We read several of the reviews here prior to booking this hotel, so let me first say that we had an excellent experience. But let me also start by addressing some of the complaints we heard:

Hard Beds/Pillows: These may not be pillow top mattresses, but unless that is your standard, the beds & pillows are just fine and we wouldn't have even thought to notice them if we hadn't heard otherwise. I would describe them as comfortable, but firm. But that is what we prefer, so no complaints here!

Too far out of town: Yes, this is south of town, but in our minds this was a plus. We felt the quiet peace of this hotel's setting, and enjoyed being away from the commotion of downtown. It was so nice to be able to relax without any traffic/city noise. And it is easy to get to town if you need to. We went to town 3/5 nights, and it was about 60 cents each on the bus and ~$10 by taxi. Both were very convenient, just pick your price.

As far as things I recommend: The service is great! We were upgraded to a 9th floor suite with a jacuzzi in the room at no extra cost (we booked a 3rd or 4th floor standard room). They didn't give us a reason (such as overbooked, etc), we were just notified of this at checkin. All of the staff are very friendly and helpful. Next, the setting is beautiful! You can't beat the beach and we had a view of Los Arcos. Also, the pool was very clean, the only complaint is that it is closed at night. The setting is northwest facing, limiting morning sun which others have mentioned, but guess what - when you don't get morning sun you get excellent afternoon light!

Things to do: We rented their kayaks and went to Los Arcos, very fun and much more exciting than a tour boat. Also, if you take the bus South down to Boca La Tomatlan you can take water taxis to other beaches.

One other thing. Some people have mentioned suprise fees. We booked through the hotel website, and yes, there were quite a few fees, but they were all spelled out very clearly, so if you are aware of this ahead time you can factor it into your cost. We chose the breakfast included option, and their buffet was amazing! It was only available on the weekend, but this was a slow time and hardly anyone was there, so I imagine they would do the buffet all the time during the busy times. Either way, when the buffet wasn't available the ordered breakfasts were excellent.

Overall, the food was great - but outside of the inclusive breakfasts the price for the food/drinks was a bit pricey relative to town. If you plan on eating there a lot, maybe get the all-inclusive option... otherwise, just something to be aware of.

So maybe we prefer being out of town and firm mattresses, and if you don't, this isn't the place for you, but if you like those things - I would recommend this hotel to anyone.

The location of this hotel is excellent. Sierra Madre Mountains as a back drop, and all rooms have ocean views. The beach is small, but as good as beach gets in P.V.

The lobby area has great open space, nice decor, and wonderful ocean views. The rooms also have great views, especially the highter floors, but the decor is outdated, the towels are worn and rough, some of the tiles, dented or broken, the furniture stained. However the room was clean as well as bedding. Bed and pillow were very comfortable.

The staff, especially Abril, and Esmeralda, were rude. Some of the other staff were just a bit distant and cold. There are some staff, such as Douglas, and Julio who were very professional and friendly. Julio is a manager who was very recently transferred from another location and working on improving guests experience.

The breakfast buffet was good albeit a bit pricey, but during lower season, buffet no available, and the three times I ordered room service, the food was still expensive, but not tastey, and some just plain bad; old greasy hasbrown patties, tiny portion of fruit plate with browning bananna and old mango.

Was particularly dissapointed with the service. Although in the end Julio, new hotel manager, was helpful and flexible, and Douglas was just professional, friendly and with great customer service skills, but much of the other staff, especially Abril and Esmeralda, were just plain rude.

Most of all, BEWARE OF THE SURPRIZE EXTRA CHARGES THAT WILL BE ADDED TO YOU TAB AS A "SERVICE FEE" for every night of stay. A four star hotel should not charge gusts extra for using coffee in the room. They should not charge extra for providing towes, or access to a gym. They should not charge a service fee for a childrinds activity center that was closed the whole time I was there. I just felt like I had to be on the defensive at this hotel to avoid being taken advantage of (after a few bad expriences.)

We booked at the Presidente Intercontinental for two days after being in a 3 star all-inclusive resort in Nueva Vallarta, so my review rather compares the experience of the two resorts, especially as the all-inclusive resort was quite inexpensive compared to the Presidente.

First, the Presidente IS beautiful, although it's still made entirely of concrete, as are most buildings in Mexico. Even the bed frame was concrete! But everything at the Presidente is painted bright white, which makes it feel nicer.

The staff was very friendly. However, we had a bad experience with the laundry service. They promise "Get it to us by 9am, and we'll have it back to you that day." Well, by 9pm we didn't have our laundry back, , so I called the front desk. They promised to track it down. After an hour I'd heard nothing so I called again - the man promised to call me back in 15 minutes with an answer. No call. The next morning I called again, as we were checking out at noon. It was delivered to us late morning. I was not happy!

Our room had two queen beds for 3 people. But there were only 2 bath towels. I called down to the desk and they said they would send another towel, but one never came. The next morning I called again and they brought the 3rd towel - but when the maids came to clean, they left us only 2!

The restaurants are VERY expensive. The breakfast buffet, while excellent, was $20 USD. The Italian restaurant was very nice, but the food...well..I asked - in Spanish - for a simple dish of spaghetti for my son. Now, we'd seen some pretty funny spaghetti in PV, so I pointed to another menu item that featured marinara sauce, and explained that I wanted lots of marinara. Well, what arrived was a plate of noodles covered in seafood! (La mer...) I had to laugh. But that was the most expensive plate of spaghetti I've ever paid for at $16! Total bill for 3 people, with 3 glasses of their cheapest wine, was over $100. Ouch.

The hotel gym is very nice - a large room with treadmill, 2 bikes, and a weight machine.

The business center features 4 or 5 computers, but no print capability. Frustrating.

The pool is beautiful, but fairly shallow. It even has a 10" deep section. Read the signs and DON'T DIVE!. Has a swim-up bar and grill. Unfortunately, the grill closes at 5pm. Only dinner choice is the aforementioned Italian place.

So, yes, the Presidente is a nice place, if money is no object and you like the feel of luxury.

It was a great place, but a little far out; the food was great; the beach was small, but a nice quiet location.