Hilton Vallarta Riviera All-Inclusive Resort evaluation: What to anticipate

Standout options

• Beautiful views of the seashore and clear blue ocean are loved from the pubic areas and rooms.
• Regardless of the resort’s scale and age, it was straightforward to navigate with clear signage, and the digital and paper maps supplied.
• My room had a cushty mattress with silky clean linens.
• The pleasant, attentive workers had been particularly proactive within the eating places, seating company shortly and providing drink refills.
• Low strain was exerted to improve to premium drinks and experiences.
• The resort provides a handy location near Puerto Vallarta’s downtown whereas additionally radiating calm.

Drawbacks

• Drab interiors with outdated furnishings contributed to the shortage of a pretty design aesthetic.
• Meals high quality was common, with just one memorable eating expertise at Sunan, the Asian restaurant.
• There have been some unlucky room glitches, together with inconsistent sizzling water within the bathe, AC that did not flip off and unsatisfactory housekeeping.
• Wait instances are lengthy for elevators when at full occupancy (solely two of the 4 elevators are inclined to work).
• It may be onerous to search out accessible solar loungers when the property is at full occupancy.

The vibe

The Hilton Puerto Vallarta is positioned on the Pacific Ocean’s Banderas Bay, and you may take pleasure in beautiful views of the bay out of your room, in addition to from the swimming pools and eateries. It has a laid-back, beachside vibe, with 444 lodge rooms, seven eating places, 4 bars, two infinity swimming pools and a small personal seashore.

The foyer is expansive and alluring with a wide range of cozy seats and hightop bar stools, and the pool setup stretches throughout the waterfront, supplying you with choices, together with ingesting on the swim-up pool bar, or a relaxed nap time in one of many cabanas (for a charge).

Throughout my keep, most company had been {couples} or households with teenage kids. There gave the impression to be a 50-50 cut up between Mexicans and foreigners. I anticipated a louder, extra dynamic ambiance, however I feel everybody was tuckered out from New Yr’s Eve after I checked in on Jan. 2.

Though the lodge appeared solely 1 / 4 full throughout my two-night keep, I spoke to some from Oklahoma who had been company over New Yr’s, they usually mentioned it was very busy and troublesome to discover a solar lounger beside the swimming pools.

This can be a utterly smoke-free property, with no indoor or outside smoking areas.

The room

With my Diamond standing, I used to be upgraded from a base-level room with a partial ocean view to a superior ocean view room. The rooms are lengthy and slender and have a balcony with two snug outside chairs.

I saved the balcony door open the entire time throughout my keep because the room smelled musty; I’d’ve favored to have been capable of flip off the air conditioner, but it surely didn’t have an off swap. Because of the location of the swimming pools straight beneath, I may hear households enjoying within the pool in the course of the day, however at evening, the rolling waves helped lull me to sleep.

The king mattress was supremely snug, with 4 lengthy pillows and silky clean sheets. You’ll be able to see from the images that the interiors are tidy and nicely laid out however considerably drab and missing performance. The alarm clock was set 10 minutes behind time — a pet peeve of mine after I stroll right into a lodge room for the primary time — and had a wi-fi charging pad that did not work.

As for facilities, you will take pleasure in a 55-inch tv, a Nespresso machine and a choice of Coca-Cola drinks, beers and waters within the minifridge. This room lacks cupboard space — I ended up sprawling my suitcase out in the primary hallway straight subsequent to the entrance door. A mesh tote bag is supplied, which is beneficial for carrying gadgets to and from the swimming pools.

Though it appears to be like like a concrete slab, the broad daybed is snug for afternoon naps and watching tv, and the worktable was helpful for submitting tales and posts.

Shifting into the lavatory, I appreciated that the bathe had a small hole within the glass door to achieve in and begin the bathe with out getting the ground outdoors moist. Sadly, the water temperature was inconsistent throughout my keep, with sizzling water half the time and tepid water the opposite half.

The lodge notified company, with a bit of paper left at every visitor’s door, that the water can be utterly shut off for 3 hours in a single day. Refillable bathtub merchandise are supplied by Mexican apothecary Persea, which retails these bottles for about $15 every.

My favourite facet of the room was the beautiful view afforded by the balcony overlooking Banderas Bay.

Within the center day of my keep, I put a “make up room” signal on my door whereas I used to be having fun with the pool for 3 hours. I got here again to a room with an unmade mattress and no towel adjustments. Whereas I used to be left with a contemporary one-liter bottle of water, I anticipated a extra complete refresh. Provided that housekeeping providers appeared very spotty — with soiled room service trays left on the ground outdoors company’ rooms for hours on finish — a greater strategy might need been to contact the entrance desk to make sure a extra thorough cleansing service.

Other than the gymnasium, there are not any water refill stations all through the property; somewhat, it’s a must to ask for small bottles when eating and lounging by the pool, creating vital quantities of single-use plastic waste.

Foods and drinks

The Hilton Puerto Vallarta has seven eating places, together with Mexican, Italian and Japanese delicacies, and 4 bars. The opening hours for every institution change relying on the day, and the one restaurant requiring reservations is the steakhouse for dinner.

You will most probably eat breakfast on the important restaurant, which options an enormous buffet in addition to made-to-order omelet and quesadillas stations. Highlights of this eating possibility embrace a self-serve mimosa and bloody mary bar, chilaquiles and a donut wall.

For a morning snack, I had deliciously contemporary guacamole and pico de gallo from one of many poolside meals vehicles, accompanied by a mango mojito.

For lunch, it was seafood galore on the informal, coastal Cocomar restaurant by the seashore. I loved Peruvian-style octopus tiraditos and fried shrimp chimichangas, paired with a candy white wine included within the drink package deal. Dessert was a decadent vanilla and strawberry ice cream infused with salted caramel and banana.

For a day snack, I had bland hummus with chips from the meals truck and so determined to choose up a mediocre tuna sandwich and pear from the grab-and-go cafe — which doubles as a Starbucks, for a charge — within the foyer.

I used to be exhausted on my first evening, so I attempted the room service. Whereas the menu is offered on the web resort information, there is no such thing as a on-line ordering possibility, in order that’s finished over the telephone. I used to be quoted 35 minutes, and my meals arrived in 40. The combined salad, vegetarian pizza and chocolate cake all tasted as fundamental and flavorless as they seem within the photograph.

Nevertheless, the spotlight of my culinary expertise was Sunan, the Asian restaurant, for dinner on my closing evening. I used to be impressed by how genuine the (primarily) Japanese meals tasted, and I totally loved my three-course meal of miso soup, chilly rice noodle salad and shrimp tempura, accompanied by a (not-so-Japanese) piña colada.

This restaurant additionally has a sushi-only outpost on the ground above — and you have to be extra dressed up, e.g., males should put on lengthy pants to enter.

As for ingesting, you may select from 4 bars: the swim-up pool bar; Sky Deck bar; foyer bar; and a nighttime martini bar, which has a design that is downright miserable however there’s a pool desk for many who have an interest.

I couldn’t pay money for a drinks menu at any of the institutions. This was irritating as I’d’ve favored to have recognized which alcohol merchandise had been included in my room charge and I used to be interested in any specialty cocktails.

I did, nevertheless, spot an worker information to complimentary alcohol, which included manufacturers like Gray Goose vodka, José Cuervo tequila, Tanqueray gin, Jagermeister and Aperol, and two to 3 choices for every sort of wine (purple, white, rose and glowing).

Having mentioned that, I did respect that at no level from check-in all through my complete keep was I upsold on the premium drinks package deal, or on any premium experiences like renting a cabana. This low strain helped me loosen up and luxuriate in my time.

Facilities and repair

Let’s begin with a very powerful: the water choices. There are two swimming pools, a household one and an adults-only one, however there have been kids in each, so this was not enforced. If you wish to safe a chief place, it’s possible you’ll need to reserve a lounger with a few of your belongings early within the morning, ideally earlier than 8:30 a.m.

The swimming pools overlook a non-public, protected seashore. Nevertheless, there’s a rock barrier about 50 toes out and you may’t cross this. This makes this little bay appropriate for little ones to splash about when the waves are calm.

Given the towering western-facing lodge blocks the solar till the center of the day, you will need to head to the Sky Deck on the seventh flooring if you wish to catch rays in the course of the first half of the day. Though seating is proscribed, you may take pleasure in drinks from the bar and the 2 Jacuzzis overlooking the seashore.

You will get a exercise in on the medium-sized, considerably outdated gymnasium with all of the necessities you’d anticipate from a normal lodge.

Each day actions for kids and adults embrace biking courses, aqua health and seashore volleyball in the course of the day. At evening, you may play bingo, trivia and on line casino video games, or take pleasure in stay music or a silent disco (contributors put on wi-fi headphones).

The web was dependable at 66 Mbps obtain and add speeds throughout the constructing, however the sign weakened significantly on the pool and seashore, so you will need to use cell service there.

The youngsters membership runs each day actions for kids aged 4-12.

Other than unfriendly check-in workers, I discovered the visitor service elsewhere attentive and pleasant, particularly when eating. I do not know if I have been to a spot the place they table-touch so typically to make sure you have every thing you want, and they’re very proactive about drink refills.

Accessibility

The Hilton Puerto Vallarta Resort’s public areas, together with its entrance, registration desk, eating places, bars and health middle, are wheelchair-accessible. Wheelchairs can be found on-site. The oceanfront king-bed mobility entry rooms characteristic a roll-in bathe.

Nevertheless, this property doesn’t have a wheelchair pool raise, and different options like indicators with Braille and visible alert techniques weren’t noticeable throughout my go to.

Testing

The usual checkout time is 12 p.m., however company can benefit from the eating places and use the services till 2 p.m., after which the entrance desk workers will take away your wristband. As a Diamond member, I used to be given a 1 p.m. late checkout.

In all, I anticipated extra from the Hilton Vallarta Riviera All-Inclusive Resort, which is classed as a four-star lodge.

On the constructive aspect, it provides all kinds of eating choices, together with giant buffets, Mexican, Italian and Japanese delicacies, and loads of seafood. Whereas most dishes that I attempted had been unremarkable, I loved the made-to-order stations, contemporary guacamole by the pool, and the genuine Asian restaurant.

There are additionally plenty of locations to sit back out (the 2 swimming pools, Jacuzzis on the Sky Deck and the personal seashore) or to be extra lively — with the gymnasium and each day actions. The workers is usually attentive and pleasant, significantly within the eating areas.

What was obvious is that the lodge’s interiors are outdated and want an improve. Inconsistent sizzling water was a difficulty throughout my keep. The dearth of water refill stations all through the property additionally results in extreme single-use plastic waste. The restricted details about the drink choices and the weak Wi-Fi sign on the pool and seashore areas are additionally drawbacks.

Regardless of these negatives, the resort’s location is handy, with Puerto Vallarta’s Zona Romantica and the city of Mismaloya close by for exploring.