Holiday Inn Acapulco La Isla

Holiday Inn La Isla Opened in 2012 and looks like a spruced-up chain hotel with dashes of tropical flare and business cred. Guests are greeted with cool towels and free green juice. The front desk is framed by wood pillars and the wall behind it is lined with small, polished earth-toned stones. The lobby is smartly decorated with abstract photos of swirling water on the walls, geometric floor lamps, and a mix of gray couches, love seats, and a long infinity-sign shaped backless couch. The hotel's business center (really just two computers) is also located in the lobby. There are two decent-sized pools (small compared to some Acapulco hotel pools) that are quiet in the mornings, but fill up as the day progresses. The hotel draws a mostly Mexican business clientele (and tourists during the high season). 

Holiday Inn Acapulco La Isla is located in the Acapulco’s most recently developed Diamond Zone, along the busy road that leads to General Guan N. Alvarez International Airport (an eight-minute drive). Getting anywhere from the hotel requires a drive, but the hotel’s free shuttle service makes getting around a bit easier and cheaper than taking taxis. A five-minute drive from the hotel is a shopping area with a bank, grocery store, movie theater, and restaurants serving barbecue, international, Mexican, and Italian cuisines. The nearest beach is Revolcadero Beach at an eight-minute drive. Bonfil Beach is a 15-minute drive from the hotel. Barra Vieja, a tranquil fishing village known for its oceanfront restaurants that serve grilled fish, is a 25-minute drive away. Downtown Acapulco is a half-hour drive from the hotel and also where the history museum is located. La Quebrada, Acapulco’s famed spot to watch cliff-diving, is a 45-minute drive from the hotel depending on traffic. 

Holiday Inn Acapulco’s guest rooms are beachy and bright with tan tiled floors, white walls, and doors accented with clapboard siding and abstract photos of blue-tinted water droplets. Beds are a mix of singular king or double queens with plush white headboards, striped white-on-white sheets, and royal blue bed runners with interconnected square geometric patterns. The pillow menu offers firm or soft pillow options (the pillow-type is embroidered on its side). Room furniture includes wood veneer night stands, built-in dressers and desks, luggage stands, and a huge full-length mirror. Rooms have either a small table and two chairs or a white-rattan armchair with plush off-white cushions and chrome legs. Holiday Inn La Isla also has suites with a small sitting area and plush blue couches. Other room amenities include iHome iPod docks, irons, ironing boards, safes, flat-screen TVs with cable channels, air-conditioning, a free bottle of water, coffeemakers with free coffee, free Wi-Fi, and lots of three-prong plugs (something surprisingly lacking in many Acapulco hotels).All guest room bathrooms have granite vanities with rectangular sinks, faux blue-tiled mosaic walls, hairdryers, and glass-doored stand-up showers. Toiletries include bar soap, body lotion, and shampoo. While they’re not standard in-room (unless you’re in a suite), the hotel has free toothbrushes, toothpaste, combs, razors, shaving cream, sewing kits, shower caps, vanity kits, and shoe-polish towels that can be provided upon request. If balconies are your thing, first floor rooms have small balconies with two rattan chairs and a table.

Most of the features here cater to business travelers, but there are a few nice amenities for guests on vacation as well. Holiday Inn’s two freshwater pools are located in the courtyard behind the hotel. They’re not huge, but they’re surrounded by rattan lounge chairs, wood Adirondack-style armchairs, and umbrellas. A bonus for families is the shallow wading pool for children. Next to the pool, La Zania serves reasonably-priced beers and cocktails throughout the day. Ten Restaurant, the hotel’s restaurant and bakery, serves Mexican and international cuisine and offers a breakfast buffet (that includes fresh squeezed juice and costs extra) and an a la carte lunch and dinner menu. While the food gets mixed reviews, the restaurant has a great outdoor patio. Room service is available. A business center with two computers is located in the lobby. There are also meeting rooms and an Office Suite -- essentially a private conference room that connects to guest rooms on each side. The hotel’s small gym overlooks a bamboo grove and the pool, and is stocked with Precor treadmills, a stationary recumbent bicycle, and an elliptical machine. The hotel has paid laundry service or there's a laundry room with a free combination washer/drier (although detergent isn’t provided). A huge hotel perk are the free shuttles. Free shuttle transfers are available from the hotel back to the airport, nearby beaches, to the mall, and Walmart. In the lobby, there’s an ATM and free water. Sundries and medicines like sunscreen, swim goggles, antacids, aspirin, and insulin shots are available for purchase. The hotel can arrange babysitters and also works with an outside tour company to set up tours and car rentals. There’s free parking and free Wi-Fi throughout Holiday Inn La Isla Acapulco.