Velas Vallarta

I think when you start planning your return trip while you’re still in the hotel, you know you’ve found a good one. Costco Travel was excellent, and had we read their directions more carefully, we wouldn’t have gotten trapped in conversation with a salesman in the airport!
We had a lovely time at the hotel. We were there in early February before the crowds descended, so no problem at the pool or restaurants. We were on the all inclusive plan, although we added tips where service was good (everywhere but one). We tried each of the hotel restaurants — loved the one by the ocean best, so ate there most of the time. Had a mediocre meal at Andrea Restaurant — and the only rude waiter we encountered during our stay so we didn’t go back. The upscale Mexican restaurant was good, not great. We actually would have liked more Mexican dishes on the main menu in La Ribera, but their wine and food were both very good. (The wines from Chile and Argentina — on the inclusive list — were all excellent.) Staff, waiters, all were friendly and helpful (minus one waiter previously mentioned.)
WIFI was random in our suite — only in the bedroom! (Ironic actually.) The suite was comfortable and spacious with a great view of the ocean from the 9^th floor. We appreciated being away from some of the noise at night — people partied rather late. My only criticism — too much Pepsi and not enough Coke Lite! Pools were great, iguanas chose my shoes to be chummy in — could have done without that! The grounds are lovely, too and well cared for. The beach is the nicest I’ve seen in PV, and we’ve stayed at two other places.
One caveat — I would not come here in high season as the pools and the facilities would not be large enough to handle all the people. We had a quiet week with no aggravation at the pool getting seats, and yet they were pretty full, and no problems getting into restaurants, etc. except for one meal. By 7am all seats at the main pool were «reserved» with towels — sometimes untouched into the afternoon. We came down to the pool in early afternoon, since we exercised or shopped in the morning. By the way, don’t miss the Thursday night art show in the Marina. Great fun.
We loved our day in town — walked the Malecon, visited Señor Talavera (great shop), and the cathedral. We also liked the hotel gift shop, especially with the credit offered from Costco Travel. Interesting selection of items.

food just ok. went for wedding a few of us got sick from food one day at pool (the pizza) –also like fort nox if you try to leave with anything bigger than a bagpack, they wouldn’t even let us on a taxi until front desk cleared us. next day transferred to the Westin.

Great hotel beautiful lush grounds. Clean rooms and great friendly service. Rooms have nice air conditioning and mini kitchenette with fridge. Pools are large and close to the beach. Swim up bar and top shelf liquor served in the all inclusive resort. Food was very good at both the restaurant by the beach and Andreas. Food is also available around the pool. Nice balconies with view of the ocean and gardens. Gerardo was an excellent waiter down at the beach restaurant. Night time mariachi called Vallarta 2000 were also very good and came by to ask for songs to play. Christian at the Fiesta show was also pretty funny speaking in both English and Spanish. All in all I recommend this hotel. Paid about $ 300 USD per night for all inclusive package. Room 3516 was very nice only missed having enough drawers to store our clothes. Also walking to the lobby required us to walk outside. During our stay it rained hard during the evening and if it weren’t for the bellman with umbrellas to help us walk the path to the lobby we would have gotten wet.

muy mal servicio por parte de los meseros en los restaurantes, la comida muy mala, no volveria ni lo recomendaria a mis amigos y familia.

The sales people are a bunch of crooks! Lie after lie after lie! What they present is the opposite of what you get. Are the staff great… you bet. Are the grounds beautiful… absolutely. This review is not about the resort itself. It is about the slimy individuals with no morals or integrity who are in charge of taking your money and giving you nothing for it. They admitted they lied to us and then turned around and did it again! They tell you what you want to hear to get you to spend $$$ on a timeshare and then when you want to use it, what you were told initially was a lie and will cost you even more $$$! Consider this fair warning to anyone considering purchasing a timeshare through Velas Vallarta. A word of advice… DON’T!!! Velas Vallarta can take our «free» week and shove it up their a$$!!!

I loved every Second at this all inclusive resort! By the moment we walked in, we were treated amazingly by all the staff. We were changed to a bigger room with kitchen and living room without us even requesting it! Amazing! We arrived so tired that we called in our Lunch and we were sent a chef to help us set up our table and the food was delicious! Our Fridge was replaced each day and at night we had the maids come around and ask if we needed any more shampoo or towels. Our rooms were cleaned and left spotless! While being outside we were always asked if we needed anything and gave us whatever we asked for, of course as long as they have it, but we were never said no! The pool bar has awesome bartenders that just kept making some delicious drinks for my husband and I. The beach area was the same and we asked for appetizers and just had such an amazing time! The buffets were so yummy! Loved everything about this resort! There is nothing bad I can actual say! They have the hotel immaculate and very well maintained! The gardens looks so beautiful! Every part of this hotel is very photogenic! I can’t wait to go back!

Best hotel ever! Great clean rooms, lots of fun, tons of activities, I highly recommend

Worst customer service! We booked a non-​smoking room because I’m allergic to smoke and then we got a smoking room and manager Jesus refused to change it to a non-​smoking room saying and arguing that when we did the booking there was a note that the non-​smoking room is not guaranteed! I’ve never experienced this before! This is unacceptable!

Just got back from the best week of my life!!!
Wonderful all inclusive resort! Staff is extraordinary & food is superb! Wonderful pool areas! Kid friendly & adult approved…

I’m not getting paid to say this — I LOVED this place. You know going into it that it ain’t cheap — it’s a Hundy per day for eating/​drinking per person.
We stayed at 3 Resorts and this place was far and above the other places. it’s huge — great food, best room service food, beautiful views. Everyone was friendly — we connected with other people around the pool, at the bar, even the Time Share Presentation was easy, no pressure, and they gave me $ 250 to do it plus a bottle of Kahlua — not bad.
So we ended having new friends over for Kahlua and Cream Cocktails one night. I received a massage and the woman was outstanding, it was relaxing and was great moisturizer for my toasty skin and my muscles were relaxed after doing so much in 2 weeks.
The one and only Con: The Room Service people act like your jipping them if you don’t tip on top of the tip that’s already on there. But every place was like this — all of them. I guess American’s tip on everything when they’re on vacation.
side note for Puerto Vallarta
Also the area was extremely safe — I heard that the locals will protect you because you are their Income. They don’t want there to be any crime or the destination would not be as inviting. Also — watch out when you rent a car. The insurance is in the fee /​in the deal that you buy but they claim that you need more and will substantially rip you off. They double charged my credit card and I got it all taken off. fyi

Breath Taking views of Lush Maintained Property and Sparkling Clean pools with Sun and Shade options and AMAZING SERVICE. The all you can drink top shelf selection isn’t bad either with AMAZING SERVICE. (a special thanks to Jacinto)
Friendly Iguanas, peacocks and koi are part of the surroundings.
The rooms are spacious and clean, the bed is comfortable and the shower is easy to work and supplied with very good quality bath products.
The Sunday Night Mexican Festival is fun with the Mariachi Band and the Dancers.
I’ve been here more than once so I know to enjoy myself not to talk to any time share people anywhere.
I almost deducted a star because the food isn’t at the five star level. It’s kind of like your uncle cooked it and some things he makes better than other things. I note that all inclusive places have this issue so it is to be expected.
You are in walking distance to the marina.
Pricing is reasonable.
4.5 stars

This was our first time here and we thoroughly enjoyed it. The timeshare presentation was expected and Laura was pleasant. James on the other hand was obnoxious and pushy. He made us feel really bad about owning our timeshare. But other than that, the resort itself and all of its amenities are wonderful! I highly suggest getting a massage!!!

This was the worst hotel experience I’ve ever had. They talked my wife and I into the time share presentation, then when we declined to buy, they completely violated their promise to provide incentives for going through the talk. They told us if we didn’t leave quietly, we should be aware that ‘people who cause problems disappear in Mexico, and the police don’t care at all and won’t even investigate.’ Wow.
The common areas are nice enough, but the room was moldy and otherwise not cleaned properly. The sheets felt cheap and of poor quality. The food was mediocre at best. And they charge premium prices!
I don’t really see how the voluminous positive review could be real on other sites. Just google ‘velas vallarta scam’ and permutations of that phrase, and you will see how unbelievable the poor reviews are. I tried to report them to Trip Advisor, but I get the impression they pay a lot of money for advertising… so there you have it, you have been warned!

The staff is TOP NOTCH, they are absolutely the BEST…
The scenery they have created is picturesque and the sunset is absolutely from a movie scene.
The rooms are clean and well stocked and again the staff makes this place 5 stars, but… one star removed for the harassing time-​share bandits and the sub-​par food items, although not all the food was bad. The food was often what you would find at your local all-​you-​can-​eat, and all the deserts were thawed out Golden Corral repeats. Also, BEWARE, the time-​share bandits start at the airport and are not truthful, so please pass them by, as they will «claim» to be giving you info things to do then ask you for $ 100 to «secure your free tickets to events». All this after a fake 20 minute presentation on things to do. BEWARE…

This is my first time staying at an all-​inclusive resort, and the velas Vallarta is a hundred times nicer than anything I could have ever imagined! All the comforts of a luxury hotel (down pillows, big towels, excellent staff) plus all of the holiday perks — peacocks on the patio, seaside massage included in the package, INCREDIBLE lush gardens and landscaping, an excellent selection of fine wines and liqueurs (which can all be ordered ²⁴⁄₇ to your room) and on and on. I will definitely be back!
One thing though — my aunt stays here all the time, and says don’t drink the tap water, not even to brush your teeth, or you’ll get sick for sure. They provide you with tons of bottled water, it’s just a little tough to remember to use bottled for everything (even making coffee)

Beautiful one bedroom suite in the middle of the horseshoe with virw of pool and the ocean. Open your patio door at night and you can hear the waves against the beach. The beachside restaurant La Ribera was nice with buffet service throughout the day. We had breakfast at Andrea once which was nice. Remember there’s a dress code for Andrea.
We did eat a lot of room service and that was pretty good with different menus to order from depending on the time of day. The only caveat is the food had a tendancy to arrive lukewarm.. But just zap it for 30 or 60 seconds and you will be fine.
The pools were nice and clean and since this is a family resort there are not any adult only pools. We were here during Easter break, the largest holiday for Mexican families so it was quite crowded!
There are koi rivers throughout the property and peacocks roaming the grounds. Everything was very well kept and well maintained and the staff very friendly and outgoing.
We went on 2 tours with Tani Tours, both with Jessica as the guide and they were great! The cultural tour which gives you a great idea of the way life is in ixtapa, jalisco away from the resorts and the shopping tour which takes you down to the boardwalk and flea market for shopping. At the end they take you to a restaurant for lunch which is not included and optional. The food is good for both but a little on the pricey side. The tours are no cost though so it evens out. Please remember tip for driver and guide too!
The only negatives I would say is the quality of the tv’s as the pictures were not good, the lukewarm food through room service, and the tendancy to undercook some of the foods like toast and side vegetables lol. Other than that very happy with our experience and would wholeheartedly recommend Velas Vallarta to anyone with a family or who doesn’t mind children being around.