A lovely spot!

awesome service, beautiful grounds, warm pools, lounges/hutts always available, good buffet, amazing & unlimited french a la carte (there was also spanish a la carte, which was good too),rooms okay, the bathroom floors got wet a lot from showers. wifi access great in all locations, very entertaining shows-better than most places we've been to!

FRIENDLIEST STAFF

Very hard working, kindest and most friendly staff. My best friend and I felt so welcomed- from the airport pick up to the goodbyes. They remembered our names very quickly and always asked us if we needed anything to make our stay more comfortable. Amazing performances in the evening and fantastic food selection. An unforgettable first time experience with Samba Vallarta! Will definitely be back!

Excellent

great place for family's with small children. lots of activities all day for young children,three pools for young children 3,4,5 feet deep.Ocean is swimmable and shallow for a good distance.Choice of food is very good and service is excellente.bringing all our grandkids there next year.

4th time

Staff staff staff, we were there back in 2009 and the same wait staff are still working of course there a new ones which obviously been trained by the senior staff amazing sevice everywhere. The rooms are what they are beds are comfortable hot water was fine and the a/c worked. Pool was great never crowded beach was clean and bar service which is very rare. Food was food always something to eat they try so hard to mix it up. My wife is gluten and they made her a plate for dinner whenever she ask [... read more]ed. Went with a group of 11 and not one complaint.

Great Vacation

A small resort perfect for families. Everything was very close and staff were friendly. Entertainment was there if you wanted it. Waves on the beach great for boogie boarding. Food and drinks were good for a small resort. Italian restaurant very good.

Friendly Small Resort

This place is very nice. The rooms are clean and the grounds are very well kept. The rooms and linens are tired but very clean. You do not spend much time in your room anyway. The food is good. There was fish every day and it was delicious. The omelet lady always had a smile on her face. The staff are very friendly. I have mobility problems and I found this resort to be the perfect size.It is not a huge resort. This is my second time at this resort. I wished I had found this resort a lon [... read more]g time ago.

Beautiful spot!

Hotel location in a quiet part of Nuevo. No large shopping centres and a lot more locals which I liked a lot. Not commercialized here. Bucarius just a 30 min walk away. Very clean beach, no seaweed, and lots to do. Ride horses, rent seadoo’s, parasail, kite surf...so much. Vallarta adventuresjust doen the road. All the employees were excellent. Salvador stands out the most! Exceptional service and very friendly staff. Make sure you specify balcony if you want one. Buffet food was just ok, but  [... read more]dining a la carte was fabulous. Rooms older and dated but the area and scenery made up for it. There was night time entertainment but I found it to be just ok. They are missing a bar/nightclub for adults. The disco was usually empty or had kids. If you like the small resort feel this is great.

Great winter destination

Ok I read previous reviews and found them petty. This resort is a great place for the budget minded shopper who just wants a place to hang your hat and relax which also includes decent food and entertainment with fantastic service. The staff go out of their way to make sure your vacation is memorable .

Great Resort, Fantastic Service

This is the second time we have gone to this resort. It is small which we love but has the amenities of a large resort. The staff is extremely accommodating and always happy. The first room we were given was a bit below average, but upon request for something else we were upgraded to a very nice room with a great view of the pool and ocean. As it was Dec, a lot of families were in the resort which made it quite noisy with running and loud talking in the hallways most of the night. Our last  [... read more]stay was in March which was a much quieter demographic of people. We will most likely return to Samba next year to once again experience the hospitality of this resort. We flew Air Transat on this trip for the first time and it was one of the best flights we’ve had to the area in years.

Great resort

Grounds and entire resort are well kept. Clean and tidy at all times. Staff were very friendly and worked hard to make our stay memorable. Many of them remembered us from last year's visit. Samba is an ideally perfect smaller sized resort which would suit those who don't care for the hustle, bustle of a larger resort. Plus it only takes a few minutes to get from the rooms to the pool/ocean and restaurants.

Had a great vacation

The resort itself is older but spotless. The staff are extremely hard working and friendly. Food and drinks were good. Overall feel is relaxing. No party like the Riu next door. The beach is truly amazing and there was always a palapa available.

Perfect little gem!

We loved the compactness of the resort. The rooms were a good size with great beds and linens. They could use some updating as well as the lobby to make them more welcoming. Beach and pool areas had lots of chairs. The buffet had a great selection of food and the ala carte restaurants were excellent. Great family resort. The staff were exceptional. Thanks for a great vacation!

Samba Vallarta

The images from the website were very deceiving compared to the actual resort. The resort was clean but REALLY RUNDOWN! There was always something in the buffet that all of us could eat but very Mexican styles of food for those fussy eaters - beware. There were no "time share" hasslers which was nice and it is a smaller resort with no line ups or fighting for beach or pool chairs which I also appreciated. It was difficult to get a 600 dinner reservation at the al acartes unless you were up an [... read more]d at the desk before 0700.

Excellent Family Resort

This is a small resort that was perfect for us travelled with school age kids over spring break. All facilities and grounds kept immaculately clean. Staff were amazing. Beach sandy and safe for playing in the waves. Evening shows Mexican, Prehispanic, Circus, & Magic nights very entertaining. Would not be suitable for young adults wanting the party scene. Great beach for long walks. Lots of shade palapas on beach. Don't expect Caribbean blue water or huge brand new resort.

We loved it

A small resort ,close to our room .The resort was very clean gardens beautiful and well kept.We liked the food ,could have had more variety .My husband is a little more picky eater than myself. The rooms are in a need of an update we did smell & find mildew . We were pleasantly surprised by the nightly turn down service, we really enjoyed this resort.

Quaint, Quiet, Lovely Resort.

They really keep the place clean. Spotless. They accommodated our request for a room close to everything. The resort is small. Very good for people with mobility issues. The staff were great. Their smiles were genuine. The manager came around and asked about your stay and was doing it out of real concern for the welfare of the guests.They were willing to accommodate. I can’t sit in the lounge chairs as they are too low. All I had to do was ask for a chair at the pool side and they got one ri [... read more]ght away. They even helped me with my plate at the buffet when they saw me with my cane. Gardens are lovely. The food was good. There isn’t the selection that you have at other bigger resorts but there was always fresh fruit, fresh salad and their was always enough of a selection that you had a lovely meal. The linens on the bed are a bit tired but they were clean. This resort is great for anybody that has severe mobility problems because it is small. It is family oriented and the kids were well behaved. What was nice about it was that people just wanted to relax. There weren’t people getting stupid drunk.This is a good resort for families and they have lots of activities for the kids. It is only 20 minutes from the airport so a nice quick transfer to the resort. We are planning on going back next year, hopefully for 10 days. This place is a little gem.

Good Resort

Travelled Feb 8th to 15th. The resort is a nice place with very well kept grounds, the rooms were nice and clean. The food was fantastic with a lot of choices. The only down fault to this resort is the ocean is not as nice as cuba, not that nice clear blue waters and the shows were okay but the biggest is they played volleyball only no poolside games and very little other activities, it is nice to relax but something to do would be good also I found it very boring. But the highlight of our trip  [... read more]was from one gentleman who works there named Israel he came and picked us up on his day off and took us to Puerto Vallarta for a few hours, anyone to come on his day off and do this deserves to be mentioned.....He is very kind and totally went above and beyond his job description, these people are keepers and help the owners of these resorts and I would say deserves a better pay for his hospitality not only with us but others also. I can't say I would be back only because of the lack of activities...it was bad. The up to a small resort is no line ups etc. Thank You again to Israel and one other thing is your staff are amazing.

Samba Vallarta

The pools were great, beautiful grounds, great beach with easy access. Great outdoor games area with pool tables, foosball, etc. The food was very good. There was plenty of choices buffet style, an excellent breakfast egg bar, and the 2 restaurants (Italian & Mexican) were very good as well. The service everywhere was excellent. (Cleaning staff, bartenders, and dining area staff.) The rooms were musty and humid despite the air conditioning. Better if you want to leave your door/window open  [... read more]for a bit in the morning. Beds are short...weird. It was a king size bed but our feet hung over the end. Bathrooms are dated, but were clean and perfectly functional. Overall the rooms were good enough. The resort is remote. We took a cab ride to Bucerias (12 minutes/$7.US). Puerto Vallarta is further. There is a great market in La Cruz (past Bucerias) on Sundays. Overall it was a very enjoyable week!

Will return

The hotel is older so is not 4 star like Trip Central would like you to think, but is worth the money. The rooms are clean but need updating, the grounds are beautiful, the food is plenty, and the staff are great! They try to make you feel like family. It was our first time there and would definitely go back. We spoke to several people while we were there and they all said the same thing " we like the smaller resort feel and we return because of the staff". The beach is beautiful and staff [... read more] constantly around to see if you need anything. This is a resort where you do NOT have to tip to get the same level of service as someone who did tip.

Great time

It was our first time for being to the Samba Vallarta. We had a wonderful time. The staff are amazing, so kind, polite and helpful and always ready to greet you with a big friendly smile. It is a family resort, but the way the pools are designed, youngsters had their own area with little slides, etc. Perfect set up. The rooms are a little dated, but we found them to be clean and comfortable. The towels are not big, fluffy and sparkling white, but they were clean and to me that was  [... read more]what matter the most. Our room had an amazing view of the pools and the ocean. In regards to the food, I felt there was a good variety and one would never go hungry. The beach was clean, lots of seating. You can walk along the beach to the next town of Bucerias. I could go on and on, but to sum it up we would go back to this resort.