I recently stayed at the Acapulco Princess together with my girlfriend. The hotel has a large room with a good bed. The furniture looks old and not well maintained. There are two pools (one was out of service) and the beach is good. What surprised me was to be charged 10 USD per day for the use of the gym, 20 USD for using the hotel beach beds and 10 USD if I wanted to have my car available next to the hotel (there is a parking lot 1km away from the hotel at no cost). I find this unacceptable for an hotel in this category. Additionally these costs are not mentioned in the hotel information. When I complained about this the answer I got was that they were hotel policies. If you are evaluating hotels in Acapulco be sure to include this additional costs in your calculations.

We found this facility to be a delightful venue to use as a base for our stay in Acapulco. The beautiful grounds, attentive staff and interesting decor gave us the feel of a tropical oasis and we thoroughly enjoyed our stay here with only a couple of small issues.
We highly advise that you take advantage of thePresident's Club membership available at no charge and true benefit to you. Make sure that you sign up BEFORE you arrive- it can be done by phone or e-mail- and take advantage of the benefits when you arrive. The spa discount and express check in alone make it worth your while and it only takes a few minutes before you arrive.
We were situated on the 16th floor with wonderful views of the ocean and the golf course. The room was furnished in mahogany, rataan and bamboo furnishings that we found appropriate and well-sized for the environment. Some have complained that the beds are too hard and or small, but we did not find this to be the case in our room at all. Sliding plantation shutters across the windows allow you to deermine the amount of extra light and privacy that you choose and extend the ambiance of a tropical paradise.
The bathroom is not enormous, but comfortably sized. I'm not sure if that floor is marble but it is similar stone, none the less and the counter is granite. The one quirk is that there is a hand-held shower head available to use, but getting it work properly was a bit of a challenge the first time. It is an older model that uses a slide on the main valve to operate it. Generally we did not need the additional pressure afforded by the hand-held...even on the 16th floor we had adequate pressure all but one morning.
We tried the Veranda, Chula Vista, Beach CAbana and Los Angeles eateries on site. Though my meal at the Veranda was a little disappointing as the side dishes were cold in the center and I felt the ravioli could have been more generously filled, we loved the restaurant for its atmosphere and lovely decor as well as the terrific view of the ocean while in airconditioned comfort.
Chula Vista food was delicious, but the birds are a distraction and we would suggest that the management try to find a humane way to deter the pests...perhaps one of those ultrasonic devices that ward away pests but humans can't hear it...
Cabana food was delicious each time we ate there.
Recommend that everyone spend one day on the beach in a cabana tent enjoying the ocean with exceptional service from the attendants Guillermo and Oscar. For $20 US in food and drink service, the cabana is free and it is easy to accumulate this just by ordering lunch and a beverage.
The beach vendors were a nuisance at times as there are so few people at the resort now so they "hit" on you frequently. We found that "no, gracias" usually sent them away easily, but not for too long. If you sit on the inside rows of cabanas, this isn't a problem.
The time of year is not the best, so there are some services/restaurants unavailable at this time, which is unfortunate and it would be helpful if the management would make clear what is closed in a more public way. We planned to dine at LaHacienda one evening only to find it closed on arrival.But, VErandaturned out to be just fine, so we weren't inconvenienced.
Take advantage of the chance to use the Pierre Marque's facilities as well- this sister facility is smaller than the Princess and cozier in ambience. We ate at the Pierre Bar one night and it was good.
The main thing you need to know is that if you plan to go off site, it will cost you about $30 US round trip just for transportation. Plan 20-25% of your trip budget to accommodate transportation to town for activities if you planto go more than once or twice.
The only real negatives that I would say need attention are the painting of the rooms and the cleaning of the exterior where the sludge from the flowerboxes has accumulated. Updating is needed throughout, but In my opinion that is not reason to downgrade this wonderful hotel - over modernization would spoil the charm.

We were sorely disappointed after our stay here, as we had high expectations for two reasons: the good reviews on this site and the fact that it was a Fairmont Hotel. Slapping Fairmont decals everywhere, adding the Fairmont logo to the letterhead and putting Fairmont robes in the rooms do not a Fairmont Hotel make.

The expansive property does have much to offer in the way of many pools with waterfalls, waterslides for kids (and the young of heart), many restaurants, most featuring buffet-style dinners, and large grounds that make it easy to spend a week with the family and not wish to go anywhere else. Also, there are high quality golf courses on the property that we did not explore, but that looked amazing and would be a strong attraction for many.

For us, a couple looking for a nice hotel with Fairmont quality amenities, it was not a good fit. From the start, things went wrong. We had problems every day ... a mix-up on rooms at first so after much wrangling we got a different room, that was larger but contained beat-up and old furnishings; the next night, a sales convention party outside in a public pool area continued playing music on speakers (easily heard in the rooms facing the pool) until 12:30 am; a room service order that was completely wrong; busted air conditioning in our room; and finally, my favorite story -- while lounging poolside one day, being the object of a candid camera-style prank that was captured on video camera. Only after complaining to poolside security (who had watched the whole thing) did it turn out that the camera guys were there for yet another sales convention group and had mistaken us for one of them. Scared the bejusus out of me and did not make for a relaxing afternoon by the pool.

We were not impressed by the food options, although there are a few restaurants to choose from. We are not a fan of the buffet-style dinner -- this may be why. Our favorite meals on the property were lunch at the Beach Club -- great options, lots of seafood, good prices, great service. Dinners were subpar. Our best meal was had at the sister property down the road, which we will review elsewhere.

We would not return to this hotel; we would try out the sister property down the road, the Fairmont Pierre Margues. Did not see the rooms but the property and the furnishings we did see were clearly Fairmont quality and taste. However, we know that this hotel fits many needs and has a lot to offer for families or groups traveling together.

I was a bit nervous about choosing a hotel to stay in Acapulco. Based on the reviews I chose to stay at the Fairmont Acapulco Princess. Here are the pros and cons about staying there:
PROS:
The hotel is BEAUTIFUL. The first impression you get is when you get there is breath taking. We got there a couple of hours before registation, but that wasn't a problem and they checked us in pretty fast. Our room was only on the first floor in one of the side buildings but our view was wonderful. We had a pool view and a little bit of the beach. The rooms were very large, clean and beautiful. They had a kids program but we never sent our 3 yr old there only because it was a family vacation and we tried to spend every minute together. The pools are wonderful. There are about 5 pools some with pool bars and waterfalls. They weren't crowded and they are kept very clean. The beach is also very nice. On the times that we did go the the beach we stayed in the "public" side of the beach. The tents or whatever you call them are a lot cheaper then the ones in the hotel. I had a great massage on the beach you can get one for about $20 and it lasts 45 minutes. I didn't really mind the vendors on the beach. Actually you can find just about anything a lot cheaper than the hotel. Another good thing about this hotel is it's location. The princess is located away from "downtown" Acapulco. We went to the market one day to look for souvenirs and it was HORRIBLE. It was a 45 minute drive from the hotel, my little girl got sick and when we got there we didn't feel safe and it smelled really bad! Thank GOD for our wonderful cab driver that decided to wait for us in case we changed our minds. Needless to say I didn't buy anything. Our cab driver was great also. We were so hungry that day we went to downtown and he took us to this little restaurant on the beach that was awesome! It was delicious and only 15 minutes away from he hotel. I would defenitly recommend that restaurant and the cab driver. There was this one review that said that they don't give you details on the food you get tabbed to your room, which I found to be false cause they give you every detail of your bill including tip.
Okay, now here are my cons:
I called the hotel before I made reservations and asked what their policy was about bringing outside food to your room. I was a bit concern cause I have a three year old and if you have kids you know you have to be stocked up on snacks. The person that I spoke with said that food was allowed. Ofcourse once I went to the hotel they informed us that no outside food allowed in the rooms. The food at the hotel is a bit pricey and so not worth it. We tried all the different restaurants and they really didn't offer a bit variety. We were in Acapulco so obviously wanted to eat seafood but found it to be way over priced in the hotel. The shrimp cost about $25 for eight of them and the fish that I did eat was a tiny filete. I defenitly don't recommend the food. Oh yeah my little girl had a piece of cake from the Angels cafe in the hotel and it made her sick for a whole day. So beware. The pool bar was ok, although pricey. If you need to make an international call do not make it from your room! Buy a prepaid card and use phones that are in the hallways. I made the mistake and used the phone in the room to make an international call. All I wanted to do was call my family and give them the number to the hotel. I made to calls. The first time they didn't pick up and the second time I left a less than one minute message. When I checked my bank account it said that it was $10 per call. Which I wasn't to crazy about but I figured it would be that much. Not only did I pay an additional amount to the hotel but when I came back to the states and checked my account I couldn't believe that now the charges weren't $10 per call but $45 per call. I called the hotel and they said they didn't charge it but it may be the phone company that they use, which they said was At&t but when I called it's called Satellite calls or something. Needless to say this is a big rip off and I'm working with my bank to dispute it. I am not going to pay $100 for two calls that were a minute each. (you would think I'm calling the president or the pope). Anyways, you can't expect thing to be 100% perfect. I would defenitly stay at this hotel again with the only exception that I wouldn't eat there, but now I know where the good food is so I don't have a problem not eating at the hotel. Overall the Princess was a great place to stay. If you want to know the name and number of the cab driver let me know cause he was an angel and didn't charge outrageous amounts.