Canto Del Sol: Decent Value 3 star property

To preface this whole review, my partner and I almost exclusively travel to adults only properties. We booked this on a whim because it was well-priced and didn't expect that it would meet our standards, but I used to be a travel agent so I have a fairly level-headed approach when reviewing all inclusives. My partner and I travelled here from March 15th to 22nd. We were there over a local holiday, and the resort was quite busy when we arrived. There were a lot of local families, which was act [... read more]ually nice to see. It did make the resort experience feel a little more authentic. It did sort of thin out after March 19th. Overall impression: this seems like a well priced family property. It was very popular with families, especially those with kids under 10. There also seems to be a large repeat clientele who return to this property frequently and do extended stays. Those who like it really like it! :) Our room: We had a partial oceanview, #307, jn the Canto del Sol section. We had no balcony, and our window wouldn't open. The AC worked incredibly well, and was set to 18 degrees Celsius when we arrived. Brr! We had a king bed with 3 pillows. My partner said that he thought the bed was too hard, but I didn't think so myself. Our room was small and basic, and there wasn't a lot of places to store things or hang wet items. Everything was clean. We didn't have any faceclothes on arrival, but we were provided some when they cleaned the room and changed our towels on our 3rd day there. We received a phonecall after two days because we had the "do not disturb" sign on the room to ensure that we didn't need anything or want the room cleaned. Our toilet clogged one day and they were very prompt in fixing it. We had no issues with hot water, and we were in bed early each night and weren't disturbed (until the last night when a group of rowdy lads checked in the hall across from us...if it had been more than one night of their antics at 2 am I would have complained, and I can see how the noise carries in the hallways to disturb guests). Our mini fridge wasn't plugged in and we were provided two bottles of water that we could refill during our stay. I recommend bringing a reusable water bottle or insulated cup from home. The pool: the pool in the Canto del Sol section is small. There is a swim up bar and lots of loungers, but they don't get consistent shade. Lounger holding is rampant here! The best shade is in the covered palapa next to the buffet. Unfortunately, there was a couple holding two loungers for hours each day and didn't spend barely any time there. One day they actually held the side table. Ridiculous. If you're not even going to be at your damned chairs, don't hold chairs in the shaded areas. We were still on Ottawa time and we were up each day before 7am. This was lucky, as this was the only way that we could get a lounger in the shade. The shade after 1pm is not as good as the shade in the morning. There are two other pools that we saw, one in the Luxury section and one in the Mountain section. They didn't seem as busy. However, you are no where near the ocean when at those pools. The water was warm and the staff did a good job of keeping the pool clean. There's several iguanas who hang out by the pool, who are incredibly tolerant and are accosted by guests all day. Lots of kids in the pool. I definitely got splashed and had a rubber ball bounced off me on several occasions but that's the price you pay for travelling to where children are. The pool was open quite late! They seemed to have guests in there even until after dark sometimes. The beach: not many palapas by the beach. We found the sand to be course and the water was rough (red-flagged each day). I would recommend water shoes! It definitely was gorgeous to look at with really nice sunsets, but if you're a beach person I wouldn't say this is the place for you. The food: the buffet was fine, nothing special but we always found something to eat. Breakfast and lunch were better than dinner. I'm a lenient vegetarian and found that they tend to add meat into a lot of dishes. My spouse is lactose free and a lot of dishes also had added cream or cheese. The dinner at the buffet was not especially good, to the point that on our last night we actually went into town for street tacos instead of eating on the property. On the resort I ate a lot of fish and rice. The snack bar was hit or miss. It was fine to grab something light and simple, but it wasn't especially tasty. We ate at the Cevicheria for lunch one day and were not very impressed so didn't go back. For the a la cartes, we ate at the Italian, the Mexican and the Surf n Turf. The Mexican was by far the best in terms of food quality and flavours. The Italian had decent mains but the appetizers weren't great. We were not impressed with the Surf n Turf at all, and had only booked it because of the seaside/outside location but unfortunately on the day of our reservation the restaurant was moved to a location by the lobby area. Speaking of the locations of the a la cartes, they can be rather confusing. The Mexican is in the Mountain section down a random hallway, and the Italian and Asian are in the Luxury section next to their pool. I would say that this is probably the worst food I've had at an all inclusive in Mexico, but still was better than what you get in Cuba and some parts of DR. The drinks: The beer was cold and my partner drank a lot of it! I didn't try any of the mixed drinks, but he did and enjoyed what he had. I stuck with wine or mimosas. I don't go to an all inclusive to drink good wine and can say that this tradition continued. The staff: we thought the staff was great! Everyone who we interacted with was polite and friendly. 10/10 for the staff, they work super hard and do a great job. :) The entertainment: the entertainment team tries really hard, and it's appreciated. There's lot of activities for little kids, but the activities for adults were not super exciting. No dance lessons. Evening entertainment was the biggest let down. It seemed like the karaoke and the circus show were the most popular. The show doesn't start until after 8 (sometimes 8:30 and sometimes 9) and there's no "light" entertainment to occupy you in the lobby area before then. We were back in our room most nights by 9pm. In conclusion: we wouldn't come back to this property. We really loved Vallarta and the hightlights of the trip were spending time in the Centro and Zona Romantica which are approximately an hour walk away (but only about a 10-13 minute uber ride). We will stay closer to Centro next time we are in Vallarta and probably not go all inclusive. We also went whale and dolphin watching one day and it was amazing! While this property wasn't for us, I would definitely recommend it to people with children, as it's a great value for families. Just to add: we booked the private transfer through Sunwing. On the arrival, that included a vehicle with air conditioning. On the return, it was a local taxi that the Sunwing Rep at the hotel called over that had no AC. It's not a huge deal, but I don't think having the private transfer really offered any benefit in Puerto Vallarta at all.

Riu Flamingos: Terrible experience!

Beautiful resort. Great pools for all ages. The children area was great for my young kids. Rooms need an upgrade. Staff were ok. I travelled with my family (16 of us) and on day 4 we all got food poisoning. Most of us ate at the Italian restaurant the night we got sick. The next two days we were all sick in bed. What made our experience worse was when we went to customer service to share that we got food poisoning the manager there said “it is suspicious that it’s just your family this happened  [... read more]to”. They implied we were making things up. Others on the resort were also sick. Their customer service is awful!!

Krystal Grand Nuevo Vallarta: Fantastic Resort and we love MEXICO!

Krystal Grand Nuevo was absolutely Amazing! This resort was very clean, sanitation staff were always working. Rooms were clean and service was amazing. The pools were THE BEST!!! The Infinity Pool sold us on this resort as it was looking right on the beach. Also the fact that the resort/infinity pool was the closet to the ocean from all the resorts along the beach. The entertainment was great! Food was good. If you go to this resort sit outside on Manuel's area.Manuel is an amazing,kind [... read more], friendly thoughtful man. In the pool be sure to see Miguel and Alejandro best bartenders. These two men work hard, fast and are very friendly workers. This resort is a 20 Minute walk along a nice pathway into Bucerias, which has a fantastic outdoor market and great restaurants. If you cab into Puerto Vallarta which is 30 minutes you must go walk the Malecon Boardwalk along the beach I suggest late afternoon and night. We this this awesome couple Scott and Robyn we went into Puerto Vallarta with then and they were our personal tour guides and planned our day. This lovely couple had seen to PIPI's restaurant a few times, what a BLAST! PIPI's Restaurant a few streets behind the boardwalk. Mariachi Band and Awesome food and drinks. Huge portions share with another person as portions are huge. It was our first time to visit Mexico. We travel every other year. And we just can't wait to go back and stay at the same resort and do it all again!!! Cheers,

Krystal Grand Puerto Vallarta: Great Resort!

Rooms are beautiful and well appointed, nice location. The food and service were excellent. All of the staff were pleasant and accommodating from the food service to our rooms completely cleaned and stocked daily. I can’t say enough!

Tropicana Hotel: Great Location!

This hotel has a great location on Los Muertos beach close to the pier. Very friendly and efficient staff, clean rooms and very good meals. Nicely manicured grounds. Enjoyed the daily happy hour and live music.

Friendly Fun Vallarta: Excellent resort

The hotel is a very good place for couples and families. We were amazed how polite and respectful their staffs were. A true name “FUN”and really “FRIENDLY”. I would definitely go back to this place.

Friendly Fun Vallarta: Amazing resort

Excellent service and very nice and polite staffs. Nice pools and beaches. Best place for families with kids. We had a wonderful time there. Rooms are not luxury but comfortable and good for the price.

Vamar Vallarta: Rooms are run down

Rooms are in need of some tlc. Our sink kept filling up likely some blockage. A few stains on towels and sheets. Bed side lights would be nice so the big overhead one doesn’t always need to be on. More umbrellas needed around the pool. We had a good time in Puerto Vallarta and would go again but to a different resort.

Riu Flamingos: I would return!

The grounds were amazing and so well-groomed. The restaurants were also very good. It was nice to not have to book any in advance and you could go to any one as many times as you wished. Beach and pools were awesome. More shade at the beach is needed (at no cost). The hotel is very nice though a few updates could be done such as new mattresses and bedding but they were not that bad. The people are terrific. Housekeeping was very good. That said, we found that we couldn't get water, fridge items  [... read more]or coffee replaced regularly. It would be more efficient for the hotel if one could order what they want. For instance, we only wanted water, beer and diet Pepsi in the fridge but all non diet drinks remained in the room and we had to find the bar cart to get more diet Pepsi. Also, if someone only uses creamer in their coffee, the packets with sugar, Splenda, creamer and stir sticks is a waste. I would rate this resort an impressive 8/10 and plan to return.

Dreams Bahia Mita Surf and Spa: The resort was amazing

The resort was beautiful and beyond anything I could imagine. The staff was down to earth and went out of their way to be helpful. I know this is their job but you can tell when someone is not sincere

Dreams Bahia Mita Surf and Spa: The resort was amazing

The resort was beautiful and beyond anything I could imagine. The staff was down to earth and went out of their way to be helpful. I know this is their job but you can tell when someone is not sincere

Buenaventura Grand Hotel and Great Moments: Buenaventura Grand Hotel X 3

This is the 3rd time we have stayed at the BGH in 3 years each time going in March. We were amazed at the number of people who have stayed at this hotel 5, 10, 15 or 20 times over the years which tells me they are doing something right. The hotel is in a great location, close to the Malecon but far enough away to be somewhat quiet away from all the crowds. The rooms are a bit date but the beds were comfortable, rooms are clean, air worked great and our room was spectacular, as we had an ocean f [... read more]ront suite, well worth the additional cost. We enjoyed the service we had at the restaurants and pool area of the hotel. A couple of things the hotel could improve on is making customers arriving early on the first day is not making them wait until 12 noon to get access the bar and buffet and try to get them into their room if possible before 3pm, Air transat flight lands at 10am and you arrive at the hotel by 11am. We were happy overall and plan to go again next March for 2 or 3 weeks.

Krystal Grand Puerto Vallarta: Could have been great...but wasn't.

Hotel grounds are lovely and staff are very pleasant. The food is one major weak spot. One cannot get butter for one's bread anywhere...only margarine! Always a shortage of bacon at the breakfast buffet, though the lady cooking eggs and omelets was efficient, pleasant and cheerful. Despite all of our strawberries, blueberries and blackberries coming from Mexico at this time of year, none found their way to the resort. The "fish of the day" at the French restaurant was tilapia...give me a bre [... read more]ak! Portion sizes at the specialty restaurants were generally scant and the quality of the food was not high. Chicken was almost all dark meat. The so-called "steakhouse" had a small filet (maybe 3 or 4 ounces) as the only steak on the menu. We have been here several times before and stay on the adult side at the Hacienda. Sitting at the pool was relaxing until they suddenly cranked up disco-style Euro-Tech boom-boom-boom music at 1130 am onwards...destroying our peace and enjoyment. It took many of us complaining to management numerous times before the music was taken down... after three days of squawking. They can play that crap on the the family side...this was supposed to be an ADULT resort. Our room was great, the location is also good but we will be going somewhere else on next year's trip to Puerto Vallarta.

Marival Emotions Resort and Suites Riviera Nayarit: Excellent accommodation, facilities and food. Great destination for families with young children.

The location in Nuevo Vallarta, a short Uber ride away from Puerto Vallarta and Bucerias was a plus. The fine sand beach was great although the water was too rough for swimming most of of the time. The cleanliness and the temperature of the pools was amazing. With four pools catering to different demographics and needs, the choices were appreciated. The quality and variety of food in the buffet restaurant was above average and serving it by the pool on several occasions was a nice touch. The  [... read more]specialty restaurants however need improvement. The steak and sea food one was not anything to write home about. At the Italian one the food was great but the service was so slow, the children were totally cranky by the time we were served. The Mexican one had good food and the service was good. One common theme in all of them is that the wines are exorbitantly priced. There were a number of bars around the facility, including in two of the pools. The one issue with them is quality control and consistency: heavy on the ice and varying amounts of liquor and/or mix from each bartender. We got the same four cocktails at the table at the Mexican restaurant and they all tasted different! The buffet, restaurant and bar staff need better training in customer service as some of them seem to be quite indifferent at times

Riu Flamingos: Entertaining Beach Resort

Staying at Riu Jalisco was a lot of fun. Their nightly and daily entertainment and events were so well put together and executed. It was a great size resort to walk around to the pools, beach and restaurants. Very clean and the staff are very friendly. A few things to note- it is a small resort, so if you don’t want to be up late, consider that you will hear the entertainment, club and other guests well into the late hours of 11pm and later every night no matter what. There are three or four res [... read more]taurants: all are variations of the same buffets give or take some difference and some are larger and open at different times. There is a nicer “piazza” where you can also order off a small Italian menu. The lunch buffet had some challenges where there is one buffet on the beach that was very hard to find a table to eat at that was clean or available due to lack of monitoring how many eat at once. Breakfast buffets could also be difficult to find seating at past 9am. Overall it was a wonderful experience and we would not hesitate to stay here again as a young couple who wanted a balance of relaxation, on resort entertainment and proximity to main excursions.

Tropicana Hotel: Tropicana Hotel - Romantic Zone, PV Mexico

Have always loved the Tropicana. Still do, but had some issues this time around. Our flight got us into Puerto Vallarta late, like, 10:45 at night. Got to the hotel and checked in. Were put in a room on the 2nd floor overlooking the storage lot. Worst room in the place! Furniture was all chipped and peeling. Surface of the desk was almost non-existent. The next morning I went back to the front desk and told her we were not staying in that room for 2 weeks and that it was the worst room we hav [... read more]e EVER been put in at the Tropicana. She told me they were full and maybe tomorrow if I come and speak to her there may be something else. Went down at 10:00 a.m. she was not in yet. Went down at 10:20 a.m., told another 20 minutes. Basically wasted that first day in Puerto Vallarta arranging a room. All was fine until I requested a later check out time on the 22nd of March, 2024. Again, come see us in the morning of that day. I did and was told it was full. Wasted our last day walking around wasting time until 6:30 p.m. for our arranged transport back to the airport. Which did not show up. Another couple waiting who booked through Sunwing had a no show. We all took cabs to the airport. Love the Tropicana but some of these issues are becoming too stressful for what should be a stressless vacation in Mexico!

Samba Vallarta: Good Times

The Hotel & grounds were well maintained for it's age, activities & Pool were great, meals were good, staff are very friendly. Location to biking & walking paths was awesome. The Samba Vallarta was a good choice for our two week vacation.

Samba Vallarta: Pickleball crazy

Sandra at Trip Central supplied us with a seamless vacation Samba hotel in Nuevo Vallarta is a small resort with a big heart. ?? Happy staff. Clean rooms More than adequate food very little cheese . Perfect heated pools for families. Well separated for small kids middle kids and a deeper pool for adults with day beds on a central island. Never a problem finding chairs and 50 beach palapa rarely full. Bikes were beautiful and we rode south to Teresa courts and north to Bucerios 7-8 km past. Con [... read more]cierge is working on installing Pickleball courts by November. Boogie boards available at activity desk a must do. Beach volleyball water polo water aerobics with dance classes every day. Two alacarte restaurants easy to book in Things to take or buy in Mexico Squirt bottle to keep birds away when you eat outside Big water bottle to refill at bars. No need to make garbage by using plastic bottles Your own drinking insulated covered cup. They hand wash the plastic resort cups. Rooms. Odd number rooms face Samba garden area Evening entertainment starts at 8 ends at 9 hotel goes to sleep. Even numbered rooms face Riu Jalisco entertainment starts at 9 ends at 10 with hooting and hollering till midnight. We need to change !!!??? We used two pool towels in two weeks. Saw a guy exchange 10 towels two days in a row. If you need this service, use it . If the towel just marks your chair , reuse it ! We all pay for laundering REDUCE Reuse recycle I will not take a towel home in my luggage and have to pay $20 for overweight. Had a great time Thank you Norma and all the staff beautiful job ???

Grand Decameron Complex Bucerias Trademark: decameron

We where disappointed been at the decameron complex many times in the over the last 15 years.Not as good as it used to be.The buffets are poor, trying to to book a ala carte restaurant is near impossible.The internet is sporadic most of the time.One of the beach bars was closed all the two weeks we where there.

Las Palmas by the Sea: All-Inclusive Really Means Everything!

This was my first trip to an all-inclusive resort and it was extremely enjoyable. The staff provide amazing and friendly service and the beachfront, the pools and restaurants are clean and comfortable. The rooms are the only negative. They are old and poorly equipped with no fridges, no reading lamps, and a decor that is terribly out of date.