Palladium Vallarta Category 5 stars

We were at the resort the first week of January. Our first vacation in 16 years and we weren't disappointed. The grounds were beautiful, the staff very friendly. We NEVER had problems getting chairs on the beach. Would recommend water shoes as the water does have rocks. The rooms were clean and fairly spacious, usually quite quiet as well. The evening entertainment was all right. The food was fairly good, although I one of our big complaints was that the plates looked like they had only been rinsed off instead of washed. Loved the fact that the resort was on a hill and there was plenty of steps (great for burning off all that food!!!) Would definitely go back!

Just got back from our 6-day stay at the Palladium (February - weather was awesome). Check in was quick&easy; however, we got a bit concerned from the get go, hearing a guest complaining to the manager at the front desk about the ants in his room, the broken toilet seat, and the fact that he got food poisoning the first night he was there. We later heard from another guest that the staff at the hotel only allowed this guy to check out after paying $55 (USD) for the broken toilet seat that he had broken when he was clipping his toe nails on top of it.

The bell boy who took our bags to our room was friendly, so we tipped him $2 USD. Room (superior with king size bed) was nothing fancy, but it was clean, although the tub drained very slowly. We tipped our maid Veronica every day ($3-$5 USD) which resulted in always having plenty of towels, extra bottles of water&even cute swans&elephants she would make out of extra, clean towels. There is no such thing as a non-smoking room, as the people next to you can be smokers, so what's the point?

The beach was awesome - very clean&lots of chaise lounges. We were, however, very annoyed by the people who hogged the chairs all day by putting their towels down&never sitting in them or leaving the beach area for hours to go eat/visit at the resort. Very selfish&rude. The bar at the beach was great, the staff at the sports equipment shack was nice&efficient. We went out early one morning on a kayak ride in the ocean&saw dolphins swimming near us. Very nice. There are quite a bit of rocks out in the ocean, so you had to be careful where you stepped.

We never hung out at any of the two pools - one was all families/kids/teenagers with very loud music always playing in the background. The water in the other pool for adults felt too warm. The beach was definitely the place to be with a natural tide pool that ranged anywhere in depth from 3 feet to over 5 feet. Vendors on the beach were quiet - didn't bug you at all.

The resort grounds were very clean, and the public-area bathrooms are the best maintained I have ever seen in Mexico. The grounds are gorgeous with a tropical forest look. Someone was always sweeping or gardening. Reminds me of Disneyland where the staff goes around picking up garbage with their brooms&dustpans. The zoo was cute&seemed well maintained. However, there was a separate area that had deer in it near the kids' pool which smelled like poop every day. Would not want to stay in a room near that area!

Food at El Bosque, the main dining room, was absolutely horrible. We were hoping for some authentic Mexican food, but there was none! Anemic-looking chilaquiles&boring beans were about the extent. Otherwise, for breakfast you had to settle for anemic-looking pancakes, salty hash browns, mediocre sausages, chicken&beef "stews" of some sort&other strange items. Resort seemed to want to offer something to everyone (i.e. Brits, Canadians) but none of the food looked nor tasted appetizing. For the last three days of our trip, we would eat all our meals (authentic Mexican food) at a restaurant in Punta Mita, 10 minutes up the road by bus. The only decent meal we had at the resort was at the beach BBQ - awesome ribs, so tender they fell off the bone, grilled chicken&sausages.

Entertainment shows at night were actually pretty good. The entertainers tried really hard - we saw one show that featured traditional dances from different Mexican regions&the next night featured international dances. Very good.

If you want to get away from the noise in downtown Puerto Vallarta to somewhere totally remote, this is it. We would only consider returning if we upgraded to the newer section the Royal Suites&ate our meals outside the resort every day. Otherwise, it seems like a fun worthwhile place for families with kids.

Had a wonderful time the staff were superb. The best holiday we have ever had.