We just returned from a wonderful week at Canto del Sol. Don't believe the negative reviews! The hotel is clean, the staff is very agreeable, and the other guests (mostly from Canada) were delightful. There are vendors on the beach but they leave you alone if you tell them no. If you do buy something, that vendor will greet you every day. The timeshare talk is offered, but not pushed after you turn it down. Our first room was in the older section , but they changed us to a better room the next day. Hard to complain about a balcony with a view of the Pacific and the sound of waves all night! Don't miss the sunsets-they are spectacular! Would we return? You can bet we would!

The Canto Del Sol was EXACTLY what we were looking for!

Good price, Great location,Great Staff, Clean Rooms, The grounds are very well kept, The food was nothing to complain about! (And My Boyfriend Can be Picky!) We were doing other things at night so we did not try the "a le carte" dinners but heard the steak house is delicous. THe Snack bar was also great for the afternoon.

The hotel staff did anything necessary to make our stay better, not to mention they LOVE canadians there!

Everymorning the breakfast was made to order (if you wish) & non stop nice strong Mexican Coffee!

It was just my boyfriend and i and we found plenty to do in Puerto Vallarta. Try the tours they are all very safe & worth the money!

A friend and I traveled to the Canto Del Sol from Mar. 27 to Apr. 3rd, 2008. As 3 star resorts go, we found this to be a "nice" resort. The grounds were beautiful and the staff were friendly and helpful. The front desk staff were also friendly and good humored, which was a rare find for me coming to Mexico for the 3rd time.

I was surprised to find that P.V. was very commercialized. If I had done more research before going, I probably would have realized it, but it was a little over whelming and much busier than I thought it would be.

Our check-in was fairly painless, although they could not accommodate me with a non-smoking room at the time as they said they were full.

Once check-in was complete, we were sent to another desk in the lobby to receive our towel cards. The towel lady gave us our information and proceeded to show us some great reduced rates for excursions around P.V. Half price for some! The only catch? You guessed it, TIMESHARE presentation.

This kind of turned me the wrong way, as we were hit right off the bat by the towel lady... but we knew coming here that there was going to be some timeshare pressure.

We found out that it was going to be quite expensive to make a long distance phone call from the resort. I found a phone card dispenser just outside the lobby that sold phone cards for about $10 U.S. That gave me about 15 minutes to Canada.

Across the street, at the Villa Vallarta mall, we found a nice internet cafe with phone service. It also had 3 little phone booths for privacy. Calls to U.S. and Canada were only 20 cents a minute! Needless to say, all our calls were made from there for the duration of our stay. Use of a computer and internet was only $1.50 per hour.

After the first night at the resort I realized I'm going to have to get my room changed to non-smoking. I woke up with a horrible cough from all the smoke coming into the room from the bottom of the adjoining room door and the ventilation system. At the time, I was located in room 128 facing a back alley.

I spoke to the front desk and they told me they only had 1 more room left, room 136. The second night was better but the rest of the week was back to a smoke filled room as the room next door became occupied by a smoking couple. My friend who stayed in room 390 also had problems coughing from the smoking areas. I've since been to a doctor and was prescribed an inhaler and was advised that the cough was due to the smoke exposure and should clear up in a couple of weeks.

I'm not sure if my stay would have been more comfortable if I was given non-smoking room or not, as I did not have the chance to stay in one. The smoking issue was really the only problem I had with this resort; albeit not a small problem for me.

Away from the resort we enjoyed the flea market and downtown area. Only a $5 taxi ride away. We also went to see a bull fight near the marina. If you don't have the stomach to watch a bull get killed, I wouldn't suggest going. There were a few unsuspecting tourists we saw leaving early with tears in their eyes.

We found the food to be good at the buffet and Italian restaurants, and GREAT at the Mexican restaurant. We also tried the breakfast on the patio in front of the snack bar one morning. Great views and food.

All in all it was a good vacation but I don't think I'll be returning as I like to try new places each vacation.

We just returned last friday from our trip to canto del sol. i went with a girlfriend of mine for spring break, ages 18 and 17 (by ourselves! hahaha) We couldn't have asked for anything more! Check in was a breeze and the front desk people were very accomodating. From renting laptops, to getting the lock and key for the inroom safe...even at 2 in the morning when we came home from the clubs and my toe was bleeding from broken glass lol, they helped me out with bandaids and rubbing alcohol. My friend and I felt very safe, which was something we were concerned about. Every time we left the hotel, the bellboy would take the taxi number and your hotel number, and do the same when you returned back to the hotel...anytime. so they always knew where you were.
the pool was clean and nice temp. the bars were always fully stocked and you got helped quickly. we went to the steak and mexican a la cartes. they were both really good. Especially the mexican! you HAVE to try the mexican coffee!!! so good! the buffet was your typical mexican buffet. nothing special, but there was never anything disgusting hahah. the one thing that i wasn't 100% happy about was the beach. it was small and crowded and really rocky. but the temp was refreshing, and it was always clear. because we had such a great experience, the size and rockiness hardly bothered us. there are lots of beach vendors too, just to let you know. There is also parasailing, banana boats, jet skis, kayaks, catamerans...
Our room was beautiful. We had a full kitchen and bathroom, a living room, and a separate bedroom with a king-size bed. and we didnt request any of it! hahah it was sweet. We also had a balcony, but unfortunately it looked out over a tennis court. But how much time do you actually spend in your room right? No problem hahah.
The hotel is located in this cute little town of its own almost. Cobble-stone streets (be careful when you're walking, you could break your ankle...even in flats). The taxi rides into the malecon were 40 pesos ($4 usd). Watch out if your coming home late at night...they like to bump it up, we got anything from 50-70 pesos. and they didnt usually take no for an answer at that time...although they were all very nice.
My friend and I felt very safe even in the town. We were there during Easter, so there was a big carnival type of celebrations in town. There were just as many locals that stayed at the hotel as tourists.
If your lookng for nightlife, senor frogs is a must...with the free tequila shots flowing, also, zoo bar is a lot of fun and hilo (hilo is really small and crowded though.) Those were all smaller clubs, but if you're looking for something big...hit up Collage. HUGE. Over 900 people there when we went for a foam party. That's right, a foam party. As for favoritet restaurant in town...PIPI'S!!! AWESOME!
So basically, everyone and everything at canto del sol was perfect for us two girls. Definitely would recommend it for young people and coouples, or families with teenagers. Thats not to say that it was a crazy party resort or anything. There were a lot of families there, with little kids, but I just don't know what they thought about the accomodations for children. Overall.....GREAT EXPERIENCE. CAN'T WAIT FOR NEXT YEAR!