Hacienda Encantada Resort & Residences

Stayed here for a week with my mother. The facility felt very safe. The facility had golf cars driven by staff to help transport people to their locations. That helped my mother greatly. The only improvement is if they drove by buildings more often or had call buttons for pick up at each building so we would know how long the wait was and let them know people are waiting. We used the adult pool as well as the family pool. Both had their perks but for us the family pool was best because the seats did not fill up immediately. Where as the adult infinity pool area filled up fast!!! People would show up at 0730 and claim entire sections for their friends that would show up hours later. The family pool was less busy and offered available seats. It also had a pool bar. The rooms had full size fridges, big microwave, blender, toaster, coffee pot and 2 burners as well as dishes and pots etc for use. To keep costs down our initial driver took us to the grocery store (enroute from the airport to the resort) and we paid less than $200 worth of groceries that lasted the whole week. We did not eat out (costs were high in the resort area). We used our extra money to go marlin fishing and that was an all day excursion that I would do again! The room has great water pressure, big shower jetted tub, clean and nice pillows. The bed was way too hard for our comfort and i did have back knots from it but still worth the trip. Overall the room was about 1k for the week. Plus mandatory added tips ontop of the room costs between $160 an $200. We tipped everyone soooooo keep in mind they also add that additional expense that we were not initially aware of. We also booked ahead of time with a company that picked us up from the airport and drove us to the resort which was about 140+ (you got charged more if you took longer than 25 mins at the grocery store). On the way home back to airport I had to reserve another taxi service which cost me $100. The facility had items in the fridge but you got charged a higher price and each item had a sticker on it so you couldn't replace it on your own. I enjoyed the option to cook on our own and I loved the safety of the facility.

The resort was gorgeous, staff were amazing, food delicious BUT....AND ITS A BIG BUT I had booked an exchange week through Interval ocean view 2 bedrooms. When we checked in we were told it was a partial ocean view over the family pool! That was not what we were told in booking....So being disappointed as this was the first ever visit for my friend from the UK we accepted their offer of PAY $500 to upgrade to ocean front for a week. We were put on the ground floor with a balcony overlooking the turning circle where vans parked to service the restaurant and pool. Loud at 6am and busy at 6pm. The view was of the cabanas on the edge of the cliff with the ocean behind. This was certainly not a $500 upgrade. We asked for a higher floor to be told none available. That was a lie...the place was almost empty all week. Then we had multiple problems with the room and maintenance and housekeeping came every day to fix something. The worst thing was the musty smell in the master bedroom which was disgusting and all the sheets on all 3 beds were damp. When we told them , multiple times...we were told to turn the AC down low to 60 degrees......they came once to do it and that did not help...we slept in bathrobes as the beds were so damp for 7 nights! This room was ABSOLUTELY not ready for guests. The AC did not work properly, one shower flooded the bathroom as the drain was blocked, a dead cockroach was in my shower for 3 days and never moved, towels not replaced for 2 days, one AC control with wires hanging out ON ARRIVAL, fridge leaked all over the kitchen, wardrobe door did not close so the light was on all night in the room, we had to put a bag in front of it! Two lamps did not work....need I go on? All these problems were put in writing and we went to reception every single day When we checked out and asked them to refund the $500, they said that was not possible due to accounting procedures, but they could take off the resort fee of $133. I was then asked to send in an email to request the refund and they would forward it to the manager. I did that with all the pictures (and videos which I was unable to attach here) and sent it 5 times before any response. The response was - "we already took off the taxes so we cannot do anything else". I continued to express my disappointment and eventually, the reception manager Oscar called me to offer a free week to be used within a year with a guaranteed Ocean Front 2 bedroom with a nice view on a high floor. This call was 15th August. He said he would get his manager to sign off on it and send an email by the following Monday with the information and certificate. It is now September and that has not happened. I have sent 8 emails asking someone to respond but they have been ignored. I am so upset, annoyed and disappointed. I cannot believe that all this has taken so much of my time and it is still not resolved. I attach many photos so you can see what we had to put up with on a vacation that was supposed to be a special treat for my best friend. Hoping they read this and action it as the agreed and promised.

Ah man Hacienda Encantata. These guys do everything right! Waking up and seeing Isabel at Maria’s every am for the best breakfast in the world with a view. Then heading to El Patio where Oscar wouldn’t let my drink empty without coming through with a fresh pineapple tequila. And then the rooftop Attico where Kevin was waiting for me always with the Don nachos that blow your friggen mind! And can’t forget to see Bryan down at the Milagro Spa. I’d give 10/5 stars if I could! This resort is a must see they take you everywhere with golf carts and I was Mr. Luke or Mr. McCartney everywhere I went. They truly make you feel like royalty. Must see!!!!!

The service and location were the top two factors for us at H.E. Every single worker, especially Apolinar and Isabel M., were top tier, friendly, and remembered you very personally while trying to deliver the best possible experience every meal. The location was perfect because the resort is effectively on a peninsula where you can see skylines to both the west and the east from higher viewpoints, particularly the Mestizo restaurant. All the food was excellent, but our favorites were at Los Riscos and breakfast at Las Marias. My recommendation would be to call concierge before your trip and plan all of your dinners ahead of time. Lunch and breakfast don’t need reservations, but it’s quiet all around (at least when we went), so I wouldn’t worry much in low season. The resort has a bit of a slow start, usually everything ready around 11, and earlier close when it comes to pools (8AM - 8PM), but we didn’t mind because it was meant to be a relaxing vacation and weren’t rushing to do things. The resort provided us a shuttle that frequently went to the downtown for free, and some restaurants downtown were included in our meal plan, which was really nice. Those restaurants were equally as yummy as the ones on site. Overall, we got a fantastic deal on Expedia and certainly got our money worth, and it was one of our most luxurious vacations ever. Rooms weren’t necessarily special and we weren’t in them all that much, but we did get a free upgrade. All the workers are super helpful and humble, and they really aim to give a fancy feel to every aspect of your time there.