Puerto Vallarta

We have stayed at many all-inclusive resorts all over Mexico for over 25 years so have some perspective. So, here's our opinion The room was functional but a bit dated, mold in the grout of bathroom tiles. Air con was good, and bed was comfortable. Staff was uniformly friendly and helpful. Pool area at Hacienda was great. It was what attracted us to the property. We wanted a large lovely quiet pool area with adequate chairs and choices for sun or shade and I'm happy to say this property delivered Now the bad news. Breakfast was OK but not the rest of the meals. The speciality dinner restaurants were in fact worse than the buffet. Limited choices and small portions. We don't eat dessert and the mains were so small that we left the table hungry. Dinner service was usually clumsy. A glass of wine at dinner almost always required asking 2 or 3 times. Everything was overly greasy and overcooked and without flavour. We noted that raw materials were always the cheapest possible. For example, with chicken dishes, the chicken was always just the small part of the thigh, never a leg or breast. No real butter to be found anywhere, only cheapest quality margarine. Fish when served was always small thin pieces, likely farmed Tilapia or Basa..done with different flavours. Most guests we spoke to felt the same way about the food. It was a common topic by the pool. By the third night we both got sick from the food at dinner ( Steakhouse) and from then on for the rest of our stay, left the property to eat dinners outside the resort . The main part of Puerto Vallarta has hundreds of restaurants and is about a 50 minute walk, or easy bus or taxi ride ($10) away and there are also a few restaurants also within walking distance of the hotel. When we visited our first offsite restaurant we had a great meal. My wife and i smiled at each other....finally some decent food and service...we felt like we were out on parole! Also, alcohol and wine were of very poor quality. Trust me, we are not overly picky with our food, but this was so far below what we have experienced in any other resort, including several with even lower star ratings. Be aware that this property used to be a Hilton resort until Kyrstal took over in Nov 2022. I suspect many of the better reviews might date back from the old days before the transition. A 4.5 star resort should deliver a 4.5 star experience in all areas.... but the food services here would deserve no more than 2.5 stars. We would never return to or recommend this property.

Deserves a 4 star rating . Overall a good,safe,clean hotel with excellent service. For value, a bit overpriced.

Friendly Fun Vallarta was incredible! Front desk made everything so easy and welcoming as it should be. Daniel was always smiling and ready to help with anything we needed. The room was pleasant, they gave us an extra rollaway bed because we were 3, the view from our balcony was fantastic....Oceanview and pool view. Unfortunately we ended up in a room with an adjoining door that we could hear the neighbors very clearly. They did offer to move us but we decided to give it another day and the people settled down. Loved that they had 2 adult pools and they were always warm. Tons of loungers and lounge beds, if we didn't get a spot by the pool, there was always several by the ocean and the beach was fabulous. Two buffet restaurants always had so many things to choose from and the wait staff were on their game. The food at the ala carts were a little disappointing by comparison. There was music playing almost constantly but it was not loud or obtrusive, just subtlety playing in the background, such as a Celloist played on our last day on the beach, so relaxing. Our transportation back to the airport wasn't until 4:30 and check out is noon, so they held our luggage in a safe room and let us keep our wrist bands to enjoy the amenities till our departure and also let us use the Spa to freshen up before we left.

During our 14 day stay at Velas, we hit a couple "road bumps" early but the management and staff were very accommodating and helpful in finding resolutions. Would be nice to have a third restaurant option, but the ones that are available changed up their menus regularly and provided excellent tasting food and great service. It was great to see grounds staff maintaining the common areas constantly. Nightly entertainment in the lobby was fun. Mexican night dinner was fun. The kids loved the pool and lazy river. Its too bad the staff still have to wear masks - it must be very uncomfortable for them. We were very surprised (and dismayed) to see that children under 5 were required to wear masks in the kids zone (even outdoors).

Our pre honeymoon was booked November for march 30 to April 4 2023. We booked and upgraded to a Deluxe Ocean View with a king size bed at the Krystal Altitude. Upon arrival we were put into The Hacienda without and Ocean View. It had 2 double beds. Not a King. It had a pigeon nesting on our deck that had Sh_t all over the the beams of the deck. The al a carte meals weren't as good as the buffet. We would have to flag down a poolside waiter in order to get drinks that would take a half hour to receive if they hadn't already given them to the person they had gone to just before us. The staff at the resort weren't friendly except for a couple that we took there names to make sure they were acknowledged and rewarded. It would make this resort more more successful if the staff wouldn't speak Spanish in front of the customers while dealing with their mix-ups in their reservations and more smiles like they enjoy or appreciate being there. They need to promote the staff that give service with a smile. plus the hard alcohol taste like it was watered down. They were doing upgrades and painting during the day while we were trying to relax by the poolside.( The fumes of paint and the grinding of the painted walls.)

Great value for money. Big rooms,good facilities and very friendly staff

This hotel is older, do not expect to have a fancy room. The room was clean and the bed was surprisingly comfortable. Daily housekeeping and room service were good, anything we requested was delivered. The room does smell a little musty, and occasionally you get the sewer smells coming up the bathroom drain and around the resort. The staff work hard and are friendly. The food at the buffet was not great, the quality of the fruit and produce was mediocre. I did not find any desserts I enjoyed except in the restaurants. I noticed at the buffet they didn't clean the tables very well or replace the red placemats between guests, they just shook the food off of them and put them back. There was a night club across the street for evening entertainment and live music a few times at the hotel. They had organized beach volleyball and a few fun little pool games during the day. The pool was good for a cool down, looked pretty cloudy by the end of the day. There were never enough chairs and they were very dirty. They look like they need to be pressure washed, I did see a lizard defecate on one which may explain the stains. The drink service was speedy around the pool and the music was loud, it was good if you are looking for a party atmosphere. The pool on the 7th floor had a great view but was full of drunk loud people smoking in the pool. The beach was good to walk on, I didn't swim in the ocean, it was a bit smelly. Lots of vendors walking around selling food and items to buy. Overall, it was an ok place to stay, I would only recommend this resort to people on a budget or looking to get drunk and party.

My wife and I came down here with a mother couple for 2 weeks. The service by the staff was spectacular. We tried the food at all of the restaurants. French and oceana were our favourite. The rooms all had excellent ocean views. We would return for sure.

The only thing this resort has going for it is that it is in Puerto Vallarta beachside. We got settled into our room only to discover the ceiling leaking water on one side of our bed, they agreed to move us to a higher floor to a comparable room which was great, once repacked and ready to go informed that the room was unavailable and we had to go down to the 3rd floor with a much less desirable view. Safe in the room would not open in the next couple of days which was concerning since our passports and extra cash was inside. Room keys stopped working inexplicably. Air conditioner sounded like a plane taking off and it never ever shut off on its own. Long lines for restaurants and even restaurants closed on days they were supposed to be opened, Da Mario's refused us entry because of a ridiculously strict dress code policy and even wouldn't let my wife take her unfinished pizza back to her room. Brought all this to the attention of management day before checking out and was assured something would be done for us at checkout, not even a note was written on our file.

Overall a very nice experience