Prices are for a standard double room in high season, not inlcuding tax.

Hotel rooms in Acapulco vary widely in quality and amenities. You can stay at big-name complexes with endless luxuries or small, family-run inns where hot water is considered a frill. Wherever you stay, prices will be reasonable compared with those in the United States. Service is generally good as well: Acapulqueños have been catering to visitors for more than half a century.

Acapulco Diamante is home to some of Mexico's most luxurious hotels. Its beach, Playa Revolcadero, is too rough for swimming, though, and the heart of Acapulco is a 25-minute, $8-$14 taxi ride away.

There's much more activity on Avenida Costera Miguel Alemán, with its discos, shops, restaurants. All the Costera properties have freshwater pools and sundecks, and most have restaurants and/or bars overlooking the beach. Hotels across the street are almost always less expensive than those directly on the beach; because there are no private beaches in Acapulco, all you have to do is cross the road to enjoy the sand.