El Cid Marina Beach Hotel

“Very Special Sunday Brunch”

The main dining room at El Cid Marina overlooks the beautiful Marina full of boats and ships from everywhere. Amazing ambiance, remarkable service and so many delectable food choices! Brunch is available 7 days/week but live music is added on Domingo.

“Service is top notch!”

We just returned from a week long vacation at El Cid Marina Beach and we will definitely be back! This was a vacation that I had booked for a ten year anniversary for our family, as well as extended family and friends, totaling 22 adults (ages 35 - 65), 1 teenager, and 5 kids aged 8 and under. Ever… more

We just returned from a week long vacation at El Cid Marina Beach and we will definitely be back! This was a vacation that I had booked for a ten year anniversary for our family, as well as extended family and friends, totaling 22 adults (ages 35 - 65), 1 teenager, and 5 kids aged 8 and under. Everyone had an enjoyable experience. First and foremost, the service there is outstanding. We brought $600 USD and spent the majority of it on tipping the staff. They are extremely attentive. You are able to travel to the other El Cid locations by shuttle (about a ten minute drive at no cost) but the food quality is definitely the best at the Marina Beach. But if you're looking for more night life and entertainment, the Castilla hotel is able to provide that. For food, the restaurants at the other locations are included in your all inclusive, including the Japanese / Sushi restaurant at the Country club. Would recommend a group for that one so you can mix and match, as they are full rolls. Also the country club offers pickleball, tennis, lane swimming included. Additional costs for golf of course. As far as food on the resort, you are able to order food at the beach and both swimming pools (burgers, quesadillas, chicken fingers, pizza, hot dogs, ceviche, shrimp meal). The lobby area has the buffet, but you can also order off the menu. There is also an outdoor area just outside the lobby that offers breakfast and lunch, and then becomes the ala carte in the evening. Great food all around. Everyone was very happy with the selections. And thankfully they had cappuccino's and latte's available for our coffee drinking crew. On Wednesday, the individuals from a cruise are bussed in (around 200 people), which can make for a busy beach from 10:30 until 2 approximately. Many of us knew this was coming and just booked excursions or day off of the resort. For those of us with kids, we checked out the aquarium which is about a 200 peso taxi ride. It was really neat and if you have children above 12, there is a snorkeling option (for an extra cost). Speaking of snorkeling, that isn't an option in the ocean. The beach is lovely though. Great sand, wonderful service, and sun. There are some local vendors who venture there but take a simple "no thank you" well. You can swim in the ocean but it was chilly for this time of year. Comparable to a Canadian lake in the summer time. But the waves were gentle and it was a nice cool off option. The beach is a simple water taxi across the marina that only takes a minute to cross. As mentioned in many other comments, Marina Beach has a tendency of hosting a more senior population so it can be difficult to find socializing opportunities in a younger age group. All the rooms were nice and face the Marina and because of the horseshoe set up, everyone is close to at least one of the features, whether its the lobby or one of the pools. They provide bottled water at all the restaurants / poolside food service and you're able to buy a large bottle for a few dollars at the store located next to the marina. Lastly, the pools are well monitored and a great place to relax. The heated pool has a three foot depth on the perimeter and then a incline into a deeper water. There is daily volleyball games, bingo, and blackjack. The kids also did some ceramic painting. The deeper pool is 9 feet in depth and has a couple slides, a cave, and the jacuzzi (adults only). All in all, we had a wonderful vacation, and am thankful for the amazing service we received. I can see why this location is a favored spot for those in retirement. A very relaxed atmosphere, with genuine kind people. As a side note, my husband accidentally left my laptop bag at the pub, and the next morning, it was at the front desk for us to retrieve. Trustworthy staff for sure!

less

“A winter getaway”

Service: AMAZING! Love everyone there - lots of familiar faces. Food at all Elcid restaurants was very good - favorite is la terrace. Pools: one quiet and cold, one warm and busy with activites. Comfort of room: my only complaint/not enough furniture in living area and the pillows (even soft ones… more

Service: AMAZING! Love everyone there - lots of familiar faces. Food at all Elcid restaurants was very good - favorite is la terrace. Pools: one quiet and cold, one warm and busy with activites. Comfort of room: my only complaint/not enough furniture in living area and the pillows (even soft ones) too fat/hard.

less

“First Time All-Inclusive experience was nice!”

The grounds were immaculately kept and the marina was very peaceful. While this wasn't an adults-only resort, there were never too many kids around and it was very quiet. Even though the resort didn't have the best view of the sunset from the majority of the rooms, it was easy and simple to get to … more

The grounds were immaculately kept and the marina was very peaceful. While this wasn't an adults-only resort, there were never too many kids around and it was very quiet. Even though the resort didn't have the best view of the sunset from the majority of the rooms, it was easy and simple to get to the beach area. The beach area was nice and it wasn't ever super crowded. This being our first All-Inclusive experience, we would have appreciated some more direction on the how-to's of it all. While the staff was great at explaining the various features of the resort and what the different areas were, we had to be told by waitstaff how the package that we purchased actually worked when it came to day-to-day. No complaints on the room amenities and the experience we had. Altogether pleasant and a relaxing vacation. I wish there was more information available online ahead of the trip that could have prepared us better for the restaurant choices, the layout of the resorts, timing of certain items, etc. as that would have been helpful for someone else who was also traveling here for the very first time!

less