Hotel Mercurio, A Gay And Lesbian Resort, Emiliano Zapata

Hotel Mercurio is not one of the worst hotels you'll ever find but hardly lives up to the reviews on this site. This hotel on its best day is similar to a Motel 6 - which fits a very definite need, and there's nothing wrong with staying at a Motel 6, but you don't run home to Travelocity or TripAdvisor and GLOW about your stay there. Of course not. Not so with Mercurio. The sheer number of over-the-top reviews (best place ever?) should make one suspect. This is a budget hotel where legitimate guests have the same criticisms - leaky roofs, inadequate bathrooms, dirty floors, tiny rooms, false advertising, and frequent underage male prostitutes. One local Puerto Vallarta website - which normally goes out of its way to recommend reputable places - puts it, "Don't be fooled by its website or the plethora of phony reviews on Trip Advisor that make Hotel Mercurio seem like a gay Four Seasons because it's really like a gay Motel 6 if Motel 6 didn't put doors on their bathrooms, wash their bedding or patch the leaks in their roof. We've heard so many complaints from so many people for so many years that we feel obliged to warn you. They have a great PR machine but nothing else. Avoid at all costs." I think that says it all.

The Hotel Mercurio is located in the old section of Puerto Vallarta, which I have been visiting for the last 30 years. It captures the flavor and quaintness of the old town, but adds to it the friendliness of a wonderful staff, great breakfast and the freedom of a gay environment. Anyone coming to the Zona Romantica, which is where the hotel is located, expecting the streamlined standards of a new Hilton Hotel is mis-directed and should stay by the airport. The Mercurio delivers something more rare, which is a warm, always friendly welcome and an all inclusive environment .

I liked the friendly, helpful staff. Further, the buffet breakfasts with their variety were excellent. The poolside bar was a great place to congregate and visit in the afternoons. You won't go wrong by staying at the Mercurio.