Velas Vallarta

Our family of 5 loved our stay at Velas Vallarta. It was fantastic to have a 3-bedroom suite that provided a shared living room and kitchen where we could gather. The grounds were beautiful, and we appreciated the tennis courts, spa, swim-up bar, and water aerobics classes. We wish there had been a hot tub and access to water sports like paddleboarding. The dining options were limited (only two restaurants, one of which required reservations for dinner) but the beachside restaurant was quite lovely and service was good throughout.

Stayed with several family members during the week between Christmas and New Year. We expected it to be crowded, so having to secure seating by the pool early in the day was not a surprise. Unfortunately there really isn’t anywhere else to hang out as a group besides the lobby. Food was mostly ok with an occasional standout when ordering off the menu (which could take awhile to be delivered). We were not informed about the significant upcharge necessary for New Year’s Eve when we booked or during checking in. It was only a day or two later that we stumbled on the area where reservations were being booked that it became clear that we might have a problem feeding our group of 16 if we didn’t sign up.

This is truly an amazing resort and we had a wonderful time. The staff are consistently great and very responsive. We would definitely like to go there again and I would totally recommend the all-inclusive

Was very hit and miss and there are much better choices in the area for similar price. The food was often cold and the dinner service was very slow. Always had to ask to order drinks after sitting for sometime or to get refills, and meals for the table did not come out at same time. I was very surprised how bad the dinners were. Employees were friendly and tried but will definitely go elsewhere next year, mostly due to the dinner quality and service.

We had a very good vacation overall despite multiple minor frustrations. The good: - Nothing outrageous happened. - The views and the landscaping are beautiful. - The staff is professional and welcoming. - There are three pools there and two of them are connected with a lazy river. - Walking distance to Marina allows access to stores and restaurants. - The food was fine. Half of the dishes were great, the other half - decent. Some fruits were tasteless, though. The desserts were great, the ice cream was not overly sweet. - The bar has some quality drinks. The cocktails are not too watered down. - The shows and karaoke nights were fun. - You can connect your own Chromecast/Fire stick/Roku to the TV and directly to Wi-Fi and watch your own stuff without extra hassle. This is not possible with most hotels. - The room service was speedy. The bad: - The beds were bad. When you share a bed with a partner they feel your every move and if you turn they feel like on a see-saw. I had to move to the sofa in the living room. It was terribly firm but the quality of sleep for us improved. - No boogie board or other rentals (you could buy a $20 board for $100(!) at the store). There were balls in the pool, though. - The pebbles on the beach move around every night. For us, almost all week two thirds of the beach were covered with pebbles that hurt to step on. The entry to the water had them everywhere and several steps into the water there was comfortable sand bottom. - There are only two restaurants plus a crepe place which is open during the day. The wait to be seated during peak hours on weekends can be 10-15 minutes. - During the weekend it was difficult to find seating near the pool. There were always seats at the beach, though. - Adults get their room keys on their bracelets but kids have to carry their key cards. This doesn't make any sense. - There was a sewer smell outside for several nights in a row. - "Kids room" by the pool looked particularly sad. So all-in-all it was a decent hotel - worked well for us.