Samba Vallarta Hotel reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

4.5 Excellent

  • Cleanliness 4.4
  • Location 4.4
  • Rooms 3.7
  • Service 4.6
  • Value 4.2

6350 TripAdvisor reviews

TripAdvisor users rated this property 5 out of 5

The staff are amazing

Barb P on May 10, 2025

The staff (especially Salvador, but also Carlos, Oscar, Annie, and Oniver) MADE this place. We did have an issue with one of the rooms when we got here, but got it quickly sorted out. The hotel is fairly dated, but the beach and location more than made up for that. We will definitely be back!

TripAdvisor users rated this property 5 out of 5

Melvin was great!

Dominique G on May 01, 2025

Melvin was an amazing bartender and server! He was very attentive and always remembered our drink orders! He also helped out serving and I couldn’t have asked for a better experience! He really made our experience great! We definitely will be back!

TripAdvisor users rated this property 5 out of 5

Perfect for Young Families

Brendon L on Apr 26, 2025

April 2025 - travelled with my wife and 1.5 year old son. We are both teachers and enjoyed this short vacation in Puerto Vallarta for the first time as we had been to the Cancun side of Mexico on the East Coast twice prior to that. Writing this review as a parent as we picked the resort mostly for its small size and accessibility for our son to have a fun time, so keep that in mind please. Food - Buffet always had lots of selection, I enjoyed when they did a taco bar with fresh fish tacos at lunch or omelets in the morning over on the far side - none of the food was undercooked which I've seen at nicer resorts so that was good, sometimes a few of the items were a bit dry but enough choice for us and the toddler that we enjoyed it. Shoutout Abigail and Salvador especially @ the buffet, great service. Another shoutout for Ricardo @ the Mexican restaurant, great service as well. Get the Shrimp Au Mezcal, it was the best meal I had all trip. Italian Restaurant was fairly average/okay. Rooms - quite dated but if you are booking a stay just for the rooms I would argue that you are missing the point of the vacation. Our son was able to nap in the afternoon for a bit to recharge his batteries as we had a third floor balcony room - my wife enjoyed sitting on the balcony during his naps and reading/etc. Only one elevator was working but no big deal as the stairs still work just fine for us and there was never really a wait if you need the elevator! Sliding door to the balcony had a small gap in the bottom corner and we had a beetle visit us one night but hey its Mexico, lots of different creatures around so you deal with it. Water worked fine, safe in the closet could have been secured to the floor in my opinion rather than the shelf as it was a bit wiggly but not the end of the world. Felt very safe as there is security cameras everywhere. Was able to do a bit later checkout to accommodate for my sons nap before we left for the airport. Pools/Beach - perfect for toddlers/young kids. So close to the rooms so if you needed a bathroom break you could head back to your own room. Pool bar very accessible, lots of drinks. It was lovely that they have a pirate ship with bigger slides for the older kids and then the small slide area for the toddlers - it kept the kids separated and my son was able to enjoy the slides without being run over by larger kids all day. Lots of activities although we opted just to sit back and watch. Beach was great, couple sellers walk by every so often but they are respectful when you don't want to purchase anything, no pressure was every applied to us. Ocean was seaweed free which was a change from Cancun so I enjoyed that, overall a solid beach area! Overall we appreciated the small size and accessibility as the prior resorts we went to were so huge you had to commit to going out for 4+ hours to make it worth packing your beach/pool stuff/etc. I can't comment on the night shows as my son went to bed around 8 pm each night so we just stayed in the room at that point but it sounded like everyone was having a fun time, especially at the fire show. We may return to PVR or we may opt to check out Cabo or even go back to Cancun but I would not hesitate to recommended this to young families wanting to try a vacation with younger kid(s).

TripAdvisor users rated this property 4 out of 5

Week long getaway at the Samba

Stephanie A on Apr 24, 2025

The buffet has amazing food and excellent outgoing staff. Very family friendly. Provides so many activities and fun things to participate in daily. It was a joy to visit with Salvador every morning at the buffet. Shows at night are so fun to watch.

TripAdvisor users rated this property 5 out of 5

Samba Vallarta offers old world charm with the comforts of a enjoyable vacation

Kimberly N on Apr 24, 2025

The comfortable bed truly enhanced a restful stay. Delicious food elevates the overall experience. Caring and attentive staff make you feel welcomed and valued. Salvador was a friendly face every morning offering fresh coffee, a smile and a warm laugh to brighten our day. The beach is phenomenal! All these combined created a truly memorable experience. Will definitely be back!

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