My wife and I have been to PV 17 times in the last 18 years and have stayed in hotels and condos from Los Muertos beach to Nuevo Vallarta. We have stayed at Playa Los Arcos five times for a total of 39 days in the past three years.

This is a thirty year old family orientated Mexican hotel located in the heart of town with thirty year old Mexican plumbing. Note that you are in the center of town. Three sides of the hotel face busy streets. Many of the rooms are entered from the street side. And, the beach is the most crowded in PV. If you are looking for a quiet Hilton where the only Mexicans are the English speaking staff, this isn’t it.

There are many different types and prices of rooms, from very small, closet sized, “economy” rooms to mini-suites with kitchenettes. Average room size is about 240 sf. and most have balconies. There are no non-smoking rooms so we bring a can of Oust just in case. The hotel has just changed out the mattresses with thick pillow tops so that the beds are somewhat softer than before. Still not like home as innersprings are not widely found in Mexico.

The hotel and restaurant staff has always been courteous and helpful. We have never had a problem with having our room cleaned or stacked with clean towels. The front desk has always been responsive to our needs and restaurant/bar staff are as attentive as you are going to find in PV. I have never noticed any difference in treatment between the all-inclusive guests and the paying guests in the restaurant or bar. And speaking of, the all-inclusive option is a great deal. The most we have paid is $29/day/person. Breakfast and a couple of drinks with nachos watching the sunset and you’ve made your money back. We have actually paid as little as $15/d/pp. That said, I would suggest finding somewhere else for dinner as the food is bland to my taste. There is entertainment every night in the restaurant/bar.

All in all, if you’re looking for a modest hotel on the beach in the center of PV and have reasonable expectations, this hotel is a good value.

It is a 3 star hotel with a quaint lobby lounge area. You are not allowed to go up to your room after you check-in without being accompanied by the bellhop (squeezing a tip out of you). My fiancee and I have an issue whenever they do this since we usually travel light (ie 1 dufflebag or roller). Anyways, the elevator is quite dirty and old and we stayed in our room 316 (2 double beds) instead of getting a king b/c we were told this one was better since it faced the pool and had a balcony. The balcony was a nice touch w/2 chairs and a table out there also. Decor of the room tried to be colonial with beige painted brick walls. Lighting was dim and there were definitely mosquitoes in the room that were not affected by mosquito repellent. Pools were decent. Concierge was not open more than normal business hours (9-5) which is a problem when you're on vacation. Location is great as you are a minute away from the Melacon/Boardwalk and a great restaurant recommended by all the tour books is a block away. Our biggest peeve about this hotel is we happened to be there during Mexico's daylight savings time (which apparently is at a different time of year than the USA) and the hotel did not notify us in any way! Not by notice left under your door or voicemail message on the phone. Not even a sign at the front desk alerting people that time had sprung one hour ahead. Apparently we went around for a whole day unaware and the 2nd day had mass confusion and a rude awakening about this when we were trying to catch our flight back home. Luckily everything worked out but it really made for a sour end to our stay. Besides the hotel, Puerto Vallarta is nice to visit and food was deifnitely better than expected and pretty consistent among the resturants, but it's not worthy of more than a 5 days stay (especially if the ocean water is too cold to be in).

We've stayed here many times. You do have to negotiate for a better room and we ended up with a corner room, ocean front, with two sets of patio doors, awesome! We moved the bed partially out onto the patio to enjoy the out of doors.
This is old town Mexico and if you're looking for plush, overly clean and polished, go to Nuevo Vallarta and book an all inclusive, where you will have nice weather, but not the true mexico experience. Old town is to be enjoyed. Relax, have a leisurely breakfast at Langostino's, watch for whales and fun people on the beach. Then merge right into drinks, a snack for lunch, they never rush you and we spend about 5 hours just at breakfast. Where else can you do this, with your toes in the sand? then take a leisurely walk, dont' forget your siesta to get out of the burning sun, and head out to Joe Jacks for the best food in town.
Taxi from the airport is $22, buy a ticket from one of the girls at the taxi counter, do not deal directly w/ a driver. It's $16 on the way back because you will not be in a federally owned taxi, but a yellow, locally owned taxi. THEN RELAX. The work of getting there is over and now it's up to you to enjoy every sandy, moldy, smelly, wonderful minute of it. Check out the hummingbirds that will come to plants right next to you on the beach, try a mojito(rum drink) or happy hour at Cuales and Cuentes. Guacamole is good there also,and people all along that area of the beach are more than friendly. Sit and talk, it's Mexico, it's what you do in Mexico. Nothing downtown will be squeaky clean. that's part of the charm of the city. If you don't accept that, there is always Nuevo Vallarta.

Arrived in PV 12:30 on a Friday. Several flights in at the same time, but got through all very quickly, collected bags, ignored time share area, and got cab to Playa Los Arcos. We paid $32 for 2 of us with 2 bags. Arrived at hotel by 1:45. I had e-mailed the hotel before we arrived to request a particular room, refrigerator and coffee maker (thanks PVDeb & Margarita at PLA). Greeted immediately by hotel staff and quickly checked in. We did pay an additional $15 per night for room upgrade. Refrigerator and coffee maker were delivered while we were having lunch. Note about coffee maker – they do not furnish coffee or filters! We ended up just going down to the restaurant for coffee each morning.

I think anyone booking/staying at Playa Los Arcos must realize that it is a 3 star hotel, not everything will be perfect. That being said, we really enjoyed the resort. All of the staff members went out of their way to help, say hello, or just chat. If there were any problems, they were addressed immediately. Our room, #3, was fine for us. King bed that was very comfortable, dresser with drawers, large closet with drawers and nice size bath with large shower. Be prepared – lighting in bath is very poor, but I have found this in many 5 star hotels also. Lots of light in room and large sliding glass door leading to large patio right over the spa. The resort has a great beach, nice pool area, large restaurant, but no real bar to sit at. There is a nice area you can sit in and order a drink, but no true bar. One of the best things about Los Arcos is the fantastic location. You can walk just about anywhere.

We ate most meals in the downtown area. Ventured to Malecon one day and had a great time. Based on reviews, tried LaPalapa. We found the service and food much better at less expensive restaurants. Loved the taco stands and fresh fish on the beach for lunch. Pie in the Sky for brownie that was unbelievable!

Unfortunately, this was only a 4 night trip for us. We tried to squeeze as much in as possible in that time. Mainly walking and stopping at local restaurants and bars. Did a little shopping at the beach and Malecon. We are definitely going to return to Playa Los Arcos and would recommend it to anyone. I did hear a few complaints about molding smells, but we did not experience this. We looked at a junior suite, but preferred the room we had. The location was just better for us.

Some of the restaurants/bars we stopped at were: Cheeky Monkey, Andeles, LaPalapa, Fajita Republic, MiQuerencia, Fredy’s, Daiquiri Dicks, Langostino’s, Blue Shrimp, Pie in the Sky, Café de Olle, Burro’s, & Steve & Carmen’s Taco Stand.

If anyone has any questions, I would be happy to answer them. We really had a very enjoyable long weekend in PV and can’t wait to return.