Just returned from stay at the Crowne PLaza in San Jose, Mexico. This was the worst resort I have ever stayed at. The resort itself looked great and can't beat the beach location.

The bad: the maid service is inept. They come when they want (10am - 7pm) and do what they want. Don't ask for a wash cloth or a clean towel. Calling to the front desk for help just make the situation worse. The beds are as hard as concrete. When you leave the room, your AC shuts off. So it goes from a comfy 72 to 80 degrees in a couple of hours.
The two reservation dinner only restaurants are nice. Food and service was pretty good. Rest of the food (buffet, pool area and room service) was pathetic. Don't show up when they are suppose to open (posted times) as they will continue to say - 10 minutes. After a half hour of this you get tired and leave. That is what they want. They don't want to open on time and provide food during stated hours.
If you drink beer, you have ONE option - pacifico from quart bottle they pour in a glass.
Service was bad the entire time. We asked the day before we left to talk to a manager, was told he would be back at 3:30, so we came back and was told 'try 4:30', came back, he still wasn't there. We finally gave up and said forget it.
The good: the resort itself looked great and can't beat the beach location.

For what they charge to stay there, you have much better options elsewhere.

I just got back a week ago from a trip to Cabo. We were there for a week and stayed at 3 different hotels along the course of the trip and this was the absolute worst. We even had one of the "nicer" rooms. It was in the back overlooking the ocean directly, but even the view did not make this stay enjoyable.

For starters, the beds are so uncomfortable. I read the reviews here, but never imagined they would actually be that bad. I did wake up with back pain every morning. Our room was also so warm. The air and fan were as high as they could go but we were literally sweating and not sleeping under any bedding it was so hot.

The food is really horrible. Although we didn't go to the mexican or italian restaurnts, the buffet and pool side food reminded me of my college dorm food. We actually ended up leaving the hotel every night to get dinner. There were not many options at the buffett, and in the heat of mexico who wants to eat hot meals like lasagna for lunch!

I think the perfect example of the dissapointment was ordering a drink while laying out at the pool. We ordered mojitos. Apparently their version of a mojito is sprite with mint syrup as flavoring! I was seriously shocked. It tasted like mouthwash!

For the amount of money you spend here, there are a ton of other very nice places to stay. This is so, so not worth it.

This place is first class all the way! We arrived at the hotel and were greeted with champagne and orange juice while we waited to check in. Everyone was extremely friendly and helpful. I had read many reviews and followed the forums closely before I went, so knew to ask for a foamie for the bed upon check in.

The room was clean and had a great view of the ocean & pools. The refrigerator was well stocked with water and a variety of soda. I left a note requesting more water and specific types of soda - and each day, my requests appeared.

The resort is absolutely visulally stunning. The food was incredible. For breakfast, the restaurant was open air overlooking the ocean. The staff was friendly and always there with a refill of your beverage. Omlete station/egg station along with a huge buffet of the usual choices for breakfast awaited you in the morning.

For lunch, you could go back to that restaurant - which always had something grilling (yummy kabobs) or you could eat at the pool side restaurant - burgers, nachos, fajitas. Both were very good.

For dinner, you could go to another buffet restaurant which was good, or you could go to one of the 2 formal restaurants - pants required for me - no swim suits, no flip flops. These 2 places were as good as any 4 star restaurant in the States. Incredible service, incredible menus. Get the Mexican coffee at the Mexican restaurant for a very special treat - they light the coffee on fire while making it tableside.

The staff at the swim up bar was friendly and poured nice drinks. If you were sitting at a lounge chair, they regularly came around to ask if you'd like another drink.

The pools were incredible. There are 3 main pools - the first has a swim up bar. The second is an activity pool. The third is an infinity pool overlooking the ocean. I can't say enough about how wonderful they all were. Very well maintained and clean. (see photo)

The resort was only 1/3 occupied, so there was never a problem getting a chair at any of the pools. However, they kept the staff in place, having the extra folks work on cleaning and maintaining the building.

On Tuesday night, they had a wonderful Mexican Fiesta for dinner. This was sooo wonderful and so much fun. The staff worked all day setting up tables and the buffet on the beach. The had a bon fire, music, wonderful food, and games. It was a great time to get to know the other guests. We made many friends. (see photo)

The sky bar, open in the evenings, offers a stunning view of the city.

We rented a car on line, prior to going, as recommended in the forums. What a savings!! We paid $109 for a mid size automatic car with a/c for Monday - Friday, including insurance, taxes and GAS. At the hotel, they were charging $75/day for the same car.

We went by water taxi (again recommended in the forums) for $10 each to Lover's Beach and the Arch - incredible - see photo. While in town, we went shopping, ate lunch at Squid Rod - delicious - order the table side guacamole - and had a couple of drinks. Another day in town, we went shopping and ate at Cabo Wabo - fabulous food.

We went to the Glass Blowing Factory - VERY fun and interesting. It was a little difficult to find, but look for a small sign on the side of the road on your way INTO town (no sign on your way out of town). We bought many souveniers to bring home.

At the recommendations in the forum, we went to Santa Maria beach. We took some of our friends from the Mexican Fiesta who did not have a car. The beach was beautiful, but I definately recommend that you wear closed toe water shoes. I wore water sandals and the rocks were very hot and painful on your feet. The beach is not sand - it's small rocks. Still beautiful. It was pretty rough and June is jelly fish season. We waded in and let the waves flow over us, however, within 20 minutes, someone had been bitten by a jelly fish, so we decided to go back to the hotel.

Overall, the trip was incredibly relaxing and fun. I couldn't believe the value for our dollar and the incredible level of service received.

My son & I decided to go on a vacation together. He is 22 so I really don't know how many more of these we will have. We wanted to go somewhere warm & all inclusive & reasonably priced. Our travel agent hooked us up with the Crowne Plaza. IT WAS FABULOUS. The all inclusive totally beat our expectations. The food was great. The bar service (remember my son is 22!!) was incredible. I think we tried every drink made. YIKES. Well, okay we did take time to rest by the pool. I did aqua aerobics. Try it..you will laugh. We went to the lobby shows. They were great. Don't expect Broadway theatre, but they are really fun for Mexico. The rooms were fine. They were clean, & well stocked. We did tip consistently (it was never expected & that made it really fun to do) The employees here are very gracious & kind. They always smiled & made us feel welcome. The breakfast & lunch at Las Olas left nothing to be desired. The food, the view, the service, the time away was all incredible. I work full time & take care of my parents who are failing in health. I mention that because I know this is a stage for a lot of people right now. I feel like I am a better person for having taken this break. We were there for 4 days. Our biggest decisions were which pool to lie by & when to eat & what to drink! It was all catered to us & such a welcome retreat. One hint for future travelers. Get your towel early & put it on your lounge chair if you are picky about where you want to be. I can't wait to go back. People from other hotels in our commuter van even mentioned how nice the Crowne Plaza looked compared to their hotels~~ hmmmm. It was a very great memory!!!