Overall, we were very pleased with the Riu Jalisco - it was our first time in Puerto Vallarta. We went July 12-19th so it was the start of the rainy season and it seemed to rain about every night. Service was excellent (people were the nicest), pools were nice (4th floor closest to the pool/beach) , rooms met the need (beds hard), and the food was mostly above average (very good breakfast) - my wife/kids are picky eaters so that's important. I saw a lot of complaints from other posters that the rooms were humid but it's what we expected (it's 90+ degrees everyday with 90% humidity!) so we kept the air blasting every day with the ceiling fan going. Definitely recommend the Rodizio, the speciality Brazilian steakhouse restaurant -- it was never an issue getting signed up. We were able to score a cheap 2nd room for our kids so my wife and I had a room to ourselves so that was sweet. We were always up by 7 am to get a good breakfast, get towels and get a spot reserved in some shade at the pool -- never a problem. They will make fresh eggs or pancakes if you ask them so you can guarantee they will be hot. My recommendations?
- do a day trip to downtown Puerto Vallarta -- get there as early as 9 am to beat the heat. Just avoid the people selling timeshares.
- be respectful to the people that work there - we always got treated well anyway but we befriended some of the staff and they bent over backwards to help us - bartenders, waiters/waitresses, mgmt, etc. I'm a tipper by nature and a couple bucks here and there really mean a lot.
- do a day trip to Las Caletas - a former John Huston paradise that was a good day trip with a great beach and other activities.
- bring bug spray and use a lot of sunscreen; sometimes at night by the beach the bugs would come out biting but seemed to coincide with the rains the night before.

Overall, we had a great trip. That said, if it was just my wife and I, we would do an adults-only resort -- there's just a lot of kids which was expected at a family resort such as this. Some couples complained that there were kids in both pools but per our Apple rep, there was no designated adult pool. Adults: if you can't stand kids and don't want them at your resort, go to an adult-only one.

Let me start by saying my husband & I booked this trip 3 days in advance so I may be partly to blame for not doing more research.
This is not a 4 star hotel as mention under FUNJET vacations . It's a 21/2-3 star. The hotel structure is nice the staff is wonderful and the waiters, waitresses and bartenders were very attentive. The hotel was very clean (except for the men bathroom need the 2nd floor bar)and you will always awake to the goundkeepers cleaning to keep the ground beautiful. Depending on your food preference there are so many different kind of food and desserts(you will never be hungry) breakfast was always great sometime alittle cold by the time yo make it to your table. The bed is very hard so ask for a egg crate for the mattress. THERE WAS NOT AIR CONDITIONING only a ceiling fan. Very warm, humid nights. It wasn't so bad in other areas of the hotel. This was our first trip to PVR, Mexcio and overall we enjoyed the stay. Unfortnately we will not return to this hotel only because there was not air conditioning and the bed was extremely hard.

This was not my first time to travel to Mexico so I have an idea of what to expect. When we arrived at the Riu Jalisco my room was ready but my father's wasn't. We were told it would be ready in an hour but it wasn't. They keep putting it off. When we finally went up to our rooms the smell of mildew was terrible. They also do not have enough towels for the size of the resort. When we went to get our towels for the pool we were told it would be two hours. My dad then went to ask for his towel and was told the same thing. A hispanic women walked up right after him and was handed a towel. On another occasion my dad tried to go get some lunch in the restaurant by the pool. He was told he could not get anything without a shirt on, so he went and put a shirt on. A few minutes later a hispanic man walked in without a shirt and was able to eat in the restaurant. The food was pretty good in the Asian and Brazilian restaurant and the grounds were very nice. Overall, it was okay but favoritism was definitely played to the local people everywhere you went!

We booked this hotel for our Honeymoon June 30-July 6. When we first arrived, we LOVED it because we had never been to Mexico before and it was our first experience with an all-inclusive. My opinion of Riu Jalisco dwindled throughout the week, but we still had an amazing vacation.

The worst part about the hotel was the food. My advice is to go early to buffet-style eating and MAKE RESERVATIONS for supper. To make reservations, you need to get up early in the morning and go down stairs and wait in line. It sucks. But it's the only way to get decent food. We ate at the Brazilian restaurant once while we were there and it was the only good food we got at the resort. The restaurants smell unpleasant because of all the mingled mix of all different types of food. If you're eating breakfast, also go early. Breakfast is hectic in the two restaurants, but the food is pretty good. Many times the coffee machines are empty or not working, and the waiters are too busy to bring you coffee, so you are practically done eating by the time you get it.

Another con, as mentioned in many reviews, is all the kids in the adult pool. There is a great kid-pool with slides, etc. but the adult pool with the bar was always full of kids. The water was warm, and my husband and I would be enjoying a fruity drink when we'd get splashed by a rowdy child on a floaty thing and we'd wonder where the parents were. Probably at the bar. That sucked.]

We got massages at the beach-side spa. The massage itself was great!!! (If expensive) The downside is that the spa is located right on the beach next to the daytime entertainment. I pictured a relaxing massage listening to the waves, but instead got a great massage with a crappy atmosphere of kids screaming and hotel staff dressed in opposite gender clothing doing the Macarena :(

The bars are great. Our favorite was the outside bar on the right hand side when facing the theater. Leo is the best bartender I''ve ever seen.

Another great thing about the hotel is the party atmosphere. Different entertainment every night, dancing at the Disco, tequila jello shots downstairs. We loved the fun staff and there was never any shortage of drinks.

We stayed on the 6th floor and our balcony faced the courtyard, so we had a great room. Maid service was outstanding. Unfortunately on the 4th of July during a torrential rainstorm, our roof leaked onto our bedside table where we were charging our camcorder, cell phone, and camera. All of our electronics were soaked when we woke up and none worked. We spoke with the assistant manager, and she told us to contact the corporate RIU. We haven't had time yet, but what they do for us will greatly affect my opinion of the RIU.

My advice if you are staying here is: GO to town. Shopping in the market and eating at local restaurants is AWESOME. Do some adventures--we did Canopy adventure, swam with dolphins, and did Rhythms of the Night. SO MUCH FUN.