Hotel Istirinchá

“Nice place, but not so environmentally friendly.”

This is a beautiful place, and you will have a good time. The beach is lovely, and the swimming pool areas are great too. The thing is, you can't really have "ecotourism" in a place that serves you food on styrofoam containers. I feel like they can do so much more to be at least as environmentally … more

This is a beautiful place, and you will have a good time. The beach is lovely, and the swimming pool areas are great too. The thing is, you can't really have "ecotourism" in a place that serves you food on styrofoam containers. I feel like they can do so much more to be at least as environmentally friendly as they claim to be.

less

“Just ok”

My family and I stayed here for xmas. We got one of the newest rooms, decent, clean a bit of humidity but manageable. Seams to me that the climate doesn't help here. If you use the ac there's no new air and the room becomes more humid, if you open the terrace you get mosquitos. So we left the terra… more

My family and I stayed here for xmas. We got one of the newest rooms, decent, clean a bit of humidity but manageable. Seams to me that the climate doesn't help here. If you use the ac there's no new air and the room becomes more humid, if you open the terrace you get mosquitos. So we left the terrace opened while no lights where on, seamed to work as the humid odor disappeared. Eco friendly? They use poliurethane cups and containers on the beach!!!! Pricy. For the amount we where spending nightly we could have stayed in an all inclusive hotel. There's nothing around the hotel, tho they have amenities to keep you busy. The property is huge!

less

“Nice grounds, so-so rooms and service”

The property was beautiful - the grounds and the animals are well taken care of, the pools are pristine, and the restaurant was good. We went just to stay one night and the next day, and the weather was cold and rainy. This of course is not the hotel's fault, but it being the low season, there was… more

The property was beautiful - the grounds and the animals are well taken care of, the pools are pristine, and the restaurant was good. We went just to stay one night and the next day, and the weather was cold and rainy. This of course is not the hotel's fault, but it being the low season, there was very little to do. From what I read, they normally have different opportunities for activities like horseback riding and canoe tours, but apparently all the guides were just not there. Also, perhaps because of the weather (which is a general problem for humid places in Mexico), the room (a cabanya) we stayed in smelled very mildew-y, there was mildew on the ceiling, and the sheets on the bed felt wet because of the humidity. The price (1,100 pesos for 3 people in one room, 2 double beds) was definitely high for it being low season and for a room that was certainly not glamorous enough to justify it, though I supposed you're paying just as much for use of the grounds and the beach, which, because of the weather, we were unable to take advantage of. Some of the staff was friendly enough, though a bit odd - when we checked in, the lady asked me if I already knew where my room was...how would I? Then we waited about 5 minutes while she ignored us and someone came to take us. That night, my friend went to ask for an extra blanket, using his broken Spanish, and he said that one of the people at the front desk made fun of his pronunciation! (No one tried to speak English to us, though it was clear that neither he or my sister spoke much Spanish...which is fine, it's Mexico...but making fun of someone's best attempt at pronunciation? Why would a customer service person be so rude?). If you are not travelling by car, this might not be your best option. There are no big cities around, and we got around from Papantla first on a second-class bus to Casitas (they are kind of rough and not for the uninitiated), then took a taxi that overcharged us by about 150 pesos, but there weren't many options unless we wanted to be stranded there. So anyway...the weather, the uncertainty about the the best way to get there, and the lackluster service made it just an okay trip. If you're going by car, when the weather is good "beach weather", I'm sure it would be a pretty good experience, though I don't know how much the service would be improved.

less

“One night stay close to El Tajin”

We slept one night only in this hotel by the ocean, on our way to visit El Tajin. The site is old and the accomodation is more of a 3 star hotel; our room was clean;the bed very firm ! it had a good balcony. The beach is large but the ocean was to rough to swim in that day. The pool was a good co… more

We slept one night only in this hotel by the ocean, on our way to visit El Tajin. The site is old and the accomodation is more of a 3 star hotel; our room was clean;the bed very firm ! it had a good balcony. The beach is large but the ocean was to rough to swim in that day. The pool was a good compromise. The grounds are well kept, but everything would need improvement. The food at the restaurant was good and at a reasonnable price except for a poor breakfast, included in the rate.

less