Las Brisas Acapulco Review

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We departed the Fairmont Acapulco Princess after a 3 day stay and took a taxi up the Costera Alleman to Las Brisas. It was unbelieveable to see all of the new construction that has taken place on this road since our last trip here in 2000.

We turned right at the familiar white and pink wall entrance to Las Brisas and drove up the hill to reception. We were welcomed with their signature pink margarita and registered while sitting in the comfy wicker chairs that looked out over Acapulco Bay. We had to wait about 20 minutes for our room to be ready and were then driven in one of their famous pink and white shuttle jeeps up to our private casita #342.

Our casita was situated on the third level of the steep uphill winding roadway. We overlooked the Brisas road and lots of beautiful palm trees that framed Acapulco Bay and the adjacent hillsides. Each of the casitas have a slightly different layout. I really liked this one, because everything was on the same level. We had a large inside room with a wet bar, lots of closet and drawer space, a table with two wicker chairs and a king-sized bed. The area of the room was quite large, which dwarfed the 27 inch plasma TV screen on top of the dresser. We had floor to ceiling sliding glass doors that opened to a covered porch area with a table and chairs and double bed size sofa backed with throw pillows. To the left were a couple of loungers, our full size swimming pool and cloth cabana with another set of table and chairs. Everything was decorated beautifully with fresh red and pink hibiscus flowers. The bed and TV furniture were modernized, but thankfully, the remainder of the cabana retained its 50s era charm. The bathroom was of typical size with a glass wall and stone tile shower.

We got settled in our room and had the shuttle pick us up to take us to their private La Concha Beach Club. It is about 10 minutes away, on the other side of the Costera in a very upscale neighborhood. We were impressed at the number of luxurious homes with infinity pools clinging to the hillside, all offering spectacular views of Acapulco Bay.

We grabbed a couple of extra large beach towels at check-in and grabbed a cabana next to the natural sea water pool. The surf on this part of the beach is very rough, so La Concha has built a sheltered area where the waves can roll in and out with the force broken by the sea wall. The water temperature was perfect and I enjoyed a swim. The water is clear providing good visibility for snorkeling. Walking into the natural pool can be a bit treacherous due to the moss covered stone steps, but thankfully a handrail is supplied. You also need to be on the lookout for sea urchins, who like to hang on the stairs and low level water areas. I recommend a pair of water shoes here to protect your feet. La Concha has signs posted at the stair entrances to remind vigilance, reminding you this is the living sea and not a freshwater pool.

From here, we moved on to the fresh water pool and swim-up pool bar. We met some of the other guests and had an enjoyable afternoon drinking pina coladas and ice cold negra modelos. They still use the white and pink striped Styrofoam cups at poolside. I’d love to see them switch to something a bit more eco friendly that tastes better for drinking a beer out of.

I walked around and took some photos of the coastline and beach club. There is also a nice restaurant here, open for lunch only. We didn’t get a chance to eat there during this visit, but past visits featured delicious sandwiches, salads and wraps.

We returned to our room and freshened up for the evening. We started with a stop at the Las Brisas Sunset Bar. They used to have an old 50’s style ambulance drive up to the Sunset Wall and use that as the serving bar. But, since remodeling a couple of years ago, they have now built a permanent outdoor structure. It had a very modern feel to it, with back lighting and modular furniture. The wall bar is still there with white padded chairs that provide one of the best spots to watch an unobstructed view of sunset in Acapulco Bay. Tonight’s special was 2 for 1 pink lemonade margaritas. These were large frozen margaritas that normally cost about $8.00 USD per drink, so this was a pretty good deal. And they were mmm mmm good !!

After a beautiful sunset we grabbed a taxi and headed down town to Joyito’s Restaurant for some good Mexican specialties. This restaurant was recommended to us by one of the gals who worked in reception, when I asked her where she likes to go out to dinner. The restaurant is located on the 2nd floor and has tables that overlook the activity on the main street below. When we arrived, we were the first patrons of the evening at about 7:30 PM. I enjoyed some delicious fresh fish tacos and Billy had meat raviolis. The food was quite good and reasonably priced. Dinner with a couple of Negra Modelo cervezas cost us about $20.00 USD. When we left the restaurant at about 9:00 PM, there was only one other couple in the restaurant and the main street down below was eerily quiet.

We decided to head next door to Squid Roe, another one of Carlos and Charlie’s spin off restaurants. We went upstairs and grabbed the swing seats at the bar. Our arrival brought the patron level up to 6. The staff outnumbered us 2 to 1. The staff was great and the bartender was fun. They were happy they had someone to talk to. The staff told us that since opening in December 2008, they only had two fairly busy weeks during Spring break, but other than that, business was very quiet. By 10 PM that evening, the manager sent home half the staff. We stayed until 11 PM and there was only 1 couple left as patrons in the restaurant. Another sign of how the bad economy and misinterpreted media coverage of the Mexican border town problems are having a direct impact on tourism here.

We headed back to our casita and enjoyed a swim in our private pool and a beer on our private patio as we took in the luminous night view over Acapulco Bay; One of the best ways to end a day.

We woke up to clear skies and sunshine. I opened the “magic box” in our room, and found a thermos of fresh brewed coffee, fresh tropical fruits and a basket of pastries. This is one of the pleasures included in a stay at Las Brisas. Another way of making a stay here stress free. No decision making necessary as to where to go for breakfast. The resort also offers a cooked to order breakfast at the Tennis Club restaurant, but for me, having a breakfast automatically delivered to the room, allows time to linger over the view and enjoy fresh, morning breezes.

We spent a lazy morning, swimming in the pool, reading our books, lazing in the sun and drinking coffee. What a great way to start the day.

We decided to venture out and join the locals on the bus and go shopping down town. We caught the souped up school bus with plastic seats, right outside the entrance at Las Brisas. You just flag them down. The fare is 4.5 pesos per person (approx. 30 cents) and the driver has the ability to make change, as long as you don’t have a large bill.

Riding the bus anywhere in Mexico is always a fun adventure and one of the best bargains around. Each bus is individually owned and decorated, they do not run on any kind of a schedule and they race each other to pick up fares. While it may not be good for the faint of heart, it is one of our favorite things to do.

We rode the bus to the far end of the main street and walked back in the direction of the hotel. It was a dry, hot sunny day and got up to the high 80’s, which made for a good day to go on a stroll. We popped into the Mega supermarket and picked up a couple of bottles of Mezcal for some folks at home that requested it. We found on previous trips to Mexico, that the supermarket or Walmart is the best place to buy local Mexican liquors. Prices here are often less than what you’d even find in the duty free shops.

We detoured down to the beach for a while and returned to the main street to stroll past Hard Rock and Planet Hollywood. We stopped in at an internet café and paid 15 pesos (about $1.00 USD) for 30 minute usage on their computer. We dropped into Hooters for an ice cold beer and some nachos, before joining the locals at the main bus stop to grab a bus back up to Las Brisas. We had to wait about 15 minutes for the bus heading towards our destination. We laughed like hell when we ended up on a bus with music blasting with the bass turned way up. The roof of the bus over the driver had the little red ball trim hanging down, and the heads of passengers on the bus were bopping up and down in beat to the music. In hindsight, I should have videotaped it. It was like something out of a Cheech and Chong movie.

We got back to our casita and I took a nap on our outside bed and a dip in the pool. I tried to connect to the wireless internet, but our casita did not have a good sight line to the wireless router at casita 332, which was the closest to our casita. This meant I would have to travel down to the business center, which wasn’t convenient. The other problem with internet here is that you can only purchase 30 minute usage cards for 50 pesos ($3.50 USD) at the front desk with a log in ID and password. This is the one thing they really need to improve here. They need to put wireless in each casita and offer a 24 hour usage plan that can be signed up for on-line, since the reception area is a distance from the casitas.

After a lazy afternoon, we called for the pink jeep to take us up to the Sunset Bar for our favorite evening show. Tonight’s drink special was fruit daiquiris at 2 for 1 pricing. I opted for a Perrier instead to cleanse my pallet for our planned diner at Bella Vista.

We had an enjoyable time chatting with some other guests as the sun set into the bay and lingered for a while until the breeze picked up and we began to get hungry. We called on the trusty jeep to transport us down to the four diamond award winning restaurant at Las Brisas called Bella Vista, which translates to beautiful view. This is an understatement for the breath taking awe as you enter the whitewashed bar area providing an unobstructed view of all the lights of Acapulco Bay twinkling in the foreground. We sat in the bar area in high backed white wicker chairs and enjoyed 2 for 1 St. Tomaso merlot from a Mexican winery in Guadalajara. It was quite delicious.

We took our second glass of wine to our dinner table that was located on the open air terrace with candle light tables that seemed to be surrounded by the lights of the bay. It is fun to listen to the reaction of everyone as they walk out onto the terrace. “Oh my God”, “Ooohs and Ahhhs” are common terminology heard time and time again.

The service here is flawless. Our waiter Juan was very attentive and the maitre’d explained the different specials offered. The menu mainly features fresh seafood entrees, but also offers fowl and meat choices as well.

I had the lobster bisque made with cognac and Mexican brandy, followed by a main course of fresh sea bass in a champagne and cream sauce. Both were delicious with perfect presentation. Billy had onion soup au gratin and stuffed chicken breast. As much as we would have loved to enjoy a dessert, we passed because we were too full.

The check for dinner was about $100.00 USD. A real bargain considering the food quality, presentation, service and million dollar view. Eating here is an experience that one never forgets.

We returned to our casita to relax on our deck and enjoy the view. It was a bit too cool and breezy for a late night swim. We shared an after dinner drink and retired to bed for a great night’s sleep.

Our last morning was spent leisurely on our patio enjoying our fresh fruit, pastries and coffee from our “magic box”. There was time for a couple of dips in the pool and dry time in the sun to freshen up our tans.

We called for our pink and white jeep to take us to the lobby at 11 AM and stopped on the way to check out a large vehicle fire occurring on the main road below us. The road was shut down, causing traffic to back up for miles in both directions. It took about 10 minutes for the police and fire vehicles to arrive. They got the fire under control rather quickly and lucky for us, had the road reopened in 15 minutes. This is the main road to the airport which was the way our taxi needed to travel.

We got stuck in some rubber necking traffic and were amazed as we passed by, to see that the vehicle was a mini bus that apparently had a number of people on it. We saw quite a few people with luggage standing next to the smoldering skeleton of what was their transportation. Thankfully, it appeared everyone made it out of the vehicle before it became completely engulfed in flames.

We arrived at the airport and paid our taxi driver the 250 pesos fare (about $17.00 USD). There was no one on line at Aeromexico, so we checked-in quickly following the hand inspection of our luggage. We breezed through the security check and went to the local lounge for some “kick-ass chili” (as they called it on the menu) and Buenanoche Beer, which is specially brewed for Christmas. It is a dark ale lightly flavored with winter spices. We were happy to see it available, since the only other place in Mexico we’ve ever had this beer was in December in Puerto Vallarta. Three beers and chili cost a mere 20 pesos (about $14.00 USD). A good deal considering it usually costs $7.50 per beer at JFK airport.

We boarded our flight and departed on time. We only had an hour between flights in Mexico City, so we made a quick pass through duty free and got to our gate just in time for boarding. The flight was pretty empty, so we were able to spread out and each had a row to ourselves. We had a lot of turbulence as we flew over parts of the U.S. that were having severe weather. We ended up in a holding pattern just outside of JFK for 30 minutes, before the pilot executed a perfect landing in limited visibility conditions.

We cleared immigration and customs within minutes and were picked up by the parking lot valet 30 minutes after landing.

We enjoyed a stress free vacation from start to finish. Travelers should consider taking advantage of the great deals being offered in Acapulco and the better than ever exchange rate. A stay at Las Brisas or the Fairmont Acapulco Princess is guaranteed to be a wonderful time (see my blog entry for Acapulco Princess for more info) and great value for the money.

For more info www.tonitours.net

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Photos

Squid Roe
Swing Bar Seats

Private Pool
Taking a swim

Pool Hibiscus
Replaced with fresh ones daily at your private casita pool

Sunset Bar
View

Lights of Acapulco Bay
View from Bella Vista Restaurant

Comments

[Richard Mulligan]

Thank You!
What a wonderful review. My wife and I are trying to decide whether to stay at Las Brisas or the Fairmont Pierre Marques in February and this blog was very helpful. Thank you so much!