Hacienda Encantada Resort & Spa

While there are star staff members (the drivers, the waiters at the pool, the pool concierge, the hosts/hostesses at the restaurants), and the grounds and view of the ocean are beautiful, the list of negatives created a ruined Christmas week family vacation: - Horrible disrespect and treatment of us, and seeing every other family checking in alongside us: bait and switch, yelling, blame, arrogance, and we were off to a flying start. One family next to us had security called on them (!?) when the disagreement was clearly a language barrier. - Absolutely the most aggressive timeshare push you’ve ever experienced (sorry “fractional ownership,” the new code word loophole to try to erase the stigma). You were forced to do it to get the “incentives,” all of which should have been part of your stay and booking. And 90 minutes? Please. 3 hours later we were kept prisoner and slid to one obnoxious salesperson after another. The offer which we were just gracefully listening to so we could leave and get our “incentives,” started at $185,000 and as they offered lower and lower, the last guy we wanted to run from in the lobby at the end offered a $7,400 deal as we escaped. LOL - just miserable and stupid. - Tips. Be WARNED - All Inclusive clearly says tips are included, but tell that to the staff: some DEMANDED tips, not expected or graciously accepted, but demanded constantly morning noon and night stating the “hotel gets those not them.” It was so stressful and unnecessary and again: ruined the vacation. We tipped for extra pool service and bellmen, etc., but on top of what was already included in the All Incl. - The food? Simply not good. They tried. But the quality was nowhere near what you get at other resorts across Mexico where we have visited many times. And good luck getting a reservation. We simply made our way to the amazing restaurants in Cabo and San Jose (thus paying on top of the All Inclusive). - NO UBERS ALLOWED. Obviously a shady payback deal with local taxis, but they wouldn’t allow Ubers to come to the resort. And this is NOT the norm at other area resorts. Bottom line - huge buyers remorse and I blame myself: we could have (and should have) stayed at the Hilton (rave reviews) for the extra $3k. I thought the price difference wouldn’t matter, but if I could go back, I’d throw it down at the Hilton so fast your head would spin. Will NEVER visit or come to the Hacienda Encantada ever again, and advise you to never do the same. And yes, there will be a boilerplate response from the hotel to follow this review that you will see echoes word for word the other responses they make to every other terrible review that has been posted.

Do not pay servicio fee on all bills, tip staff with cash as they are very friendly and professional. Not sure wht percentage of servicio fee goes to staff.

We had Karina and Santiago at the restaurant waiting on us and they did a wonderful job! Very friendly and accommodating.

Beautiful grounds, multiple amazing pools and views. Restaurants very good, authentic. Service was excellent, friendly staff. Rooms were good size. We would come back for sure!

The grounds at Hacienda Encantada are beautiful, but unfortunately the facilities and service did not match the setting. Much of the property feels mismanaged and in disrepair. In our room, the towel rack fell off the wall when we hung a towel, and our porch lights never worked despite requesting maintenance. We purchased the premium all-inclusive wristbands and felt misled by what was included. The lobster tail and other “premium” meals were underwhelming and often subpar, and the additional amenities did not justify the cost. We also found one of our razors shattered in the shower. We can only assume this happened during cleaning, yet we were never notified, which was concerning. The pools were not heated and frequently quite cold. When we asked staff for help with various issues, we were repeatedly told it was their first day and they didn’t know how to assist us. One particularly frustrating moment was at breakfast, when we were told the espresso machine was broken—only to hear the same waitress taking espresso orders from another table 15 minutes later. We’ve stayed at Pueblo Bonita properties before and decided to try something new this trip. Unfortunately, we were disappointed and will not be returning.