Review: Thompson Zihuatanejo

Our Verdict

Thompson Zihuatanejo

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.

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 know some other resorts in Mexico such as Viceroy Los Cabos, The Cape - A Thompson Hotel or Solaz Los Cabos, sit on beaches that you can’t actually enjoy swimming in the ocean.

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.