The entire area is developed around the all-inclusive resort concept, and visitors have no other options. Playa Guardalavaca was the original beach resort developed in the late 1970s, but today, resort hotels are distributed on several beaches along the coast. Principal among them are Playa Esmeralda, Playa Turquesa, and Playa Pesquero, where the hotels are more upscale than Guardalavaca, and the beaches even finer. Guardalavaca is dominated by Cubanacán properties, for the most part older and more affordable than newer hotels in other parts. The Spanish chain Sol Meliá has concentrated its hotels in a row along Playa Esmeralda.
