ZOA Hotel - Adults Only

My first piece of advice is to read the other reviews. We were originally swayed by the number of 5 star reviews, but re-reading these, they tended to be quite superficial, or often, from groups staying in one of the larger suites. That said, I’m not sure how they missed or avoided all of the other negatives. Looking at the 1-3 star reviews, we experienced all of the negative issues, and probably a few more. We are not complainers, but couldn’t let this one go. We hope that these comments can be used constructively by the management, but all of the negative prior reviews suggest that they have had little or no impact so far. My guess is that the majority of the blame here can be allotted to the business philosophy of the owner. Sadly, they lead to so many needless issues that much of the positive experiences of the place can be ruined and its vast potential lost. Its important to say that the immediate staff were wonderful, but there was a limit to what they could do.

As stated by most of the reviews, the site of the hotel is really unique and picturesque, being nestled into a cliff and small inlet, with great views and small private access to the sea at its base. Personally I loved the latter, trying for a couple of swims each day. There is a surprising multitude of beautiful fish to snorkel with, including occasional colourful rays, eels, and many others that I have and haven’t seen elsewhere. Getting into the water isn’t the easiest though, given the rocks and waves. A gate at the bottom that was chained and locked most mornings was also a major problem (they promised to deal with this, but only did so the next morning). The suites are all quite nice, though the smaller ones aren’t much use for hanging out in. The decks are small, unshaded and the chairs way too uncomfortable for more than 5-10 min sitting (see below re odors).

The first inkling of the misguided management style is right at the beginning with full payment required at booking along with an unorthodox payment system. I was a little concerned we might be getting scammed. They also require additional damage and service fees up front. Upon arrival, we spent a long time in the heat signing a long list of liability waivers (the cliff-side setting and long stone-made stairways have likely led to several injuries or discontent from those that find these tricky or arduous). This is not the ideal site for elderly or out of shape individuals. Among the forms requiring signature are agreements not to bring any alcohol purchased outside of the venue into the hotel or room. You are required to purchase the hotel’s drinks only. There is a mini fridge and wine fridge in each room, but the contents are very expensive (~$250 for a bottle of wine). There’s also a warning that transiently moving items out of these fridges to put something else in will result in being charged for the displaced item.

One of the other things they try to convince you of on sign in is to switch from the complimentary “continental” breakfast to a more full “American” breakfast. We aren’t huge breakfast eaters so opted to stay with the continental. This amounted to a small 2-inch bun (sometimes mini croissant) with jam, a “fruit bowl” and a single americano coffee. Where to begin? First, anything extra costs a lot. The coffee, often diluted with chicory, only comes with coffee mate. Milk (?) comes with an extra charge tacked on to your bill. Opting for something fancier like a latte adds another ten dollars. No juice, also extra. The fruit bowl is a 50:50 mix of melon and papaya. I’ve never encountered papaya that looks ripe but is rock hard (3/5 breakfasts eaten). We eventually opted to have most of our meals off-site.

The first morning we woke up to the smell of sewage and a stream of ants coming out of one of the light switches. I thought maybe the sewage smell was coming from ‘used’ water being used to water the plants, but no. The 3rd morning we awoke before sunrise due to very intense sewage smell. When we got up and stepped outside it was absolutely disgusting. Management said it was due to their “natural ecological disposal/treatmen method“. Fortunately they managed to ‘postpone’ this method for the remainder of our stay.

The place itself is very dead, and the nearby towns very small and quiet, so if you’re looking for entertainment, shopping or night life, this isn’t the place for you. Awesome spot to read or get in some work with a view though. The management offers various excursions via local vendors, but they are marked way up compared to booking directly. They advertised things like “daily yoga and movie nights”, but we learned that the former requires expensive private bookings and the latter never happened.

There are two Michelin award plaques at the entrance and on their web site. I’m not sure what these signify (not stars). The reviewers must have been offered a very different experience. This is getting too long, so I recommend reading other reviews for a more detailed list of issues, including issues with cleaning, towels, water rationing etc. The bottom line is the place tends to ruin the experience by nickel and dimming everything despite the high, up front cost and luxury hotel claims. So unfortunate and unnecessary.

We spent an amazing 4 days at Zoa! Pictures don't do the resort justice as every view is spectacular! The food and drink on-site far exceeded our expectations and service was impeccable! Marco, Charlie, Victor Jr and Victor Sr were all so helpful and friendly. Concierge service went above and beyond to help coordinate massage and transportation easily. The pool area is an oasis and perfect temp and the private beach area is peaceful and serene. We saw whales from breakfast two of our three mornings. The room was wonderful and private with fresh water with each room cleaning provided. A quick and safe walk to town within 10 minutes to the public beach but why would we leave? Any less than our four days here wouldn't have felt long enough and we will be back, thank you for everything Zoa!

Such a magical spot in a beautiful location. We had a great time, and the service couldn’t have been better.

Amazing experiencie overall! Staff was friendly and very helpful with all our needs, food was delicious, the room we stayed in was super nice and with amazing views too!

Very relaxing atmosphere, perfect to spend time with your family, friends or partner. They also offer plenty of different services like massages, yoga sessions, outdoor movie nights and romantic dinners.

Will be coming back in the future for sure!

ZOA is one of the best experiences at the Pacific Ocean. Beauty, calm and one of the most beautiful views of the Ocean. Unforgettable place!

though we were staying at another hotel, we were shown around by the enthusiastic and super-friendly manager and we were hugely impressed with the setting and the charming and very personal service
we went to the restaurant and received a delightful welcome, having a cocktail with an amazing view overlooking the pool and sea, and then a wonderful dinner, all served with the greatest care . the fish for two people was some of the best we have ever had. this is a place i would recommend extremely highly to anyone
Lisa (london, uk)

Absolutely everything. I honestly think this is the best hotel I’ve ever stayed in. The room is incredibly the view even better. Sunrise was absolutely magical not to be missed. The food was amazing, healthy but super tasty. The staff couldn’t do enough for me the whole time I was there but not in an annoying way I felt like I had lots of privacy. The private beach/cove that you were always literally the only person on. You can’t see a soul from here and no one can see you, there’s loads of cool sea life cool crabs and tropical fish to watch. Honestly perfect stay I will be back it made my trip! Such a treat! Ps try the super cold ice baths in the meditation centre place next door.

Zoa’s room cleaning is very poor. Even when you put up the “Do Not Disturb” sign, housekeeping still comes in. Dirty, completely wet towels left flat at the bottom of the bathtub were not replaced—and even after reporting this, the same issue happened again the next day. One day, there were tangled long hairs of unknown origin and sticky residue on the bed (none of us has long hair). We suspect that they use the same feather duster or vacuum head to clean the toilet, the floor, and the bed or furniture.

A sewage/septic tank smell would occasionally drift up from below the room’s balcony. Although it wasn’t constant, given their hygiene standards, it raises serious concerns about the safety of the water and food.

The internet quality is extremely poor.

The bottom of the breakfast bread is always burnt.

The male concierge will always tell you to your face that you can communicate anytime if there’s a problem and will give you a WhatsApp contact, but in reality you usually have to deal with their chatbot for quite a while first—and you may not even get a response. A “handmade hotel”? What a joke.

Other than that, the sunrise and the sea are truly beautiful. (But their beauty would not be diminished at a cleaner hotel.)

I do not recommend this hotel, purely for the sake of one’s physical and mental health.

The place offers a beautiful view, beautiful room and beautiful pool. But…

Muy bueno pero lento, flexibilidad y variedad en los alimentos, buena calidad

Tiene una pequeña “playa” privada que es acogedora

It is not the easiest place to get to, but once there, it is beautiful.
The management can not do enough for you. The food at every meal was incredible, whether you opted for traditional Mexican or something more to a European / western palate, you will be very happy. You are also spoilt for choice for mezcal cocktails - two pages of them!
The rooms are very comfortable and everything was anticipated fort us whenever we asked for it. Not cheap but stunningly beautiful.

這個地方很寧靜，員工都很友善親切，景色很優美，適合想尋找安靜的地方渡假的人