I felt that i had been trapped when i walked inside my room.
The beautiful and well written web site of Mercurio doesn't live up to it's reality. There was hair in the bathroom and next to the bed, went downstairs, because there's no telephones in the room, and informed the front desk. Right way my room was being cleaned again, to my surprise it didn't change much, because it was being clean with a broom instead of a vacuum cleaner.
Breakfast was very poor, no fresh milk or honey, i ended up having my daily breakfast somewhere outside.
The pool area was not welcoming, at all. The laundry room ventilation system ends up right on the pool area where breakfast is served, partial dust and particles are kept in a visible net box.
Mercurio Hotel definitely needs a make over, it's old and slowly deteriorating. I saw a great deal of potential in there.
It's location, helpful and genuine nice staff smooths up a bit it's rough edges, that's what made me stay.

I booked two nights at the end of our stay in Puerto Vallarta, thinking that this was the more deluxe place, compared to the other hotel we stayed at. Boy was I wrong! The rate for one night in a king bed room was $101, and I even got a small discount. It was DEFINITELY not worth that price - probably not even worth $40 a night. The website does not really show pictures of the rooms, and it is probably because they are all so run down. The bathroom in our room needs serious attention - it is literally falling apart (the tiles are cracking and breaking). There is some literature in the rooms saying they are making renovations in order of importance, and that they will get to the bathrooms, but that was written over 2 years ago, and still nothing has been done. Our room was missing a trash can, and no one seemed to know why, and how to get a new one. We also were missing a TV remote. We were told that breakfast was 9 a.m. to 11:00 a.m., but that was incorrect, as it was actually 8 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. When we came for breakfast at 10:30 a.m., it was all packed up, and we had to literally fight to get a cold cup of coffee, with absolutely no one going out of their way to do anything. The pool area/bar area are nice, but the pool is really small. We also were somewhat surprised that guests staying here were not necessarily friendly or outgoing, which was definitely a change from other gay hotels we've stayed at in Costa Rica and Ft. Lauderdale. The front desk staff were friendly, but it just seems to be pointless when there is so much other room for improvement.

The Mercurio goes a long way in the service it offers to its customers. The hotel itself could do with a serious refit, which was evident even before we stepped inside. The rooms are drab and badly finished. My friend had to be moved from his room as the first one he had, had serious damp problems - in fact he slept in my room the first night as no others were available. His second room had sellotape stuck between the wooden panelling on the ceiling, which didnt bode well. If you want somewhere cheap and close to the beach and dont mind about your surroundings - this is the place. We moved out after two days as we really were not that impressed with the locale. The service is the best thing about this hotel.

Stayed recently at the Mercurio. Great central location in Zona Romantica, less than 5 minutes walk to the beach, great cheap neighborhood restaurants, great staff. Don't expect a 5 star resort, but it's for the most part clean and safe. Great if you just use the hotel for sleeping and showering. Happy hour there is fun too. Only negative was presence of a few ants in the room, but it didn't bother me too much. Mainly in the bathroom....never got bitten. Very tiny ants. lol.
BE CAREFUL OF THE POLICIA IN TOWN. THEY SHAKE TOURISTS DOWN. When you walk back from the bars late at night, they would stop you and accuse you of things (including drugs). Hide your money down your underwear or in your shoes. If you put it in your pocket, they will ask you to empty your pockets (in ruse of looking for drugs) but they really just want to take your money. It's such a shame that this town is being ruined by the local police. DO NOT TRUST THEM!!! Happened to me and happened to several other people I've spoken with. Better if you take the taxi from bars back to your hotel (pretty cheap...usually about 50 pesos only). If police stops you, they don't have the right to frisk you.....tell them that what they are doing is illegal. If they accuse you of drugs, challenge them and say that you will call a lawyer and take a drug test to prove them wrong. Again, tell them that what they are dong is illegal and they will leave you alone.
THE MAYOR OF PTO VALLARTA NEEDS TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS. The town relies on tourism for their revenue and this situation is turning people off. They should remember what happened during the swine flu epidemic when the town was devoid of tourists.