I've come to Puerto Vallarta several times and the Fiesta Americana is high on my list of places to stay. Most of the places closer into town (or in town) are rather run down or in definite need of refurbishment (Sheraton Bouganvilias, anyone? Now THAT's a run-down property); the Fiesta Americana is very well kept, has beautiful grounds and a great staff.

I've been here several times before and I've found that their cash exchange rate is very similar to what you find in town (at the time of my stay it was MXN11.76 to USD1.00 and the best I found in town was 11.81 to 1.

The restaurants aren't too expensive here, we had the omelet breakfast with orange juice each morning which was about USD12 per person, the eat-until-you're-sick buffet was about USD25.

Getting to/from town is super easy, there is a bus stop right out front and buses come every 1-2 minutes. Expect to pay about 50 cents (US).

As far as to/from the airport, don't waste your time with your tour company's transfers, especially if there are up to three of you in your group. Walk out of the arrivals terminal and you find licensed cabs who will take you from the airport to your hotel for about USD15. Getting back from your hotel is only about USD6 (yes, it's more than double from the airport than back because you're captive and your negotiating options are limited). For comparison, Alaska Airlines vacations charged USD30 *per person* for transfers that stop at several hotels whereas the two of us went direct in a cab for USD23 - nearly USD40 less than Alaska Airline's transfers.

Overall, I'd highly recommend the Fiesta Americana until you get familiar enough with PV to find your own local accommodations in an area you like.

Had supper at L'Islos Restaurant with a quiet and nice setting overlooking the pool and was greatly disappointed in the food, despite excellent service by Carmelo and his assistant. Our drinks were poor, lacking in flavour and alcohol, and my margarita likely the worst I ever tasted. The tuna appetizer was nicely presented but lacked flavour until we requested some soya sauce for some punch. My salmon was requested as medium but arrived over-cooked and dry. The dessert sorbet was generous and tasty. Prices were were moderate for the portions and good value so long as the food arrives as ordered.

For more tasty and better prepared fast food and drinks, including margaritas, go to the bamboo hut at the far left corner of the property.

We bought a 7-day pass (7 separate days, not continuous) for the exercise room and enjoyed the clean, scented area, but with small array of exercise equipment. This was preferred over the Gold Gym where it was not well-kept with mold in the shower area and equipment too cramped.

Biggest disappointment was the Internet just doesn't work...sign-in took almost 2-3 hours and service was intermittent to nil. Even staff admitted it doesn't work well and needs constant rebooting.

We spent a little over a week at this hotel during the first half of Jan. 2013. Only one day of mild rain which was a nice change from all the sunny days even during the winter. We found the service was excellent, the personnel treated us very well especially Carlos, the beach waiter, who we nick-named Frankie (Frank Sinatra) because of his blue eyes. We really had a great time while we were there, however, bringing food in from the outside to stock the in room refrigerator was discouraged and this was a minor negative.

Location was great, entry way was inviting, unique and distinctive. Maid service was excellent. We had numerous occasions over the time we were there to imbibe more than a few Margaritas and found them to be fairly well proportioned in the Tequilia dept. The food was also pretty good. I would recommend the shrimp burrito but you will probably want to share it with someone.

Overall, we would recommend this hotel and say Hola to our amigo Frankie!

My husband, 20 month old and I stayed at the Fiesta Americana PV over Christmas. It was a great first experience in another country with a toddler. The hotel staff was VERY friendly and accommodating. By the end of the week many of them were calling my daughter by name. They gave us a crib for her which was very old and rickety, so we ended up just pushing the loveseat in our room up against a bed and she slept well.

The pool was great - not to crowded (though it helped that we were up at 7AM to reserve chairs everyday). The beach was also a great place to hang out and play in the sand, though the water was rough so we didn't go in much. We took the bus into town a few times to try some other restaurants and it felt very safe (I actually didn't think we were going to leave the hotel before we got there, but I never felt nervous about our safety and I'm glad we ventured out).

The food was OK. Not great, and the dinner restaurants seemed a bit overpriced. We did a lot of pool/beach side service which was perfect for us since my daughter isn't at a great age for restaurants.

Overall, I would go back. We're actually considering making this an annual tradition!