Zihuatenejo An Emerging
By Patrick Houston
Pickleball Hotspot
Northwest of Acapulco , this Pacific Coast resort city is a gem for picklers .
If Mexico ’ s Zihuatenejo ( nicknamed Zihua ) owns a claim to fame , it probably comes from its cameo in 1994 ’ s “ The Shawshank Redemption .” Now Mexico ’ s Pacific Coast tourist destination is winning itself another moment in the spotlight : It ’ s becoming a premier pickleball destination .
Never mind that the hotels in Zihua don ’ t have courts . If you want a game , you can get one no matter where you ’ re staying thanks to a vital network of public court programs . Cost is just 80 pesos , or about $ 4 U . S . per session .
Over the past two years , I ’ ve spent a blissful five months in Zihua and in neighboring Ixtapa , both 150 miles northwest of Acapulco . When there , I stay at two resorts : the Pacifica Grand in Zihua and its sister timeshare , the Pacifica Ixtapa , just three miles away .
The resorts may be sisters , but they ’ re as different as the towns they occupy .
Pacifica Grand has only 22 rooms . Perched on a high hillside overlooking a cozy bay , it ’ s sedate . Like any boutique hotel , the ample staff offers a lot of attention . What I like most about the Grand , however , is its proximity to old Zihua , with its bustling mercado of fish mongers , meat and produce stands , food stalls , and street-side vendors .
That ’ s not all . The Washington Post recently declared Zihua as a “ city set to music .” Many bars and restaurants feature live bands . The city also hosts an acclaimed annual international guitar festival .
By contrast , the Mexican government developed Ixtapa in the 1970s as a tourist town . Several big resort hotels tower above its mile-long beach . The Pacifica