Please remember as you are reading this that we are not fussy eaters. We eat alot of wild meat, venison, moose, rabbit, duck, squirrel, partridge etc...Get the picture.. I would not recommend the Hola Resort for a vacation, There are alot more upscale resorts around. For being classified as a 4 star resort my ratings would be a 2.5 to 3 star resort. We arrived on a Friday and only was there for a week. The main problem was the food.. Not the greatest and not much of a selection. From being deep fried, greasy, heavily salty, and the meats cut very thin and cooked to death. Basically they had always the same everyday. Fried fish, refried beans, fried battered sausage, fried potatoes, french fries, nachos, burritos with little sausy meat, fried chicken wings, quesadillas which I think they forgot to put anything inside, Alot of saucy, soupy shredding meat dishes. Same flavor, nippy or hot. Salad section was mainly lettace and tomatoes, cut up or salsa. The only restaurant that had appealing meals was the Gourmet Restaurant. Breakfast was the best meal of the day. We had nothing but a comedy of errors upon arrival.. Our room was not ready till 3pm for we arrived around 1pm. Which was ok for we went and had some lunch in the Villa Linda, big mistake, not a very good selection. Then we changed and sat by the pool till our room was ready. When we got to our room on the 9th floor, nothing impressing. Large orange wall and furniture which has seen better days. No towels at all in our room. I know we weren't spending much time in our room. No big deal but when you open the door to the room and look in it did not feel inviting. Ok so much for the decor. That night our toilet backed up and had to have maintenance up to unplug the toilet. By Monday our air conditoner began to leak and this continued on till Wed. Again we had maintenance up to fix the problem. So now by Wed after our fiesta on the beach which I would say the food was excellant we went up to our room and water on the floor again. We had the desk manager up with maintenance and they did finally agree to have us moved. We went to a time share apartment.. No problem you say. Well we went from a king size bed to a 3/4 size bed. Cozy for two adults.. Would have been great for honeymooners but after 32 years of marriage quaintness is passay. The curtains had better days and the blackout curtain had holes all thru it due to sun rot. So all we could do is chalk this up to experience.
I can say is that the weather was great and the city is so easy to get around in. Take the blue bus into town with the people and only costs 55 cents. There is a Walmart, Price Club, Sams Club, Hooters, Hard Rock Cafe, KFC and Burger King down there. My husband really enjoyed seeing the cruise ships come into port at the Marina. There is a nice flea market there also. There are malls very close by that some of them are walking distance, The people working were really nice and helpful. They were always smiling. We did the City Tour, took the sites in Puerto Vallarta the boardwalk (Malecon), Tequilla factory and had lunch up in Mismaloya. Excellant Chicken Kabobs. with rice. Very tasty. Beautiful scenery. We did get to see a whale out in the bay and putting quite a show on for the people who went on the whale watching tour. People in our resort said tha there was a whale about 30 feet off shore in front of our resort plus a school of dolphins which we just missed. The mornings were cool and by 10am the sun came out and not sweltering to burn the skin. The evenings cooled down and there was always a cool breeze in the lobby. The evening entertainment was fun and the young adults tried their best. I know that I am being very critical and I had read reviews prior to leaving and tried to keep an open mind. When I read the negative reviews I felt that maybe those people may never be satisfied and I out weighed the good from the bad. I guess the bad was right this time. I guess you have to form your own opinion and this is my review, The food was boring, not appetizing and way tooo salty for our likings. If you haven't book there yet don't go someplace else and if you did maybe you may enjoy the resort. There were no amnieties. No fridge in our room and we had to buy bottled water to have in our room also. I would go back to Puerto Vallarta but a differnet resort. Good Luck!!!

Pros: Cleanliness, friendly staff, good food, restaurant open till 6am, close to town
Cons: Beach peddlers, ocean not wader friendly, only 1 kind of beer (cool Sol), no fridge, VERY small balcony

The Hola is clean (I couldn't find a bug anywhere on the resort nevermind in the rooms), but was obviously older and could use some further upkeep/renovations.

STAFF: The staff was friendly and the waiters rarely let your glass go empty, although the only beer there (Sol, not even Corona) was never cold, cool at best.

FOOD: The food was above average although we never got a chance to attend the a la cartes as we had an 18 month old with us and children aren't allowed (which is understandable). They do have a babysitting service which charges $8/hr, however we didn't use it. They had mostly American style food (pizza, hot dogs, etc) with the odd Mexican dish which was all quite tasty for the most part, especially the Beach Party feast on Wednesday. If you're looking to go into town for dinner one night and enjoy BBQ'd meats, go to Brasil's. You won't be disappointed!!

BEACH: The beach sand was nice. There's about 50 feet of beach where the peddlers aren't allowed in, but once you pass the ropes they're all over the place. It got to the point where we wouldn't go to the beach anymore because of them. And be careful if you plan on going into the ocean at all, if you wade in about 10 feet or more, expect it to suddenly drop down. I'm a decent swimmer and I didn't even feel comfortable going in.

POOL: The pool was nice, but not overly big and could use some work as many of the tiles which it was made of were missing and made it look somewhat dumpy. There were lots of chairs for the most part and we never had to look long to find a seat.

ROOMS: The rooms are very basic and nothing fancy. They're about the same size as a normal hotel room. Some suites have fridges but most don't. If you tell the front desk that you have medication that needs to be kept cold (which we did) and request a fridge, they will provide one to you.

If you're someone who doesn't like noise at night and wants to go to sleep before 2am, then make sure you don't have a room in the main building on the first 3 floors as the hallway is open to the lobby which is where the disco is and it's very loud. We were on the 5th floor and as long as our balcony doors were closed we could barely hear the music. And there wasn't much need to go onto the balcony, which was little more than a window sill, as it was barely 3 feet wide (just enough for a plastic lawn chair to fit), so if you plan on spending a lot of time on the balcony as we did since our son went to bed at 8pm, this may not be the resort for you.

ENTERTAINMENT: We didn't get a chance to experience much of the night life due to us having a young child, but it did sound fun from what we could hear on our "balcony".

On a side note, if you have kids, definitely check out Sea Life Park. It's a waterpark about 20 minutes away but is definitely worth the cab fare ($16) and drive. You can swim with the dolphins or just enjoy the rides and kids area.

Overall the Hola was okay. I'd probably have a higher opinion of it would we had a chance to experience it fully, but having a small child there didn't allow that. The Hola would be a good resort for those on a budget and just looking to get away for a week. Probably not for those who expect to be pampered in a luxury. I'd rate it as a 6.5/10.

From the time you are greeted at the front entry, till you are loading up to leave, The people at the Hola are the best. They make sure you are very well taken care of (The people at the front desk are a little stiff but you don't have to deal with them very often). The rooms are not great but again you are only in them to sleep and shower. Just remember - you are in a humid climate so there is mold here and there. The food is ok - not great - but it's all you can eat. Breakfast was alway good - Eat outside upstairs - Its cooler there. Service is great at both locations. Drinks are included. I have read several reviews that complain about them being watered down. My suggestion would be - order straight shots if you want to get hammered. For the rest of you who just enjoy drinking all day - the drinks are fine. The pool is fine but the hot tub is a little small and it is usually full. The beach area is good size and they have lots of chairs and lounges to watch the beautiful sunsets. They will bring your drinks and eats to you there as well. We booked a couple of excursions from the agent at the Hotel and had no problems. Ask for a discount.
So to put this review in a "NUT SHELL" If you want three hots and a cot at a reasonable price - The HOLA is for you. If you are looking for a "PALACE" Look somewhere else. If you go to Mexico, go out and see the countryside and meet the people. Don't just sit around the hotel. There is alot to do in PVR. By the way, This is the second time we have stayed at the Hola.

We got a great deal and had a nice break from the Canadian winter cold. However, I was not as impressed with the Hola as other reviewers. But in the end, we had a nice little trip, and the cons of the Hola didn't interfere with our overall enjoyment. If you can get a good deal on this hotel, I say go for it!

Pros: We loved the staff (and out of respect, I'd recommend tipping $1US for drinks brought out to you when you are on the beach/by the pool, but it is not necessary). The beach and balconies are nice. The pool area was very tidy, and staff would bring out cool towels for sunbathers. The staff made great efforts to make customers happy and relaxed.

Cons: Our room had odor issues (it was something other than just tropical humidity and made us feel like the whole room was dirty) and our beds were really really hard (and I like a firm mattress- this was beyond firm, just plain hard). We booked a queen and received two singles- this was upsetting for a young couple. We were told to wait until 2 pm for our room to be ready. So we politely waited by the pool until 2 pm. Turns out we were the very last to check in, so it was too late to ask for a room change. I'd recommend you hang out in the lobby and ask periodically if your room is ready (you may annoy the staff, but it would be worth it, since it sounds like other people had nicer rooms).

If you are really picky, I wouldn't go to the Hola Vallarta. But if you are able to relax and realize that a warm destination vacation is an absolute luxury, then I think you will enjoy the Hola.