Meza del Mar Category 3 stars

We've been going to Puerto Vallarta for 20 + years and it all began at Meza del Mar. That's where we fell in love with the people and culture. Meza Del Mar offers authenticity, good food, friendly people, relaxation, great beach area. The rooms aren't much, but who in the hell stays in their rooms anyway, We sure don't.

We have been going to Meza del Mar since the 90's. Love it. If you want fancy american hotels go to the Holiday Inn or other hotels around the airport or north of downtown. So if its run down, elevator doesn't work all the time, it didn't the first time we went there. So they eventually got it working, so its slow, that's called something to remember and enjoy. People may always find negative things but in all our vacations Meza del Mar is the times I remember. It is a original Mexican Hotel, can't wait to return.

I just returned from having stayed at this hotel for 7 days on Monday and I'm still recovering! If you are looking for a real vacation to relax and enjoy yourself, this is not the place for you. My room was at best substandard... the air conditioning (if you can call it that) never really got cool. Between the humidity and lack of A/C, you could never get dry.

Everything smelled and our bed was hard as a rock. Don't get me started on what the room actually looked like... The elevators rarely worked. The whole place in general is run down and dirty. The food was not good. I basically lived on french fries at the beach. Waiters on the beach were friendly, but the front desk was incredibly rude. I wouldn't recommend this place to my worst enemy!

The food is very good, it is right on the beach, the elevator is not much, the staff is great, and the rooms look great when the lights are off. It is a good deal price wise, and there is always something to laugh about when you return.
If you want the Hilton, go there. If you want to kick back, have a few beers, good food and good service, and save some money, this is for you.

Place definately needs some update to be competitive

This probably was a great hotel at some point in the past, but it has faded considerably. On the positive side, it has an ideal location right on the beach and it's very close to the "Blue Chairs" plus within easy walking distance of restaurants and shops; and our room, which was a junior suite, was very large and breezy with a huge balcony and a view of the ocean. It could be a spectacular site, if some attention was paid to it. On the negative side, the rooms badly need redecorating -- the furniture is pretty worn; the rooms smelled musty, and the bathroom had a fair bit of mould. The cleaning staff did their best but this place is decidedly substandard. The other surprising thing was that the front desk staff were unfriendly to the point of being surly. We wanted to show our room to a couple of friends who were considering this hotel for a future trip, and we were given a hassle about bringing them in during the day.

We've stayed at the Tropicana, Torre de Oro, and the Los Arcos hotels, and this was by far the worst experience. So, overall, a disappointment. We'll stay elsewhere next time.

This won't be a sniveling, whining review. I'll leave that for the ungrateful. 2006 was the first time at Meza, the rooms are clean and adequate. We didn't go there to stay in a room. One of the nicest beaches in Vallarta.
The food was good and plenty of it. The refreshments were abundant. The bar could stay open a little later. The staff is friendly and courteous. I liked it so much we are returning for 10 more days this year. Just remember your not at the RITZ, just a nice friendly inexpensive Hotel.

They close the beach gate access at 8pm.

Blew my mind. You have to either hike up 166 stairs, or another path equivalent to the stairs, or walk all the way around.

The elevators suck, one shuts down at 8pm as well.

The standard room are twin beds.

But the airconditioning worked, the staff was friendly.

The all inclusive meals were not a variety and i was by myself and had to wait in line to be seated almost everytime. There are 3 different seating times for dinner and a line everytime. If you have stayed at prior all inclusives you never had to wait in line to be seated. If you didnt get there early enough, the food was limited, or could be gone.

The hotel is old, old, old, but the beach was nice.

At first it seems like the best place to stay for a week vacation. That is if you go on the buy one night get one night free deal. The location is about the only thing to really rave about. Not in the middle of all the tourist traps but close enough to walk, and the proximity to the beach is superb. Meza del Mar contradicts it's advertised "all inclusive" meals. If you look at the website it seems there are a wide variety of types of food, but in reality it is pretty much the same thing every breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Yeah it's free and all you can eat but if you stay for awhile it gets old quick. The biggest complaint besides the fact it could use a renovation is the dreaded stairs/elevator. For starters "if" the elevator did work it took forever. The worst is they close the door with access to the beach and your hotel at 8pm. This is OK if you don't mind hiking a couple hundred crooked steps in the dark to the main lobby just to go back down to your room. It gets difficult especially if you take advantage of the free drinks. Mexico does not shut down at 8pm even on vacation. If you are going to stay here keep in consideration the one and only type of warm beer on the beach and the mile hike up the stairs after 8pm. If you don't mind these complaints enjoy the 35-40 per night "all the same inclusive".

The food and the service were very good but the hotel itself is very run down. The elevators rarely work and when they do they are so slow you might as well walk down which is okay if you are young. The rooms were dirty and the sheets thin. The couch was missing cushions and it was dirty we would not sit on it. This is a place to stay if you don't care about staying in a dump for a night or two while in transit to a good hotel or condo.