We stayed at the horrible Copacabana Hotel for the first 2 nights and couldn't get out of there fast enough.

The Emporio is located at the centre of tourist area in Acapulco with the Diana Shopping Centre across the street. The hotel was clean and modern, white marble tailed lobby and 3 great pools (2 for adults and one with a river and slide for children). There were 2 main restaurants serving great international fare at great prices.

I was most impressed with the pools, one infinity pool and the great adult pool plus 3rd for children. They played great relaxing music. The pathways throughout the facility were immaculate and I saw cleaners working away, hosing nad moping the walkways at 4 am.

Staff was friendly with minimal but functional English. Always ready to serve drinks poolside and at the restaurants.

Traveled with family to Acapulco and stayed at the Emporio. The hotel is about a 20 minute drive from the airport and I would recommend setting up some type of driving service in advance. The airport seemed very willing to help you get a cab but there were a lot of people competing for them. I don't know about you but after all that traveling I didn't feel like fighting strangers for a musty cab ride.

The Emporio is in the middle of "Gold Zone" and surrounded by shops, restaurants and a few bars.
The hotel staff was very helpful. Though many of them did not have the best English and my Spanish is nearly non-existent, they were very dedicated to figuring out what I was asking or what I wanted even though I know I frustrated them. The maid service was excellent and thorough so truthfully there was not much that I truly needed after they came each day. We left tips on our beds before leaving for the day. I would say anywhere between 15-30 pesos depending on how you feel the service was. We usually gave 30.

The hotel facilities are very impressive. Aside from the natural beauty of the ocean and direct beach access, the hotel has 3 great swimmng areas on the grounds. The "lazy river" is maybe about 150 yards long and it wraps around an outdoor restaurant that serves food and beverages. Also contained on the little island inside the lazy river is a sun deck and a waterslide for children. The swim up bar is also in this area and it is quite a treat to have a margarita at 11:00 a.m. while floating in a pool. If you do not fancy swimming with children, there is an adult pool. It is very nice as well, somewhat smaller but it has a waterfall as well as a bar (not swim up). Quieter for sure and a nice place to lay out or read a book. The hotel stations someone at this entrance making sure they are at least 18 years of age otherwise they are turned away from the adult pool. The other is a small hot tub but it is nice if hot tubs are your thing.

There are several restaurants either in or attached to the hotel. The seafood at all of them is wonderful. The main restaurant is buffet style and is quite delicious and reasonably priced. I also recommend trying the sushi bar. If you are looking for more American style food, there is a Texas Ribs attached to the hotel which has good steaks and burgers.

The hotel also offers a small gym, gift shop, ATM and most other ammenities consistent with a good hotel.

The surrounding neighborhood has lots of restaurants and shopping opportunities. The main bars and clubs are located on a different part of the strip. The area around the Emporio is "quieter" but that is relative because it's really never quiet. It was great for me because I was traveling with family.

If you get to go on any trips or are debating whether or not to go on one, I would recommend seeing the cliff divers (obviously) and also spending a day in the city of Taxco. A lot of the tourism companies have day trips there and it is beautiful and amazing. It's about 3 hours by van to get there but you will stop for a great breakfast (not paid for) and you will have lunch in Taxco (paid for). It has a plethora of silver goods since it is a silver mining town, Indian craft markets and one of the most beautiful churches I have ever seen which is Santa Prisca.

If you are interested in Jet ski's, parasailing, charter fishing, etc. It is ALL available out on the beach in front of the hotel. Be careful. It's kinda pricy.

Overall, I would recommend the Emporio to families traveling to Acapulco, especially with children. There is a lot to do but you are not necessarily in the middle of "party central"...unless of course it's Spring Break...then all bets are off on that one.

If you're looking to party, I would recommend the Hyatt.

I would definitely stay at the Emporio again if I was traveling with family. Great place and Acapulco itself is paradise.

Hope I have been of some help to you.

Amazing scenic drive fom Mexico city took us to the Emporio in Acapulco. Arriving in the evening, the strip on which the hotel is located is your usual mayhem, but once inside that seems far away. We did not do all-inclusive but found the a la carte very reasonably priced and quite acceptable: they obviously try and generally succeed. Shame that the Martini/Sushi bar does not serve food outside high-season. Room (all have ocean views and balconies) was pretty decent if not remarkable. Outside there are three pools: family, adults only and a small infinity where we spent most of our time. Then, of course, there was immediate access to the beach. Service was pretty O.K. and the staff generally helpful. When we visited, it was not busy and we definitely enjoyed that. Nearby, we took a boat ride, went snorkling, and saw the cliff dives - all a lot of fun. Parasailing and jet skis are available on the beach in front of the hotel. Biggest problem was a loud wedding celebration at the hotel on the first night until 3 am.

We just returned a couple of days ago from 3 nights at the Emporio Acapulco.

First thing, when arriving at Acapulco airport, don't sucker for the cab / return cab / entertainment / breakfast what-not that is offered by people there at the airport. It is a time-share ploy by the Mayan Plaza something or other, and they want to waste your vacation time. We weren't aware of this, and only through luck did we get our promised free dinner for two at La Perla without sitting through their presentation. We simply got mad and demanded a cab back, and they gave us all the goodies by mistake. La Perla and the cliff-diving was great though, and we ate free for our hour of wasted cab rides.

The hotel Emporio itself is nice enough, although understand that this is a third world country, and 5-stars means like 2 or 3 stars in the USA. The lobby is kept a little warm, like 80-84 degrees I think, and the lounge and adjoining buffet restaurant share the temperature.

The good -

The staff is mostly terrific. At the front desk during the daytime, a very lovely lass named Lucero helped us promptly, perfect english, bright smile. In the Condimento restaurant, we were always served breakfast beverages by Carlos, and he is a very pleasant young man, not such great english but he knows what people are asking for and he is very prompt, with a cheerful attitude. The buffet was actually quite good, and being from Texas ourselves, we are accustomed to Mexican food, and I ate papas con huevo and frijoles refrito with salsa every morning... Mmmmm, good stuff. In the evening we only ate there once, but they had carne asada that was very tender, and I enjoyed very much. The tres leches cake was incredibly good. In the lounge, the Coronas were brought promptly and wait staff very prompt, and we were careful to keep tossing out 10 pesos every trip. The poolside bar service was very good, prompt, and we were careful to tip them too, which kept them coming back regularly.

The rooms were comfortable enough. They don't rate 5 stars in the US, but they are clean and spacious. They have a slightly damp feel that is really normal for a coastal city. The reports that the mattresses are firm are true, but my wife and I are used to a firm mattress, and we had no trouble sleeping. The room cleaning service was very good, unintrusive, and we left 50 pesos (about $4.50) on the bed every day. For that minor tip, all of our shoes were lined up in the closet, the linens changed, our personal bathroom supplies such and toothbrushes, hairbrushes and medicines all neatly arranged. The housekeeping services were really superb.

The bad -

The family pool was closed, under construction. This was disappointing, as it is the one with the bar actually in the pool, and we were wanting to enjoy that.

The sushi bar was also closed. No reason was given, but the lady at the bar who spoke broken english said maybe it would re-open in a week.

The adult pool had been opened to everyone, and while it was rather crowded with kids, it was still roomy enough to not be a nuisance.

All of the above didn't bother me much. After all, they do have to refinish the pools at some point in time.

Finally, one thing that really got me irritable - The front desk would not accept American Express travelers checks. On a Sunday evening, when no banks were open, we could not get them to exchange travelers checks for pesos, they would only accept US cash for pesos. What kind of resort hotel doesn't accept American Express travelers checks??? They had an American Express credit card machine, but wouldn't accept the travelers checks, and I am considering calling American Express and reporting that their entire range of AmEx services aren't being accepted. We had reservations for La Perla and cliff diving, and I was about to panic because we had no pesos for a cab ride. I asked for a manager and was told she was eating dinner, then asked a bit later and was told there was no manager on duty. We managed to squeak around this by going down the street two blocks to Crown Plaza, acting like hotel patrons and getting their front desk to cash the travelers checks. By the way, this scored some points with me for Crown Plaza. I like my resorts to be very accomodating.

All in all, it was a pleasant enough trip. Given the choice, I'm not sure I'd stay in the Emporio again as opposed to other hotels in the area, but I'm not disappointed in my stay. It was alright. Some good, some not so good, but certainly interesting.