Starbay Boutique Resort

What People are saying

Noisy event centre next door, dated facility,, wont honour booking price WARNING

Garnet G on 07/03/2017 20:08

We stayed at the hotel for the month of Feb 2017. Booked it in Feb2016 through Hotels.com. Guaranteed price and pay when we arrive. We confirmed the price several times before we arrived and all was good according to Hotels.com.
When we arrived I had all documents printed to show staff. They said they were full and did not have my booking and even if they did they would not honour my rate. They said they dont deal with Hotels.com or any other online booking agency. They showed me an email from hotels.com that stated it was confirmed by their staff. Staff said it was not them. After an hour of heated discussion I talked to hotels.com and they would pay the difference if there was room. All of a sudden there were many rooms open and they charged hotels.com and extra $100.00 per night even though my rate was confirmed by them and by hotels.com.
I learned from other people staying there that this has happened to them though other booking sites. The hotel says they dont use booking sites but yet their hotel is listed and can be booked. When you arrive they dont honour the price but want more money then the rooms are available.
We finally got a room and now the rest of the story.
I looked up the hotel on line and all showed full but there were only 7 rooms of the 35 being used. There were many rooms that had no people in for the 28days we were there. Very strange.
Beside the hotel are 2 event facilities . Every weekend and during the week sometimes there were wedding that went on until 1 am.. loud music from them.
We had to clean all the dishes before we could use them.. blender had rust and not sure what else in it. Some lights worked and others did not. Tankless water heater for the room worked maybe 15% of the time for hot showers. On the roof above our room was the pumps for the pool heating.. very loud all day long. Room was dated and no matter how many times they washed the floor our feet and socks were black by the end of the day.
Pool chairs falling apart, wires hanging from the hallway ceilings.
The restaurant had a cook some mornings or he showed up late.. food not the greatest or the service.
Maids were very nice and worked hard.
I would recommend if you book here be careful on the price you pay. For the price they charge you can get a nicer place.. newer and more comfortable.

Not what it used to be

June O on 30/04/2015 05:20

During our month at Star Bay this year they had numerous events next door that kept us awake until the early hours. Mostly weddings with good music but they did go on late. This year they had day trippers who come for the day and take up most of the chairs around the pool. The bridge over the pool is now coming apart due to lack of maintenance. Patio doors don't roll and are torn. The front desk staff rented out the room next to us even though we reminded them our friends had booked it for a week to be next to us. They eventually moved the person to another room about an hour before our friends arrived and after we told them about the double booking twice. This used to be a friendly hotel with regulars for the month. Great beach location but quite a walk into Bucerias.

Beach Day Pass in Bucerias

ShooterBoy97 on 24/03/2015 02:44

We did not stay at the hotel itself,. so can't comment. But we were looking for a beach day pass where we could use a pool, bathrooms, loungers and umbrellas and this place fir the bill nicely. We found our passes through the Cupocity daily deals website, but I am sure they offer it directly. Call to check.

That end of the bay is generally very quiet and the waves gentle as others have noted. In that sense it is a very quiet and relaxing day if that is what you want. The staff responded when asked but didn't offer anything or press us - again, what we prefer.

Our pass included a sandwich and beer lunch at the restaurant. The lunch was 'competent' ... it won't win any awards but it was just fine if you are not fussy about presentation and like to eat something like you would at home. We are quite happy to do that so had no issues with it. It would not be our choice for a romantic couples evening.

We wanted quiet beach, gentle waves, few if any beach vendors, and access to a few amenities. The StarBay Resort delivered exactly what we wanted at a very decent price. We did not find any other day passes except at the Royal DeCameron for way too much more. Only downside is there is no hot tub here, just the pool - nice as it is.

Pros and Cons

Erin M on 22/12/2014 21:22

I am amazed at how poorly written some of these reviews are and how little information they provide for travelers. I just returned home from Starbay yesterday and there is one very important detail missing from all of these reviews: this hotel is directly next door to an event venue. During our 6 nights there were 3 evening events, one that went until 1am with massively thumping music. After we realized this was going to be a recurring situation and that our kids could sleep through it, we just shrugged it off as part of the experience. But if you seek peace and quiet at night this is not the place for you. Ironically, during the day it was one of the quietist and most tranquil places I have ever been.

There are some things to like about this place, the beach and pool are only a few steps from one another and the beach was great for swimming with either no waves or very small ones. The water is not clear enough to snorkel but it is warm. That part of the beach is quiet and we had most of the beach to ourselves, even over the weekend.

The facility is not updated and not everything functions properly, such as fans, AC units, doors, but for the price some of that should be expected. The restaurant is just ok, not great so I wouldn't want to spend too many meals there, breakfast seemed to be the best. The staff was friendly, not overly ambitious but if we needed something we usually got it. To our family having a kitchen is essential because we like to make breakfast and the occasional lunch and dinner and have cold cervrzas on hand. These kitchens were efficient and functional but nothing more. We discovered the product BacDyn for disinfecting vegetables and fruits and nobody was sick, there were enough bowls and utensils provided to make all of this relatively easy.

My family liked the location off the beaten path, it felt more like Mexico than other places we've stayed, and it was an easy drive to Sayulita, Punta de Mita and even into PV. We rented a car and it made the trip infinitely easier. I wasn't at all concerned about walking through the town of Bucerias at night, if you have traveled at all in Mexico you will find it a familiar experience. If you have only spent time in resorts it might seem uncomfortable at first but my family enjoyed mingling with the locals who were busy shopping and eating in town.

I hope that my review is helpful to some as other reviews were helpful to us before we went, but if you plan to travel here soon and found my information to be helpful and want more specific info please feel free to email me at duuderino at gmail dot com. I know I would have appreciated asking some specific questions before booking our trip. Safe travels.

Dont even bother!

Dulce C on 31/07/2014 02:52

I never have stay in a most horrible deteriorate and with a horrible service....
The rooms where dirty, with the unlimited strains in the linen. .
The aircondition was not even working. ..
We stay there for two nights and housekeeping didnt even bother to clean properly our room..
I couldn't even take a shower without using my sandals because of the unsanitary showers or the restroom... humility was not an issue was a concerned for the guest that are allergic or have health issues.
Second of all I work for hotels I been working for front desk to housekeeping departments and travel a lot and these service doesn't compare with other hotel..
To the owners I highly recommend to keep on eye in the staff because they are the ones that run the hotel. Keep it up..!