13 years ago, my husband and I saw La Jolla de Mismaloya from a tour boat and were so impressed, we decided we would visit someday. So... on our second trip to Puerto Vallarta, we decided to spend 4 nights at La Jolla de Mismaloya followed by a week at our PV condo. We stayed at La Jolla from 4/8 through 4/12/2008 and were not disappointed at all.

We opted for the standard (deluxe) room and were given room 1206, which is in building 1 on the 2nd floor. During check-in, we asked if it was one of the renovated rooms (it was). Balconies on the 2nd floor (of building 1 and also, it seems, of building 2) were extra-large--bigger than balconies on any other floor.

The room itself was beautiful. It had marble floors throughout (so much better than carpeting in US hotels--you can be sure they are clean). The living room had a pull-out sofa that could sleep two and a nice-sized LCD TV; a sliding door provided privacy from the rest of the unit.

The bathroom was decent-sized with a large marble shower that had a huge shower head. Continuing to the bedroom, another sliding door could be used for its privacy. A coffee maker (re-stocked daily with new coffee supplies), safe, and refrigerator were integrated with the spacious wall of closets. The refrigerator was stocked with a variety of snacks and drinks (alcoholic and non), most of which were available no-charge on the all-inclusive plan. Bottled water was also provided and replenished as needed.

The bedroom was large and had a comfortable king-size bed, couch, table and chairs, and another large LCD TV. It had a ceiling fan and separate thermostat (the living room had both, too). Bedroom curtains were much-appreciated room-darkeners.

Sliding glass doors led to the big balcony which was furnished with a wrought-iron table and chairs. A towel rack was installed on the balcony--a nice touch to accommodate wet towels and bathing suits. (Watch for bird droppings.) Though the room was "standard," we had a great view of the beautiful grounds and of the ocean.

Buffet meals were just fine. Breakfast was our favorite, because everything was uniformly good. Pastries were yummy, as were the breakfast "croissants" (in the pancake area) one could smother in caramel, chocolate, or vanilla sauce. The egg lady was a perfectionist in her preparation of omelets and eggs (and would even throw away an imperfectly cooked egg). All lunch and dinner buffets had a large selection and we could always find dishes that were well-prepared. Dinners were often themed, such as Italian or Asian, so each night's offerings were different. My husband especially liked Italian night, though make-your-own pasta (and Mexican dishes) were available at every dinner. Some of the Asian foods were tasty, but were very different from the tastes we were used to. I adored the guacamole and ate it as much as I could. The chiles rellenos were outstanding. Lunch and dinner included desserts and ice cream. With the exception of some (or sometimes most) ice cream flavors, dishes were always available and replenished.

Generally, a 7-night stay allows one dinner at Don Quixote and one dinner at Los Arcos, the two a la carte restaurants. A 3-night stay allows one dinner at either restaurant. When we stayed, it seemed to be a low season with less demand, so we were told we could just ask the Concierge and he would probably make reservations for whenever we asked. We did go to Don Quixote and had an excellent meal with very good service.

Speaking of service, it was impeccable. Our room was clean and we never wanted for anything. Waiters were almost always attentive (I can only think of one meal, when we arrived toward the end of serving hours, that the waiter seemed distracted and forgetful). Bar service by the beach and pool was great. Yes, we did tip everyone, but since we had different servers and rarely saw the same server twice, tips did not influence our service at all--it was just plain good.

The Reception desk exchanged dollars to pesos at a very competitive rate.

Entertainment was provided every night. We saw only one show, the Mexican one, and it was fantastic. It was performed outdoors and the echoes just magnified the sounds of the dancers' feet. The mariachi band was one of the best we've seen and the entire troup was very talented in their performance of Mexican Folkloric music and dance. We've seen several similar shows, but this was a close second--though much smaller--to the Folkloric Ballet in Mexico City.

The beach was decent-sized (many beaches in the PV area suffered after Hurricane Kenna, but this one is still adequate). It was much less crowded than the pool deck and was very peaceful except for the occasional beach vendor. La Jolla attempts to keep vendors out by asking them to stay outside barrier ropes, but vendors don't always follow the rules (though they sure do when the security guard appears).

Speaking of pools, the main pool was beautiful, the kiddie pool was nice (though seemingly not used much) with a water slide, and a separate "sports" pool was used for volleyball games. As an early riser, I saw many guests furtively placing towels and other placeholders on chairs in the early morning hours. By 8:00, all umbrella-shaded chairs were "reserved." Nothing was done to prevent it, though it was against the published rules. Spending time on the beach and, on occasion, coming back later in the day to vacated pool chairs was fine with us.

The Activities staff seemed to have something going at all times, but we learned the trick was to watch the board by the pool, rather than go by the published schedule in our check-in packet. Same goes for the show times, which could change from the times published. Any questions could be answered by Activities staff, who were always present.

A game room and a well-equipped (I never had to wait for a treadmill) exercise room were also on-site, as was a Chico's water sports kiosk (from where we got complimentary kayaks).

If it were possible, I would not give La Jolla a 4 rating but would give it 4-1/2. I did not give it a 5 just because the food was variable--some very good and some very mediocre--at each lunch and dinner buffet. With that said (and with my limited experience), I have not had better food at any other all-inclusive resort. But since I have had better buffet food on some (but definitely not all) cruise ships, I know an excellent buffet is possible.

We had a wonderfully relaxing and carefree experience!

This review is coming late...my fiance and I stayed here last June of 2007. I'm an experienced all-inclusive traveller and can tell you this is an awesome resort.

When we arrived, we were upgraded to a two-room suite, and nope we did not ask, but were pleasantly surprised when we walked in to our room.

The buffet was average but they are all the same to me at all AI resorts. Be sure to make reservations to the restaurants upon your arrival. This will be the best place to eat on property.

The beach is small and we never had a problem finding a lounge chair. We didn't experience any bug problems. We also didn't have any trouble finding a lounge chair, yes maybe early in the morning, but come on...most people don't lay out by the pool ALL DAY LONG. Also, if you want a massage, you can walk over to the "public beach side" and get one for $30 rather than $60 at the hotel spa.

Activities are listed on the board by the pool every day so be sure to check the schedules. There is plenty to do and please take a taxi ride into town! We had so much fun shopping and drinking cerveza at ten in the morning! (hey it was hot and we're on vacation)

The sports bar we partied at was open until late in the evening and be warned, the tequila is served in double shot glasses! Yes we missed our tour the next day because we had too much fun the night before. During the day your drinks can get warm, so you might want to bring an insulated cup from home.

Our room was cleaned every day but yes, use your hotel safe. My fiance left some money in his shorts pocket and it did come up missing. However, we didn't let that affect our vacation.

The staff was friendly, our rooms were clean and very nice and would return. This is a wonderful resort!

I feel like we must have stayed at a different resort - some of these complaints are completely unfounded! We have been on at least 20 different trips - most in the Caribbean - but this was our 5th time to Puerto Vallarta - first time at this resort. Having read many of the reviews posted on this site, we were a bit skeptical about our choice, but went with an open mind. Yes, there isn't much beach, water is not the Caribbean blue, not many activities, but we thought the rooms were probably the best we have stayed in. Food was typical buffet food - but never went away hungry. Took a lot of great side-trips. Resorts are what you want to make out of them - we had a great time, and will go back in a heartbeat.

We were at this resort from April 12 - 19th. Check in was fast and we were upgraded to the Club Level. (Thank you Lupita). The rooms were recently updated. We had the 1 bedroom suite on the 8th floor with a great ocean view. The pool side service was great. The food at the buffet was below average based on other all inclusives we have been. There was virtually no entertainment staff during the day, which made the day boring. The shows at night were well below average. The pool area was very nice and clean. Now for the worst part of the vacation.
THE BUGS!!!! The group we were with had so many bug bites, the spray we brought along did not even help. The resort told us the bugs were coming from the mountains and they were fogging the area. It did not help, there were so many people at the resort with bug bites. The waitress by the pool kept giving us limes to relieve the itching. The resort really needs to take action regarding the bug situation.

Not sure if I would go back to this resort based on our recent stay. We were at the Dreams Resort 2 years ago and did not have any of these issues.