other beaches, the sand here is coarse but the views of the curved bay backed by the rolling hills of the city is spectacular. It’s one of the quieter beaches found along the Costera, and the hotel provides pagodas and chairs for guests.

There’s a small shop in the lobby selling swimming accessories and basic amenities, along with a travel desk. Free Wi-Fi is available throughout the hotel, and security boxes are offered at the front desk.