Friendly Vallarta Beach Resort and Spa All-Inclusive, 5 de Diciembre

Went there with my partner, 2 sisters and 2 nieces. It was our first time to PV. We had a blast!!! The staff are very friendly, helpful and cute (specially Beto by the pool area). The hotel is on a great location. Nice, clean beach and clean pools. The drinks were weak (not the best alcohol being used and stay away from the margaritas...they taste horrible) but its all inclusive. The only thing that I didnt like was that there were way too many smokers (guests) in the lobby, although there is a great breeze. Perhaps guests should smoke out by the beach or other designated areas. The crowd was mixed. Although there seem to be a large number of older Canadians at the hotel during our stay. We loved our stay. We look forward to going back.

This is an older hotel and it shows. One of the two elevators did not work and any given time and the stairs were not a safe opption. The AC in the room did not cool very well and dripped all over the floor. Used towels to sop up the water which left us short of towels to shower. Getting enough towels, etc was a bit of a challenge each day but got easier as the week went on. Any towels or bedding that were dirty you were charged for and you were not allowed to keep. The decor on the floors by the elevators needs upgrading. The la carte restaurant the service a bit slow but the food was good. Roof top and main restaurant the food was good lots of fresh fruit and the cooking staff would make certin foods as you wanted (oumlets, bagetts). The beach grill had good for snack foods (pizza, hot dogs, nochos). The entertainment was horrible, the entertainment staff seemed to rely on the crowd participating to do the entertaining and some not appropriate for a family freindly resort. The evening entertainment was out in the lobby and the music generally was very loud and went quite late so you spent the night hearing the loud music and not sleeping. The serving staff,etc was absolutely amazing so friendly and accomodating. They make the resort what it is I feel. Location is excellent for walking or taking the bus or taxi.

It's Only $20, but its the principle. On our last day the resort charged us $20 on checkout in order to keep our bracelets for lunch/dinner while we waited for our shuttle to the airport. Apparently this was a new policy that started the week we were there. I have never heard of such a thing at an "All Inclusive!" We will not go back, or recommend this place as a result.

a nice people good food all the rooms sea view great shows every night the only little problem is the parking space

We picked this hotel as a part of an all inclusive package - lets just say this is no four star hotel... The staff are very friendly and made the trip and stay very worthwhile. But the hotel itself is old and needs work..the pool was crowded, really hot and kinda dirty. The adult pool was awesome though and the beach was perfect. Too many vendors but thats mexico. The food was okay - the Mexican food was great though in the evening after 11 they made some of the best tacos and quesidillas I have had. None of the lobby bathrooms had any soap to wash hands with - the whole week so obviously the dispensers are just decorative. The weight room was ghetto but works. The lobby was fun but they do have music blasting in the evening - we liked it. But the thing that really ticked me off was when my son lost one of the door keys and were charged 25 USD when we went back to the room we found the key but the hotel would not return the money for the key - so I still have the key to our room which one would think would be of a concern to the hotel... but we had an awesome time in pv but i don't think i would stay in this hotel again. I would recommend this hotel to someone who is looking for a true mexican experience and not looking for a luxury hotel.

Just got back from PV and HOLA hotel for a 3 week stay. FOOD: got real bored with the food. Same stuff for B/L/D -- seemed like they just put different name tags above the warming plates. Most of the food was luke-warm at best. Only had 1 cockroach crawl up my leg during lunch. Drinks are plentiful if that's your main interest in going. Always had fresh fruit and lots of bread selections.Desserts didn't seem to change much either. The Sunset Grill was nice, but I didn't like having to go through the narrow (smoke-filled) bar to get there. STAFF: very courteous and helpful. They put a lot of effort into keeping you entertained and have good stage shows regularly. The Stage shows are both indoor and outdoor. I liked the one right on the beach and the pirate ship deliberately gave a pre-arranged private show as it passed by. Kinda fun. ROOM: very clean except for the stench coming from the bathroom floor drain periodically. Great oceanview from the (9th floor) balcony and the elevator worked all the time. Got to see whales jumping in the early morning light a few times. BEACH: very private and well-maintained. Absolutely one of the best I've been at (even beats Honolulu for me). There are palm trees, and Palapas (huts) and lots of chairs or Abraham helps you get a chair (and the umbrella) where ever you want it. Vendors are there, of course, but they too are OK. You can be sure that they have a "line" designed just for you. The undertow is not too bad for adults, but children beware. You can snorkel right off the beach around the piled-up rocks, but very limited variety of fish. If you stand in the water knee-deep, the fish will come over to you. Way too many boats and sea-doo's and parachutes and kayaks for my liking -- rather annoying. LOCATION: about 55 cents gets you a bus ride downtown or to Walmart/Sam's. Don't trip over the fish bucket in the aisle and don't forget to tip the guy singing or playing the guitar while you're waiting to get off. For about buck and a half you can take the bus to Bucerias -- a nice little town just to the north. Go have lunch and check their beach. There is a gift shop in the hotel, but you get much better selection at the corner store at the end of the driveway. And there is also a "Casa de Cambio" (Money Exchange) right next to the store. Sometimes, they give better exchange rates than at the hotel or even than the bank -- shop around. POOL: large enough for everybody even with daily group activities. I thought the infinity pool was great. Just like soup. Everything kept clean and working. Didn't get to use the hot tub. It was always packed with people and some liked it so much that they brought plates of food to it -- not a good idea in my books. SECURITY: they were there and doing a good job, but not in your face. OVERALL: nice place with lots of good features. I'll probably think about returning there. You get your money's worth and you can't beat the staff or the beach. And watch out for Sergio - he's sure to make your day.

The Hola was disappointing from go. It was October and offseason. We had to wait until after 3pm to get into our room after travelling 8 hours (we arrived at noon)...even though it was appearent that the hotel was not booked. There was no effort to accomodate us. The food was disgusting and the drinks were so weak with the cheapest booze. I am convinced that they watered down the booze. I had 2 massages here. One of the therapists had no idea what she was doing- the worst massage of my life. There were roaches in our room which was in great need of updating. The location was great, but dine and drink offsite. The activities were a joke and the pool was sectioned off whee it was in need of repair.

This was my third time staying at the Hola, and I must same it was the best yet ...what ever you are doing !!! Keep doing it ... The service was always the best in my mined from everyone thank you . The food was even better now than what it was a year ago when I stayed last. I stayed a week this time and everyday it was different food, even an oriental night way to go and it was great !!.The fiesta on the beach friday night was awsome... from the dancers to the great food feast WOW !! .The maid was wonderful and kept the room sparkling kleen and thanks for all the different animals on the bed that was pretty cool . but of course I tipped her everyday to . The place is old but very clean and tiddy... and close to everything , just a short bus ride . Just one thing that we did not like i have to say ... They put large palm trees all over the beach witch was wonderful but there was a couple of trees that had speakers on them and the were playing music quite load . We are on the beach to relax and soak up the sun in a quiet setting .. so can you please turn the music down to a soft level ...other that that i must say a great big Thank - You to all of the staff for making our holliday there a good one to remember ... Till next time ....And november is a good time to go .. hotel was only half full and lots of room on the beach or by the pool.. it was our choice it was great ..

I "spontaneously" booked our trip to PV as an Apple Vacation "last-minute deal" thru a local travel agent and we were assigned HOLA as our 4-star hotel. When I pulled up the bad reviews later on, I was horrified! Amazingly, the place was nicer than we expected and we enjoyed our stay. Yes, it's an older hotel but we loved the central location and walked from beach to beach in front of the hotels. People are right about the food at HOLA, it's so-so and rather "cafeteria" like - don't eat at the indoor dining hall! However, breakfast was okay - we ate outside every morning, visited the omelet station and had a gorgeous view of the pool/beach/ocean - all the waiters are great! We ate once at their Gourmet place and attended two outdoor dinners that were nice and had better quality food. Our room was very nice - 10th Floor Oceanview - very clean. However, there were people who stayed there ONE night when our flight back to Cleveland was cancelled due to snow, and their 3rd Floor rooms were awful!!! I think the bad room reviews may come from the lower level rooms that have no view and are lower priced? Maybe the upper level floors are reserved for the vacation package visitors?

This hotel is seriously in need of major renovations as it shows its age in all areas but most evident in the guest rooms and bathrooms. The food, while plentiful, was always cold and lacks variety. The place was very noisy with music blaring until 2 am. The staff were very helpful and friendly and worked hard to keep the place clean. This is definitely not a 4 star not even a 3.