This resort has its good points - the rooms are spacious and it's on a decent beach. However, the staff need extensive training (or retraining), the rooms and public areas need refurbishing and management needs to get some common sense! Based on the amount of money you pay to stay here, they need to step up their game - you can get much better service a couple of doors down at the Fiesta Americana. When we arrived (at 4:00 p.m.), our room had been given away and we were downgraded. The front desk clerk couldn't even give us correct information for our "comp breakfast" to compensate us. We were then ordered to report to the front desk (in person) by 8 a.m. to advise them whether or not we wanted to move to the room for which we had already paid. After we informed them that that wasn't going to happen, they graciously gave us until noon. There were numerous other annoying incidents. For example, on Dec 31st, the pool kitchen and kids pool was closed for the day so that they could set up for the New Year's Eve party. Great - kids, no pool for you! Just a series of very poor planning. Management and staff of this hotel need to get a clue.

del Mar is closely attached to the Palma where you check in, which is easy. You will be nudged to go the the Flamingo - a new timeshare - for a presentation which includes breakfast. It will NOT take only a little time, it's the whole morning +. Enticements with the "Gold Card" are worthwhile in the long run with the discounts it can afford you.

There are NO ocean view rooms at the del Mar, in spite of what some of the pictures you may see, only pool view rooms, but you are at the smaller 'quiet pool', except for the couple of evening presentations, which are shut down by a reasonable time.
Two restaurants, one more expensive than the other. Facilities are complete on/at the facility. Local shopping is relatively nearby. Wal-Mart is not too far down the road, BUT remember you are in Mexico - everything is in Spanish, which makes some selections a little more difficult in spite of the similiar packaging.

Having a car can help, but there are NO roadmaps the kind that we are familiar with in the States. Read TripAdvisor on driving and you may want to watch the video on driving a rental car back from the Malceon - everything is different and requires caution and fortitude. We also went the the Zoo, a young magnificent zoo considerably different. You are much closer to most of the animals.

Departing from the airport, with shopping ALL the way to the gate, is where you will go thru three (3) different security checks, two of them into your bags.

We stayed here in the one bedroom suite for 6nights and had a blast! The location was excellent and we just jumped on a bus for a cheap short ride to the malecon, or boardwalk. We went to walmart and bought food that we cooked in our complete kitchen. We had a TV in the livingroom and the bedroom and the living room had a big double-size pull out bed. We had a patio with a view to the pool but we could cool off easily inside with the ice cold a/c. The villa del Mar share with sister hotel Villa del Palmar so you can use their pools and stuff but they rarely used ours. Food was a little pricey but very good quality and everything had to be charged to our room credit card though. Took a tour on a boat that took us to a small beach to have a delicious lunch and horseback riding to a waterfall! We had an open bar and dancing upstairs and even had time for snorkeling! A great small safe place to travel. Villarta is not as cheap as some places but definiteley worth the money. Villa del Mar will try and get you to do the timeshare hard-core at first but after that no problems and great service anyways. Room always cleaned and new towels everyday. Email me with Q's on this resort, it was worth it!!!

We booked a week in a 2 bedroom at the Villa Del Mar through RCI. At first we were very confused since there is the Villa Del Palmar at the same address. They are sister resorts, and part of the same complex, so you get to use both resort facilities. When you check in, you'll do it at the Villa Del Mar. Check-in went very smooth, lots of genuinely nice people to help with luggage and answer all your questions. We are a group of students in our mid-twenties, and had an awesome time.

The best parts of the resort are the pools, resorts grounds (very pretty with palm trees, all of the grass and bushes are in great condition), exercise facility, public grill and location. The VDP pool has a fun slide and its warm, they also have two jacuzzis (one at the VDM and one at the VDP) which is awesome to relax in the evening. The workout facility has brand new cardio equipment with plasma tvs, and a good weight area. In the locker rooms they have a jacuzzi and sauna too, and free purified water. The rooms are very homey and we had two balconies. When you arrive just ask to be in a building that is not facing the street, tell them you are a light sleeper and its very important. There are four building kind of a circle around the VDM pool. We were in D which hugs the parking, and we really liked our room. Fully functional kitchen (minus oven, nice big fridge with separate freezer), large rooms, two bathrooms. It was just what we needed. I heard that the VDP has newer rooms, but I know they have updated some VDM units. The VDP is louder with lots of kids running around and music from speakers, and some units don't have as full of kitchen. Other perks are the free BBQ gas grill that you and your friends/family can grill on in the evening. Just pick up some meat from gigante which is a block away, and you're set. The bus going to el centro (downtown/malecon) stops right in front of the resort and is only 50 cents US. Cab drives are about 5 dollars to get downtown. Its the perfect location because its 5-10 minutes to downtown, but also close to walmart and sam's club, and the marina is a short bus ride too.

This was our second time visiting in the past year. Our favorite areas to visit, were old town and sayulita.

-to get to old town take the centro bus until it ends and then just wander around. Or you can walk along the malecon going south and then just keep walking. It has the best restaurants and a lively bar scene. Wonderful little shops and is definitely less touristy.

-sayulita is my favorite place to go in puerto vallarta. You take a bus to walmart then take a bus to punta mita/sayulita. It takes about 45 minutes. Sayulita is a little surfing town that has great waves, a beautiful secluded beach, and a great trip. When we go back we plan on staying half a week in the town. If you've never surfed, they have teachers that will take care of you. There is a little sandwich shop that is open air, and a huge one was only 15 pesos! Get the cuban. Then they have little family owned ice cream and popsicle shops, get the horchata (milky cinnamon drink that taste kinda like rice pudding) it will rock your world! Take my word for it, do this side-trip, it will be the highlight of the trip.

All in all we loved the Villa Del Mar, it has a relaxed cozy feel, and had everything we wanted in a resort.