Villa del Arco Beach Resort & Spa

Villa del Arco is a great property; however, it is annoying that all the services push payment in USD with an exchange rate of about .06 instead of the standard Visa, Mastercard rate of .17. Even if you request pesos, the check invariably is in USD.

Gorgeous Property, Questionable Service: A Masterclass in Nickel-and-Diming Ugh. This resort could be amazing. The pools are beautiful, the views are gorgeous, and there are some genuinely good food and drink options. Unfortunately, the service and communication were such a mess that it became hard to enjoy the experience without wondering if we were participating in some sort of elaborate social experiment. We called ahead specifically to request rooms together. Naturally, we ended up in three different buildings. Because apparently “together” is a flexible concept. We also called ahead to ask about the price of adding all-inclusive early. We were told we’d get a better price at check-in. Great! Except when we checked in, we were told the exact opposite. So either the information we were given beforehand was wrong, or the definition of “better price” has changed. Our first dinner at Patron was… memorable. The restaurant was so hot and stagnant that it felt like we were dining in the lower circle of hell. We were given two menus to share among 14 people, and the food took literally hours to arrive. Nothing says relaxing vacation quite like waiting indefinitely for dinner with a large group and a collection of increasingly cranky children. Then came the water bottle incident. At the pool, we were told we couldn’t take water bottles down to our kids at the beach. Instead, we were expected to bring our toddlers back up from playing so they could “prove” that we had all-inclusive. When we questioned this, we were told, “You might sell your water to others on the beach.” …LOL. What? Yes, obviously. We came all the way to a resort, paid for all-inclusive, obtained our wristbands, and our grand master plan was apparently to launch a black-market water distribution operation on the beach. The next day, despite our entire group being together and everyone having all-inclusive, our baby got cranky at breakfast, so I took him back to the room to nap. My husband tried to leave with the avocado toast we had already ordered, and staff wouldn’t let him because we might be “cheating the system.” Bro. Please. It was a slice of avocado toast. You had literally just watched me sit there with my wristband and leave with our baby. If someone is committing an all-inclusive heist, I promise you, avocado toast is not going to be the getaway vehicle. The restaurant situation was another adventure. At check-in, we were told that restaurants were no longer taking reservations. So we showed up at Neptune and, surprise, couldn’t get in because… we needed a reservation. By the time we figured out what was actually happening, the kids were cranky, and our family ended up split between two different restaurants. Apparently the resort’s reservation policy is more of a suggestion than an actual policy. We eventually made a reservation at Neptune for tomorrow, but we were then told we had to come back in person two hours later to reconfirm it. I’m sorry, but what? I have now made a reservation, and apparently my next activity is to make a pilgrimage back to the restaurant to confirm that the reservation I just made is, in fact, a reservation. There were some bright spots. The mojito at the bar was good, and the tacos at the boat bar were tasty. The pools are nice, the views are gorgeous, and the property itself has a lot of potential. But then there are the little things that make you wonder if management is actively trying to ensure guests never accidentally enjoy themselves too much. We learned that you can’t keep a tab open at the pool for the entire day, even though we are clearly resort guests and had already provided our room number to open the tab in the first place. We stayed in a suite, and the conditioner had black hair stuck to it before anyone had even used the shower. Not exactly the complimentary amenity we were hoping for. The suite also came with laundry, which was great — until we used the one laundry pod provided and discovered that they are apparently only allowed to give you one pod per stay. So, pro tip: save your laundry for your next vacation. Room service was another mixed bag. The runner who delivered it was incredibly kind and courteous and was clearly working very hard. In fact, the staff generally appeared to be severely understaffed. Unfortunately, the person who took my order was extremely rude. After asking me a clarifying question, he actually tisked at me and said, “Uh, you already told me that,” in a very irritated tone. Then, when I thanked him, he hung up on me. A truly impressive commitment to customer service. And to top it all off, three restaurants are closed, which obviously doesn’t help when the remaining restaurants have confusing reservation policies and long wait times. The frustrating part is that this place has everything it needs to be fantastic. The property is beautiful. The pools are great. The views are incredible. There are good drinks and food to be found. But the service falls short in ways that feel completely unnecessary. It’s the constant nickel-and-diming over things like bottles of water, laundry pods, tabs, and a slice of avocado toast that gets you. In the process of trying so hard to police every little thing, the resort seems to be missing the much bigger opportunity: making guests feel taken care of. Because honestly, I would much rather leave thinking, “Wow, they were so accommodating — we’ll definitely come back,” than leave wondering whether I should have hidden my avocado toast under my shirt to avoid triggering an all-inclusive security investigation. Beautiful resort. Great potential. Some good food and drinks. But the inconsistent communication, understaffing, bizarre policies, and overall lack of hospitality made this stay far more frustrating than it needed to be.

We would like to recognize Toshiro and Carmen for the wonderful experience at El Patron. I must say we ate at both Bella California and El Patron and although the food selection at Bella was a wider selection unfortunately the service was not. El Patron on the other hand was EXCELENTE!! From the moment we arrived at the podium, we were greeted, sat, and waited on. We were immediately asked if we wanted anything to drink and were given selections. We got our food, sat down to eat and the drinks didnt stop coming. We indulged in mimosa after mimosa and it was delicious. Carmen was such a pleasure full of life, energy and gave us amazing customer service. I forgot what the food selection for the buffet was. Lol for this I would absolutely come back to just experience the wholesomeness and great customer service

Very great experience. Clean, everyone was attentive and so many options to keep yourself occupied. The pools are nice, the decor is very cute. 10/10 definitely would recommend.

We had breakfast buffet at El Patron three time and Carmen was our server. She is definitely 5 stars! Very kind, knowledgeable, and made us feel very comfortable. She’s a keeper!