Samba Vallarta: very nice service!

We stayed at Samba the week before March break, two families with 3 children. The good: amazing service, amazing grounds, excellent food. Very, very good evening entertainment. The bad: the hotel would greatly benefit of a complete renovation. Upon arrival we were given room 108 - leaking toilet and persistent and strong smell of mildew in the room. Three days later we moved to room 434, which was nicer and felt cleaner but the 4 huge cockroaches that we found in our last morning there left us a [... read more] bad impression. However, the good definitely outweighed the bad, mainly thanks to the staff. Would I return there? Probably not.

Riu Vallarta: An amazing get-away!!!

This hotel is top notch!! The staff and amenities are incredible. My girlfriend and I had such a great holiday and only left the resort one time!! We enjoyed the vendors on the beach! I know most people complain about them but we had fun bargaining and visiting and buying!! Fernando in the sports bar makes the best Americanos!! Every morning! The service at all the bars was awesome! All in all we would highly recommend this resort. The staff is incredible - they work SO hard to please everyone [... read more]! The guys that serve drinks on the beach have great memories to recall what we like!! A great great holiday!!

Sheraton Buganvilias Puerto Vallarta Hotel: Fabulous resort!

First time in Puerto Vallarta and it was an amazing introduction. The Sheraton Buganvillias Resort was beautiful. The rooms were spacious and clean with a great balcony to soak up that warm sun. The grounds were gorgeous and always spotlessly clean. The restaurants were all good. The most important memory I will have is the staff at this hotel. Everyone was so polite and always quick to give you a smile with an "hola". So nice. Irving Flores, the saxaphone player was amazing. So nice and so tale [... read more]nted!! Last but not least we really enjoyed our time with "Jorge Luis Borbolla". He taught us water aerobics and was so nice and friendly. He made us laugh and always took the time to say hello if he spotted us in other places on the resort. He really made our stay fun!! Thanks Jorge!! All in all, it was a wonderful holiday in a wonderful hotel. Thank you!!

Occidental Nuevo Vallarta: relaxing getaway resort

Generally good, right size (relatively small) with beautiful well kept grounds. Beach is long, great for walking, not so good for swimming, water was murky for the entire week we were there. Nightly entertainment varies in quality with not much available after 10:00pm. Room was good but lacks a balcony, mini bar is restocked daily with water, soft drinks and beer. Food was good in buffet and very good in a'la carte restaurants. All staff members encountered were friendly and helpful even the vac [... read more]ation club promoters who were always around. Lots of loungers available at both pool and beach but the best locations are gone early. Yes, the early risers do reserve their spots by 0800 but you can always find space later in the day. There is a reserved area on the beach for club members and they do get butler service, the rest fetch their own drinks from the nearby bar. Overall this is a lovely place for a quiet, restful getaway for families with young children and the more mature crowd not recommended for the party crowd.

Crown Paradise Club: good value but has room for improvement

Overall great place for kids. The kids club was great and the food very good. We loved having unlimited à la carte meals. The service was good too. On the negative side, the pool heater broke down 3 days into our 2 week trip and they didn't get it fixed, the pool was freezing. The washrooms near the bars were dirty, and there were no video games for kids as advertised. Because they allow food outside the restaurants, the birds are out of control and there are people selling time shares inside t [... read more]he resort who are aggressive. Also, I have never seen a resort where beach vendors can come up onto hotel grounds. We were barely able to enjoy the beach.

Iberostar Selection Playa Mita: Great resort

wonderful stay at truly a 5 star resort. The grounds & landscaping were amazing as well as all the original woodwork around the resort. Great pool and the professional staff were on hand throughout the day with activities if you were so inclined, or you could just kick back and enjoy the great weather. Great restaurants and there was enough variety at the buffets that you never tired of the food. Would definitely recommend this resort.

Grand Decameron Complex Bucerias Trademark: Beautiful and Charming Resort! :)

The resort is nicely spread out, which is a actually a nice feature, as it allows you to explore and get in some exercise! ;) Our room was in building 5 on the top floor. Yes, a few steps up and down, and definitely appreciated! There is no elevator! Staff is always there to carry luggage up and down, just call the front desk! Upon arrival your bags are tagged with your room number and the bags are delivered promptly with a smile! Building 5 in itself was very quiet, since it 'houses' the adult/ [... read more]quiet pool. The only noise was between 9->10:30pm when the show was on at the outdoor theatre next door, no big deal. The shows were really, really well done and keep kids and adults engaged and entertained. Since my son (12) was not allowed to 'use' the pool at building 5, we just went to building 6 (2 mins) or frequented the other pools near building 1 and 4; it was a bit of a walk, yet we did not mind. Or we went to the beach, which was 7 mins away and my son enjoyed the snorkelling there! The pools in general are open either until 6pm or 7pm. And then the 'area' undergoes a vigorous cleaning!! The resort is immaculately well kept, everyone does such a fantastic job!!! I noticed that this resort is well frequented by more senior people/retirees, mostly Canadians. There were a few kids, younger than my son, so the activities offered were more geared towards smaller children. It was nice to see that the resort is also visited by quite a few Mexican families, it was a good mix for sure! The animation team is hard at work to offer yoga ( great! ), Spanish lessons, dance lessons, games, etc. A Mexican wedding took place at the beach the evening arrived, that was neat to watch. More or less every night they set up a mini open air market near building 1/2 and you can browse, buy jewellery, bargain and have fun! The food was AMAZING, the variety just blew me away. I work in the hospitality/aviation industry and I have to say the chefs are doing a fantastic job! Our building had a restaurant that had buffet style bfast and lunch; and in the evening it turned into a Thai and Japanese restaurant, one needed reservations. There were two buffet style restaurants that offered dinner a short walk from our building. Every night they had a different theme. So, so much food was on display; it was overwhelming at times, esp. the dessert selection for the Mexican feature night... I can see how one can easily gain weight...lots of weight...plus the free drinks...some people got a bit 'carried away'.. oh well...;) The staff in the restaurants was very, very nice and tried their best to remember one's name...a very friendly and thoughtful gesture indeed! The resort was VERY well kept, so VERY clean; our room was cleaned later in the day, no issues with that. It is nice that Bucerias is only a short walk either on the beach or road; we made good use of that, went to the market, got ice cream and ventured out for dinner one evening. The area appeared very safe. People were not too pushy, or tried to sell you everything you so don't need! On Thursday we booked a sailboat trip to Yelapa with Pegaso Charters and that was certainly the highlight of our trip. We got to see dolphins, walked up to the waterfalls in Yelapa, enjoyed lunch on the beach and went snorkelling; the cost was US $ 80 each and SO worth it. The Air Transat reps at the resort were always very helpful; same applies to every resort staff member, lots of smiles and cheerful faces! I understand why the resort is especially sought after by more 'senior' folks and why they come back! It was a great way for us to get to know the area and be at this lovely resort. Oh, I wanted to mention the iguana tree, which is the home to 40+ iguanas; fascinating to see them up close and it was a treat to have that tree right next to our building, for us to watch them daily! Thank you for a wonderful and most memorable time!

Decameron Los Cocos Guayabitos Ramada: Awesome resort!

From the minute we arrived at the resort we had excellent service. Staff are amazing! From Adrien when we arrived to Bory and Letanya at the La Bamba restaurant, to Gabriel at the private beach club, so friendly and helpful. Food was amazing and no shortage of choices. Would recommend this resort and would return. Very family friendly and clean. Beach was very good for swimming. Probably one reason it isn't rated as a 5 star is because it is an older resort.

Buenaventura Grand Hotel and Great Moments: great hotel & location!

the rooms and whole hotel were very clean and well kept. very friendly staff. good location right on the beach and the 2 pools for convenience. the food was excellent and the staff were always friendly. great location very close to town about a 10-15 minute walk which was nice. the crowd was a little older however and things shut down pretty early as the group I was with between 23-29 and wanted to do things a little later than 10:00pm. could be a little pricy but that could have been the time I [... read more] was there. overall great experience for first time in Mexico!

Crown Paradise Club: Bed bugs!

The pools and amenities were adequate, especially for the kids. The pool area, restaurant and kids paradise were kept quite clean but the common washrooms were often out of soap to wash your hands. The rooms are another story! Our sheets were dirty in all 4 beds (king and bunks with pull out). Pillow cases were dirty and old as well. That was the least of the problems. I had BEDBUGS!! So disgusting! And now I've spent the first 4 days back checking and sanitizing my belongings to ensure I didn't [... read more] bring any home or into my house. Too bad. The pools were fun, food was decent and for the most part, the staff were friendly.

Tropicana Hotel: Surprized by how nice it was!

Grounds of this resort were clean, beautiful and well cared for. Rooms are not fancy but had awesome balconies and great views of the beach and pool below. Of all the resorts we walked by in Puerto Vallarta this was our favorite. We couldn't have been happier and when we return next year we are going back to the Tropicana again. Right down in old Vallarta and you can walk to everything and its a nice safe feeling there, everyone friendly. Locals friendly and happy.

Costa Club Punta Arena: Quaint resort

This is a very well kept resort for the age. Rooms were clean. Grounds are well maintained. Pool area had plenty of loungers and shade areas. The beach loungers and umbrellas could use some updating with more being available in this area. Food was very good with lots to choose from. Within a 10 minute walk from the start of the Malecon, 20 to 25 minutes walk to Old Vallarta. This was my second stay at this resort. Would stay again.

Crown Paradise Club: BED BUGS!!!!!

Be aware that there are beg bugs at this resort. I was fortunate enough to detect the bed bugs in my first suit before we went to bed. They were very accommodating in changing my room but that didn't stop me from worrying if any of those blood suckers got into my luggage. My second suite was clean and free of bed bugs so after the first day we had a good time. The pool and the surrounding area was constantly kept clean and the beach was nice. It was not as beautiful as the white sanding beaches  [... read more]on the Caribbean side but we expected that. The food at the buffet was okay. The French restaurant we enjoyed the cheese fondue, duck for entrée and the both the Baklava and chocolate mouse were really good. At the Italian restaurant the Spaghetti and the pizza was good. At the Japanese restaurant we mainly liked the appetizers from there. Overall, we enjoyed the stay. The kids had a blast at the slides and the beach. If the rooms were nicer with clean and soft sheets we would have rated it higher. We spent only $5100 for a family of 5 so we felt we got what we paid for. I did feel really sorry for the family I saw with bed bug bites all over their legs at the pool though. The front desk did inform us that the entire place was sprayed 2 weeks before our arrival, so they are trying to do something about the problem.

Costa Club Punta Arena: To noisy!!!!

It was great till the pool music and the nights were so noisy you can hear people talking next to you because the doors are not sealed properly I will not ever go back and even was there 5 years ago..

Canto Del Sol: Great time!

We stayed in this hotel in February 2015 for 11 days. Overall impression is very good - rooms and area are super clean, food is delicious with many varieties, staff is friendly and very helpful. The territory is fairly small, so it might get crowd in times. At first we were booked into studio faced to the generator unit, which was very loud. We asked to relocate and the front desk offered two options - one was on a first floor facing pool area and second was a 1br suite on third floor facing the [... read more] tennis courts. We happily took the last. It has a huge patio with two lounges on it, king size bed, pull out couch, love sit, kitchen with all dishware, microwave, fridge, etc. During our stay the toilet was plugged twice, but each time it was fixed withing 10 minutes. One day the door lock stopped working and it took them 15 minutes to replace the whole card reader unit from the door. Super friendly and caring personnel ! What we didn't like? Entry to the beach area occupied by smokers and every time you'll have to pass through their exhaust. Also the water activities are very limited, in fact the only ones available are ocean kayaks. It would be nice to have hobble cats, masks, fins, etc. Fine dinning restaurants are all good, although Italian seems too busy, which reflects on their attention to the details. Mexican is very good and Seafood's one has a magnificent view, try to book around sunset time. Once again we had a great time and would recommend this hotel

Riu Palace Pacifico: Great vacation resort

When we checked in our room was less than what we had expected - it was on the first floor and our patio faced a vacant lot - we did get this changed on our third day. The service is amazing and the resort is very clean. It was difficult to get into the restaurants but the ones we did get into were fantastic. Lots of entertainment thru the day and night. We would definitely return.

Grand Palladium Vallarta: Great week

Great location and beach lots of place for long walks . Restaurant are all good. Beeper system at restaurants is great idea.Waves are fun but watch out for rocks when they push you in!! Have lots of chairs

Grand Decameron Complex Bucerias Trademark: Too bad

It is too bad that a beautiful destination vacation has to be ruined by sub-standard food! Generally most was overcooked, and quite criminal that crabs had been sacrificed for no reason, as they were inedible. The grounds were nice, the weather was perfect!

Riu Vallarta: Woderful Holiday

We very much enjoyed our two week holidy at RIU Vallarta. This was our second visit to the hotel and we were not disaappointed. We had friends join us for the 2nd week and our request that their room be close to ours was acommocated. Buffet was terricic...disappointed with the Asian restaurant as it was buffet only. Other restaurants were great...steak was terrific at the Steak House restaurant although we did feel a little rushed. Sir Gegorge was very enjoyable. Staff were very friendly and [... read more] helpful. Oveall the holiday was fantastic and great value for the money. Would not hesitate to return

Sheraton Buganvilias Puerto Vallarta Hotel: Wonderful resort

We had a fantastic time at this resort. It is so beautiful and the grounds are amazing. Our room was lovely with a hug balcony overlooking the pool and the ocean! The pools were huge and nice and warm. My rating for beach and pools is a little low, as the beach is unfortunately very pebbly and we really did not spend much time on the beach (which is where I usually like to be). The food was good and the service was excellent - very friendly and cheerful staff. I would certainly go back.