4.4
out of 5
Excellent
(501 reviews)
(Neighborhood average
3.0)
Hotels.com Guest Rating
Hotels.com Guest Rating
TripAdvisor Traveller Rating
The place is wedged between the ocean and mountains with a highway separating the two. You can access places/town by bus (every 10 min.,$.70). Rooms are... clean. The no-view room still has nice views. Con: Everything is included. Too much food. But realize the food is buffet and is mediocre. There is an open grill during the afternoon which is good, but limited. The "restaurants" are a joke because the food is poor. In the "Italian" one, my wife's chicken was not warm, but cold. Fortunately, we went to the buffet which was pleasant. The advantage of food included is that you don't spend time looking for a restaurant. The disadvantage is that you don't explore the town while looking for restaurants. We like to hike: Take a bus to La Boca. From there you can either a) take a boat to Las Animas beach (about $3/person one-way) and hike the 2-hour coastal trail (difficult to follow and not for children) back to La Boca (there's a footbridge in town), takes about 2 hours (hot, sweaty, some beaches) or b) cross the footbridge and hike towards La Animas, but stop at Las Colomitas, swim, and return (2 hours round trip plus swim time). We stayed earlier in PuertaVallerta north of the city, but before the marina. We like the Barcelo location much, much better. Last thing: the $200 "spending" included is a gimmick to get you to spend more. We didn't use it all. Reviewed by a Hotels.com guest on Sep 25, 2012
