Beautiful Vallarta!

We just returned from an amazing trip to puerto vallarta. I have a mixed review about the San Marino hotel. We're a younger couple, and didn't expect a lot from the hotel room, but it wasn't very nice, and because of the room, I probably wouldn't stay there again. That said, the view from our room was amazing. We didn't have a direct ocean view, but we overlooked the city and fell asleep to the sound of the waves every night. The pools and grounds of the hotel were very beatiful and well kept. The hotel is on Los Muertos beach in Old Vallarta, which in my opinion, is the best place to stay. The staff at the hotel were excellent - very friendly and helpful. A few tips - the next time we go, we'll stay at Andale Hotel - we looked at the rooms and they are the most amazing rustic mexican style rooms for $25-60 US per night.

(www.andales.com) It's still in the romantic zone. Also, when in mexico, you must go to PIPI's restaurant.

Bad

husband and i booked perfect honeymoon ...or so we thought original hotel(cant remember name of it) we get there about 10:00pm and they say sorry we are overbooked but we will set u up at another hotel. get to san marino and it is a total dump . i was in tears but tried to make the best of it. we had my daughter her best friend and two other friends. what a nightmare in the taxi one friend lost her picture folder that contained money for a needy family in mexico. total of 500.00 dollars in american money. i think san marino owes us a trip to mexico they so messed up the most important time of our lives

Great

A couple of friends and I stayed here and it was really great, we were right on the beach, I couldnt believe it, I loved the hotel and I looove puerto vallarta, I would move there if I could, however, the staff and janitors did make me feel a little uncomfortable, generally the males. Other than that it was great!

Skip the Plaza, eat and drink elsewhere!

We stayed at the San Marino over Christmas and New Years, 2002. I had been to PV before, and thought we would splurge on an all-inclusive hotel for a few nights. What a diasaster. The food was...nasty is the only word I can safely use. We had to ask for tortillas to go with our eggs at breakfast! Absolutely no style here...food seemed to be geared towards people with zero interest in Mexico. Same with the drinks....the margaritas were off-tasting, no whisky or bourbon, forget about any premium tequila at the bar. We ended up eating out, and enjoyed that much more..there are numerous excellent restaurants downtown....this areas is starting to look like the Gaslamp quarter in San Diego. On the plus side, we did enjoy the chairs and beach scene at the front of the hotel. The room was OK, didn't spend much time there. So...Recommend maybe for room and location, but please don't pay for the all-inclusive plan, unless you enjoy eating hamburgers and boiled potatoes!

Loved Peurta Vallarta

Our first trip to Puerta Vallarta. We had read enough to know we wanted to stay in the 'old town', and booked a room at the San Marino Plaza, with breakfast. Rooms are comfortable, average. Hotel is very clean, very central to restauarants, cafes, stores, lots of english spoken in the area. Great place to stay and walk to just about everything. We had a great time and will visit there again

Definitely not more than 2 stars

This place is pretty basic. Rooms are not very nice. Showers are the worst things you will ever see. Food is crappy. Lots of good places to eat in town so I would not get the all inclusive package. It does have a good location not far from downtown and right on the beach. Would be a good place for young people that wanted a cheap holiday. Would not recommend it to anyone who is expecting a resort like feel. I went when I was 27 and it was OK, but I would definitely not go back.

Far exceeded my expectations

We were surprised to get an ocean view room on arrival and this was beautiful! For the short time we spent in the room we were really lucky to have such a view to look at. We were on the fifth floor so had the entire bay to see and the beach and the pier. There were dolphins playing around the dock in the mornings! The shower had strong pressure in our bathroom, the beds were firm but I prefer that. I wouldnt change a thing about the rooms except to stop the leaky shower head (minor!). The staff were friendly and very hard-working. The food was okay, there were a few items I loved, a few I didnt, but still ate tons! There was a fair bit of traditional mexican food on the buffet, so I had to try new things. The beach in that area is very good, I liked being so close to it. I also liked being in the Old Vallarta area and not at the marina or Nueva Vallarta because I preferred to see so much more of the local peopleand older buildings, and to be so close to the little shops. So, to improve my experience at the San Marino? I wished that there was more than one key to our room. I wish that I had drink service on the beach like I saw that some neighboring hotels had. The food wasnt like my mom made it but in ways that was good for me. I loved our room, and so would recommend ocean view rooms to others.

Friendly and youthful enviroment

i stayed at this hotel about 3 years ago along with my sister and cousin and i loved it. not only is the hotel so close to everything, but the staff was wonderful. they were young, friendly, very outgoing and helpful. the staff was so nice to us and got along so well with us three, that some of them even went out to party with us after their work hours, it was great. the food was great especially when it doesn't have to be cooked by me, and the drinks at the bar, well let me just say that we tried every single drink on the menu and i only disliked one. the rooms were roomy and cozy, kind of like home. this hotel had a very youthful enviroment. you saw nothing but young people from all over the world, in fact i believe we were the only mexicans staying in the hotel as guest, which was wonderful, because we got to meet people from different cultures and backrounds. when i go back to puerto vallarta i would love to stay at this hotel again.

Good location but.....

This is definitely not a 4 star deluxe hotel, and if it is I would hate to see what the olwer stars look like. So beware to be deceived by that! The hotel has a wonderful location right in downtown, yet still on the beach. The pools are nice too. Just make sure you get towels at 9am else they will be out for the rest of the day. The food is absolutely disgusting, so DO NOT take an all inclusive package. Except for the horrible food the restaurants in town are way to good to miss out on. You have to go to the De La Olla (Mexican) and the Brazilian. Both are outstanding and worth every penny you pay! The rooms are okay, but only have showers with pathetic water pressure. The beds are hard, but it didn't bother us that much. Your chance of getting a king size bed isn't very good, so be prepared for that. If you can, rather pay more for the ocean view rooms. They have junior and king suites which looked much roomier with beautiful drapes and comforters. You will also have less noise if you take the ocean view rooms. The service isn't great either, you just need a bit of patience. To summerize - nice location, crummy rooms that need some revamping like they have done with the suites and horrible food. There is no fridge in the rooms except in the suites, so prepare yourself accordingly. You will also not be provided with purified water in your room like some other hotels. You need purified water! If you are travelling with a baby that is still on bottels that needs to be warmed and streilized, choose a different hotel!

Very Satisfied with San Marino in P.V.

We were very happy with our oceanfront room with balcony. The All Inclusive Buffet was fine and, although I am not much for Mexican food, I did try several items that I liked very much and had no problem choosing, and since we arrived home, we have made them ourselves, i.e. Guatamole and Salsa. There were many choices at the San Marino Hotel and we only ate out twice. We had a great Lobster/Shrimp platter for two at Richard's.

We had a great time walking into Old Town and in spite of turning my ankle near the end of our holiday, I still can honestly say we had a very nice trip.