My husband, 13-year-old son and I just returned from a one-week all-inclusive stay. We'd read reviews before we booked our holiday at this resort - a few of them were negative, so we went into it with no great expectations and were really just looking forward to having some sunshine and poolside R & R.
We had an absolutely wonderful time, mostly because of the fantastic, friendly, welcoming staff at this resort. We upgraded our room and stayed in the new tower and were happy with the room. We were really close to the pool and we had a wonderful view of the beach, ocean, downtown Vallarta and the mountains. I would definitely recommend staying in this tower, even if you have to pay more for the upgrade, as we did (when we arrived, we asked to see the room that we'd been assigned - it was in an older building and was definitely dated and smelled musty, so we asked to upgrade to the new tower). The maid service was excellent - the room was always kept spotlessly clean and we had everything we needed.
The food was good (not five-star fabulous, but certainly good) - the buffet restaurant had a nice variety at every meal with a mix of Mexican and American-style dishes, plus LOADS of delicious fresh fruit and salads - something to suit everyone. The staff were EXTREMELY friendly, helpful and attentive and bent over backwards to ensure we had everything we could possibly want. Likewise, the poolside waiters were delightfully friendly and helpful. We tipped all the staff well (they truly deserved it!), so by the second day the staff (waiters, maids, porters, front desk) recognized us, greeted us warmly and really did their utmost to pamper us and make our stay the best it could be.
The pools were nice, the towel service was great and there were a lot of fun activities for our son to participate in. Beach vendors approach the wall of the pool area, so if you're bothered by this, find a pool chair away from the beach. The vendors aren't rude or excessively pushy - they're just trying to make a living.
We used the gym every morning - the equipment was new and the gym attendant was extremely friendly and helpful.
There's a supermarket close to the hotel, plus a small mall with banks, boutiques, Starbucks, a wonderful spa/beauty salon right next door. There's a nice mall with a movie theatre about a 10 minute walk away. The busses run right in front of the hotel - it costs a mere 6 pesos each way to travel to the downtown area to do some shopping/exploring/dining.
(We didn't swim in the ocean at all - there's a river that empties into the ocean a few hundred yards from the hotel. From our balcony we could see the brown sludge and didn't want to take the risk - we had friends who had stayed in a hotel on the other side of that river a few years ago and they all ended up in hospital after swimming in the ocean. It may be perfectly safe, but I personally wouldn't take a chance at that particular location.)
We had a great vacation for a really reasonable price - I think any family would enjoy it.