Let me start out by saying this is a 3 star property at best,keep that in mind and you won't be disappointed. I booked a superior room and I got lucky-huge room on the 7th floor(7023) with great views and a large terrace, The hotel is in a beautiful location-right on the canal leading into the marina so you can sit and watch the boats go by. With a little more care and attention this property could be so much more.
Pros:
shops and good restaurants nearby(try Victors...good seafood, reasonable prices and GREAT atmosphere)
beautiful location on the Marina
the grounds are lovely and well maintained
staff at the a la carte are very attentive-a shout out to Daniel here
dinners at the a la carte were good
Luisa at the breakfast grill does eggs on request YUM!
the bus to El Centro stops right outside the gate-easy to get to the Malecon
free in-room safe
my room was kept cleaned with lots of towels although sometimes no maid service until 4-5pm


Cons:
the "daily activities at the pool" "non motorized water sports" and "nightly theme shows" that are advertized are virtually non-existant
with the exception of Mexican Night the dinner buffets were not good(and I'm not a picky eater)
trying to get a cup of coffee at breakfast was virtually impossible-the staff were more interested in socializing than taking care of the guests-the two exceptions to this were Pablo and Roberto
there was a private party on the pool deck one night that went on until 3am disturbing many guests
I wanted to book tours through the "Concierge" it's a vacation club sales pitch-avoid at all costs!!
I like PV and have been there several times before...not sure if I would stay at the Vamar again

This is a very nice place, our mother arrived alone & was watched over by the staff as we missed our flight. She was pleased with the grounds, room, pool and staff.

My wife and I stayed here for a week all inclusive. Let me start by saying we got rock bottom pricing for the week so I guess I shouldn't have expected much.

The resort in general exceeded expectations in some areas, but failed in others.

Rooms: our room was nice and seemed to be recently renovated (or remodeled anyways). The decor was nice as were the linens and the big screen tv. The kitchen area was still original and is in need of some TLC. The kitchen is essentially useless as it is not stocked with anything, however ours did have an old fridge which came in handy to store some drinks and snacks. Bathroom and shower area were decent and storage seemed adequate. Our room also had a nice large balcony overlooking the pool and marina. The room could be a lot better if they update the kitchen area and include a few simple things that most hotels offer (hair dryer, safe (no charge), coffee maker, iron and ironing board, etc. The beds were firm, but this didn't bother me.

Pool areas: the pools are beautiful and there are lots to choose from. 1 main pool on the marina side and 2 on the ocean side. The pools by the ocean are nice, but with a little money invested they could be even better. Take a walk down to Vellas Vallarta and you'll know what I mean. Spend a few bucks on poolside accents (outdoor living furniture, vegetation, decorations) and this place would look amazing. As it is now, its just a nice pool with a gorgeous view.

Food: This is where this resort falls to average in my rating. The food was okay, at best. I didn't mind trying some of the new dishes offered, however my wife was not as adventurous. If you dont like to try new things, be prepared to walk down the food line and pass on most dishes. Breakfast was decent and offered your typical pancakes, fruit, omelettes and nachos (they really like their nachos in Mexico). Lunch and supper at the buffet were hit and miss, and seemed more miss than hit. The pool side snacks were the biggest dissapointment unless you like old boiled hotdogs, watered down queso and penny thick broiled hamburgers (I think it was hamburger meat but couldn't quite tell). They offered the same thing over and over for pool side snacks and they were far from appealing. Invest in a BBQ and make some fresh food in front of the guests would by my recommendation. The a la carte restaurant seemed okay, but we only ate there once. The menu stays the same all week and there is about 6 different dishes to choose from.

staff: the staff are extremely friendly and helpful and we never had an issue with them. Upon check-in we were assigned the wrong style room, but staff were quick to fix the issue with no hassle. The resort is also extremely clean. Our room was spotless and the grounds and pools are being cleaned several times a day. The only problem with the staff was the timeshare people. Yes, the concierge is a timeshare salesman. We finally decided to go to the speach not because we were interested, but because of the free 1500 pesos we received. If you want to go to the speach, look up Gold Crown Resorts before going. Thats what it's about. If you just want the free gift, as we did, be prepared to say NO a bunch of times and face a rude salseman after he realizes your not going to buy. Then take your 1500 pesos and have a couples massage, pedicure, and a wonderful dinner along the marina as we did. It was well worth the 1.5hr sales pitch I sat through.

As mentioned in previous posts, this resort does seem to cater to the locals. It was likely only 25 percent full (at best) and well over half seemed to be local. This didn't bother us, but it may bother others. A quick walk down the beach and it was obvious that the other resorts were much busier and seemed to be full of North Americans. Perhaps Vamar should cater more to the North American tourist so they can fill their suites.

I truly hope Vamar makes a few changes to make this place even better. It has so much potential, and I would return if some changes were made. For now, I would try someplace else before returning.

If you do happen to go, and don't like the food, there is plenty to choose from along the marina with reasonable prices.

There is also free wifi in the lobby which was a great plus!!!!

I just landed in Vancouver from this beautiful resort, I have nothing but good things to say about this place especially the people who work there, excellent and profesional staff that needs to be commended for the good work they do. I so happened to have stayed in this resort all by myself and I was made to feel right at home. I met awesome people and even though one night I got too drunk and lost my special phone downtown, I quickly forgot because of these amazing people. Don't ever be misled by some negative comments on here, you get what you pay for. For the price, the room i had was decent and it was always cleaned on a daily basis, the staff is always ready to help, the beaches are not the best but tell you what this city of Puerto Vallarta is beautiful, I am definately going back!

Kwan