When we took this vacation, basic rooms at good, major resorts/hotels were running $300+/night. For that, you get a king size bed, a balcony on the ocean, and maybe a small suite.

For ~$350/night at Vallarta Shores we got Penthouse A (the larger of the two penthouses) -- a 3 bedroom extravaganza larger than any apartment I've ever lived in. The common space is gigantic, including a full kitchen, a living room, a dining area, and a decent sized, private pool. (Look at the pictures on their website.) If that weren't enough, the rate included a chef who cooked us two meals a day at only the cost of the groceries. Dulce (our chef) was great -- she watched and played with our infant daughter during most of our meals, and made delicious fare throughout.

The staff was very friendly, cleaned the place daily, and provided a crib and high chair for our daughter.

Finding this place took a fair bit of research, but once you know about it (and now you do, given that you're reading this), I can't imagine staying at a hotel.

The only downside (if there is one), is that Vallarta Shores is at the end of the Romantic Zone, at the tail of Playa los Muertos. Getting into Centro, or even the heart of the Romantic Zone, is a bit of a walk. On this plus side of that, though, this meant the beach outside Vallarta Shores was never crowded, even on the busiest day. And there is a taxi stand a half block from Vallarta Shores, where there were always taxis waiting.

If you're planning on staying in PV, I strongly reccommend giving this place a good look. Ask for Penthouse A and Dulce. (And while you're at it, plan a trip to Oaxaca and Puerto Escondido, both of which we liked better than PV for reasons unrelated to Vallarta Shores.)

We stayed at Vallarta Shores for three nights. After leaving Cancun for PV because of bad weather in the Yucatan, we started out staying at the Marriott Casamagna in the Marina. The hotel is great, but too far from the center of town and the Romantic Zone, where we seemed to be spending all our time. On a walk along the beach we happened across Vallarta Shores and decided to see if there was anything available. They had the room on the ground floor for the following few nights, so for $80 we took it. The following day we moved in, and ten minutes later moved out. The ground room floor is so rank from mildew and mold that we couldn't take it for more than a few minutes, even with all the windows open. And this is AFTER the recent remodel. We went and spoke to Jorge and Dulce, who kindly moved us up to room 6 on the second floor. From then on we had a great stay! There is a real authentic feel to this place. Our spacious one-bedroom suite had a long balcony overlooking the boardwalk and beach. There is AC in the bedroom only, but the nights were cool and we never turned it on. We ate all our meals out, but the kitchen seemed pretty wel equipped, and had a purified water dispenser. The bathroom had a large shower spacious vanity. The room was very quiet at night; no noise from the boardwalk at all (though the crashing waves from the ocean are right outside the windows - it was hard to sleep until we got used to them). Laundry and maid service were great. The best thing about this place is the location - right on the boardwalk, minutes to Olas Altas, Carranza and the Romantic Zone, easy to get taxis to other parts of town. We also walked south to Conchas Chinas to take in the breathtaking villas. The beach in front of the hotel is wide, clean, and has quite a large number of restaurants serving right on the beach. Internet cafes and coffee shops are within a 5-minute walk; our favorite beach restaurant, La Palapa, is about a 10-minute walk. We would definitely stay here again, preferably in a penthouse suite, but even the second floor was great.

A group of 6 of us stayed in Penthouse B at Vallarta Shores between 6/14/06-6/22/06. This place is beautiful. It has a real Mexican charm to it and has nice space for spreading out. I really like the location because it was right on the beach and within walking distance to most anyplace in town, but it was not in the mainstream area of town and that kept traffic away.

There were a few downfalls as with anyplace. The air conditioning in the three bedrooms was inconsistent. One room was very cool, the next somewhat cool, and the master bedrooms air never really worked properly, it came on, but did not cool. There were bugs here and there, but most of the space was opened to the fresh air and that is understandable. No mosquitos at this time of the year.

The chef was unbelievable. Every meal was excellent. By day 3 we gave him free reign to make whatever he wanted for us. Never disappointed. The staff as a whole were very friendly and accomadating. A couple of times I felt like I was getting a minor run-around, but nothing that disturbed my vacation.

I will probably return and stay at Vallarta Shores in the future. I will make reeservations well in advance so that we can get Penthouse A, which is bigger and nicer than B.

My wife and I spent a week in a one bedroom suite at Vallarta Shores, and we absolutely loved it! It is a very authentic, spacious room with the the ocean at your doorstep. What we loved the most about it was its location. One, it's oceanfront and two, the hotel is located in Old Vallarta where all of the local shops and restaurants are located. You're a short walk from the downtown where it's twice as busy with all of the tourists, and of course all of the commercial merchants. Who wants to go to Mexico to eat at McDonalds or shop at Wal-Mart. Old Vallarta is the place to be, with cobblestone streets, local restaurants and shops, and plenty of live musicians can be heard in different restaurants/bars by wandering the streets. Incredible sunsets are waiting for you at Vallarta Shores. The only notch I have of this place, and it was mentioned in a previous review, was that there is this musty smell, but to be honest, once we're in the room, we simply opened up both sets of garden doors and let the fresh ocean breeze in. It certainly wasn't enough to deter us, nor was it enough to highly recommend this beautiful and memorable place.