Melia Puerto Vallarta

Generally a good hotel with attentive staff. Showed its age in places but constantly being maintained. Our bathroom fan fixed within an hour of being reported. Nightly entertainment for kids & adults, DJ in lounge, weekly Mexican night with decorations, dinner and mariachi band. [Details]

I loved it ! The Lobby was huge spacious with access to elevator's, stair's up or down, plus an assortment of merchandise Store, on the lobby floor. The staff at the Buffet couldn't do enough for you and made sure you have everything you need. The food was excellent at the Buffet [Details]

This was an ok hotel, it needs some love. Our room was dated and needs work. We had to call maintenance to fix the shower as the spout broke off and water was going everywhere. The hotel was clean and the staff was friendly.
The food was nothing to write home about. The buffet barley changed day to day however the Mexican restaurant was good.
I know being in Mexico the temp is hot but the pool was so cold that there was rarely anyone in it. This not being an issue for us but if you didn't get down to the pool early, like 7-7:30ish, then you are going to be out of luck getting a lounger or even a chair. There is definitely room for more and maybe they just haven't put them back out since covid hit but there was a lot of people complaining about not being able to find seating around the pool or even off the pool area. The pool deck also needs some care as it was rough shape.
I do not think this resort is overly kid friendly as there was not too much as I could see for them to do, usually once a day there was an announcement for them and that was it.
It is conveniently located close to the airport, only 5-10 mins away, and the noise of the airport was not an issue at all.
I don't want to say that I didn't like this resort as it was ok for us who just wanted to get away as a last minute vacay but I would not recommend this hotel to someone if it is their first time to Mexico. [Details]

This was the first time we went to Mexico so we were pretty nervous about what we would find there. This is an older resort and could probably use a little face lift, but it made up for it with service. The food at the buffet was excellent and the staff were friendly and helpful. The whole resort was well taken care of and very clean. There was a very large pool with a swim up bar and a snack shack by the pool as well. They have a kid's club as this is a family resort. We would definitely stay there again. [Details]

The hotel is rated at 4 stars which may have been true at one time but it has had years of use with out maintenance or upgrades. We asked 4 months in advance for a king bed but where given 2 double beds that where hard as the floor. We are older so we where looking for a quiet place to relax and enjoy the sun this was not the place. The music ran from early morning to the wee hours in the night. It was near pointless to head to bed before midnight even with ear plugs. The food quality was typical of 3 star resort. Most meat dishes where in a sauce to cover just how poor of cut they actually are. There are 2 al la carte restaurants one of which was acceptable the other was horrible. The last sore spot for me was the beach. In this area the beach is restricted to the width of the hotel meaning a walk on the beach is a very short walk. [Details]

Bacon was withheld (behind omelette station) and only given when servers were asked, hence tipped. You have to ask for condiments, bananas, ice cream cones. [Details]

Booked this last minute and loved the resort but definitely caters to the people from Mexico. [Details]

This hotel is a large place with beautiful gardens and excellent pool. The staff are accommodating and very hard workers always on the go. They all speak very good English. Unfortunately there is a Constant sewer order throughout the complex that can be unsettling. The beach area is definitely not it's best asset rough small and dark sand making it not appealing. Although there are venders on the beach they do not harass you if let them know your not interested. Personal disappointment is only place to get coffee or cappuccino is in the very busy buffet.Should be able to get at the lobby bar or beach bars. For the very large hotel there is not enough loungers as much as they advise against reserving with towels they do not enforce this rule. Yes as other reviewers have mentioned a whole lot of updating that a paint job can make a big difference. Over all enjoyed mostly the hospitality weather and food Thank you for a pleasant vacation. [Details]

Quick service when arriving. Asked for higher room & got a nice room near top floor. Found hotel very clean and accommodating to anything we requested. Food very fresh & healthy. Loved the Hamburger & Hot Dog stand near the pool with tacos & hot cheese. Hotel right near everything. Stores, restaurants, Pharmacies. Good room service. Enjoyed the putting course, archery range & gun range. All free. Very child friendly. Nice large pool winding around the area. Drinks were great. Would return. [Details]

food was *very bad* and i eat almost anything. We had to eat out almost every meal off facility. Staff agreed the food was bad. A lot of food waste, uneaten food was observed. Same food re-warmed every day.

Will not be going back. [Details]

The resort was not a full capacity, due to Covid-19, which was nice. The facility, lobby, rooms etc. are spacious, a little out of date but overall comfortable. The food left a little something to be desired, but that is par for the course at most all inclusive resorts. All staff were great and friendly. Internet worked great in all areas of the resort. The location was great, with a short walk to the marina for shopping and eating out. [Details]

The service was excellent, so the food. Location was gorgeous, and clean. But the Hotel entertainment for adults was lacking. We snuck into the Hotels in both sides of Melia's. They had live music at different nights. I get the Hotel is family oriented but one or two nights of live music would have been great.
Everything else was good I would recommend for families but not for single or younger couples. [Details]

I found it was a great value I've been to Puerto Vallarta lots and this property staff and food was the best yet and the price was very comparable [Details]

Beach is not at all as advertised but still sufficient - very few loungers and the ones by the pool were usually reserved prior to 7 am- so hard to get a seat if you want to sleep until a normal hour. The palapas say no reserving allowed but everyone does it anyways! The food was amazing! Drinks and drink service was very good! Hotel is a bit dated but clean as were the rooms. Will definitely be back! Well worth the value! Internet was spotty unless you were in the lobby. Pool wifi never worked! [Details]

Our stay at your hotel was wonderful...your staff goes over and above the best. The view from our room was beautiful and all our cares were taken care of. Being handicapped you were all so kind to me. See you next year! [Details]

Hotel is great for families, lots of kids. We were a couple with no kids
Nice pool with great service from the staff for drinks.
Beach is also great. Lots of palapas and beach chairs.
Great evening entertainment and it was nice to have a DJ in the lobby bar in the evening.
Front desk was either really good or not so great depending on who was working.
Nice and close to marina and golf course.
Food was our biggest complaint. We ate at the marina due to this issue. Often buffet items were cold. No variety from day to day for breakfast.
Italian was the best for food but poor service.
You have to line up every morning at 10 am and 12 noon to make dinner reservations for that night. Often by 11 am there were no reservations left. [Details]

Great staff but the shows weren't all that great and the seats were very uncomfortable. Food was not very good, not kept warm properly and not much variety. Annoying having to go to the restaurant for a coffee. The drinks were made with very cheap mixes and didn't taste very good. I probably would not go back [Details]

The Melia is in a wonderful location - on a gorgeous stretch of beach close to the airport, marina and downtown. It is showing its age - small improvements like better bedding and clean cushions in public areas would be a good start. [Details]

It was a great experience. Live performances every evening, got parents and kids involved which was fun to watch. Big pool area and yummy food throughout the day! Great service, friendly faces everywhere, and lots to do. The boardwalk is literally across the street if you want to go check it out. Although I'd suggest going with a couple of people just to be safe. All in all I'd definitely recommend it [Details]

My stay at the Melia Puerto Vallarta was beyond my expectations. Entering the lobby clusters of comfortable, cozy seating groups dotted throughout, with lush plants cascading from ledges into water features below, creating an exotic welcome. The reception desk is manned by friendly, efficient people, as is the concierge staff. The well appointed rooms were kept fresh and well stocked. The restaurants staffs were excellent as was the food. All of the facilities were clean, well staffed and beautifully laid out. The activities programs were great and the children's programs seemed exceptional. I hope to return to the Melia Puerto Vallarta and would never hesitate to recommend it highly and without reservation. [Details]

Once again our stay at Melia in Puerto Vallarta was wonderful. This was our second time to stay here and the facility and its close proximity to other attractions made our decision to stay here easy. The special treatment that we received from all the staff at the resort made our stay extra special. We were treated royally. [Details]

We stayed at this location the first two weeks of December. We are a family of four with a 4 year old and a 6 year old and travel every year for the past ten years around this time.

Overall we had a good time, but our experience was marred by numerous unpleasant experiences that gave a negative feel to the whole trip. Normally when we travel to an all inclusive, they have gotten our large chunk of money and then work to make us feel like kings and queens hoping we will return. But at the Melia, getting us there is just the first step at separating us from our money. Many services cost additional money and they seem to be trying to save money everywhere.

Check in was quick and hassle free. However the first person who then greeted us was a time share person. All of the people at the 'concierge' desk are time share people. That was the first play for more of our money and it took 5 minutes after arriving. Fortunately we were advised by our friendly westjet rep and were able to steer clear. The hotel was only about a third full for our stay .. on several instances in the past other resorts have upgraded us to a room with bunk beds .. not bigger .. just bunk beds for the kids. But not here despite them being available.

Unfortunately, to make reservations for the a la carte restaurants, you need to go to the time share desk every morning. Making these reservations was a challenge almost every single time. They are grumpy, don't smile and flat out say no often. We are all booked up for tomorrow night at 9.30am when the desk opens at 9.00am .. oh, we opened the reservation yesterday for no particular reason. We went to the restaurant anyway that night and it was empty and they seated us without reservation. Between 1 and 3 restaurants were open, and normally they were mostly empty, yet getting a reservation is like pulling teeth. This would be where the cost savings seem to come into play. If you just go and tip a bit, they will seat you every time.

You may be thinking, we are buffet people anyways .. not at the Melia. The buffet is the second worst we have ever seen. We are not very fancy eaters. Literally 12 hot trays of food plus some salad, bread and deserts. The food quality is mediocre, the buffet decor is sad. Compared to say a Riu that would have 40 hot trays, it is pathetic. At breakfast the bacon was hidden under the counter at the egg station and felt like it was cooked in a deep fat fryer . hard as bacon bits and dry. We ate a la carte every night because there was little other choice. The food at the a la carte restaurants was very good, though often only about 5 choices of meal so it can get repetitive. Service at the a la cartes is very good especially Adrian.

Do you like to have some drinks in the evening? Do you like to see the show? Can't say yes to both for the Melia. The only bar open after 6pm is the lobby bar. It is far from the show. We thought they would open the very nearby pool bar for the show but found it dark. With the kids show and adult show .. you are there for a while .. one drink is insufficient for most. Your kid wants some water or juice.. get walking. We suggested to the lobby staff the next morning that they should open the pool bar or bring out a simple cart .. they looked at us like we were crazy. But they were typically unhelpful with anything you asked of them. We ended up stealing hard plastic signs from the time share desk to use as trays to bring out some drinks. Oh and there is no bathroom at the show and it is quite a walk to the nearest one .. especially if it is pouring rain which happens on occasion. Have never had either of these problems ever before and you would be amazed at how annoying it is every night. We were told by the westjet guy that it is the entertainment staffs job to separate you from the food and drink to save money. Wow.

That said, the shows were pretty entertaining. All of them were local shows put on by the local entertainment staff which is unusual, but they did a good job of it relying on creativity. Both us and the kids liked them. One night we saw a great example about how the Melia feels about its guests vs itself. The whole front row was reserved at the show. Sitting in the second row and on were many families with little kids. We thought maybe some families or the kids show kids were going to sit there or maybe they were needed for the show. Then right before it started, a bunch of big mexican men were ushered in wearing Melia dress shirts and sat down a wall in front of the families. Management was here to see the show and they were more important than the guests .. very typical feeling here.

For those of you traveling with kids, the kids club was pretty entertaining for ours, however please make special note .. IT IS NOT SECURE. The first morning there, we left our kids inside with the ladies for a test .. came back a few minutes later and they were playing outside on the equipment. We poked our heads into the room and asked if they knew they still had custody of our kids .. they were like .. who? It is not a giant resort, we found we could trust both the 4 year old and 6 year old to find us nearby at the pool when they got bored and checked every half hour on them, but that might not work for everyone. The activities were fun, they brought them to lunch if they wanted to go at the nearby pool buffet, organized balloon fights, played mini put (which was nice cause mini put costs about 16$ for a family on their crappy little course ..incredible) But if you want to do some activities like paint a t-shirt, 10$ more .. always extra fees here and there.

The pool was nice, good water temp, large, shallow areas for the kids, deeper areas for adults. There were not a lot of activities around the pool. Really just a couple a day .. like paper airplane tossing, soccer kicks, bingo .. nothing too engaging. Really kinda quieter than our normal trips .. verging on boring. You want to try that inflatable ball you see in the pics .. more money, the trampoline, more money .. you get the idea.

The beach is ok but small, the waves often strong enough that kids need constant help. It is not really sandcastle sand. You can borrow a sea kayak, but they gave us a hard time telling us kids had to be 7 though that was not written anywhere. It is a big plastic boat and our kids had their own life jackets .. why? When we finally got one they had no problem. Just another little hassle.

The climbing wall was a lot of fun, especially for our 6 year old whom they let try it despite needing to be 7 years old. Very safe, had harnesses for kids and .. get this .. no extra charge.

Some of you may go on holidays to get away from things .. but we like to be able to keep in touch with home, friends and family. The lobby wifi was down more than it was up .. and I don't mean for hours .. one time it was down for 3 days straight. If you ask at the front counter, they are working on it. They will provide no additional details and are generally as unhelpful as they can be .. though they smile nicely at you.

The lobby bar was a nice place to sit at night. Dj music most night, a live band sometimes on the weekend. Music goes down at 1130 at the latest and it get pretty sedate .. bring a speaker. Again, the bathroom manages to be hundreds of meters from the lobby bar .. weird layout.

We would recommend the atv tour with Wild treks .. up a mountain with nice views. Good enbough ATVs Ziplining with them was good as well, but the lines are old and have too much slack making them slow .. the kids could not go alone because there weight was insufficient to get them across, never had that problem. The lines are long though and beautiful views. We were by ourselves for that which was nice.

We had a decent time, the resort if far from brand new but not falling apart. We would have rated it higher if they hadn't found a way to annoy us almost every day rather than working hard to make our stay great. With the facilities they have, they could do a much better job but it really seems like they just don't want to. [Details]

Nice clean room, recommend asking to sty in tower one, nice beach for PV, beautiful gardens. Lot of room very big place, central location near airport, just far enough away from the bustle of downtown. About $10 Canadian to old town. [Details]

Nice place, very poor food. Ate outside resort every evening. [Details]

The Melia Puerto Vallarta rooms were air conditioned and clean. The maid service and all the hotel staff were friendly and helpful.
The pool area was clean. The towel service was great and the bar service was prompt. [Details]

We are regular vacationers to PV and have stayed in many different resorts. This is the first time we have ever written a negative review so we'll start with the positive comments.
The staff are very friendly, the layout of the grounds are nice. There are lots of activities for both the kids and adults and there is the usual nightly entertainment. The Italian restaurant is excellent.
Besides being dated the rooms and grounds are not adequately cleaned and maintained. The employees appeared busy so they may have been under staffed or possibly there is a low hotel standard.
The food was mediocre and we were always shooing birds from the table.
Many of the lounge chairs are needing to be replaced. The staff rake the beach daily but use the back side of the rake so there is no point as there are still cigarette butts, straws and other debris sticking out of the sand.
There was no beach security visible which was a concern especially if you had a ground floor beachfront room.
We would rate this hotel as a 3 star. [Details]

We spent ten days here with our 4 year old daughter. This resort is geared towards families, they provide activities and child care for kids of all ages. We only ate at the buffet because we knew there would always be something there that my daughter would want to eat. The food was better than I had expected with plenty to choose from. We stayed in one of the rooms overlooking the ocean, it was very clean and spacious enough for the three of us. The bathroom was great, plenty of counter space, tub/shower combo with rain shower head with detachable wand and a clothes drying line. We spent a lot of time in the pool, the water was the perfect temperature and my daughter loved the two beach style entrances. [Details]

Had a very good time. Stayed in the Kids and Co. rooms. If you have kids and can get one, it's well worth it. Bunk beds for the kids let everyone sleep better. The food was great, the pool was great. No issues there.

Take a trip into town ($10US by taxi) and take a walk on the boardwalk. Stray a little off the beaten path and find a nice hole in the wall restaurant for lunch. That was one of the high points of the trip. [Details]

Not even close to 41/2 star. At best 3 star. Stay away. I was out for 36 hrs as were many other guests with a virus going around. [Details]

Are experience at the resort was fantastic. The staff were very nice and accomodating. Food and drinks were wonderful. Overall, a great experience and would go back for sure. [Details]