I stayed at Vista Del Mar in Dec 2009 and loved the ocean view rooms. Mainly for the decoration (nice wood furniture, stone mosaic details in the bathroom, hammock chair on the balcony… quaint and romantic), the awesome view and how helpful the staff was. The room was super well-kept and clean.
The shower wouldn't be the best if you had to rinse 2 sets of gear daily, but since you're diving with Aldora, no issue there as they'll take care of it except for wetsuits.
Pool in the back was tiny and not very private (souvenir market on floor below that gets busy during the day) but I did take advantage of it a couple of times. Yes, the water in the pool is cold, but I think that's the case most anywhere on the island.
Free bottled water daily.
Although I was on a budget, the small fridge was enough for me and I never felt like I needed a kitchen since there are so many great and inexpensive places to eat within walking distance.
Breakfast as of then was as written in the previous post (pastry, pot of coffee and orange juice). My main issue with it was that they only started serving it after 7 am and the Aldora boat leaves at 7.30. The pier is only a block away, so enough time to eat for most folks, but since I hate being rushed in the morning, I'd usually have juice, milk, cereal and pastries bought the night before on the balcony and grab coffee at the Coffee Bean or the Oxxo store.
I booked through Expedia and the room included a 10% discount at Mr Sancho's Beach Club. Good deal for me, as that is where Aldora does its surface interval.
Bedding was great (king size bed and nice sheets), firm but comfy enough for my taste. Traffic noise was what bothered me the most, I don't use AC at night and like sleeping with the window open, but I had to keep it closed several times. Good thing Melgar gets less busy after 11 pm.
I paid USD50 a night back then (low season price) and thought it was a great deal. When I returned a month later or so, I wanted to stay there again but it was high season, and I wasn't ready to spend USD80 a night on a hotel room so I stayed elsewhere.
Never stayed at Suites Bahia so can't compare the two.
Since lots of people on this thread have stayed there : have you ever booked a room there facing North/East ? I rented an appartment a few months ago just a block away (on Rosado Salas, next door to the Mission restaurant) and the street noise (karaoke bars, loud music…
was just awful, often until 2 am.
I often wondered what the noise would be like at those specific rooms in Suites Bahia. Does the wind direction keep the racket away from them or is it hell ?
