Villas Vallarta by Canto Del Sol

I really enjoyed my stay! I was greeted so warmly by Andrea. She had the most welcoming smile and she was so friendly every time I saw her when I was coming and going. My check-in with Ricardo was seamless. Nicholas & Isidro made sure I didn’t have to bother with getting my bags up and down the stairs when arriving and departing. Juan in the restaurant was so welcoming in the mornings when I went for breakfast and he was attentive without being over bearing. I was really happy that the housekeeping staff acknowledged my Do Not Disturb sign because I just wanted to relax the four days while I was there. My room was on the pool floor and it was nice to sit out and work with a pool view. The room was very clean and well equipped with a very functional layout. I would stay here again when visiting Puerto Vallarta.

Travelled as family of 4 with 2 teens. Room was large enough - that's it. Sofa is saggy and extremely uncomfortable. Room 529 is directly across from the breakfast buffet and kid's playground. They play loud music from 830am until 1030pm so if you are in this room don't expect ANY peace and quiet. We had an all-inclusive package so ate at Canto for most of our meals. Food? I'm sorry but just horrible slop. We ate out at La Capella one night for a birthday celebration and it was the ONLY meal we enjoyed. The only half decent food was at the pool snack bar according to the kids. The beach vendors and tour sales people outside the hotel were ever present and bordered on harrassment. Very uncomfortable every single time we made our way across the lot to Canto. Yes, make a bee-line for the exit once you've collected your bags at the airport. Do not speak to anyone - just get OUT of the airport. The beach was awful, small, rocky, and smelled of sewage so we had no choice but to spend our time at pool, which was always crowded and very loud. The service poolside and bell hops were consistent and friendly, but the same cannot be said for the front desk. We did do the dolphin swim and trip to private beach which was frankly the best part of our trip. This was our first time in PVR and it will be our last time in Mexico...period. I should also mention that a group of predatory Mexican college age men were offering our 15yr daughters alcohol on the beach and trying to lure them off the resort. Should have gone back to Cuba. No pesky vendors, stunning, clean beautiful beaches, and much better service. Live and learn for 6K CAN.

My husband and I booked a last minute trip here for the week of April 4 to 11 with Air Canada Vacations. Please, when getting off of the plane, retrieving your bags and going through customs, go directly to the exit doors OUTSIDE to find your Air Canada rep, they are NOT waiting inside for you! There are so many time share hustlers trying to nab you and make you think that they are working for Air Canada. You could miss your bus! This almost happened to us... Nevertheless, this turned out to be such a great deal and outstanding vacation. The three star Villas Vallarta Hotel itself does not have all that much to offer except for a very quiet, clean and comfortable air-conditioned room with two English speaking TV channels. Their small pool and their bar also looked to be quite nice as did their morning buffet breakfasts. I must also concur with other guests, that this much older hotel is a very adequate and quiet escape from Canto del Sol. Their free Wifi was also excellent if you needed to work online here, something that I would most definitely consider doing here in the future. Their customer, security and housekeeping service were also excellent. The location of this hotel also cannot be beat...about a 35 minute walk more or less from the malecon. Or you could pay the 10 pesos to take the local bus very conveniently located minutes from the hotel! All of that being said, we preferred to make the one to two minute walking trip to go across to Canto del Sol for each one of our meals. We also preferred swimming in their pool in addition to participating in all their activities including the nightly entertainment shows due to the fact that all of this was already included in the price of staying at the Villas Vallarta! We had a delicious a-la-carte breakfast overlooking the ocean and beach every morning. This was such an unforgettable highlight of our trip and a great way to begin the day! We also participated in the free Spanish lessons that were offered. So much fun and a great way to meet people! We also enjoyed the group aqua fit and playing volleyball in the pool as well as other kinds of different games on deck. At lunchtime, we enjoyed eating either yummy nachos or chicken wings by the pool or had some delicious ceviche in the Cevicheria cafe style restaurant. As well, pool or beach chairs were never ever all that hard to come by. The buffet was also a great place to eat any of your meals at with lots of very fresh and healthy choices! We also took advantage of the onsite air-conditioned gym everyday where there were weights, treadmills and ellipticals available for use. The only smoking that we ever saw was done at a designated beach area...no where on the resort itself! Did we ever appreciate that! The three a-la-carte meals were outstanding...especially the surf and turf overlooking the ocean! Mexican Night on Tuesdays was also quite a lot of fun and something that you really do not want to miss! Al in all, we would strongly recommend a stay at this hotel...it is like getting the price of two hotels for one!

The wife and I booked a week through Westjet travel so we had complete access to Canto Del Sol as well. Although we spent the majority of our time at the beach and around Canto, if we needed a break or just wanted quiet we would retreat to the Villas. The pool at Villas was always quiet with an open bar as well. For breakfast there was traditional Mexican fare or bacon& eggs, fresh fruit, or omelettes made to order. This is an older hotel but clean with a friendly staff. We would definitely stay there again.

I booked this as a last minute trip from Air Canada Vacations. I traveled alone had had to pay a single supplement. It is still a good deal. Air Canada was excellent with lots of leg room on the 767. It took 2 hours clear through the Puerto Vallarta terminal. The baggage was waiting for me when I got to the baggage place but then there was a long line at the customs clearance. I have been to Puerto Vallarta before and knew that the people waiting outside customs with the signs there for the various hotels were timeshare scams but they still managed to talk me into getting briefed on how to catch my bus to the hotel. Once I realized I was with the timeshare guys and moved on outside, I found in the Air Canada guy (Jerry) with his red shirt and he gave me a coupon to give the taxi driver to take me to my hotel. That went very smoothly. Jerry met me the next day and gave me my coupon for the trip back to the airport. He is an excellent representative. Check in at the hotel was fast and easy. The fellow at the counter was helpful and friendly. The door porter carried my bags to the room for me and explained where the restaurant was. The room is a bit larger than most hotel rooms I have been in. It is clean and the AC Works. The shower and has one of those dinner plate sized shower heads in the ceiling and there is lots of hot water with good pressure. The hotels supplys shampoo, hair conditioner, and soap. There are lots of towels and wash cloths. It has a safe (free), hair dryer, iron and ironing board. The TV gets two English channels, NBC and Fox News. No fridge. Two bottles of water. There are free re-fill stations around both hotels. The bed is comfortable with lots of pillows. Canto del Sol owns two properties. I’m in the Villas Vallarta, what I would call a good 3-star hotel. It has a good restaurant, a small swimming pool with a bar. Across the street is a larger four-star resort hotel, the Plaza Vallarta, with all the bells and whistles. If you want all the activities, the other hotel would be a better choice. If you want a quiet place the Villas is excellent. The front lobbies are about 2 minutes apart, so It is easy to use both. I have been eating at the Plaza and getting drinks to take to my room at the Villas pool bar. I came down here to work. I am spending 12 hours a day in my room, studying legal files and writing a report. So my needs are simple. I met a computer programmer at breakfast who commented that he was here to work too, and found it easy to get a lot done without distractions. Free wi-fi in the room! I get 5 bars from this hotel and 2 bars from the sister hotel across the street. It is very fast, too. I watched some You-Tube on my laptop. My room does not have a desk. I needed a place to set up my computer and papers. I asked at the front desk and they said they would look around for a table. An hour later there was a knock on the door and I had a table. Every hotel staff person I have met has shown quiet competence. Probably because of good management and leadership. I have tipped a few times (like to the fellow who brought me the table). He was not expecting a tip and was very pleased to get one. For breakfast, I went next door to the Plaza Vallarta. They had an omelet station which I took advantage of and followed that up with cottage cheese with fresh fruit and yogurt. I left with my 20 oz travel mug full of coffee (choice of milk, cream or Coffee Mate for the coffee.). Service and food were excellent. Check in gave me 3 coupons for a la carte meals. Guest Services at the Plaza then traded the coupons for reservation at the restaurants. I booked a sitting for each second day. Service the 3 restaurants (Mexican, Italian and steak) was excellent. Food was good, not outstanding. The meat lasagna was very good and the T-bone steak at the Mexican was quite good. I was there to work, so never got in the ocean or pool. Pools looked good, complete with a swim-up bar at the Plaza. I noticed two things on the pool deck. NO Smoking signs and a sign asking guests not to reserve lounge chairs. There were lots of chairs available, and a stack more in reserve. From what I can see there are very few smokers here. In fact, I have not seen a single one. I mentioned this to a staff member and he said it is a non-smoking hotel. Smokers go to other hotels. The day I left I saw my first smoker. She was outside the hotel at an ashtray on the sidewalk. The hotel is immaculately clean and well groomed. Non-smoking guests probably make their job easier. Out the front door, turn left for a pharmacy about 100 feet away. Or turn right 100 feet for a liquor store. A big Office Depot is one block away. I could have booked the Plaza for about $100 (for the week) more. For most people, this would be a good idea. But I came down here to work, hidden away in a room. For that, the Villas is perfect.