3 Best Hotels in Troncones, Ixtapa and Zihuatanejo

The House of the Smiling Dolphin was one of the first hotels in Troncones, and it remains a small, family-friendly place with a bright exterior and personalized service. Downstairs rooms are sparsely decorated with Mexican crafts, but each is different. The two upstairs suites have chairs and shelves filled with books; they don't have air-conditioning, but fans and breezes off the water keep things cool. If you like, you can buy produce from the truck that passes in front of the hotel and prepare it in the communal kitchen. There are plenty of surfboards for rent, and it's a good place to take them out, since there can be excellent beach breaks.

Each bungalow at this homey haven has a patio with hammocks, table, and chairs, and there's also a house with a full kitchen, two bedrooms, two baths, and a long porch looking right onto the sand and waves—not to mention a coterie of friendly cats who call the property home. All guests have access to a communal kitchen and dining room, as well as barbecue facilities and a cozy reading nook with shelves packed full of beachy paperbacks.

This chilled-out, eco-friendly compound near a top surf spot is an affordable and sociable alternative in Troncones. Partially off the grid, the hostel has solar panels for electricity, outdoor showers, composting toilets, and a gray-water system for watering the plants. If the bunk-bed dorms aren't your style, there are also two private rooms with a private en suite bath and their own patios and hammocks. A tiny camping area offers a "luxury" tent for rent—complete with deluxe queen-sized blow-up mattress—as well as room to pitch your own. The lofted ocean-view communal palapa is the perfect spot to cook a group dinner, grab a beer from the honor bar, lounge with a book, or check out how the waves are breaking.