Our family exchanged our own timeshare week at a Marriott property in Orlando to spend a week here at the end of August. I had read the reviews on the site so I was a bit apprehensive as to whether we had done the right thing. We always stay in 5 star timeshare resorts, as I say we are Marriott owners.

We were very pleasantly surprised and had a great time at the Villa del Palmar. Firstly, you have to understand a few things: This is a resort in Mexico where tipping is a big way of life, it is unrealistic to expect not to have to tip everyone. Secondly, it is a timeshare resort primarily. Part of the property is a hotel and I think some of the comments about smelly rooms must relate to that part of the resort because we had a 1 bedroomed apartment in the timeshare wing and that definitely did not have a smell of any kind. It was absolutely immaculate. Getting back to the timeshare bit - at such a property you will always be offered a presentation. The best thing to do is to answer the phone call or see the ladies at the desk in reception, AS SOON AS YOU CAN, take their welcome pack(which gives you 2 free cocktails for nothing by the way) and then just say no thank you to the presentation. We did this and never heard from them again. The worst thing you can do is to keep dodging them. They have a list of new arrivals and it is part of their job to at least give you the welcome pack! I don't see how you can call this harassment. Just say no and they won't bother you again.
The pools are desalinated seawater and in August they were at perfect temperature and very clean. They are not the usual bright blue because the pool walls and floor are not tiled with blue tiles, they are covered in a cement/rocklike coating. Believe me, I snorkelled in this pool as I have in many hotel pools and blueness is no guarantee of cleanliness!!!
I think the resort must have done something about the noise too. We were in room 3314 facing the front of the resort (not the poolside) and we had no noise problems at all. They hold some sort of dining/show event every evening around the pool. It starts at 630 and ends at 930. While its going on if your room faces the pool its going to be noisy. But, unless you have very young children, what are you doing in your room that early in Cabo San Lucas anyway??? When we got back to the hotel at about 10 most nights and it was incredibly quiet by then. THere wasn't any noise around us from people returning to their rooms either and when we were there we didn't see anyone the worse for drink or any rowdy behaviour at all. It was a really nice, lively family resort.
They stock up the fridge for you with drinks and snacks which have stickers all over them saying Honour Bar. There is a price list which shows them to be the usual room bar prices. There is absolutely nothing to stop you taking them out of the fridge, stacking them in one of the cupboards and filling the fridge with your own food and drink. This is what we did. There are several excellent supermarkets in Cabo, notably SeSeSe and Costco and its easy to stock up. There is a market on site but I would use it for emergencies only because its a lot more expensive than one of the outside supermarkets (but I would expect that).
There were plenty of sun loungers when we were there - no problems at all getting one ever and no towel reservation issues.
The vendors on the beach: there are some kept away from the hotel beach entrance but once you are on the public beach they approach you. I found a polite "no thanks" worked immediately. They were really not at all bad. I don't know why people have made such an issue of this.
We went down to Cabo every night to eat. The all inclusive option doesn't seem to be worth it to me and anyway, I hate eating hotel food and staying behind the hotel gates all the time. That's no fun. We had some great dinners for about $15 a head. I can heartily recommend Casa Country for cowboy steaks, great seafood and tex mex cuisine - great service and fun too, Latitude 22 Roadhouse for fabulous steaks, prime rim etc, Baja Cantina for snacks, seafood and prime rib. I will say this: if you go into a fancy restaurant around the yacht marina, or choose to sit outside at a restaurant in a prime seaview position, you have to expect to pay a bit more than if you eat one road back. You are paying for the view not the food! Also, Hard Rock Cafe and the like are pricey around the world - there are much better choices.
There are plenty of timeshare salesmen down in the town. They will strike up a conversation with you but again a quick no thanks ends it. Unless August is a quiet month for these guys, I wouldn't advise any of the people who have complained about this aspect of Cabo to ever visit some of the European holiday resorts or (heaven forbid) somewhere like Morocco, Tunisia or Egypt where every shopkeeper becomes your best friend and tries to drag you inside their shop for a cup of mint tea!!!
We enjoyed the APV outing - really great fun along the Pacific beaches.
We enjoyed lounging by the poolside, reading books from the hotel lending library, swimming, having a great massage by the poolside ($70 for 80 minutes and it was GOOD). Our daughters (12 and 14) made lots of friends and enjoyed the slides, the beach and the jacuzzis.
I used the laundry once - about a dollar a wash - pretty normal. We used the internet cafe which was $5 for 30 minutes and it was great for checking email and the like. Also liked the cappucino bar in the shopping arcade.

Some downs:
The beds are hard. We quite like a hard bed but this one was pretty hard.... On the other hand, it would have been worse if it had been soft. Honestly, it didn't stop me from sleeping.
The staff on reception are not very helpful or particularly friendly. I was not impressed by them.
There needs to be more umbrellas around the pool.
The beach is beautiful but not really any good for swimming. The surf is powerful and there is a strong undertow and it shelves away very quickly. Not for kids or weak swimmers.
Pool service is quite slow

Some highlights:
The poolside massage
The poolside snacks are very good and reasonable but see above re speed of service.
The kids loved the waterslide
The bathtubs are stone and very deep, great if you like to bathe.
The pool towels are really big.
The gardens and landscaping are absolutely beautiful - quite superb.
THe staff away from reception are very very nice.

We genuinely had a great time here and would certainly go back again. We spoke to plenty of other people - you tend to get chatting in the pool - and they were all really enjoying themselves too. I have been critical of certain resorts in the past and wouldn't hesitate to be here if I felt it deserved it, but honestly, overall I think the resort is fine. It's a lively, action packed sort of place. It's more Club Med than Ritz Carlton. Don't go here if you want to be cossetted in pampered peace and luxury, haute cuisine and elegant evenings, go to Las Ventanas or Esmerelda instead. Do go here if you like plenty of activities for you, good entertainment for the kids, spacious and well equipped condos.

I stayed at the Villa del Palmar July 30th - August 6th. I had a fantastic time, but only because I went with fun people, otherwise I would have left the following day. I believe that this hotel has great qualities, but unfortunately I was not able to enjoy myself as much as I would have liked.

If you want a chair by or near the pool, be down there by 9am. Chairs go fast. Even if no one is sitting in the chair, it is usually reserved by placing a beach towel on it. Don't plan on taking a nap by the pool - the afternoon Bingo and Volleyball can get pretty loud.

Villa del Palmar has a great view of the beach, but don't try to swim in it. The undertow is pretty strong. Go down the beach about 10 minutes and its a little safer swimming water.

Don't leave mascara or jewelry just laying around. I lost my mascara the first day and thought maybe it has just fallen behind a dresser or under the bed - wrong. I checked everywhere the day we left - nothing. I also thought I would find the chandalier earrings that disappeared, but no. I just finished reading another review where a guy lost his basketball shorts so I had to write this. I would have complained, but I was afraid of getting the wrong person in trouble. I learned my lesson, passports, money and jewelry will always go into the safe from now on.

Even for all of the little faults, the Villa del Palmar is very family oriented and perfect for those with a family. We are all single women in our 20's so I think next time we will try something different.

We choose the VDP based on the reviews, changed from another resort. We were not entirely disappointed, agree with most of what has been written. This is definately a family resort . . . which was great for our children. The staff were very accommodating. The rooms were average, the beds were horribly hard, the restaurants good and easy, the pools were great, no problems with towels or lounge chairs. The view - FABULOUS!! Back to the rooms, they do smell, all the time, the smell did not go away for the entire 8 days. The air conditioner was a super charged one I believe, either too cold or not cool enough-started to get annoying after a week.We also were sick of tipping all the time, especially with the luggage, by the time we got to our room, I believe we had tipped 5 different men! No problems at the airport at all, just get an airport valet prior to customs to get your luggage and tell him where you want to go and no one will bother you. At the hotel we were only approached once when we arrived and then one phone call to pick up our welcome package-which we didn't and they left us alone, except when I went down on the second day with my children and was approached to come and chat about the children's programs . . . my reply was "isn't the program for older children" . . . I was carrying a baby and my son is 2!! They left us alone after that . . . it may also be because my husband is 6'3", very bulky and can look very intimidating or the fact that most of the time my kids were crying! Too hot for young children!!! My husband went diving 3 times and enjoyed himself, but the carribbean waters are not as choppy and he enjoyed diving at other locations much better. All in all, it was very relaxing, but agree not a 5 star resort, more like a 4 star. Would not return.

We exchanged our timeshare in San Jose with this resort because it was in Cabo and saved us the 18 mile drive. The resort is newer and is very nice. If you try to compare a Mexico five star with an American, you will be disappointed. I found everything here clean, nice, and in working order.

From the moment we checked in, we were hounded for a timeshare presentation. We actively avoided it for the first few days, but after paying high prices for food and drinks, we decided to go to the presentation and get the gold card to save some money. (By the way, no matter where you stay in Mexico, you will be inundated at the airport with time share offers!) The presenation was relatively low pressure and in a nice environment but we were constantly told how inferior our timeshare is. The salesman probably could have been closer to a sale if he would have not put ours down and tried to show how buying would benefit us. A friend attended the same presentation. The salesperson told her that she needed to buy because she could never trade her timeshare (same as ours) for a much superior VDP. Ha! Somhow we managed to trade and go in early April (Ok so it's not super high season but it's not August either!)

I was floored when we were charged automatically for gratuities for the housekeeping staff and "entertainment" staff. I have never had this before...well except on a cruise where it is highly published and common knowledge. None of that information was in our confirmation and we only learned of it from a little card on the counter.

Be aware of the honor bar. Your fridge will be half full of beer, water, and pop but the prices are very steep. Its even cheaper at the little market on site. Granted, honor bars in hotels are high too so just be aware.

There were little packages of coffee in a basket on the counter. We used one the first morning. The card announcing the high price was in the bottom of the basket covered by more coffee and sugar/creamer packets. In my home resort and in hotels, the little coffee packets came with the room but not here.

We didn't even try to use the conceirge because at VDP in Puerto Vallarta they refused to help us because we didn't attend the timeshare there.

Again, it is a very nice resort with beautiful views in a popular town. The food and drinks were very good. The service was good at the restaurants, the pool, and the room. I was just disappointed in they way they treated their non-owners.