Great Resort!

Really enjoyed our time here! Definitely worth (& contemplating) another visit. - Grounds: The grounds were simply immaculate, natural/peaceful. Excellent attention to maintaining its natural beauty; extremely well kept. Very relaxing environment. - Public Areas: Always well maintained, never crowded or cluttered. - Staff: Very friendly & helpful, they were really attentive and always willing to help. Whether it was tailoring breakfast, arranging reservations, Facilitating transport - The [... read more] service was definitely praiseworthy. - Rooms: Very spacious suite. No issues with housekeeping at all. Water in the suite wasn’t potable (Dec ‘17), but plenty of bottled water was provided, and the fridge was always fully stocked. - Features: Enjoyed the beach club, transport to beach club was seamless. Food was always good.

Extremely serene!

We enjoyed the resort for the most part. The junior suite was beautiful, large shower, clean and very roomy. Stone work and bamboo was stunning. Grounds were excellently maintained, and the landscape and views were breathtaking. Service was poor, hit and miss if you got any. A lot of major hills to climb to access the resort, so you used the shuttle mostly. The serenity pools, and the natural spring pool was beautiful. Loved the spa, and Jacuzzi and steam. No beach access, so have to take sh [... read more]uttle to the beach club, bit of a hindrance, but beach club was nice-good service and food. Nice resort, and would likely return

Amazing Experience!

We travelled to this resort from Vancouver British Columbia, and as soon as we arrived we were amazed with the service. We made dinner reservations every night and were never disappointed with the food!

Beautiful and Relaxing

We loved the resort! Beautiful grounds with a nice variety of pools scattered throughout the resort. We were looking for a quiet resort and we got exactly that! Food was great with the breakfast buffet being our favourite. More variety was available at breakfast. Our room was 4111 and it was beautiful! We didn't have neighbours until the last night so sound issues were not a problem. Beautiful soaker tub and a balcony over looking the jungle. Birds in the morning and incredible stars at night.  [... read more] All of the staff was friendly and helpful. Pool side drink service was a nice touch. The resort is set into a hill so expect to do some walking as the rooms are not near the restaurants and buffet or the main pool area. We only went to the beach once because we didn't really enjoy it. Water was rough and not marked where you could swim. Beach is a little rocky and has the brown sand that is typical to the area. We are normally beach people but found the pools to be comfortable and quiet and didn't find the need to board the shuttle down to the beach again. We would definitely return to the resort again. They are still making changes and expanding so I hope it doesn't become so popular that it loses the boutique feel.

Gorgeous resort

The grounds, public areas, restaurants, pool areas and rooms were always immaculate. Every staff member I came in contact with was friendly, knowledgeable, extremely helpful and accommodating. Obviously their mantra is "please every customer"! There was a comfortable, happy feel wherever I was in the resort and the beach area.

So unique! But the service needs serious improvement!!

It was really nice to get away from the typical all inclusive. The atmosphere at this hotel is outstanding, the 'tree huts' are so different, and the view from the room is truly tropical. The only downfall of this hotel was the room service. This really affected our trip because both my boyfriend and I caught a flu bug while we were there and were sick for 3 days. Needless to say, extra water, towels, blankets, etc. were genuinely needed. The issue was that we had to phone twice (after waiting [... read more] an hour or two) to get any of these necessities, which was only adding to our exhaustion. I will clarify that food orders always came with one call. Anyway, there is some serious need for improvement here!! But the resort is beautiful!

Amazing week at Grand Sirenis Matlali Hills

We’ve just returned from an amazing vacation at the Grand Sirenis Matlali Resort and Spa. The resort is absolutely fantastic and the people working there are amazing. Everyone is trying to help you and they are always asking if you need anything. There are a few concierges at the resort and they were always asking if everything is all right with the room, if we need towels or anything else. The bartenders at all the bars are always very attentive, they remember your name and what you are drink [... read more]ing and they are keeping your glasses full all the time (if that’s what you want). Now, I was reading some of the reviews and I can’t believe that we all went to the same resort, but I’ll address that a bit later in my review! When you get at the hotel it is a bit of a different type of lobby then what we’ve been used to, but I guess it does the job and the people working there are very fast and efficient. It is a small air conditioned room immediately after the gates, on the right side. After you check in, you and your luggage are taken to your room by a small van. Leaving the lobby, you are starting immediately to climb the hills, so if you can’t commit to some walking, this resort is not for you. We actually enjoyed it very much, especially because we wanted to walk. They have a gym and I can’t believe that people complain that it is too small, who needs a gym when you have these hills? I couldn’t believe that there are even some trails thru the resort! We usually like to walk on the beach, but because this hotel it is not directly on the beach, we took those hills up and down every day at least three-four times. We had a room in tower six (the last building in the resort up the hill) and we were very happy with our room. Of course, if you don’t want to walk all day like we did, the mini vans can take you there, you just have to go at the lobby and they’ll take you were you need to go. From the lobby, going up the hill the first buildings on the right side will be some of the time share villas that you can’t book on the internet and here is the area where you’ll find the main pool (that actually has two pools) and a bar. You’ll also find the original buffet and one restaurant that alternates as Steakhouse and Rodizio. Here, at the main pool, you can play volleyball and this is the place where you’ll find the few people from the animation team trying to get everyone involved in different activities. You’ll also find a warm Jacuzzi that seemed very popular even at the night time. The bar at this pool becomes the main attraction during the night because it is the only one open and here is where the bands are playing: mariachi, rock bands. They were actually all very good; we really liked them very much. And of course this is the place where they’ll have the karaoke nights. A little walk from the main bar going thru the basketball court, you’ll find another restaurant that it is buffet in the morning and at lunch time, and becomes the Italian during the night. Right under the Italian you’ll find the Japanese restaurant that offers two big Teppanyaki tables. These restaurants are the newest addition to the resort, together with tower 6 and the Snack bar. Next to the Japanese they are working to open another bar, but I think that there will be a few more weeks until that will happen. After you pass this area you’ll find in your way the relaxing pool and the health bar and this is a very nice area. Now you are starting to actually climb the hills, and the road it is not straight, you take lots of turns but this is what makes it so pretty and more interesting. From here on you’ll find the actual rooms, starting with the 4000 that are all villas with one, two or four rooms. After all of the villas, at the end of the hill you’ll find tower 5(the 5000 rooms) and tower 6(the 6000 rooms), which have five floors each. At the bottom of tower 6 you’ll find the adults only pool and three tubs, the bottom two were hot and the top one was a Jacuzzi. Here you’ll find the regular pool chairs and also some cabanas that have the mattress type of covers, so they were very comfortable. Right above the cabanas is the Snack Bar, a really great place to have lunch or a snack. From here you have the view of the whole resort and it is just a gorgeous view. We’ve tried a few items from the menu and we loved all of them! While being at Grand Sirenis Matlali Hills we have tried the Japanese, the Italian and the Steakhouse and we enjoyed them very much, so we went back to some of them. We didn’t try the Rodizio because we decided not to go there, so I can’t comment on that. All the other restaurants were amazing, they have lots of things to try and everything we had was very good. Regarding the reservations for the a la carte restaurants we’ve heard some complains, but I guess that people are just waiting for those reservations to fall in their lap. Yes, while being there they had some issues with the system and that is something that you can’t blame on the people telling you that the system is down, but that didn’t stop us to get our reservations. You can make them either with the concierge or at the lobby. When they’ve told us that we can’t make the reservations for Monday and the days after, we kept asking them each time we would pass by these two locations until they said that we can do the reservations now. So, because of just checking with them each time we would pass by, we ate at the a la carte every night. It was not like at other resorts where you have to line up every morning for that night reservation. Here, you could do reservations for 2 or 3 nights at one time, depending on what restaurant you wanted and the availability. We went to the beach club, but it wasn’t our “cup of tea”. We knew that we are not going to like the beach, but we wanted to see how it was, so we had a glass of wine and left when the minivan came back. If I would have one negative think to say is regarding the shuttle to the beach. This shuttle is supposed to take you to the beach every hour, so 10 minutes before one o’clock we were at the lobby waiting. After we asked the guys at the lobby about the shuttle, they said it will be there at one, but we’ve been waiting for half an hour and when we wanted to give up the van showed up. What bothered us was the fact that they were looking at us like we weren’t supposed to be there. So, if the hotel is trying to promote the Beach Club, they should at least respect the “promised” times for the shuttle, otherwise they should just not promote it. While being at this amazing resort, we accepted the invitation for the time share presentation. We’ve been to other resorts having the same type of thing, but the guys were too pushy so we never accepted any invitation, but now everything was very “civilized”, so we decided to go and see what is it all about. The suites were absolutely breathtaking and Orlando, the guy who did the presentation for us was really amazing, not pushy and taking the time to explain everything in detail, but after we saw and heard everything we realized that this concept it is not something that would work for us in this moment. I have to talk a bit about the fact that in some of the reviews people are complaining having stomach issues. I’m sorry but, if you are going to try all the cocktails on the bar menu you are going to be sick for sure. While being there we saw, like everywhere we went, people mixing beer with mojito, with Cesars and with any other cocktail available on the menu. My question is: are you doing that at home too? I bet that you are not doing that every day for one week at home! So, why do you want to do that somewhere else? First, you are not at home, everything that you and your body is used to is not the same, so why you want to try so many different things while you are outside your comfort zone? Of course you are going to get sick; it’s common sense, it is a normal reaction to all that stuff that you are mixing! Don’t blame the food or the water! In our room we had a 5 liter bottle of water and there were signs warning you not to drink the tap water. We were actually thinking of using the water to brush our teeth, but we didn’t do it and still we didn’t have any issues with our health. Of course, before going in any trip we take our probiotics and while being in our vacation we are always having our regular drinks and maybe we would try one or maximum two different drinks different from our regular stuff. I think that if everyone would be a bit moderate in their choices, people will have a much better time while being in vacation. Now l have to talk about the people working at this amazing resort! We’ve been to lots of resorts and we can say that compared to other resorts, here everyone worked really hard to please everybody. You would find them everywhere you would walk because at some point they get moved around, one week at one bar, the next week at a different bar. The ones that would work during the night in the specialty restaurants would come earlier and try to help in different bars to keep everyone happy. Chantal, Lena, Pablo, Felipe, Jesus, Jose, Reyes, Philip, Brian, just to mention a few names of the people that we talked to and we would like to thank them for all their hard work and for making us to feel like home.

Quiet resort with lots of potential

Not quite a 5 star but definitely a 4. The food was ok, small selection at the buffet, a la cartes were better. Japanese a la carte was our least favourite and the Italian was the best. Pool bar and room service was excellent. We were surprised with an upgrade to a villa with a private pool which was the best surprise ever. We spent 90% of our time here and it wasn't beautifully peaceful and private. Rooms and hotel were fairly clean however hatch roofing in villa was not properly sealed as  [... read more]we could see outside which is what I believe allowed in geckos and other bugs. For a 5 star I expect zero bugs. We walked to the beach from the hotel one day in about 35 minutes, it was a nice walk through the town. This resort is about 30 mins from puerto Vallarta in good traffic, which is further out then we would normally stay but worth the experience. Majority of the hotel staff as phenomenal including Pablo in conceierge and Victor in management, they made our vacation. Overall I feel like this hotel could potentially be a 5 star with a few tweaks but a solid 4 is what it currently is.

Amazing staff and a good workout

Grand Sirenis Matlali Hills is a lovely resort for adults looking for a quiet vacation. Three lovely pool areas and four a la carte restaurants. The staff were extremely friendly and spoke English very well. The shuttle to the beach area is 10 minutes and allowed us to get to know our fellow travellers. Drinks were never left empty at the adult only pool near buildings 5 and 6 where you can also get a bite to eat. Their guacamole was excellent. We enjoyed dinner at the Steak and Italian re [... read more]staurants however make dinner reservations early to avoid late dinner times. The Japanese restaurant needs some fine tuning and we were unable to get reservations at the Brazilian restaurant. We enjoyed breakfast with daily omelettes made by Lucia in the Italian restaurant. You can request a cappuccino if you prefer stronger coffee in the morning. This vacation spot is a little out of the way and requires mobility to walk up and down stairs and steep terrain. Alternatively you can call for a driver to shuttle you. We often walked down hill and called Carlos to drive us up the hill always with courteous service and a smile. We stayed in building 5 that was recently opened with a beautiful walk in shower and view of the water. Tipping is optional however greatly appreciated by staff that work hard to make your vacation pleasant. The Sunday market can be driven close to by the beach shuttle and is well worth your time. If you are looking for quiet vacation with top notch service you will enjoy your stay at Grand Sirenis Matlali Hills.

Wonderful trip

While there were a few small hiccups (our coffee pot leaked the first night, slow room service on the first night), over all we had a fantastic time at this resort. The grounds are stunning, the staff was wonderful and the food was good.

Relaxing Setting and Great Service

This resort is perfect for those looking to go to a resort that offers a peaceful setting and 5* service. We we're upgraded to a fabulous suite. It is not on the beach but the pool area is beautiful and the food was wonderful.