We chose this hotel because we wanted to stay somewhere smaller that more accurately reflected Mexico. Barry (the owner) and his staff were warm, welcoming and full of good info. The suites are simple but beautiful, linen and towels are spotlessly clean. The spectacular
views are exactly as shown. Lovely pool and a nice exchange library. The Panorama restaurant and staff meet all expectations, especially the great coffees! Don't turn the stove on when the glass lid is down and bring good footwear for the uneven, cobbled streets.
Walk most places, catch buses- dead cheap. Hope you enjoy your stay as much as we did. We will go back

My girlfriend and i stayed here over the New Years Holidays and found it be an ideal get-a-way from the bussle of beach front accomadations yet close enough to enjoy a few nights on the town.

Our Junior suite was very spacious, well equiped and cleaned throughout everyday, all the staff where very nice and friendly. The decor has a Mexican feel, but be warned, it's not a spanky new place if that's what your use too. The kitchen was perfect for us as we both like to cook and the supermarket Lays was close enough for us to stock up on supplies. other comments...

The pool area is a wonderful little spot for chillin'
the suites are very private with the best possible views of the bay
there's some fabulous places to eat with a few blocks including Si Senor, Mestizo and if you fancy a real splash out Hacinda San Angel is about a 10 min walk. I didn't eat in El Panorama so i can't comment about the food here.
The cable TV showed a lot of English soccer and my favorite TV show Da Vinci's Inquest - a bonus for me not my girlie.
The owner Barry and all his staff made the New year holidays a lot of fun. And the price is right.
Possible turn off's for some people would be....
the reception and general areas could do with a lick of paint.
it's half way up a hill so there is some walking to do (a taxi is $4).
there is some noise from the nightclubs and bars - our suite had a separate bedroom and we could close the door, but if your a very light sleeper then ear plugs could be handy.
it's a busy place holiday spot, including packed beaches - not a get away from people vacation here. if you want to get away from people check out San Pancho 1 hour north

enjoy.

Tim.

I live in Mexico half time and had never been to Puerto Vallarta. I researched the American owned hotel here at TripAdvisor and found the experience pleasant. The problem is that Puerto Vallarta is a poor copy of Waikiki except that it is dirtier and noisier. The noise volume emanating from sound systems in discos and other sources was deafening through to 4 a.m. Christmas Eve. I had earplugs on and had all of the windows closed in the suite. The restaurant atop the hotel called the Panorama is very expensive but the view is quite wonderful. Go up there and look around for free.

Prices for inferior restaurants are exhorbitant by American standards, so why pay more in Mexico? Generally, packages offered for a Waikiki type vacation are a better value overall from the mainland.

I cannot overemphasize the Waikiki aspect of this experience. It is so obvious that PV is out to copy it exactly and that is a shame since Mexico has so much more distinctive to offer.

I recommend a quieter beach resort in Mexico and avoiding PV and, of course, Acapulco.

The main reason why we chose this hotel was because of its location and price. Paid only about $53 per night for a junior suite which had a bedroom, small bathroom area, living room, and balcony. The view from our room was pretty nice, but since we were on the 1st floor, it wasn't as nice as the ones on expedia.

The service was pretty good. The cleaning ladies always gave us fresh towels and cleaned the room spotless. They actually mop the floors which I did not know. But one thing I must say is that the beds are not very comfortable. But I think that most beds in Mexico are quite hard. So I was pretty prepared for that. You could always go to WalMart and get an egg foam mattress.

There are about 100 steps down from the hotel into downtown. You walk down, pass a mexican restaurant called Si Senor and then a couple of blocks and you are right by a bank and the Malecon. We loved walking on the Malecon every night that we could. We went during the Virgin of Guadalupe Festival so there were lots of taco stands there on the 12th, but after that there were not much in the area. But there is always food on the Malecon, which is more busy on Saturday and Sunday. There were artists drawing pictures, a guy stacking rocks, and a few acrobatics. And you also get to watch the fireworks from the Pirate Ship.

Ok... now back to the hotel. In our room, 10A, there were just a couple of things that we didn't like. First of all, my boyfriend didn't like it that the bed faces the entrance (some superstition thing). Also, in the restroom shower, the left handle leaked water so we had to put a small towel to keep it from getting on the floor. But the staff was very nice and accomodating.

There is also a small room in the hotel that has two computers which guests can use for 12 pesos per hour. But I believe that guests that stay for atleast 7 days can use it for free. Too bad we found out about this the day we left.