We stayed at the Girasol for 11 nights which we booked thru "great rentals" website, property 218270 which is a private owned studio. We were very disappointed with a couple of issues. First, there was only 1 bath towel each during our entire stay, no hand or face cloth or dish rag or tea towel in the unit even though their advertisement said towels provided. We emailed the owner and they never replied back, which didn't surprise us. Second, the owner assured us that the noise level from the surrounding open clubs and bars was minimal, even for a light sleeper. Not so, being an end unit closest to the noise, we barely got any sleep our entire trip as the heavy bassed techno music ended about 4 every night. Also, the loud crashing of the waves all night didn't help either. Third, lots of bugs crawled thru the 1" space below the entrance door. Fourth, usually when we've rented thru the owner, we got a better price, but in this case they charged more than the hotel. We heard $90 US/ night and $85 with breakfast. Fifth, there was a constant unpleasant smell from the sewers in the bathroom. Sixth, there is only a thin sheet as a cover on the beds, the furry thing that looked like a cover of some sort was only half length and dirty, we chose not to use it. Seventh, the AC rattled with ice that froze up and dripped all over the curtain and floor when it was left on too long.

The hotel had hot water problems while we were there, no hot water for 5 days!
For 2 days the internet did not work in the lobby which the mosquitoes love to hang around in. Only some of the hotel rooms have a mini-fridge and it looks like not much in the way of basic kitchen supplies. The rooms ending in 07-10 have better ocean views and are further away from the noisy clubs. There is no beach to lay on, you have to walk a bit to the right and lay on the beach by other condos/hotels. The breakfast we had at the restaurant on site was not good, and chose not to eat there for any more meals.

The only good thing about this hotel was the friendly and helpful staff. The location is within walking distance to lots of shops and good restaurants. We didn't care for the pushy vendors at the Negro flea market across the street and especially the racist young punk. A good place to stay if you're into clubbing or barhopping or on spring break.

We just tried to make the best of a bad situation and just laughed at everything that could have been better. We didn't realize it was listed as a budget hotel, til we got back. Usually private owned units are in better condition and more stocked with the basics. We would never go for a budget hotel again after this experience.

J & G, Canada

The Garisol does have a great view but the front desk people will rip you off. I was there on 2/15 and my friend had paid for our room in advance, the guy at the front desk tried to scam me for 900 pesos for a room that had already been purchaced. NOT COOL. In this economy while tourism is down people should want to encourage customers not try to steal from them. The rooms were low end and rundown, one pilloow per hard bed,one towel, toilet that didin't work and crappy little fridge. Don't stay at the Girasol unless you have to.

The property is one of the oldest in Cancun but all the basic services were there like hot water, fresh clean towels, friendly service and the best location on the beach! There is a 24 hour OXXO (Mexican convenience store chain) 50 yards from the entrance to the hotel and a pharmacy right next to it. The rooms are very large which was good because I had my small children with me and they had room to play. Rooms had a kithchette with a fridge and sink and cabinets but nothing to cook on so I just went to walmart and bought a hot plate and a little frying pan and everything we needed cook for $25 and we had eggs, bacon, OJ and coffee when ever we wanted to get up and saved a TON of money this way as food is grossly overpriced in Cancun. There is a small little restaurant in the hotel but we never ate there so I couldnt tell you. We had a large fridge and kept it stocked so we only really ate out a few times. It is a two minute walk from Senor Frogs and a four minute walk to Carlos n Charlies and the mall and all the night life.

You just gotta go into it knowing you get what you pay for but my view was priceless.

I did a lot of homework (and read hundreds of reviews!) before choosing the condo for our vacation. I found out that every condo in this building is owned by a different person, and that some units are kept up, while others aren't so much. We ended up choosing penthouse #4, and we were SO GLAD we did! Our condo was great. It was decorated in Mexican colors, very cute. The owners were very friendly and gave us a lot of information before we even arrived.

Yes, the building is older and smaller than some you'll see. But the price and location couldn't be beat, and that was the main thing for us. We didn't rent a car the entire week, because we could walk everywhere. We did ride the bus to Walmart, at the condo owner's suggestion, to stock up on groceries the first day. Other than that, we were able to walk to everything.