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Krystal Beach Acapulco

Acapulco, Mexico

3.9(16,450 reviews)

Family

Krystal Beach Acapulco is a 19-floor beachfront hotel in the Zona Dorada, on the sand of Santa Lucia Bay directly across from Parque Papagayo. It traded for years as the Avalon Excalibur before Grupo Hotelero Santa Fe put it under the Krystal flag, and its recent history is really the story of Hurricane Otis: the Category 5 that hit Acapulco on October 25, 2023 shut the hotel down, the operator first announced a March 2024 return with 174 remodeled rooms, and the doors actually reopened on July 11, 2024 with 149 rooms in service. The remaining inventory came back over the following months, and by October 2026 the brand was again selling all 400 rooms. The practical upshot for a traveler is that the rooms here are post-hurricane rebuilds rather than tired 2010s product.

Traveler Insights

Pros

+Hurricane Otis closed this hotel on October 25, 2023 and the rebuild means the rooms are genuinely redone: service restarted July 11, 2024 with 149 remodeled rooms, and the Krystal brand site was advertising the full 400 again as of October 2026
+The beachfront infinity pool looking out over Santa Lucia Bay is the shot everyone takes here, and there is a separate family pool with a waterslide so the two crowds are not fighting over the same water
+Kamp Krystal runs a real kids club with daily activities programmed for both children and adults, which is more structure than most hotels in this price band bother with
+Location is the quiet strength: Costera Miguel Aleman 163 in the Zona Dorada, directly across from Parque Papagayo, walking distance to the La Gran Plaza and Plaza Galerias malls, about a kilometer from the Fuerte de San Diego and roughly half an hour from the airport
+The beach restaurant came back from the hurricane as Cinque Terre, doing Italian and seafood, and it sits alongside Aquamarina for regional Guerrero cooking like pescado a la talla and pozole, plus a snack bar and two bars
+Beach palapas, chairs and daily beach service come with the stay rather than being rented by the hour
+It is one of the cheapest ways to get a beachfront all-inclusive room in Mexico. Lowest nightly rates sit in the 75 to 125 dollar range before the all-inclusive supplement, which is a different universe from Riviera Maya pricing
+Free Wi-Fi throughout the property, which still is not universal at this price

Cons

−Acapulco's security situation is the thing to settle before anything else. Organized-crime violence has pushed international tourism down hard, the US State Department keeps an advisory on Guerrero state, and movement outside the Costera corridor needs planning rather than improvisation
−This is a 19-floor city hotel on a public urban beach, not a gated resort compound. You get street noise, beach vendors working the sand in front of the property, and the general texture of the Costera rather than a sealed enclave
−Facilities are thin against a true resort: two restaurants, two bars and a snack bar, two pools, a jacuzzi, and no meaningful spa or fitness operation
−One tower, 400 rooms, one bank of elevators. When Mexican holiday weekends fill the hotel, vertical traffic is the first thing to break down
−The all-inclusive food is functional beach-vacation fare rather than a reason to book. Treat it as convenience rather than cuisine, and save a couple of meals for Acapulco's seafood restaurants
−Santa Lucia Bay water quality has been inconsistent over the years, which is part of why most guests end up in the pools rather than the ocean
−The post-Otis restoration was phased over many months, so room condition can still vary by floor and category. Ask reservations which block you are in rather than assuming every one of the 400 rooms came back on the same day

What you get day to day is a well-located city beach hotel rather than a sprawling resort. The signature is the infinity pool at the beach looking out over the bay, with a second family pool and a waterslide so kids are not sharing adult water. Dining runs to Aquamarina for regional Guerrero cooking such as pescado a la talla and pozole, Cinque Terre for Italian and seafood in the rebuilt beach restaurant, a snack bar and two bars. Kamp Krystal handles children, beach palapas and chairs come with the room, and Wi-Fi is free. There is a jacuzzi but no real spa or gym, and the all-inclusive package is best understood as convenience rather than a culinary selling point.

This works for a family or a couple who want cheap beachfront Mexico and are interested in Acapulco as a city, not just as a beach. Lowest rates in the 75 to 125 dollar range put it far below anything comparable in Riviera Maya or Los Cabos, and the location means La Quebrada's cliff divers, the Fuerte de San Diego, the zocalo and the Costera's seafood places are all short rides away. It is the wrong booking for anyone who wants a gated compound, a spa day, or a quiet stretch of private sand, and anyone considering it should read the current Guerrero advisory and plan their off-property movement before they book rather than after they land.

Common Questions

Did Krystal Beach Acapulco reopen after Hurricane Otis?

Yes. The hotel was damaged when Otis hit as a Category 5 on October 25, 2023 and closed. The operator announced a March 27, 2024 reopening with 174 remodeled rooms, but service actually restarted on July 11, 2024 with 149 rooms available and the remainder scheduled through the end of that year. As of October 2026 the Krystal brand site was advertising the full 400 rooms again.

Is Acapulco safe for tourists staying here?

Acapulco has had serious organized-crime problems for more than a decade and the US State Department maintains an advisory for Guerrero state that you should read before booking. The Costera tourist corridor where this hotel sits has generally been less affected than other parts of the city, and travelers who stick to that corridor commonly report uneventful visits. Use hotel-arranged transport for excursions rather than flagging taxis, and check conditions again close to your travel date.

Is there a water park for the kids?

Not a water park, no. The property has a family pool with a waterslide plus the infinity pool at the beach, which is plenty of fun for younger children but is not comparable to the multi-slide complexes at Riviera Maya family resorts. Kamp Krystal and the daily activity program do more of the heavy lifting for keeping kids occupied.

Is this a resort or a hotel?

It is a hotel on a public city beach, and that framing saves a lot of disappointment. One 19-floor tower, two restaurants, two bars, a snack bar, two pools and a jacuzzi, with the Costera and Parque Papagayo right outside rather than a gated perimeter. If you want an enclosed property where you never see a street, this is not it; if you want the beach, the pool and the city within a few minutes of each other, it works well.

What is worth doing nearby?

La Quebrada's cliff divers, a show that has been running since the 1930s, are the classic Acapulco outing and sit a short drive west in the old town. The Fuerte de San Diego is about a kilometer from the hotel, the zocalo and cathedral are close by, and Parque Papagayo is directly across the Costera. For shopping, La Gran Plaza and Plaza Galerias are within walking distance.

What's nearby

Playa Condesa
2 min drive · 1.1 mi
Playa Caleta
6 min drive · 3.9 mi
Old Acapulco Zócalo
4 min drive · 2.2 mi
Fuerte de San Diego (Museo Histórico de Acapulco)
5 min drive · 2.3 mi
La Quebrada Cliff Divers
5 min drive · 2.7 mi
Glass-bottom boat to Isla La Roqueta
6 min drive · 3.9 mi

More things to do (12)

Playa Hornos · beach2 min drive · 0.7 mi
Club de Golf Acapulco · golf4 min drive · 2.4 mi
Malecón pier · marina4 min drive · 2.3 mi
Acapulco Bay sunset cruise · excursion4 min drive · 2.3 mi
Playa Icacos · beach5 min drive · 2.8 mi
Casa de los Vientos (Diego Rivera mural) · historic site7 min drive · 3.2 mi
Club de Yates de Acapulco · marina7 min drive · 3.7 mi
Playa Caletilla · beach7 min drive · 4.0 mi
Puerto Marqués · beach20 min drive · 8.4 mi
Pie de la Cuesta · beach20 min drive · 11 mi
Playa Revolcadero · beach25 min drive · 12 mi
Vidanta Golf Acapulco · golf25 min drive · 11 mi

Amenities

Water Slides

Waterpark

Kids Club

Free Wi-Fi

Beach

Seaweed & sargassum

Acapulco is not a sargassum destination.See the month-by-month guide →

Every all-inclusive in Acapulco →

Google Reviews★ 3.9 · 16,450 reviews

Charlie G.

a month ago

“Room was big, breakfast was amazing! Genaro’s service was consistent and great, highly recommend!”

Diego G.

9 months ago

“Having a good time in Acapulco, the hotel is clean and the staff is great, always attend and ready to help. In the restaurant we liked the great service of Marcos, Irving, Nayeli and Juan Pablo. And at the beach Eduardo, Sebastian and Gilberto.”