Hi!
Manzanillo itself is kind of like OAK. It's the largest Mexican port on the Pacific, and is a huge tourist destination for Mexican tourists (mostly from Guadalajara).
On the N. side of the Manzanillo bay there is a peninsula where there are a lot of resorts (inluding Las Hadas, I believe), with the next bay having a number of mostly smaller places.
The Grand Bay Hotel was voted the #1 resort in Mexico. It is fabulous. Some excellent golfers with lots of experience (not us!) said that the course(s) there are better than those in Carmel/Monterray Bay area. We have been there twice, and were just there in Mar for a couple of nights. There were a lot of big and very expensive yachts there, including "Shogun."
Both times we were there the occupancy rate was fairly low, so I see how they could be for sale. I think that, since it's about 45" north of the airport, which is quite a ways north of Manzanillo itself, it is isolated and maybe hard for people to find. It definitely takes longer to get to your hotel than, say, flying into Cancun or Puerto Vallarta. It may be less popular also be because there is no big city night clubs, etc., there. I think with the right management and promotions you could make a lot of money on it.
The first time we stayed there it was under the original ownership. This last time, they were owned by Wyndham. They were doing extensive building projects when we were there.
Right across the canal is the town of Barre de Navidad, which is a quaint town full of Mexican tourists. If you want a reasonable price for food & shopping, take the water taxi across the way. The food is good at Grand Bay, but it's expensive.
Cliff
ELP
PS-Next Mar, we are going to Manzanillo for 2 weeks. The airline connections today are light-years better than they were when we went the first time, and it's pretty easy to fly in there from a number of US destinations.