This was our first stay at Villa del Arco with the All Inclusive package. The two previous years we stayed at Villa del Palmar, the neighboring property.

Going to VDA was the best decision we made! I loved the quiet and serene evenings and it never got crazy and wild around the pool areas.

We booked the 2 bedroom suite which really was two adjoining rooms, but it worked out perfectly. The larger room was a true 1 bedroom unit. With one bedroom with a full bathroom and a separate living room and full sized kitchen and full bathroom. The adjoining room had 2 queen beds, a full bathroom, and a small kitchen.

This worked out perfectly for our family of 6 travelers. The three kids shared the 2 queen room, my husband and I used the one King bed room, and the other adult family member used the Murphy bed in the living room. Before we got there we were a bit worried about the living room sleeping arrangements (expecting a traditional fold out couch) but were pleasantly surprised at how comfortable the Murphy bed was.

Each room had its own full bathroom so there was never an issue of waiting for the bathroom or shower. Everyone had their privacy at night, and the kids enjoyed having their "own" room.

When we arrived in our room we had a welcome basket of treats welcoming us to our room. Each night we had turn down service and a plate of cookies, or other baked treats waiting for us. The one thing that I absolutely went crazy for was the aromatherapy candle that was lit when we checked into the room. It smelled absolutely divine!

We booked through Funjet Vacations, with whom we'd booked the two previous trips. Everything was as advertised, except the hotel didn't honor our request for an ocean view which we had submitted but told were not guaranteed to get. We actually ended up very happy with the room they gave us because it got the late afternoon sun and was very quiet at night. No noise from guests or pools which was nice. The late afternoon and evening sunsets were beautiful from our balconies, which were nicely furnished with lounge chars and tables.

The pool and beach service was perfect. The waiters were attentive and quick, and kept checking back with us. We would tip one or two dollars per order. The food was good and fresh, and the drinks were excellent as well. We realize that it's not top gourmet cooking, and the drinks are not top shelf liquor, but the convenience of All Inclusive overshadows that. The main thing for us is the convenience of everyone eating and drinking what they want, when they want. One time when the waiter brought my margarita I was asked to fill out a survey. I said that it was tasty, but too sweet. Within minutes, the pool bar manager was down at the beach with a new drink and asked me to taste it to see if I liked it better. That was impressive.

The restaurants were quite tasty and there was plenty of variety to eat something different each night. The adults really enjoyed the seafood restaurant - the creamy bell pepper soup and the seafood soup were really spectacular! The kids enjoyed the Mexican restaurant and also the pirate ship restaurant.

The breakfast buffet was not as large and with as many selections as VDP, but there were definitely enough choices for everyone to be happy every morning. The whole breakfast experience was much calmer and not as noisy and overbearing as VDP. Most morning we were lucky enough to get a table on the balcony overlooking the beach which made breakfast so much tastier! We always had wonderful and attentive service in the restaurants, both breakfast and dinner.

During our stay, it seemed that most guests preferred to be at the pool. We prefer the beach, so we ended up having most of the beach area/chairs to ourselves. On any given day, there were never more than 20 or 25 people in the beach chair area. At VDP it always seemed extremely crowded with lots of smokers which was not the case at VDA.

My mom and I booked several spa treatments and we also used the gym facility. The massage therapy was fantastic. My mom said the facial was ok, but would probably not do it again. We would both definitely go back for the massage treatments. My mom took the group exercise classes which she really enjoyed.

We will definitely come back to this resort again. We really enjoyed how basically mellow and quiet it was. None of us like "organized" resort activities and none of us liked the theme shows at VDP, so it was really pleasant to have the VDA resort experience.

We were approached once about the time share presentation and I was very firm and upfront that we had ZERO interest in it. We were never asked again after that one time during check in.

The front desk was very helpful and friendly. I don't think they were telling the truth when they said there were no direct ocean view rooms available, but in hindsight, we were actually really happy with our room on the side of the hotel facing the city. We had a 3/4 ocean view and a full blown view of the city and hills. And, with the gorgeous sunset every night, it ended up being a perfect location.

We will definitely come back to Villa del Arco.