We just returned from a 7 night stay at Plaza Pelicanos, Grand Section (2), and I have to say I was overall pretty pleased! I had read some of the reviews on tripadvisor and travelocity and I was preparing myself for something a lot worse than what we got! To put it into perspective, we are two mid-20 year olds not married and w/o kids so I'll put it into 2 categories, good and bad:

Good:

The food isn't bad at all. There is fresh fruit daily, salad bar, always at least one thing that everyone likes, and they change up the "cook to order" part quite often at the buffet. The downside is that it's the same thing every day and that gets old no matter how good or bad the food is. Breakfast is by far the best meal at the buffet. We ate at all 3 of the restaurants and they were ok. Caruso (Italian restaurant) was good but the chicken was kind of hard to cut...Tamayo (cocina fusion) the Mahi Mahi tasted more like Tuna but the rolls were great and so was the brownie desert...and Temaki (sushi restaurant) was not that good. I am biased as I do love sushi and eat it weekly but it was pretty bad. I heard that the tempura was good and the tofu (miso) soup wasn't too bad. The deserts were all good! The BBQ at the pool you can't go wrong w/ either...their salsa and guacamole are good! The bar has anything you could want but only Corona and Modelo Negro for beer.

The room was a standard hotel room. We had to ask at check in for an ocean view so make sure you're adamant about that if it's what matters to you. There are no screens on the patio doors so BRING BUG SPRAY! we were almost eaten alive by mosquitoes! The maid service came sometimes 2x daily and the air conditioning saved us many days w/ how hot it was. The safe isn't secured to the ground which scared me but so far nothing is missing! The front desk will try to tell you at check in that they don't have timeshares but that's not true...they do and they'll try to get you to go to a presentation and if you do you get discounted rates on adventures so if that's what you like then it might be worth it. we just paid the $20 extra for the Canopy Tour (highly recommended). The nightly entertainment was interesting and fun...something to do after dinner for awhile!

Grounds are really well kept, the beach isn't one to hang out on but you can swim there and kayak around, the pools are great, and the gym and game rooms didn't look 1/2 bad (even though i didn't actually use either!)! There is a convenience store across the way where you can get beer and water, ATM, snacks, etc and across the main street there is a taco stand w/ a red canopy and stools around it called "taco mar y tierra" (i think) and their tacos are the BEST and cheap! if you get sick of the buffet, that's a great place to go! Blake's Bar and Restaurant is a good place for American and Mexican food too that’s right by the hotel.

Bad:

The service at the front desk was not as good as it should be. Check in was fine minus having to insist upon an ocean view room and then having to choose between a king bed and a wall view or 2 queens and an ocean view. I would advise calling ahead to request what you would like. We were there told to come down after we put our stuff away (no elevators by the way so that's fun to haul luggage up stairs) and they would show us where things are...and they did but the idea is to try and get you signed up for a timeshare presentation, which i called them out on and they said they don't have timeshares. again...not true. Make sure you get a black bracelet if you're doing the all-inclusive grand section option. that's the best you can have w/o being VIP. At checkout we had to wait over 20 minutes in the lobby while 3 people helped 1 group check in and 1 group check out and when I asked for late check out, i had to clarify 3 times and got locked out of my room past 11 so i had to get a new key then had 2 phone calls to clarify. The bar at the pool occasionally reeked of garbage and people left empty cups, straw wrappers, napkins, cig butts, etc all over and cleaning those things up didn't seem to be a priority nor did changing the garbage. It also seemed like w/ the bartenders if you were either tipping really well or being really drunk or were Mexican you were the first to be served. I'm all about tipping but I also paid more for all inclusive and shouldn't have to give a dollar every drink. Sergio at the pool was great...he made every day fun and kept the atmosphere fun w/ games and water aerobics! I did not like how they let the people selling stuff on the beach come up by the pool to beach stairs and try to sell you thing. I wish one of the security guards would ask them to remain on the beach as we know they're there and can come get something if we want it. The service at the restaurants wasn't bad but wasn't great...although i did have a full glass of wine all the time! I ordered a certain sushi at Temaki and was served something else so i sent it back as it wasn't what i ordered and the waiter took it back and then came back 5 minutes after i explained why and in a rude tone asked "why did you send this back?" so i explained again then he tried to tell me crab was the same as shrimp and salmon. they took care of it but their attentiveness to us disappeared after complaining.

Overall this was a great vacation and lots to do in PV!! I would go again in a heartbeat! a great trip for what you pay!

My family and I had just returned from a vacation in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. We were at this hotel because we had a package through our timeshare company. The hotel is ok if you are not spending the whole time on it. We stayed at Section II of the hotel.

The only complain I had is that the room smell musty and the facility needed a renovation because of deterioration signs. They were starting to take care of them while we were there (it's the slow season).

It is a beachfront property but the beach is not very good. If you can, walk up a couple of miles to the north and it will be better. Since in Mexico beaches are public, you can do that without getting in trouble.

The employees try hard to have activities and shows to offer to guests but the infrastructure in Section II needs a good overhaul.

We stayed here 6/10-6/17 th and loved it the staff was super friendly and very helpful. We paid extra for the grand section and the black bracelets. Our rooms were kept in excellent condition. The food was great specially at the Tamayo international restaurant. We tipped our waiters and our bartenders and had our own cups because the ones served are small and they had our drinks ready as soon as they saw us coming. We couldnt have asked for a nicer stay we have been to PV many times before and stayed at different hotels but i would say that Plaza Pelicanos is in our top two and we have stayed at expensive ones were the service is bad. I would disregard any of the other reviews but i will say stay in the grand section it is more quiet and there are not police and it is nicer. the only down side to my visit here is that it rained a couple days but we still were in the pool and did things. the beach is rocky but you can swim in it we did and road the bananan ride.

When I first got to the hotel, I was not blown away. It looks okay from the outside, but it doesn't look like a luxury hotel, that's for sure. Inside the resort it's fairly nice. To make this review easier I'll just seperate everything into categories.

Rooms >>> We stayed in the brand new timeshare building. It was beautiful! Nice, big rooms, nice bathrooms, everything was clean. I did, however, hear some not-so-good stories from people who were staying in the older buildings.. talk of bugs and such, and having to be changed rooms.

Service >>> From what I remember, it was pretty good. I had no problems! I got all my drinks pretty quickly, too.

Food >>> The site says 2 a la carte but I only remember seeing 1.. and I didn't go. I did eat at the buffet everyday and I liked it. My boyfriend and my brother, however, didn't really love it, and they ate hamburgers and fries from the pool food bar (which they really liked) most of the time.

Beach >>> Ugh, the worst part. When I went in the summer the water was warm, dirty, but warm. During this trip the only time I spent in the water was testing the temperature.. Which was very very cold. The beach was extremely rocky, the water extremely dirty looking. Not pleasant.

Pools >>> These were pretty nice. This is where I spent most of my time. They are not humongous but neither is the resort.

Nightlife >>> Pretty good. Every night there was a different club you could go to with the hotel. I enjoyed them. You're pretty much right in town so everything is easy and quick to get to

Tours >>> I did the catamaran (highlight of my trip) and I went ATVing (very fun!!)


I just want to finish by saying that I think it's all how you look at things.. Keep your expectations lower, keep an open mind, and you'll have a blast. Just being with friends and family with great weather kept me happy enough. Overall I would rate this resort a solid 3 star, not quite a 4 like it claims. If the beach was nice I would probably rate it a bit higher. I would'nt go back, but only because I've been there twice and my top vacation priority is now the beach. My advice: if you want to go to Mexico for a nice all inclusive, spend the extra few hundred and go to Cancun. Puerto Vallarta's beach is not nice. It's very gross. However, if you are on a very tight budget, and you're not looking for luxury, I think Pelicanos is a fine place to go!