Ok, so it was our first big trip with our "almost 2-year-old" twins. We were seeking a family friendly - child friendly resort and this is what we got. This is catered to the child. The pools are awesome, especially for kids. Pretty close to having a water park at the resort. The Baby Paradise is included in the all-inclusive package, and you get to use four hours of this service a day. This was wonderful. The staff at BAby Paradise were wonderful and enjoyed working with the children. Unlike all the other staff at the resort, they actually declined the tip my husband offered. The rooms were clean, and everything seemed in good order on that aspect.
Now for the negatives: The food is awful. It is pretty much the same thing everyday at their main eating place the La Palapa. I'm usually not one that cares too much about food, but by day three, I was sick to death of this food. Also, if they close at 6pm, there is no food left by 5:30. This means, they actually close at 5:30ish, or when the food runs out basically. We didn't venture off the resort much. There is a grocery store within walking distance, and some other guests bought food that was more toddler appropriate like PBJ sandwiches. Wish we had done that from the start because the food ironically isn't really toddler friendly. Room service is very limited for food, and the two times we ordered it, it took 40 minutes, and the other time, we never got it. After almost 50 minutes, my husband called to inquire, and they had forgotten about us.
Despite tipping our chamber maid daily, we only got two towels even though there were FOUR of us staying in the room. We never got a wash rag, and only had a hand towl half the week.

Unfortunately, I got violently ill my last full day there. Not sure what made me sick as we all ate the same thing, but I was feeling something awful. I suspect it was a drink as that is the only thing that differed from what others had. Unfortunately, I got "sick" on the floor next to the bed. My husband called housekeeping to come clean it up "right away" as we had two toddlers running around our room. 45 minutes later, he called again and was told someone would be "right there." Another 45 minutes later, we still had a pile of vomit in our room and no cleaning person. He called the Manager at this point, and someone was there within five minutes.
Our last day, we requested a bell hop at noon to help with our luggage for check out. By 12:10, again, no one was there, so my husband calls the desk and is told "they are on their way." By 12:25, we had to go, so we managed three suitcases, two carry-on bags, and two strollers with toddlers on our own. Not impressed.
Beach is ok, but kind of messy with organic debris. Wait staff is good, and most of the staff is friendly in general. Excellent with the kids. They really go all out for the little ones. Lots of patting their heads and even the receptionist knew there names after the second day. As our first vacation, I think it went ok, except for the day I got so terribly sick with the mystery stomach ailment where I thought I would surely die that day. The kids had a blast at the water park, but overall, I don't think I'd stay there again.

This place was so bad we were counting down the days until we got home. If you don't speak Spanish, do not bother going there. They treated us like we were stupied because we did not speak Spanish. Our hotel room had ants all over, they got into our clothes and in the beds and the food area had flies. The vendors do bother you all day if you are at the beach( which was a joke) or at the bar. The vendors even bother you while you are trying to eat at the buffet, through the windows. When we tried to order room service they did not understand English. When we tried to get our bags taken to the lobby on our last day, they also did not understand and we had to bring the bags down ourselves. We booked this resort through Fun Jet after seeing that it was a 4 star with a waterpark for the kids. It's more like a 1 star with a dirty, stinky waterpark for kids. Please DO NOT waste your money or your time going here. You will be sorry you did just like we were!!!!!

Just got back with my husband and our 2 kids (4 yrs and 18 month) for our 6th wedding anniversary. Wanted to write this review while it's still fresh on my mind. Our expectation was 3 stars and a family friendly place for little kids based on the reviews we read on this website. The ride from the airport to the hotel was only about 10 min drive, which was great! However, once we turned into the street where the resort was, we couldn't believe what we were seeing. It was a total dump. The street was unfinished and the area looked extremely run down (barbed wires around the parking lot and lots of construction). We tried to overlook it thinking once we're inside the resort it would be totally different. Then we arrived at the resort lobby and was greeted immediately with a pina colada, which was nice. However, we arrived at around 2p and had to wait almost 2 hrs before they had a room ready for us. Check in time was at 3p. In the meantime, the vacation club (timeshare) reps kept hounding us wanting us to sit and chat with them. They don't mention that they're vacation club reps. They just try to entice you first by saying 'come here so I can give you all of the hotel information'. On top of that, the lobby was nearly 90F with no AC. They had some ceiling fans, which weren't turned on. Everyone waiting in the lobby was drenched with sweat. They told us while we wait, we could head over to LaPalapa where the buffet was served. We went there thinking at least we could get a snack and drink while we waited. The restaurant also didn't have ac or ceiling fans so it was extremely hot and humid...unbearable. Not only was it hot, but most of the food had flies swarming around it and there wasn't any ice left in the soda fountain. That night we managed to make a reservation to eat at the japanese restaurant. We ordered tepanyaki, which is basicly just grilled meats and stir fry. Not only did it not have any taste, the meat and veggies were completely overcooked. That restaurant opened at 6p, which was when we went. Again, the restaurant was hot and humid. I think they were trying to conserve electricity so didn't turn on the ac until their first guest showed up. So that was arrival day. Day 2 we decided to check out the kids club to see if we can check our kids in for a few hours. Thank God our older child was 4 because the area for 18 months - 4 yrs was indoors with some ac. For kids who are 5 yrs and up, good luck. Their area is outside with no ac next to the water park. They had ceiling fans, but again they weren't turned on. It was so hot we rarely saw any kids playing there. The 18 mo. -4 yrs room didn't have hardly any toys. They had a tv with spanish cartoons on all day, 2 computers with games, and some baby toys. No matter how many kids were there, there was always only 1 staff member. Some staff members seemed to enjoy that job and others seemed to only be there for a paycheck. One girl informed us that if our 18 mo old cries for more than 5 minutes, she's going to page us to come get him. That's how much she was willing to tolerate a crying child. Fortunately our son didn't cry because his sister was there. That service was only good for a couple of hours each day. Longer than that, the kids got bored. Our 4 yr old has NEVER asked us to leave a kids club and she asked the girl to page us because she was ready to leave. That afternoon we decided to take the kids to the pirate ship water park (the main reason why we booked this resort) only to find out that the water was really murky and stunk like poop. We think that either the filter was broken or they didn't have a filter. There were also several areas underneathe the ship that was rusted and had fungus growing. Maybe that was what smelled so badly, but whatever it was, we got out of there in less than 20 min and never returned. For lunch we went to LaPalapas again hoping it would be better than the day before; however, it was the same. Flies swarming around all over the food. They tried to keep the flies out of the food by covering it with a mesh material; however, the flies were swarming underneathe the mesh so it didn't work. The only decent food we ate was breakfast because they had someone cooking omelettes to order so we'd try to fill ourselves up every morning and eat a hot dog, hamburger, or nachos at the snack bar for lunch. On the 2nd night, my husband took the kids to the italian restaurant hoping the food would be better than the japanese and found that the service was horrible. He said hardly anyone served them. I was surprised because up until then we had gotten pretty decent service. I asked how the food was and he said about par. Now some description about our room....there were ants crawling all over the bathroom walls and sink area. Part of the shower head was covered with black mold. The bathroom had 2 lights and both were very dim, which made it pretty dark. The bedroom wall behind the headboards had a lot of cracks. Once you turned the ac down you couldn't adjust the temp. The only way to warm our room was to either open the balcony door or turn the ac off. The only rooms with ac in the entire resort were bedrooms, 'hospitality room', japanese restaurant and italian. We didn't try the french restaurant because kids under 8 yrs were not allowed. The rest of the resort was around 90F. Also the water at the beach was mostly brown. We did see bluish water one morning, but that was about it. The sand was on the rougher side and the beach was pretty short. Since the waves were usually pretty strong, with a short beach, it wasn't safe for little kids. Most of the guests spent their days at the pool since the beach wasn't pretty or safe. Also there were a lot of vendors all around the beach part of the resort asking you to buy their product. The only good thing about the resort was the service other than at the italian restaurant. We did take someone's advice to bring a lot of dollar bills to use as tip so we would tip everyone $2 for every meal, each time we visited the bar, and our housekeeper each day. So I'm giving the resort as a whole 1 star, food a 1 star, and service a 3 star. Needless to say, we will never return.

What could I say about this place that has not been said already....I just wanted to comment about the persons who leave a less than satisfactory rating...get real!!...This place is hands down one of the best all around family friendly All-Inclusive resorts on the west coast....My 3.5 and 5.5 yr old kids loved it as well as my wife and I...I have to compliment the staff, from the front desk to the ground crew...they are constantly working to appease their guests... This is of course the 'off-season' due to the rains, however with our 11 day stay it rained a few days and only at night...got lucky I guess! ...The food at the Buffet was, at a minimum above average, with an 'A' grade for breakfast...even the worst of cynics and the less friendly critics could certainly find a food item that will appeal to their snobbish like taste buds...and for the 3 restaurants that you have to reserve a table in the mornings, well again we got lucky in that there were no long lines to book a table, although by the time we were leaving which was the 1st of July, we did see a line with a few people waiting to reserve....the food was good...if one enjoys eating at local eateries such as Applebees then one should not complain about the food...if you don't like what you've ordered you can certainly ask your waiter to get you something else on the menu, now where could you do that for nothing!...the ambiance at all 3 restaurants however is certainly outstanding with the staff being very friendly and polite....If you have the chance, try all 3.... tipping the staff, whether the barkeep, the room maid, the wait staff (including the dine-in restaurants) or the girls that run around at the beach collecting empty glasses and asking you if you would like another drink...a $ or $$ goes a long way and buys you a lot of love and smiles...no doubt, the Mexican people are extremely hospitable and very friendly... The Kids water park is pretty darn good....I certainly did not see one kid complain!...the down side on all the pools is that they are a bit warm with the shallower pool (kids pool) a bit warmer than the others....a solution is to dip yourself in the ocean a few times a day... Certainly the 3rd and 4th floor is where you need to be...I found that the rooms in the 450's and 460's are best overall as far as views...avoid rooms on the 1st floor...too close to all the action....we stayed in 2 different rooms and both were clean and certainly the AC was nice and cold....Last but not least @ a $125/ night (off season prices!) and getting all of the above....where could you go wrong in this resort.

off the resort input...well coming from the airport, if you can walk outside the main airport you will save a few $$ in cab fare....a trip to the Malecon (downtown boardwalk) is a good trip..again you could catch the buss for a dollar (11 pesos) a person and kids are free.....time shares...my take is if you can stomach the sales BS then go for it...some offer quite a bit of free stuff, such as tours, boat trips, diving/snorkling, play with the dolphins, golfing, messages..... you name it...the key here is DO NOT FALL INTO THE TRAP AND PURCHASE.....worst investment you will ever make!!!!! ask what you will receive before you sign on and demand the stuff you want to receive...do not be shy...just do me a favor and do not buy a time share or into a 'Vacation Club' all the same and a big rip off...if you really want a time share then go on the web and buy them on the resale mkt for 20 to 30 cents cents on the dollar!..oh by the way try avoiding city or jungle tours...not so interesting especially the city one....the last stop is where you will pay top $$$$ ($70 +/- for 2 psns) for a so so lunch with the flies, lots and lots of flies ...they made sure that you have no other choices in eateries....clearly the Guide and the bus driver gets a nice kick-back from that restaurant!..if you want to go into the City, get on bus or a taxi - by the way; very safe...believe me when I tell you that I will rather walk around downtown PV at night than walk around any metro city in the US. Puerto Vallarta is very safe being that almost everyone has a job from the youngest to the oldest...As for the water, well it is very safe to drink in hotels and resorts...they have a very good water filtration system, so drink water with confidence.

Take care and enjoy life