Where to begin!
First, we didn't expect much and we are used to mexican resorts and we knew it was a resort for Mexicans. We were good customers and tipped generously. The following is not the result of poor communications.

THE GOOD:
1. Excellent city area, close to the Old town, lots of buses and taxis.
2. Close to the airport.
3. Puerto Vallarta is a good city. Good people, gorgeous area, and very friendly.

THE BAD - We did not expect the following:

1. A hotel without ice machines,
2. A hotel without vending machines,
3. A beach hotel without a beach (that rocky, wavy, dirty lagoon is nowhere near "swim-able beach" levels and only the most adventurous kids risked it)
4. Room service without water bottles,
(the combination of the 4 above is already nightmarish)
5. Rooms (switched twice) leaking at several places,
6. Rooms without hot water most of the day,
7. Rooms without ice buckets, hair-dryer, electrical outlets (eventually found 2 single-outlets total), T.V. remote,
8. Rooms with open vent to hallway so you can hear everything going on, 24hr/day.
9. Rooms without working telephone,
10. The crowds and line-ups, every day, every meal.
11. The ONE restaurant serving 80% of the SAME 3-meals per day.
12. Two small pools (one for kids), both WAY overcrowded
13. One small and overcrowded whirlpool (8' diameter) (that actually jammed 20 people at one point... we counted)

Additionally, the not-so-sound-proof hotel provided decent nightly entertainment ending at a decent time that unfortunately fired up the unchecked mexican crowds who were continuing the fiesta on their own for another few hours.

Overall, I do not recommend this hotel.

First off, this is not an American hotel. Anyone expecting the Four Seasons, the Ritz Carlton or even the Marriott, will be disappointed. However, if you're looking for an old-fashioned, rustic, authentic, relaxing experience, this is your place. Lots of middle class Mexicans come here with their families for their vacation. The feeling is very exotic and foreign, not American. You feel like you're really away. The room was spacious and had a killer ocean view. The furnishings were sparse, but clean. The TV in the room had no remote control and there was no clock. The bathroom was old, but the shower had plenty of hot water. There was a bad mold smell, but the air conditioner worked fine. The food was very good. There was lots of fresh fruit, vegetables, fish, chicken and meat with fresh baked bread at breakfast and other goodies. The open air dining room is lovely. The staff was happy and very friendly. They were very receptive to tips and I recommend tipping. The drinks are just fine, but don't expect fresh fruit in your strawberry margaritas. I had a really great, relaxing time here.

This was our 4th trip to PV as we love this place,but not this resort.

the staff was not friendly,We took some canadian trickets to give out to the staff but brought them all home as we felt they didnt deserve them nor a tip.
the rooms were ok.our patio door had a big crack in it.You couldnt have a hot shower.
The food was not good.The drinks were worse.The first day we were there we tipped the bartender 20.00 American thinking we would get good service,should have kept our money.
This was not a place to go and relax they had kids running around screaming there heads off.Running in and out of the adult pool,and kids 12 and 13 running around drinking.They had entertainment nightly but it was so loud it was unbearable.
I could go on and on but hopefully you will take my word for it, go some place help.Wedid a lot of reading on this site regarding this place and thought they rather harsh,as there were good reviews so we decides to go ahead with our trip for 6 people,I wish we would have spent a little more for a better resort, as this was our kids first trip and our 4th so we knew the differance.between a good one.
So please look around and choose carefully.

The Greys
Calgary AB
,

We stayed at The Las Palmas for our Honeymoon from April 19-26, 2008 and we absolutely LOVED IT!!!!! I would rate the Las Palmas as a 3 star resort, but having said that the staff is awesome, the service, food and facilities are all great!! Juan, one of the Bartenders, is THE BEST!!!!!!! Take him for Cervasas after his shift one day and let him choose the place, he'll most likely take you to a bar just across the street from the resort and you will have an absolute blast with him!!!!! The rooms are very clean and if you tip your chambermaid staff they'll do fun little extras for you like fold the towels and paper products special and leave you extras of things whenever you ask them. They're all very very grateful for any tips you give, so tip the staff well because they work very hard to keep you happy!! The food was excellent there was something different everyday at the buffet and the al la carte restaurant was great, I reccomend the Beef Range with Olive and Pepper Marinade, it's awesome!! The pools were cleaned daily and the staff kept pool areas clean of cups and whatnot. The beach is clean everyday and there are lots of vendors walking along it all day everyday selling fun things. The drinks are great and they have a ton of drinks to choose from, almost anything you can think they can make, try the Miami Vice its sooooo good!
Puerto Vallarta itself is SO BEAUTIFUL, the people are so nice and will stop and chat with you anytime. Checkout Hilo Nightclub, it's so much fun there and the drinks aren't too expensive. Be aware of the Timeshare people though, they're everywhere, but if you want to make some extra cash on your trip do one of the timeshare tours and you can make up to 300.00 US plus extra gifts, lunch and taxi fares to and from, but negotiate that with your guide when your reserving your spot before you go, to make sure you get alot out of it. Once at the timeshare presentation all you have to do is tell them it's your first time there, you don't know when you're coming back, you think next time you do come back you'll use an RV and tell them you make less then 40,000.00 a year and then give you your money and gifts and send you on your way, we made an extra 600.00 US on our trip and we spent less the an hour total at both presentations and got a ton of free booze and souvenirs, it was awesome!!
Take the bus system to tour around the Downtown/Boardwalk area of Old Vallarta, it's like an amusement park ride, it's so different from Canadian transit systems!
I really cannot say enough good things about The Las Palmas and Puerto Vallarta, I totally fell in love with it! And would stay at The Las Palmas again anytime!