• Home
  • popular
  • EVENTS
  • submit-new-event
  • CHARITY GUIDE
  • Children
  • Education
  • Health
  • Veterans
  • Social Services
  • Arts + Culture
  • Animals
  • LGBTQ
  • New Charity
  • TRENDING NEWS
  • News
  • City Life
  • Entertainment
  • Sports
  • Home + Design
  • Travel
  • Real Estate
  • Restaurants + Bars
  • Arts
  • Society
  • Innovation
  • Fashion + Beauty
  • subscribe
  • about
  • series
  • Embracing Your Inner Cowboy
  • Green Living
  • Summer Fun
  • Real Estate Confidential
  • RX In the City
  • State of the Arts
  • Fall For Fashion
  • Cai's Odyssey
  • Comforts of Home
  • Good Eats
  • Holiday Gift Guide 2010
  • Holiday Gift Guide 2
  • Good Eats 2
  • HMNS Pirates
  • The Future of Houston
  • We Heart Hou 2
  • Music Inspires
  • True Grit
  • Hoops City
  • Green Living 2011
  • Cruizin for a Cure
  • Summer Fun 2011
  • Just Beat It
  • Real Estate 2011
  • Shelby on the Seine
  • Rx in the City 2011
  • Entrepreneur Video Series
  • Going Wild Zoo
  • State of the Arts 2011
  • Fall for Fashion 2011
  • Elaine Turner 2011
  • Comforts of Home 2011
  • King Tut
  • Chevy Girls
  • Good Eats 2011
  • Ready to Jingle
  • Houston at 175
  • The Love Month
  • Clifford on The Catwalk Htx
  • Let's Go Rodeo 2012
  • King's Harbor
  • FotoFest 2012
  • City Centre
  • Hidden Houston
  • Green Living 2012
  • Summer Fun 2012
  • Bookmark
  • 1987: The year that changed Houston
  • Best of Everything 2012
  • Real Estate 2012
  • Rx in the City 2012
  • Lost Pines Road Trip Houston
  • London Dreams
  • State of the Arts 2012
  • HTX Fall For Fashion 2012
  • HTX Good Eats 2012
  • HTX Contemporary Arts 2012
  • HCC 2012
  • Dine to Donate
  • Tasting Room
  • HTX Comforts of Home 2012
  • Charming Charlie
  • Asia Society
  • HTX Ready to Jingle 2012
  • HTX Mistletoe on the go
  • HTX Sun and Ski
  • HTX Cars in Lifestyle
  • HTX New Beginnings
  • HTX Wonderful Weddings
  • HTX Clifford on the Catwalk 2013
  • Zadok Sparkle into Spring
  • HTX Let's Go Rodeo 2013
  • HCC Passion for Fashion
  • BCAF 2013
  • HTX Best of 2013
  • HTX City Centre 2013
  • HTX Real Estate 2013
  • HTX France 2013
  • Driving in Style
  • HTX Island Time
  • HTX Super Season 2013
  • HTX Music Scene 2013
  • HTX Clifford on the Catwalk 2013 2
  • HTX Baker Institute
  • HTX Comforts of Home 2013
  • Mothers Day Gift Guide 2021 Houston
  • Staying Ahead of the Game
  • Wrangler Houston
  • First-time Homebuyers Guide Houston 2021
  • Visit Frisco Houston
  • promoted
  • eventdetail
  • Greystar Novel River Oaks
  • Thirdhome Go Houston
  • Dogfish Head Houston
  • LovBe Houston
  • Claire St Amant podcast Houston
  • The Listing Firm Houston
  • South Padre Houston
  • NextGen Real Estate Houston
  • Pioneer Houston
  • Collaborative for Children
  • Decorum
  • Bold Rock Cider
  • Nasher Houston
  • Houston Tastemaker Awards 2021
  • CityNorth
  • Urban Office
  • Villa Cotton
  • Luck Springs Houston
  • EightyTwo
  • Rectanglo.com
  • Silver Eagle Karbach
  • Mirador Group
  • Nirmanz
  • Bandera Houston
  • Milan Laser
  • Lafayette Travel
  • Highland Park Village Houston
  • Proximo Spirits
  • Douglas Elliman Harris Benson
  • Original ChopShop
  • Bordeaux Houston
  • Strike Marketing
  • Rice Village Gift Guide 2021
  • Downtown District
  • Broadstone Memorial Park
  • Gift Guide
  • Music Lane
  • Blue Circle Foods
  • Houston Tastemaker Awards 2022
  • True Rest
  • Lone Star Sports
  • Silver Eagle Hard Soda
  • Modelo recipes
  • Modelo Fighting Spirit
  • Athletic Brewing
  • Rodeo Houston
  • Silver Eagle Bud Light Next
  • Waco CVB
  • EnerGenie
  • HLSR Wine Committee
  • All Hands
  • El Paso
  • Avenida Houston
  • Visit Lubbock Houston
  • JW Marriott San Antonio
  • Silver Eagle Tupps
  • Space Center Houston
  • Central Market Houston
  • Boulevard Realty
  • Travel Texas Houston
  • Alliantgroup
  • Golf Live
  • DC Partners
  • Under the Influencer
  • Blossom Hotel
  • San Marcos Houston
  • Photo Essay: Holiday Gift Guide 2009
  • We Heart Hou
  • Walker House
  • HTX Good Eats 2013
  • HTX Ready to Jingle 2013
  • HTX Culture Motive
  • HTX Auto Awards
  • HTX Ski Magic
  • HTX Wonderful Weddings 2014
  • HTX Texas Traveler
  • HTX Cifford on the Catwalk 2014
  • HTX United Way 2014
  • HTX Up to Speed
  • HTX Rodeo 2014
  • HTX City Centre 2014
  • HTX Dos Equis
  • HTX Tastemakers 2014
  • HTX Reliant
  • HTX Houston Symphony
  • HTX Trailblazers
  • HTX_RealEstateConfidential_2014
  • HTX_IW_Marks_FashionSeries
  • HTX_Green_Street
  • Dating 101
  • HTX_Clifford_on_the_Catwalk_2014
  • FIVE CultureMap 5th Birthday Bash
  • HTX Clifford on the Catwalk 2014 TEST
  • HTX Texans
  • Bergner and Johnson
  • HTX Good Eats 2014
  • United Way 2014-15_Single Promoted Articles
  • Holiday Pop Up Shop Houston
  • Where to Eat Houston
  • Copious Row Single Promoted Articles
  • HTX Ready to Jingle 2014
  • htx woodford reserve manhattans
  • Zadok Swiss Watches
  • HTX Wonderful Weddings 2015
  • HTX Charity Challenge 2015
  • United Way Helpline Promoted Article
  • Boulevard Realty
  • Fusion Academy Promoted Article
  • Clifford on the Catwalk Fall 2015
  • United Way Book Power Promoted Article
  • Jameson HTX
  • Primavera 2015
  • Promenade Place
  • Hotel Galvez
  • Tremont House
  • HTX Tastemakers 2015
  • HTX Digital Graffiti/Alys Beach
  • MD Anderson Breast Cancer Promoted Article
  • HTX RealEstateConfidential 2015
  • HTX Vargos on the Lake
  • Omni Hotel HTX
  • Undies for Everyone
  • Reliant Bright Ideas Houston
  • 2015 Houston Stylemaker
  • HTX Renewable You
  • Urban Flats Builder
  • Urban Flats Builder
  • HTX New York Fashion Week spring 2016
  • Kyrie Massage
  • Red Bull Flying Bach
  • Hotze Health and Wellness
  • ReadFest 2015
  • Alzheimer's Promoted Article
  • Formula 1 Giveaway
  • Professional Skin Treatments by NuMe Express

    The lessons of Ixtapa & Zihuatanejo

    Little Mexico: A guide to the smaller resort towns where even Britney Spearssoaks up the mellow (with video)

    Peter Barnes
    Oct 23, 2010 | 1:25 pm
    • You still can't beat the reviews from Mexico's little resort towns.
      Photo by Peter Barnes
    • Zihuatanejo brings authentic Mexican life, not just cookie cutter resorts.
      Photo by Peter Barnes
    • Whether it's the ocean or the trees, the views are great.
      Photo by Peter Barnes
    • At sunset ...
      Photo by Peter Barnes
    • Or early in the morning.
      Photo by Peter Barnes
    • Just say hi to the natives — without getting too close to this one.
      Photo by Peter Barnes

    At some point before the squash soup — courtesy of flowering vines hidden in the sub-tropical hillside around us — an elderly German woman told me how her husband outran the Gestapo and joined the French Resistance. Her story rolled out slowly into the sea-damp air during our lunch at the Catalina hotel.

    By the time the coconut shrimp landed on our table overlooking the Pacific, the censorship-resisting publisher had fled from Paris to Spain, landing in New York after the war and eventually stumbling upon Zihuatanejo, where the Munich natives bought the Mexican burgh’s first beach resort 54 years ago.

    Between stolen glances at the fluorescent hummingbirds flitting at the feeder behind her, I began to understand what keeps hotel owner Eva Bergtold, along with a handful aging American hippies and a growing rank of retired Canadians, living in this small nook of coast between Puerto Vallarta and Acapulco.

    More than just the warm water and dramatic coast lauded by every Mexican resort destination, Zihua’s allure comes from the fisherman hawking the day’s catch at 5 a.m. on La Playa Principal or the banana bread at El Buen Gusto bakery devoured by natives and gringos alike a few hours later. It’s in the relative obscurity that’s drawn three generations of celebrities to its opulent boutique hotels that share Playa La Ropa with Bergtold’s guests and a neighborhood where you can still find a bed for $11 a night.

    As Steve Reyes, a North Carolinian visiting with his wife Asia, put it: “You’re intertwined with the locals.”

    I’d met them during a side trip to nearby Ixtapa island, where a kayaking excursion took us surprisingly close to the nature reserve’s foam-spattered cliffs. All in all, it was an afternoon well spent.

    Yet the usual cadre of Mexican vacation activities — parasailing, game fishing, trying not to make eye contact with yet another beach vendor — doesn’t account for all of the area’s appeal. I think most visitors, whether they hail from Mexico City or Montreal, simply find Zihuatanejo and neighboring Ixtapa are reliable places to soak in the mellow.

    Where Cancun and its surroundings boast 37,000 hotel rooms, Ixtapa has closer to 6,000. While Acapulco parties until morning, Zihua rolls up the sidewalks at 9 p.m.

    Sound appealing? Continental flies nonstop to the region’s Safeway-sized airport daily starting at $480. Just don’t make the common mistake of confusing “Mexican” with “inexpensive,” at least if you’re into beach resorts. Aside from a mosquito-swarmed coconut plantation, nothing existed in Ixtapa before the government purpose-built a high-end resort community there in the 1970s. Accordingly, rooms tend to start at $150 per night with food prices to match.

    That money buys lodging with imposing ocean views, good restaurants and miles of fine sand cleaned daily by a special machine. Among Ixtapa’s gleaming hotel towers, I was impressed with the Dorado Pacifico’s smartly styled contemporary rooms and generous balconies. Others may prefer one of the well-regarded all-inclusive options like the Presdente Intercontinental.

    All of Ixtapa’s visitors have easy access to restaurants, bars and shops lining the palm-shaded boulevard that run behind Ixtapa’s resorts. (Locals are particularly fond of the gelato at Fragolino next to the Scruples grocery store.)

    Zihuatanejo, a three-mile, 10-minute cab ride south, is a city of roughly 100,000 that tourism created from a once-tiny fishing village. Ask a cabbie to drop you off near the Merza Supermercado, and you’ll be surrounded by a kaleidoscopic street market brimming with dried chilies, de-spined prickly pear cactus and steaming crocks of local stew. Closer to the waterfront, downtown is small and safe, lined with cheerful storefronts selling craft tequilas and local artwork.

    The Madera neighborhood, near Calle Adelita, reveals affordable off-the-water guest houses, expat restaurants and impeccably tended boutique hotels like the eight-room Villas Naomi. In typical Zihua style, they sit less than a mile from Casa Que Canta, the Tides and other luxe lodgings that often play host to the likes of Britney Spears.

    I stayed recently at Brisas Ixtapa on a deserted, cliff-framed scallop of beach just north of town. Designed by Ricardo Legorreta in the early 1980s and renovated in 2007 at a cost of roughly $32,000 per room, every suite features an ocean view and a hammock on the patio. (Full disclosure: My stay was free as part of a story I was reporting for a magazine. Even if I’d paid in full, though, I have to imagine I’d still be impressed with the view of the ocean crashing against the rocks from the palm-shaded pool.)

    I travel a lot, and I realize beach is beach. Given all of the bad news about other parts of Mexico these days, vacationing Americans have good reason to ask why they shouldn’t just go to Florida instead. To them I would point out you that can’t get drunk with a bunch of tequila-soaked Canadians at Senior Frogs in Orlando. You can’t buy Guerrero-style poloze served on the street by somebody’s grandmother. You’ll never eat explosively tasty shrimp with a German host who’s still entranced by the beautify of her surroundings after nearly six decades.

     For all our reservations about leaving the U.S., most visitors to Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo eventually realize that the Mexicans still have quite a bit to teach us about taking it easy.

     

     Watch Peter Barnes' video of Little Mexico:

     

    unspecified
    news/travel

    most read posts

    Houston is one of America's most overpriced cities, study finds

    Shaq surprises Houston restaurant with $1,000 tip and more top stories

    Two week dining event celebrates Houston's Latin-owned restaurants

    a ship within a ship

    European cruise line unveils luxury upgrade for new Galveston ship

    Eric Sandler
    Jul 18, 2025 | 1:04 pm

    As a Europe-based cruise line sails closer to its Galveston debut, it has revealed another amenity to lure travelers looking for a premium experience. When the MSC Cruises’s ship the MSC Seascape begins sailing in November, it will include a luxurious upgrade option.

    Called MSC Yacht Club, the ship-within-a-ship experience offers 32,000-square feet of private space within the ship. Those paying for the privilege get access to a Yacht Club-specific pool, restaurant, and the Top Sail Lounge. They get also get butler service, and an on-ship concierge to assist with booking dinner reservations, seats at entertainment venues, and on-shore excursions.

    “The MSC Yacht Club was the industry’s first luxury ship-within-a-ship concept and it’s still the best,” MSC Cruises North America president Lynn Torrent said in a statement. “The white glove treatment starts the moment you get to the port, and it continues until you disembark at the end of the cruise. Our guests love the spacious suites, exclusive areas, and personal attention that makes the MSC Yacht Club so sought after. Our travel advisors tell us cruisers appreciate being able to enjoy that luxury experience alongside all the amenities we can offer on a large, resort-style ship like MSC Seascape. It’s the best of both worlds, and we’re thrilled to bring it to Galveston.”

    While these sort of amenities are common on luxury cruise lines, they tend to sail smaller boats. Travelers who upgrade to Yacht Club still get all the other benefits of sailing on a ship with over 2,200 cabins. They include:

    • Robotron: An onboard, amusement park-style ride that suspends riders 175-feet above sea on a robotic arm that flips, spins, and rotates.
    • Six theater productions
    • 11 “dining venues” and 19 bars and lounges
    • Six swimming pools, including an infinity pool with ocean views
    • 7.500 square feet of space for children ages 0 to 17

    Based in Geneva, Switzerland, MSC Cruises is the world’s third-largest cruise line. The privately-held company operates 23 ships worldwide.

    MSC Seascape cruise ship
      

    Courtesy of MSC Cruises

    The MSC Seascape begins sailing from Galveston in November.

    galvestoncruises
    news/travel

    most read posts

    Houston is one of America's most overpriced cities, study finds

    Shaq surprises Houston restaurant with $1,000 tip and more top stories

    Two week dining event celebrates Houston's Latin-owned restaurants

    Loading...