My boyfriend and I just got back from Barcelo La Jolla (july 7-12). The resort is very beautiful, set far from town, but not too far (a $13 cab ride to downtown, $28 from airport). It's on the ocean foothills of a beautiful jungle and every room (I think) has a partial or full ocean view. We were on the 2nd floor of tower 1 and had a gorgeous, HUGE room, very beautifully decorated with a partial, I'd call it almost full ocean view also overlooking gorgeous pools. The perks were: the room, the bed, the staff, particularly the bartenders at the cantina, the pools, the "nice" restaurants (we went to Don Quixote and Los Arcos (which is really just the snack bar converted at nite, but the food was very good), the conceirge, super helpful, the spa, best massage ever. The cons were: food at buffet wasn't great, a few bugs found in our room (but the staff took care off this quickly and we were in a jungle).

We arrived to get a room on the 2nd floor over the inlet next door. The room was nice and roomy but we looked at the shanty area next door. The food and beverages through the all inclusive were terrible...porro quality booze and the poor was always picked over on the buffet.

The staff was indifferent.

Barcelo Puerto Vallarta “Montezuma’s Revenge or Great Weight-Watchers Paradise”… 28-June – 5-July-2008
Unfortunately the negative reviews on the health problems are very, very true. After arriving to the Barcelo my family and friends proceeded to check in. As I looked over to my left I noticed this poor woman who was deathly ill and was complaining to the staff. I was hoping this fate did not befall my family or friends. On the second day of my 7-day vacation, my niece from Denver became deathly ill. This was industrial style projectile vomiting and diarrhea. I felt so terrible, my daughter went to the front desk and a doctor was called. The doctor was very fluent in English and promptly administered an injection in my niece’s vain and stated that will be $360.00 dollars American. I asked how often in a week he gives this injection, he just smiled at me… I was also given a good amount of pills to administer to my niece at six and eight hour intervals that lasted three days.
Three days later my wife became ill with the same symptoms. Again, I went to the front desk and 6-hours later the doctor arrived. My poor wife was a physical mess with all the vomiting and diarrhea. Again the doctor mixed up this shot cocktail and administered it to my wife. Again, he stated that would be $360.00 dollars American. About this time I was getting very upset with the fact this has happened twice to my family members and I wanted to speak the hotel manager. The hotel staff told me the manager would be in the morning and that I could talk with him then.
First off, my family and I are very accomplished travelers, following a 24-year Air Force career, and traveling all over the world, we have never experienced back to back illness problems like this… The next morning I went to the front desk to discuss this matter with the hotel manager and was told to go upstairs to meet with him… After explaining to the manager that he had a serious health problem going on in his motel, he stated that my family members possibly contracted this bacterium from some other location other than his motel. I explained that was impossible, because we only ate at his hotel and we took bottled water with us everywhere we went. He also stated how often he does food inspections and that I must be mistaken. After about 30 minutes of his explanations, I could see where this conversation was going, so I requested an investigation and he promptly stated he would contact me on 8-July-08 via e-traffic with the results. Actually, he promised me he would contact me with the results. The 8th has come and gone with no response from the manager, so I don’t have the results to report in this review and I’m basing my review on the facts as I know them.
Pros:
The rooms were very roomy and nice.
Our view was outstanding and very romantic.
The service from Saturday through Wednesday was outstanding.
The pools were very nice and well kept.
There was a work- out room with enough equipment to keep you in shape.
Numerous activities to keep everyone entertained.
There is a doctor on call and he speaks very good English.
The food buffet has a good variety of foods and the staff does a good job of keeping the buffet line full.
The beds were king sized and very comfortable.
The beach was clean and well kept, and we had no problem finding chairs or lounges to sit in.
The sunsets were spectacular.
The surrounding villagers’ were very nice and pleasant. A little Spanish goes a long way…
The bus to Puerto Vallarta is very cheap and stops right in front of the motel and runs numerous times throughout the day.
My wife lost five pounds from being sick…
My niece lost five pounds from being sick and was happy with her six-pack abs from all the vomiting…

Cons:
The health problems were very, very apparent. I met numerous families that had one of two members of their party either in the throngs of being sick or just getting over being sick and were too weak to move.
I did experience bed bug bites, but my wife, daughter and niece did not.
Apparently on Wednesdays, the hotel staff will swap job responsibilities throughout the hotel and you will notice a noticeable drop in service that is if you get any service at all. There were numerous families that complained about the problem.
The beach is very small.
The bacterium vaccination is very expensive $360.00 dollars “American” per pop, and in my opinion the Hotel should offset this cost. I was out $720.00 dollars “America” and the doctor will not give you the remaining medication without confirmation of payment in hand.
The Hotel manager was not truthful and did not address the seriousness of his Hotels health problems; he also failed to honor his promise to get back with me on the results of his investigation.
The work-out room was very small and very limited in equipment. To get a good work-out you really need to use your imagination and work with what is available.
There was a constant sewer smell in the rooms, but we were there at the start of the rainy season.

In conclusion, I honestly can’t recommend this particular Barcelo with all the current health problems that are very prevalent at this Hotel. I didn’t get sick, but it did affect my vacation because as a family we unable to experience Puerto Vallarta as a family. I basically lost the same amount of days as my wife and niece by just taking care of them. We have stayed at the Rivera Barcelo on the Cancun side with no problems and loved every minute we were there. I hope this review helps in your decision to vacation at the Puerto Vallarta Barcelo. I have been as honest as possible.

My husband, son and I just returned from a fabulous week at Barcelo La Jolla de Mismaloya. Everything from the flight, transfer to the hotel, room, food, pool, bar was excellent. I had read about the bed bugs and brought insect repellent. I did not see a single bug or bite. The beds were literally the most comfortable we had ever slept on. My husband slept better and longer than he has in a long time and he has some back problems. The food in Capri and Don Quixote was excellent, as was the buffet, with plenty of choices all very well prepared. We were sorry to leave and would return in a heartbeat. Highly recommended!!