Thompson Zihuatanejo Review

Our Verdict

Thompson Zihuatanejo Review

Looking for a luxurious place to stay that’s off the beaten path? You’ve found it at Thompson Zihuatanejo, Beach Resort. Thompson Zihuatanejo is located on Playa La Ropa, the premier swimming beach of Mexico’s Pacific Coast. And this refined luxury beach resort is not your typical Zihuatanejo-Ixtapa hotel or resort experience. In fact, this boutique property will make you never want to stay at a large resort ever again.

Thompson Zihuatanejo features luxury accommodations on one of the most sought after beaches in Mexico, an adults-only pool, a family pool, an intimate spa (currently being renovated), fine dining and the best place to watch the sunset.

This review is based off of our personal stay in December of 2020. And don’t forget, if you are planning to stay at Thompson Zihuatanejo, book through Live Luxe Travel Co. to take advantage of exclusive Hyatt Privé benefits like a confirmed room upgrade (if available, confirmed within 24 hours of booking), $100 resort credit, daily breakfast and a welcome amenity. And for a limited time get the third night free combinable with Hyatt Privé benefits, valid for stays from January 20, 2021 to October 31, 2021. See all Hyatt Privé offers here.

If you’re looking for a luxurious escape and want to enjoy relaxing mornings while enjoying a freshly brewed cup of coffee and homemade pastries, a place to get in a great workout, a place to soak up the sun, eat delicious food and whatever else your heart desires, you’ve found it at Thompson Zihuatanejo.

Our Room

Now to the good part! During our stay at Thompson Zihuatanejo we stayed in a 2 Bedroom Beach Suite. And are you ready for the best part….you can walk out the door of your room, take 10 steps across the patio and be walking on the beach. Our Beach Suite made for the perfect place to really enjoy all that Playa La Ropa has to offer.

The Beach Suites have incredible indoor and outdoor living spaces, a small plunge pool, and the best part is you are so close to the beach and to the relaxing sound of crashing waves.

While we stayed in a 2 Bedroom Beach Suite, it is worth noting that all of the rooms and suites at Thompson Zihuatanejo come standard with the following amenities: custom Egyptian cotton bedding, cotton kimono bathrobes, slippers & beach towels, Thompson DS & Durga luxury soaps & shampoos, rain showers, gourmet mini bar, bluetooth speakers, in-room safe and flat-screen TVs.

Thompson Hotels & Resorts are known for their mid-century styling and that is no different at Thompson Zihuatanejo. The accommodations feature touches of parota woods, brass details, Mexican artworks and Oaxacan clay light fixtures, which all come together to create the perfect balance of old-world and new in the 56 guestrooms and suites.

Our 2 Bedroom Beach Suite had 2 bedrooms, each with their own living area and bathroom, making for the perfect place for a friends getaway. The rooms are separated by a large sliding wood door that could be left open to make a bigger space to spend time together or closed to offer privacy.

Each bathroom in our suite had an oversized vanity and shower and featured a sperate water closet.

Amenities

While beach vacations look different for almost everyone, one thing to note is that Thompson Zihuatanejo sits on Playa La Ropa Beach, one of Mexico’s most swimmable beaches. As you may have read some of our other hotel reviews such as Viceroy Los Cabos, The Cape - A Thompson Hotel or Solaz Los Cabos, none of these resorts sit on beaches that you can actually enjoy swimming.

As mentioned earlier, the spa at Thompson Zihuatanejo is currently being renovated which means they have a temporary spa setup in a couple of suites near Ceniza (the fine dining restaurant) and the family pool. The intimate makeshift spa is quite nice. During our stay we enjoyed massages and could hear the sound of waves crashing which made for a relaxing experience.

One of the therapists we spoke to at the spa has been with the property for over 18 years. And if you know anything about spas, this makes for fantastic treatments. People who have been with a property for a long time come to know the guests who come back year after year and are very good at what they do.

During our experience at the spa, it’s safe to say that the spa staff was taking COVID very seriously and offered us hand sanitizer before our massages and the therapists wore a facial covering during the duration of the massage.

Whether or not you like to exercise while on vacation is up to you, but Thompson Zihuatanejo has a great air-conditioned gym. The gym did require that we had reservations each day to limit the number of guests trying to utilize the gym at the same time and so they could clean in between guests. We have stayed at other resorts who have been doing this during COVID and can really appreciate them providing a safe place for guests to enjoy working out. The gym has an elliptical, a Peloton bike, dumbbells, and a couple of cable machines.

If you like to run, the beach makes for a great place to get those miles in. And if you like to do yoga, there are lots of outdoor areas to find peace and serenity.

Dining

Under the direction of Executive Chef Miguel Baltazar, Thompson Zihuatanejo’s two restaurants Ceniza (wood-fired cuisine with a menu crafted daily from fresh local ingredients) and Hao (Zihuatanejo bar featuring all-day-menu and seasonal cocktails) make for the perfect place to indulge your palette.

During our stay breakfast was served on the weekends at Hao and during the week at Ceniza. Even while at Ceniza, the breakfast menu remains the same breakfast menu from Hao.

Since we stayed for a week, we definitely got to try several items from the breakfast menu including Chilaquiles, Rancho Troncones, Zihua Benedicts, Surf Champion’s Breakfast, and Steak & Eggs. And the longer we stayed the decision didn’t become any easier, all of the items we tried for breakfast were delicious. A couple things we really enjoyed about the Privé breakfast that was included was that it comes with coffee, choice of fresh juice, a fruit bowl, fresh baked pastries and your choice of entree.

And another thing that makes Thompson Zihuatanejo special is that each morning around 7:20 am, a basket of traditional Spanish pastries and a freshly brewed pot of coffee would show up outside the door to our room. This made for very relaxing and indulgent mornings.

On Saturday nights, the resort does a taco experience and let’s taco-bout how incredible it was. Taco night consisted of lobster, octopus, pork pibil and short rib authentic tacos which are served with handmade rolled tortillas on the beach. We can tell you from first hand experience, the whole meal is incredible. And to finish off your meal, it includes fresh made churros or cookies & cream tacos for dessert.

If you love trying new food, you’re going to want to sign-up for a cooking experience with Chef Miguel. We opted to do the cooking class one afternoon of our stay and made it into an early dinner.

The cooking experience usually starts with going into Zihuatanejo to the market to pick out the freshest ingredients and fish. Due to COVID, we weren’t able to go into town and go to the fish market, but chef did that part for us. So our cooking class began on the beach with this amazing market setup for us to select fresh ingredients from.

The menu for your cooking experience can be tailored to accommodate food allergies and sensitivities as it was for our group.

Welcome to Brandon’s Fish Market where Chef brought to us fish caught just hours before. For our experience we prepared citrus salt that was used in all of the following dishes we made: Trendy Guacamole, Tiritas Ceviche, Tuna Tiradito, Grilled Catch of the Day and Papaya Quinoa Salad.

Holy guacamole was never so fitting. One person in our group didn’t like guacamole and after trying this guacamole, that changed.

This hands on culinary experience was by far our favorite thing we did on the trip. Chef guides you through each recipe and leaves it up to you to be creative and to use your own technique.

We’re not sure which dish we made was the best because it all paired so well together to create flavors of sweet, salty, bitter, sour and umami.

Service

Be prepared to be treated like family when you stay at Thompson Zihuatanejo. This boutique resort feels very intimate and the service matches that. The staff is very attentive to your every whim and truly gets to know you throughout your stay.

How are they handling COVID?

While traveling looks much different in 2020, we felt extremely safe and healthy at Thompson Zihuatanejo. The resort was following all of Hyatt’s Global Care and Cleanliness Commitment.

Thompson Zihuatanejo is adhering to all state and local government regulations. All employees were wearing masks, there were hand sanitizer dispensers all over the resort and the staff was there to give gentle reminders to wear a facial covering.

And one of the biggest reasons we felt safe here was because of the size of the resort. With government regulations only allowing for 30-40% occupancy during our stay the resort was very quiet and not very crowded which made for a safe and enjoyable getaway.

And also to let you know how serious Thompson Zihuatanejo was taking COVID, upon arrival and exiting of the resort you had to have your temperature taken.

Overall Impression

Zihuatanejo might be off the beaten path and at times a little challenging to get to with flight schedules, but that doesn’t mean it’s not worth the trip. The Thompson Zihuatanejo is a hidden gem. This luxury resort is the perfect spot for a family getaway, couples getaway, honeymoon, or a friends trip.

From the accommodations to the food to the staff, our entire experience at Thompson Zihuatanejo was nothing short of perfecto.

Extra Perks

And don’t forget, when you book Thompson Zihuatanejo with Live Luxe Travel Co., through our Hyatt Privé partnership, you’ll receive a $100 resort credit, daily breakfast for two, a room upgrade and a welcome amenity.

The Cape, a Thompson Hotel Review

Our Verdict

If you are looking for a luxurious yet fun getaway to Mexico, then The Cape, a Thompson Hotel, is exactly what you are looking for. This Industrial Modern resort was designed by the famous Mexican architect Javier Sanchez. The goal behind the design of the resort was to offer the most incredible views on the peninsula.

If we had to sum up our stay at The Cape in a few words, it would be an incredible resort with a unique design, amazing staff and incredible views.

This review is an honest review and we aren’t being paid or told what to say.

The Cape, a Thompson Hotel

The Cape, a Thompson Hotel is rather new compared to other resorts in Cabo, as The Cape opened their doors in June of 2015. And the resort is quite compact and intimate with only 161 guest rooms. To be honest, there isn’t a bad view from this resort. All 161 guest rooms have incredible ocean views from their private balconies along with a freestanding copper tub and rain shower.

The whole experience of this 5-star resort, from the staff to the food to the accommodations and the amenities, it won’t disappoint.

OUR ROOM

During our stay at The Cape, we stayed in a Thompson Suite. The suite had incredible ocean views and a great view of the arch.

The room had a great entry way that led into the living area complete with powder bath, sofa and small dining table. The bedroom, bathroom and closet could be separated from the living area by closing the shuttered doors.

Let’s talk about the attention to detail in these rooms! The artwork on the wall, the hand-painted tiles on the floor, the wood on the ceiling in the bathroom, the fixtures, the mirrors, and the lighting all work so nicely together. The exterior of the hotel is very industrial looking with lots of concrete and metal, so it is definitely nice to feel a warmer tone in the rooms.

The freestanding copper tub and rain shower equipped with 3 shower heads was awesome. Definitely a great place to relax and clean up after a day at the pool and beach.

DINING

It is always hard to decide where to eat when visiting a resort. Do you eat every meal at the resort, do you visit other resorts or do you get really adventurous and venture into town. We never felt the need to leave the resort as there are plenty of dining options. Even though the resort is rather compact, don’t let that make you think there isn’t a variety of food options.

The Cape features five restaurants on the property. There is Manta (Chef Enrique Olvera’s restaurant) which features globally inspired Mexican cuisine only offered at dinner. There is also The Ledge which is a casual dining option for breakfast, lunch and dinner. In addition there is The Rooftop which is the best place to go for drinks and lite bites in the evening. The pool offers Point Break which only has a few tables but can be a nice place to grab lunch and a drink. And last but not least is Lobby Bar which not only offers incredible cocktails but a great bar food menu as well.

During our stay we enjoyed breakfast each day at The Ledge. We booked our stay under the Hyatt Privé rate and had breakfast included each day. The Ledge offers a cold breakfast bar with fruit, yogurt, cereal, pastries, meats, cheeses and juice as well as a full menu. And if you are looking for a special treat, they have brunch on Sundays with an expanded buffet offering the normal cold buffet in addition to ceviche, seafood, a taco bar, and so much more.

Perhaps once of the best dining experiences we have ever had at a resort was at Manta. We saved the best for last as we ate here on our last night at the resort. Not only was Manta a great place to sit outside on the patio with a drink and watch the sunset, but it offered an amazing meal. The waitstaff all wears black in order to not take away from the incredible views.

As a starter we had Wagyu yakitori with roasted pineapple purée. This was a fun starter as they bring out the beef and a yakitori where you can cook the meat yourself over a small flame table-side.

For dinner we selected the Organic Fried Chicken and the Lobster Gringas. If you know anything about Gringas tacos, they are delicious. The Lobster Gringas were no exception to that!

AMENITIES

When in Mexico you are probably looking to spend time at the pool or on the beach. And that is exactly what you can do at The Cape. The Cape features two pools, a main pool with swim-up bar, and a salt water pool with drink service.

The main infinity edge pool overlooks the beach and offers the same great view you have from your room. The staff at the pool were very helpful with finding chairs, getting your towels setup and of course taking orders for food and drinks.

Currents Spa is located just past The Ledge Restaurant on the ground level at one end of the resort for guests relaxation and privacy. Currents Spa will do one thing and that is enhance your senses.

The walls inside the spa are made of concrete and are painted black. You can see light at the end of the hallway as the spa is open air and when you get to the end of the hall, the views of the beach and the arch are incredible mainly because your eyes aren’t as distracted.

Currents Spa has several treatment rooms, and one treatment room equipped with indoor jacuzzi and shower.

Unlike most spas the facilities such as the spa pool, jaccuzi, plunge pool, steam room and sauna all outside in a co-ed area.

SERVICE

A great resort is nothing more than a place to be without excellent service. All of the staff we encountered at The Cape were friendly, helpful, knowledgeable and truly made you feel like you were at home.

Upon arriving at The Cape we were promptly greeted, assisted with check-in and escorted to our room. Everyone from the bell staff to the front desk to the restaurant staff were so warm and welcoming. When you are looking to relax on a weekend getaway, the service can either make or break your stay.

OVERALL IMPRESSION

This was our first time to Mexico, but it wasn’t our first time to stay at a Thompson Hotel. You can see our review for the Thompson Seattle here.

The Cape should be on your list of places to visit. It makes a perfect weekend getaway for both families or a romantic couples retreat.

Its hard to have a luxury resort that caters to both families and adult getaways, but the Cape has the perfect space for both.

The Cape, a Thompson Hotel, just joined World of Hyatt and is now affiliated with Hyatt Hotels. That means the hotel is part of the Hyatt Privé program. And when you book with Live Luxe Travel Co., you’ll get complimentary extras like a $100 resort credit, daily breakfast for two, welcome amenity and a room upgrade at the time of booking.

New Additions to Hyatt Privé

With Hyatt’s recent acquisition of Two Roads Hospitality, there has been a much anticipated wait for additions to Hyatt Privé.

On Monday June 17th, 2019 Hyatt will officially add three new brands with dozens of new properties to Hyatt Privé. We are excited to tell you that properties from Thompson, Joie de Vivre and Hyatt Centric will now participate in Hyatt Privé.

Hyatt Privé bookings include a hotel/resort credit, daily breakfast for two and confirmed room upgrade at the time of booking. And those benefits are all complimentary just for booking through a Hyatt Privé advisor like Live Luxe Travel Co.

Here is the list of newly participating hotels in Hyatt Privé as of Monday, June 17th.

PARK HYATT

Park Hyatt Shenzhen

HYATT REGENCY

Hyatt Regency Bethesda

Hyatt Regency Casablanca

Hyatt Regency Istanbul Atakoy

Hyatt Regency Sochi

UNBOUND COLLECTION

Chicago Athletic Association

Great Scotland Yard

Holston House Nashville

Hotel Sofia Barcelona

Nam Nghi Resort Phu Quoc

UB Budapest Parisi Udvar

HYATT CENTRIC

Hyatt Centric Brickell Miami

Hyatt Centric French Quarter New Orleans

Hyatt Centric Gran Via Madrid

Hyatt Centric Guatemala City

Hyatt Centric Key West Resort & Spa

Hyatt Centric Levent Istanbul

Hyatt Centric Montevideo

Hyatt Centric San Isidro Lima

Hyatt Centric Las Condes Santiago

Hyatt Centric South Beach

Hyatt Centric Times Square New York

Hyatt Centric Waikiki Beach

THOMPSON HOTELS

Gild Hall

The Beekman

The Cape

Thompson Nashville

Thompson Playa del Carmen - Beach House

Thompson Playa del Carmen - Main House

Thompson Seattle

Thompson Zihuatanejo

Thompson Chicago

JOIE DE VIVRE

50 Bowery

Carmel Valley Ranch

Hotel Revival

The Laurel Inn

The Talbott Hotel

Book your next stay with Live Luxe Travel Co. to receive complimentary Hyatt Privé benefits. Request rates on our Hyatt Privé page, send an email to hyattprive@liveluxetravelco.com or give us a call at 1-888-743-8533.

New Properties Added To Hyatt Privé

We love the Hyatt Privé program. In fact, we think it’s one of the best luxury hotel programs available. Why? For one, the personalized service can’t be beat. And the extra value you receive through Privé like a confirmed room upgrade at the time of booking and welcome amenity are special touches that most programs don’t offer. And Hyatt has some great, aspirational, luxury properties like the Park Hyatt New York, Andaz Maui and Park Hyatt St. Kitts.

As a reminder, with the Hyatt Prive program, you get either a $50 or $100 hotel or resort credit, confirmed room upgrade, daily breakfast for two, welcome amenity and more at Park Hyatt, Grand Hyatt, Andaz, Unbound Collection and Hyatt Regency Hotels & Resorts.

New Additions To Hyatt Privé

And as of this week, over twenty additional properties are now participating in Hyatt Privé.

Here’s list of the new additions:

Andaz Capital Gate, Abu Dhabi

Andaz Munich Schwabinger Tor

Andaz Vienna Am Belvedere (opening April 2019)

Grand Hyatt Abu Dhabi Hotel & Residences Emirates Pearl

Grand Hyatt Bogota

Grand Hyatt Denver

Grand Hyatt Incheon

Grand Hyatt Kochi Bolgatty

Hyatt Regency Bangkok Sukhumvit

Hyatt Regency Cartagena

Hyatt Regency Chantilly

Hyatt Regency Coral Gables

Hyatt Regency Dar es Salaam, the Kilimanjaro

Hyatt Regency Makkah

Hyatt Regency Moscow Petrovsky Park

Hyatt Regency Orange County

Hyatt Regency San Antonio Riverwalk

Hyatt Regency San Francisco

Hyatt Regency Savannah

Hyatt Regency Seragaki Island, Okinawa

Hyatt Regency Sonoma Wine Country

Hyatt Regency Westlake

Park Hyatt Chennai

Park Hyatt Ningbo

The Unbound Collection - Jinmao Hotel Lijiang

Ready To Book?

Review: Andaz Peninsula Papagayo

Nestled in a location where the Gulf of Papagayo meets the sapphire blue waters of Culebra Bay, the

Andaz Peninsula Papagayo

Resort captures the native spirit of Costa Rica with its distinctive "Pura Vida" (pure life) philosophy. The dense tropical dry forest along with volcanic beaches makes the area ideal for both nature lovers and those seeking to relax.

Andaz Peninsula Papagayo

The Andaz Peninsula Papagayo is located 30 minutes from the Liberia Airport. When you arrive at the Andaz Peninsula Papgayo, one of the first things you’ll notice is the beautiful landscaping and distinct architecture. From the shell-shaped studios to the zero edged cascading pools, the hotel’s design is inspired by Costa Rica’s natural landscape. One of our favorite things about the resort is how it blends with the surrounding environment and truly makes you feel like you are in Costa Rica.

In typical Andaz fashion, the lobby is more of a lounge where you relax and are greeted with a drink while you are checked in.

The Peninsula Papagayo area has nice weather much of the year, but there are two distinct seasons. The dry season runs from December to April and is considered the best time of year to visit. The wet season runs from May to November with September and October being the wettest months.

The Room

The Andaz Peninsula Papagayo has 153 guestrooms and suites. Each of the 153 rooms balance stylish contemporary design with touches of character which blend into the natural surroundings, with woven textiles, local solid woods and carved artifacts highlighting the rich Costa Rican aesthetic.

All guest rooms and suites have a spacious balcony with breathtaking bay and forest views. Our particular room was a King Bed Bay View room.

The room had Costa Rican inspired decor and furniture. The bedroom area is furnished with a king bed, two night stands, a dresser and a chair overlooking the floor to ceiling windows. Separating the bathroom from the bedroom is a desk with an adjacent complimentary mini-bar and built-in closet.

The bathroom had a toilet room, large vanity and beautiful stone lined shower which opened up to the outside patio.

And like most Andaz properties, the bathroom was stocked with Lather toiletries (our personal favorite).

And outside the shower the patio offered incredible views of the bay.

Dining

The Andaz Peninsula Papagayo has three on-site restaurants. Rio Bhongo is open for breakfast (they put out an incredible breakfast buffet every morning), and for casual lunches and dinners. Ostra is more of an elegant restaurant with reservation required dinners. And Chao Pescao is a great spot for sunset cocktails and features sharing plates with a Latin-American influence.

We ate breakfast most mornings at Rio Bhongo. The breakfast buffet was just incredible and included fresh made to order eggs. Plus it had a large spread of locally inspired breakfast dishes like and plenty of fruit and pastry options. In addition when you have the buffet, you can order off the regular breakfast menu plus the buffet includes drinks off the barista menu.

We ordered the baked plantain two mornings and it was so savory and delicious. The plantain is baked with palmito cheese, and topped with cinnamon and is served with butter and maple syrup. Needless to say the buffet was filling enough that most days we just skipped lunch, or had a snack by the pool.

In addition to the three restaurants at the resort, the Andaz Papagayo has a fourth dining option at their off-site beach house. We had lunch one day at the beach house and the mango skirt steak tacos were incredible.

Amenities

The Andaz Papagayo has two swimming pool complexes. The first family pool area consists of three cascading pools including a zero-entry pool. The adult infinity pool is much more quiet plus is totally immersed in the forest, allowing you to completely relax.

The Onda Spa features 9 treatment rooms. Before your treatments, you'll enjoy an ancient tea overlooking the spectacular Culebra Bay.

Just around from the spa is the fitness center, small lounge and pool area and locker rooms and steam rooms. The fitness center had treadmills, elliptical machines, free weights and several weight machines. Overall we found the fitness center satisfactory enough to get a good workout in each day.

The Andaz Peninsula Papagayo offers plenty to do in addition to their pools, fitness center and spa. On the beach at the Andaz Peninsula Papagayo, you'll find complimentary stand-up-paddle boards, snorkeling equipment and kayaks. For a fee you can also rent jet skis and water bikes.

And while the beach at the resort itself isn't spectacular, the Andaz Peninsula Papagayo does have an off site Beach House with lounge chairs, restaurant and much larger beach.

Plus the beach at the Andaz Beach House is amazing. And it's perfect for a long afternoon stroll.

And there's a good chance you'll see some of these guys at the Beach House.

The resort also publishes a weekly program of activities such as forest walks (look out for monkeys and iguanas), yoga, kayak tours and cooking classes.

We enjoyed participating in the barista class. And not only did we drink plenty of coffee but we also learned so much about the different coffee brewing methods.

Overall Impression

Where do we even begin? We absolutely loved the Andaz Peninsula Papagayo. The service was top notch. The resort was absolutely beautiful. And unlike other Costa Rican resorts, the Andaz Peninsula Papagayo truly makes you feel like you are in Costa Rica. The amount of wildlife including iguanas, coatis and monkeys was truly spectacular.

But the staff is what truly makes the stay at the Andaz Peninsula Papagayo incredible. Every single staff member we encountered was not only friendly but they practically treated us like family. We can't say enough how much we loved Costa Rica and the Andaz Peninsula Papagayo and would highly recommend a visit!