I've been going to this holiday inn for all my life, no joke. The service is good and I love the beach. All the Workers are friendly and helpfull. The rooms are clean and all of them have a view of the ocean. This hotel is also close to Gigante, where i suggest you buy your grocies, and all the shops. If you decide to stay in this hotel i suggest you go to the board walk on sunday evening, there is a festival with performances and food. There are also statues all along the coast. Overall i hope to keep going to this hotel, and i'm looking forward to this years trip. I must admit that doesn't say much for the hotel, but at the hotel there is always something happening. I love the shops and restraunts inside the Hotel. If you go out to the pool, there is always an activity be it water polo, bingo, or yoga. Music is always flowing from the rental hut, and the smell of tequila is always fresh at the bar. On the beach there is vollyball, sand castle competitions, boat rides, food carts, and much more. Thinking of getting married? why not do it at this hotel? It's out on the pier and wouldn't you love to say i do with a beautiful sunset background? A few nights a week there is a fiesta ontop of the restraunts roof. Because this holiday inn is set in the bay, dolphins protect the swimming areas and every day is an adventure. Come stay at Holiday Inn!
-posted by a satisfied customer

My family and I recently stayed at the Holiday Inn PV, we booked an all inclusive holiday through our travel agent and Transat holidays. This was to be a last family vacation for all of us together, as our 2 oldest boys are moving on with thier own lives. All 6 of us flew from Prince George direct to PV on March 15, and were all very excited to be there...that is of course until we arrived at our hotel. At first glance things appeared to be fine, the trees surrounding the hotel as well as the lawns were well groomed, the lobby appeared to be clean and the front desk staff worked through the bus load of vacationers quite quickly, however the minute we walked into our junior suite rooms #1134 and 1135 our excitement quickly faded. The rooms themselves were not quite what we had expected. I have travelled extensively both for business and pleasure but I can honestly say that I have never paid this kind of money for a set of rooms that I would be generous in giving a one star rating to.

The first thing I noticed was the mold growing in several locations throughout our very small, dimly lit bathrooms and what appeared to be a hole below our shower head was a large mold spot that perhaps the maid service had missed over the last 10 years of cleaning.

As I moved through the suite I quickly realized that the grainy tile under my bare feet was all the sand left from many previous renters, as the floors had quite obviously not been swept in quite some time.

At this point I attempted to console myself by opening our curtains to admire the ocean view, when I reached for the sliding door and tried to pull it back, it moved 2 inches and then would go no further. It was off the track, and judging by all the sand and rust on the metal track it had been this way for quite awhile.

While my husband attempted to fix the sliding door I sat on one of the 2 beds in the room and called the front desk to inquiry about perhaps changing our rooms, as I remained on hold I became aware of my sudden shortness of breath and the feeling that my throat was closing; when the front desk final responded, I requested that someone be sent to address our concerns and quickly hung up as by this point I was on the verge of fainting. As I existed the sleeping area I discovered the reason for my sudden change in health, I had passed a closet that my youngest daughter had opened and as I attempted to close the doors I was shocked to see a puddle of wet mold running down 2 of the three shelves. As I am deathly allergic to mold I ran out of the room and made my way to the front desk. I again request from the staff that we be moved from these rooms.
A very pleasant young girl tried to explain in very broken english that there were no other rooms avaliable for the night and that perhaps in the morning I could look at a room that would be vacanted by its present occupants. She did however send a maid who spent roughly 4 hours of our precious vacation time cleaning and bleaching the mold areas in both rooms.

Early the next moring after a very restless night I again attempted to switch out of these rooms, however was told that only one room was avaliable and that my husband, daughter and I would be placed in a different area than our 3 sons. This to me defeated the idea of a family vacation, we therefore remained in our less than exceptable rooms for the remainder of our stay.

On a more pleasant note, the pool was clean, the ocean view was beautiful matched only by the incredible sunsets.

My husband and I will return to PV for a second trip however will steer clear of the Holiday Inn.

We just returned from 1 week at the Holiday Inn

Background:
I have traveled to several all inclusive resorts in Mexico and the Dominican Republic from 3 star to 5 + stars. This was my boyfriends first trip to an all inclusive.

Hotel room:

I had emailed the resort in advance requesting a room with a king size bed away from the construction. We were very happy with our room - 829. We had two balconies; one overlooking the pool and 1 ocean view! Our room was clean when we arrived and was cleaned each day. I would compare the room to any chain hotel in Canada. There was no mold in our room. The shower head is really low but you only need to duck down slightly. The room is basic but adequate.

Pool:

There is one large pool at the resort with a swim up bar. We spent lots of time in the pool and found it was decently clean. There was sand at the bottom but that cannot be avoided given the proximity to the beach.

My only complaint is about reserving pool chairs. We got up early (7:30) to get our prime spot at the pool. We didn't simply reserve the chairs with a towel, one of us actually sat there starting at 7:30. Many people reserve the chairs with a towel or book and head back to bed. The rule is that after 30 minutes those chairs are fair game. If we hadn't found a place at the pool and saw chair vacant for 30 minutes I would have no problem placing those belongings on the ground behind the chair and claiming the chair for myself. We witnessed one altercation between a person on their balcony (who had reserved the chairs with a towel and gone back to their room) and a person taking their spot. The person taking the spot politely said the chairs had been empty for 30 minutes and therefore were fair game. The person on the balcony argued, but I guess realized it was a lost cause. If you are going to reserve chairs that is your choice, but do not demand to have the chairs back if you are absent for more than 30 minutes!

Food / Drink:

The food and drink was as good as we expected for a 4 star resort in Mexico. It wasn't the best food we've ever had, but it was definately edible. There was a variety of food and the different "theme" nights gave a nice variety. We enjoyed both a la carte restaurants. If you want 5 star food then do not stay at an all inclusive and sample the local cuisine.

Off the resort:

We made several trips off the resort. We made two trips to Wal - Mart for extra sunscreen and air mattresses for the pool. It is a 4 dollar cab ride each way. If you forget anything do not purchase it at the hotel at inflated prices, just take the trip to Wal - Mart. The hotel gift shop sells air mattress for the pool for 25 US. We got ours at Wal Mart for 2.50 US

We did a dune buggy tour booked on-line. It was a great excursion and we would go again! If you are interested in that google "dune buggying puerto vallarta" and book on - line as the tour operators did not off it.

Overall

We enjoyed our time at the Holiday Inn. We arrived with reasonable expectations that were met. The room was basic but sufficient and there was a nice variety to the food.

I have been to many destintations in Mexico because I like to go somewere different every year. This is my second time to PV (the first time was 13 years ago) and I love it here. When the sungoesdown the lights of the city reflect below the mountains my heart melts. The weather here is absolutely perfect and the beach is gorgeous. I was there the first week in feb 2008. Down town is a real treat for shopping and dining and drinking. Pipis was a terrific place to eat and fun was had by all and OH THE GIANT MARGARITAS.
Now for the downside. I realize the more a person travels the more you have to compare it to and there is good and bad in every place. We stayed at the Holiday Inn. It was not a dive by any means but dark and depressing is the first impression. The staff was nice and our room was fine. Clean , and our needs were met. We had a safe in our room but no fridge and the thing that ticked me off most of all was the warm drinks in our room were charged for. Usually all inclusives dont charge for in room drinks.
The water was also 4.00 US. Come on now. Our view was quite nice considering there is a new hotel being built right outside our balcony but it didnt really bother us. The food was fine. We never went hungry. The mexican restaurant was dont bother. The other one didnt give us enought to eat. The drinks were stronger than usual at all-inclusives and found that out the hard way but there isnt much of a selection. The service in the lobby bar was the worst I have ever seen. You couldnt catch a buzz because there was one lone not so friendly waiter who couldnt keep up. He was the only one working for the superbowl too and couldnt get his attention to get a drink.
Now for the best part. the pool is absolutely beautiful! The beach is absolutely beautiful. This location on the beach is one of the best I have ever seen. Whales were seen sometimes because they come here in the winter to breed and raise their young. Cute. loved it.
The airport is also the worst mess I have ever seen. You are stormed by people that swear at you when you dont beleive they are" your "people. If I hadnt been told this I who have traveled over a dozen times to Mexico would have been confused. BE SURE TO LOOK FOR YOUR WORRY FREE GUYS AND DONT BELIEVE ONE UNTIL YOU SEE YOUR NAME ON HIS LIST!!! They are out for sales for time shares and they call you dumb when you dont believe them.' Our' people are found through the glass doors outside.
Will I go back to PV? As soon as I possibly can. Will I stay at this Hotel? Probably not. Didnt hate it but my least favorite I've stayed at but the pool and beach was one of the best I've stayed at so what is important to you? We would rather have it that way.
ENJOY THIS BEAUTIFUL CITY!
Lori from Luck WI