Jungle Treehouse with Ocean View

Villa Zanzibar offers a very unique way to experience Mexico. The hosts are lovely, and very accommodating. We were also very grateful for Aleja, who came to take care of the household needs, prepare fresh salsas and guacamole, and cut up fresh fruit for us each day. That was a huge perk!

The house is spacious and well-laid-out; plenty of room for 4 people, and would work fine with 6.

One must be prepared for the indoor/outdoor living, as well as for the distance to things, and, of course, the stairs. We also did not realize that there was no washer/dryer on site and had not planned our wardrobes for that, which was a challenge.

The La Ropa beach , just down the steps, is phenomenal. We particularly enjoyed spending the day at Arena and La Perla, though they charge for the opportunity to sit in the lounge chairs. For 4 of us, with the chair charge, eating and drinking all day long, we typically paid about $1100 pesos, which is about $60 USD and $75 CAD. So not too bad. The taxis, available at La Ropa, charge about $50 pesos to go to Madera, and $70 to Centro (downtown) for 4 people. The 'Collectivo' (public transportation, small busses) cost $8.5 pesos per person. All quite affordable.

We fell in love with Zihuatanejo and will definitely return. Many thanks for everything, Lois!

This was such an amazingly cool place to spend 5 days (too short; longer next time). Beautifully appointed and with all the modern conveniences. The open-air palapa was amazing, offering stunning views onto the bay, which never failed to bring a little gasp each time you saw it, even if it was the 10th time. Lois was such an accommodating host, who happily answered all my questions, and kept in touch throughout the whole process.

Really nice plus was Naty, the friendly woman who came each day to make beds, clean the place up, and even met us with freshly-made salsa and guacamole. They’ll even have beer waiting for you in the fridge if you request in advance, or just for their cost.

Beach was just a quick hike down, but understand that it’s a pretty steep climb back to the unit from the beach. If you have any mobility issues or get winded really easily, it might not be ideal. My lady and I are in decent shape, and it definitely got our heart rates up, but in our case, the exercise just helped justify our beer or tequila shot upon arrival…;)

Location is at the south end of Playa Ropa, putting you at the far end of the bay, but we never felt out of it. Taxis and colectivos into town are easy to grab by the beach at the end of your hike down, and both are cheap. We usually just took colectivos into town (15 pesos for two people) and taxis back (~35-40 pesos).

Be sure to pick up some freshly-made ceviche from the oyster guy who sets up on the beach right at the bottom of your climb down from the villa. I got a “small” order of the incredibly fresh and delicious stuff, which filled a standard-size paper plate (we ate off it for 3 days), and cost 50 pesos (less than $4).

Villa Zanzibar is really a very special place. Not your typical condo, but so much richer an experience. Can’t wait to get back there next year for a longer stay!

We took our first vacation ever with all of our children to Villa Zanzibar in Zihuatenajo!!! We have an 8 year old daughter and 3 1/2 year old boy/girl twins, we have been to visit family in the past but this was our first time away as just a family since the twins arrived. It was really incredible!

The house was perfect for our needs, we had 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, kitchen, dining area and living area. It was great to be able to let the kids wake up in the morning and play in the house while we slept in a bit. We were in the loft and put the kids in the 2 bedrooms downstairs. So much better than a hotel room!!!

I had been concerned about the distance to the beach because of the 3 year olds but it was much easier than I expected. The description of the beach distance is very accurate. For a couple of normal adults it'd be a 5 minute walk with young kidsit's about 10 to 15, easily doable every day. The house had sand toys, boogie boards, beach towels, everything we needed to get right to the beach on the first day.

Lois and David who own the home are wonderful. Lois in particular helped me sort groceries ahead of time and some extra help with the kids (to make it a true vacation). Naty who comes in every day to clean was amazing, that also made it really a vacation. Naty made us guacamole, salsa, and fruit salads, she also distracted and played with the kids.

The house is in the jungle, kids loved that, of palapas construction. The two downstairs bedrooms have windows with screens and doors. The rest of the house is completely open, we loved that! The climate over Christmas was wonderful and we could hear the surf everynight as we went to sleep. All of the rooms have ceiling fans.

Each day we went to the beach where the kids were in the water for 5-6 hours solid. We didn't venture out too much, a couple of times to the town of Zihuatenajo which is about a 10 min cab ride away. We were happy to stay local at the south end of Playa La Ropa.

We had a wondeful vacation and would recommend Villa Zanzibar to anyone. With Lois' help, planning and thoughtfulness we had a relaxing, mellow 11 days. The kids want to know when we will be going back!