We stayed at the Buenaventura Grand Hotel and Spa from April 10 through April 15. We booked the Buenaventura based on two factors: price for an all-inclusive vacation, and the hotel location. I had read the Trip Advisor reviews extensively both before and after we booked our hotel. Although our stay was overall pleasant, we would not consider staying at the Buenaventura again, despite its excellent location.

We booked the hotel through a major internet booking agency. We initially booked a standard room online, but subsequently decided to upgrade our room. We called the booking agency and asked what other room types were available. The company called the hotel directly to inquire about room types, while we stayed on hold, and returned to describe the Junior Suites with living room, bedroom, and Jacuzzi tubs. We specifically verified that the room had a “dining” area, couch, and separate bedroom because we were traveling with friends and thought it would be nice to have extra space. I emailed the hotel three times prior to leaving the U.S. to confirm our reservation, but never received a response. I also printed off the booking agency’s “You’ll Never Roam Alone” guarantee information, so that I would have it handy just in case something came up.

Well, something did come up. We arrived at the hotel around 4:30 or 5:00 in the evening and were greeted with a nice rum punch. It went downhill from there. Front desk staff claimed that we had booked a Honeymoon Suite, not a Junior Suite (a Honeymoon Suite is essentially a hotel room with a spa tub). When I whipped out the paperwork indicating otherwise, they made excuses. They claimed everything from the travel agency booked the wrong code to they no longer have Junior Suites, to they renamed everything during the renovation (the name matters why?). When I told them that we had the agency call them directly to confirm the furnishings in the room, they were unmoved.

So, we called the booking agency to invoke their guarantee that our booking would be right or they’d make it right. An HOUR AND A HALF later, after speaking with several people with indecipherable Indian accents, the agency sided with the hotel. We were placed in a Honeymoon Suite. (By the way, the Honeymoon Suite was nice, just not what we booked.) While checking in, several people wandering through the lobby told my husband that the hotel pulled the same bait-and-switch on them. They booked ocean view rooms but got street view rooms, or they booked a Honeymoon Suite and the hotel tried to claim that they hadn’t. Another person, who went through a different booking agency, had the same problem with the Junior Suite.

Fast Forward to Day 2: the hotel “generously” decided to give us a free “upgrade” to a Junior Suite. So, we packed our bags and handed them over to the bellman. While the room did have the extra space we wanted, there were several problems with the room.

1) No view. There were patios with sliding glass doors, but they were in the far corners of the room and looked at the back of the hotel next door, beyond which was the ocean. Those patios were also the only windows in the room, causing a cave-like ambiance to the room.

2) Air conditioning. One air conditioning unit leaked rivers of water everywhere. The other unit failed to work for 24 hours (we were only there for 5 nights).

3) The smell. The room smelled like a sewage treatment plant. Really. When we complained to housekeeping, they put a rubber mat over the shower drain, which helped keep the smell down some, but not completely. We had to leave the bathroom fan running constantly, couldn’t shut the bathroom door for any length of time, and even resorted to airing the room out by leaving patio doors open, despite the heat. It was truly awful.

4) No spa tub. I was really looking forward to using the spa tub, as I love a good soak before going to bed. No luck.

Other Pros/Cons:

Prior reviews indicate that the beds are hard. They are not kidding. Bedding consists of a slab of concrete, one worn out mattress, one well-used foam pad, and some very nice sheets and comforters. The end result is that the bed looks lovely, the sheets feel soft, but you will hurt yourself if you flop down on the bed.

The location was fantastic, maybe a 15 minute walk to the Malecon, even for this slow poke.

The pools and public areas were very nice. Furnishings were attractive and comfortable, and the pools were heated nicely.

The beach was very rocky, and the water not swimable. I knew going in that Puerto Vallarta is not known for its beaches, unlike say Cancun, so this was no surprise. But, the palapas and hammocks on the beach were plentiful and wait staff was attentive. It was a nice place to relax in the sun and sip a beverage, but not a place to swim.

Food was OK. It was edible, fresh fruit was plentiful at the buffet and omelets were tasty. The reservation restaurants had limited hours and you had to reserve the next night’s dinner between 8 and 10 am. If you miss that window of time you are eating in the buffet. The reservation restaurants were OK, they consistently met my expectations of mediocrity – but I’m a little bit of a food snob.

Liquor was terrible, really terrible. On occasion we were able to get a decent brand of vodka, but for the most part it was some unknown, undrinkable vodka. The tequila had the boquet and aroma of paint thinner, with a nasty aftertaste. I found rum-based drinks to be much better and so stuck to daiquiris, pina coladas, and mojitos.

If anyone has specific questions, please feel free to send a message and I will try to respond in a timely manner. I’m sorry for not having pictures, I totally forgot.

Ok, so my roommates and I had spend a good amount of time on tripadvisor.com checking reviews for the Buenaventura before booking and traveling. There were a number of negative reviews that we found just weren't true! We traveled from April 18-22, a quick trip, and had the time of our lives! We traveled as 3, 23-27 year olds from Oregon who needed some sun in our lives and the Buenaventura had just what we needed.

The new renovations are amazing, just as they appear in the website photos. Our room was perfect, newly remodeled, ready on time, and just what we ordered. The staff was beyond amazing, willing to accommodate at any turn. It's true that a lot of the servers and bartenders didn't have the best English but they tried, even though YOU were in THEIR country. The fact that people expect that blows me away! They do have an adult area with a bar, a bunch of lounge chairs and those submerged loungers which is where the 3 of us spent most of our days. Servers brought drinks, our loungers were looking right out into the ocean, and there were no kids screaming/running around.

There are two bars out by the pools. One in the adult area and another bigger one by the "Sunset" restaurant. The bigger one was the meet up spot at night where you could mingle with guest. Yes, the bar is "only" open until 1am but if you want to party any longer, the Malecon (with some of the best bars ever) is only 5 blocks away. A very quick stroll. The restaurants are fine, we did the all-inclusive deal and yes, the buffet did get a little old on the 4th day but you can always count on the French Toast and an omelet made to order. The specialty restaurants are very good so make sure to book your reservations with the concierge on the nights that they are open. I was surprised to find the 24-hour room service menu very limited but if you just call down they will make you whatever you want!

Alex and Julio are in charge of the activities. Now, we are not all 8 year-old kids and don't need someone to constantly create activities so that we don't get bored, BUT there was still always something to do. I played beach volleyball almost everyday. There was water aerobics, water volleyball, a beer/pina colada chugging contest, cooking lessons, karaoke, kayaking, and music by the pool. Whoever had the review that there was nothing to do must have been there on a bad week because there was plenty to get involved in if you wanted to.

The Buenaventura's location to the Malecon and Viejo Vallarta are perfect. We took one morning off, set out by foot around 11am and were back to the pool by 2pm! everything is so perfectly close. Suggestions: If you want to party hit up the Malecon, there are bars galore. Mandala is one worth searching for, right on the boardwalk. This club is amazing, it doesn't have a front wall so the huge light up dance floor has an incredible view right out to the beach and the ocean. The Zoo, another good one was right next door.

This hotel is not huge which is nice because you aren't fighting crowds for food or lounge chairs and it's not too small that there isn't anything to do. It's also a great place to meet people. We meet groups from Guadalajara Mexico, SO MANY from Canada, England, Scottland, and even our hometown! We had met about 4 amazing people withing 20 minutes of arriving at the hotel!!

The place was just amazing overall and if you are looking for a great 3 star place, nothing too extravagant, and are not super uptight you will love this place! It's clean, fun, friendly, and a great location!

My husband and I returned from the beautiful Puerto Vallarta April
11th. We have been to PV many times and each time we chose this hotel. We were pleased to see the renovations that had been done . It looks great. We wanted to eat at the Brazilian Steak house but never could get reservations.They are only open Tuesday' and Thursday' . Maybe they should extend their hours.
After having been loyal to this hotel for many years I feel that we shouldn't have to keep asking for a nicer room. Every single year it's the same runaround. We were told just recently that everyone wants a nice room. Our first night we stayed in a room right by the lobby..our view was looking at that parking lot next door by the OXXO market. After having talked to the front desk several more times we finally got to move to a nice room where the TV worked.

I do have one health concern. After many years of staying at this hotel they installed a brandnew bar with stainless steel and new everything EXCEPT for an automatic dishwasher. The bartenders still wash plastic glasses by putting them into some sudsy water and then rinsing them with hot water and then letting them air dry. I just don't know how sanitized the drinking glasses really are. The night before we had to travel home my husband became ill. We tried to reschedule our flight and was unable to do that so we flew home and I must say that it was the flight from hell. My husband was so ill on the plane and with several legs to our flight we did make it home.The next day after having had 2 pints of IV soution becasue of dehydration and blood test he was diagnosed with Ecoli . Be caerful where you eat while there.
I must say that Fautsino the bellboy has always been great and is an asset to this hotel and Gustavo R is a great server. Our main reaon for returning to the this hotel is because of these 2 great employees.Thank you Faustino and Gus!
There are many resorts in PV and I really do feel that if the managment appreciated loyal customers we would be treated as if we were valuable to them upon returning every year.

After reading the reviews on here we decided the good weighed out the bad and to book this hotel. The resort had our requirements which were a little stricked. We wanted a seperate living room and bedroom, and a jacuzzi.
We KNEW to expect the wrong room when we checked in so when they showed us our room (honeymoon suite) we went right back downstairs and showed them it wasn't the room we paid for. They then told us it was, but they'd switch us anyway.... Which I KNOW wasn't true. So we waited another hour for the correct room. I didn't want to start the trip on a bad foot so I let that go and we did get the correct room(Jr delux suite).

The food wasn't great. Towards the end of our trip people were being taken to the hospital for ecoili or food posioning. So we were a bit nervous to eat much of anything they cooked.

We also wanted a resort with 24 hour room service. When we looked at the menu it offered 3 items after 11pm! BUT when you call to order, ask for anything and they will tell you if they have it or not. No one told us this and we learned it about half way into our trip. The latest bar is only open till 1 am. (that was a disappointment.)

There really weren't 'theme' nights. Sure the food at the buffet restuarant would have a different main dish, but not what we thought of for 'themed' nights. They didn't have the shows outside everynight that we had at the other resorts down the street.

The location was great, the place was small which was nice, and our room was perfect... But the food wasn't good, the service could have been better, and horrible varity of beverages. We wouldn't stay here again. If my kids were old enough to come with us I wouldn't stay here due to lack of kids activities, and small kids pool area. (right next to the 1 am bar, lol)