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!

This was mine and my husband’s first trip to Puerto Vallarta. We have nothing but good things to say about the city, restaurants, cab drivers and the natives. The hotel however was a total bust. We read the reviews before we took our vacation and decided to keep an open mind since the reviews were so mixed. Our first and last meal at the restaurant was terrible! It took (literally) 45 minutes to get our food in a restaurant with 3 occupied tables. The waiter was sweating all over the place. The hotel room was mediocre and the pools were nice; the staff was rude. There was noisy construction going on all over the hotel but not the type of construction it needed. Although we didn’t see roaches in the room there were plenty in the halls and the dead ones were there for days. Any areas marked “adult” had children everywhere, it was not enforced. The concierge (which must translate as “salesman” in Spanish) was relentless. We used an alternative exit the entire time because every time we entered the lobby he hounded us. When we checked in we were in our room for less than 5 minutes before he started call our room asking us to come down and speak to him. We decided early on that our best time would be spent away from the hotel so that’s what we did and we had a great time experiencing the city! My main reason in writing this is there were a lot of underhanded things the hotel was doing to guests. We met quite a few couples who were told not to bring money, everything would be covered, and they were lied to. Upon checking out the front desk manager requested our room keys, pool cards and bracelets. They make you wear cheap plastic bracelets the entire time you’re there, which they told us we needed to get drinks at the pool. Since we decided that we were only going to sleep there (plus they’re a target for salesmen on the streets) we took off our bracelets and threw them away. So we were unable to return them although they NEVER told us we had to return them or keep them on. He ended up charging us $180 US dollars for two cheap plastic bracelets which were not reusable! When we refused to pay he said he was going to call the police, not wanting to miss our plane or get involved with the police we paid the money and decided we’d dispute it once we got back in the states. Eventually it was returned to us. They’ll try to scam you anyway so beware. The SECTUR is the Secretary of Tourism in Mexico and they monitor hotels and look out for tourist so if you find yourself in a situation like this they’re a good resource for help!