My wife and I were married in Puerto Vallarta on March 24th and picked the Presidente for our guests since they offered us such a competitive group rate. We had been to Puerto Vallarta once before, but we were a little nervous considering we had never been to the hotel, it was a little ways out of town, and we had 60 guests to accommodate.

The Presidente did not disappoint. In fact, it far exceeded our expectations and our guests regularly congratulated us on our hotel selection. We had older adults, families with kids, singles, couples -- everybody had a great time at this hotel.

The service was outstanding, all around. The food was excellent--room service, Italian restaurant, meals by the pool, all of it was good. The beach was private and not crowded at all, and we were there during Semana Santa. The surf was pretty rough a few of the days we were there but it actually made for a fun time in the waves. The pool area was relaxing and you could pretty much always find a chair to lay out on. The rooms are HUGE and so are the bathrooms. Really, it was difficult to find flaws with this place.

The location and distance from town was not a problem at all, as this was a concern of ours. It actually turned out to be for the better since we were there during Easter and it gets pretty busy in town. It is about a 15 minute cab ride from downtown, and about a 5-10 minute cab ride to Mismaloya, and there was never any trouble getting a cab. Buses were also very easy to use, stopped right outside the hotel, they came regularly, and are very cheap.

We highly recommend this hotel. It is a little bit on the expensive side, but it is worth it. All of our guests had a awesome time and thought the cost reasonable. We will definitely be going back.

We just got back from a week at El Presidente! We had a beautiful 2 bedroom suite on the 10th floor. The kids loved the hot tub on the deck and watching the whales, dolphins, boats and sun sets each day! We ordered room service every morning and the food was excellent. The staff was very attentive and remembered our prefrences. The house cleaning was excellent too.
The italian restaurant was 5 star! The best pasta we have ever had. Loved the meals by the pool too! Great tacos and guacamole...Staff very nice to our children.
Spa very small; but amazing treatments..
The beach was amazing! Very private, great shells and fun surf. The staff were great about getting our chairs ready everyday. We loved Carlos. We went sailing with him and snorkeling at Los Arcos. We went at 9 am before all the tours... It was beautiful. The water was a little cool and not as clear as the Caribbean. But, we still saw beautiful fish, sting rays and birds too. We rented a car for three days. Had fun at El Eden and the kids liked the canopy tour there (take cash to eat there...). Went to Sayulita for the day and went surfing. Really fun town and best unique shopping. Felt like a surfing california town. Went to Punta Mita too. Downtown PV very busy. Kids enjoyed all the action.
But, loved our area at El Presidente the best. Loved the mountains and beach.
So, sad to be home...but can't wait to return....

This was our second visit to the Presidente Intercontinental. This is a generally nice property (could be outstanding), and we would consider returning again because it's easy and comfortable, but let's weigh the pros and cons. Pros first:

Location: We enjoyed being on the south side in Mismaloya. It's quiet (the rather busy road outside isn't a distraction) and the surroundings are very nice. Easy bus or taxi ride to down.

View: Great view of Banderas Bay. Loved that all the rooms have ocean views. You can sit on your balcony and whale-watch, in season. Perfect sunsets. We liked hearing the ocean all night (some people may dislike that)

Staff: Friendly and accomodating. The bellman and pool staff from last year recognized us again on our return visit. For those that don't speak Spanish, it's not a problem here. English is also spoken. When taxis were scarce on our last day, the bellman made special arrangements to take our 7-person party to the airport.

Pool: Nice pool, very clean, and not over-crowded. It was a busy week there and I had no trouble securing prime real estate pool-side. Plenty of towels and pillows available, and even books to lend.

OK, so now the cons:

Facility: Dated, and certainly not up to what I would think of as Intercontinental standards. This place needs a facelift. It's not in disrepair, it just looks, well, out of date.

Beds: Bad. Hard, and our bedspread looked like the laundry spilled bleach on it. Pillows were not nice, either. They need to get with the program and buy some new beds and linens pronto. If they'd just do this, my opinion of the place would improve significantly!

Food: Others in my party said breakfast was nice (I snacked on fruit and muffins in my room). Poolside bar/restaurant is of good quality. Didn't take dinner on property. We preferred to dine in town. In general, food options here are limited and rather pricey.

Stupid charges: They already charge a healthy room rate, then tack on "resort fees" and "housekeeping fees" plus the usual battery of mystery taxes all hotels these days seem to charge. I just didn't feel like I got anything special that deserved additional charges. They even wanted to charge me for the in-room coffee I made one morning. Who ever heard of that? I complained and it was removed from my bill. They ought to tell you. So just know you're going to pay like $100 per night for all this misc. junk than the room rate you see online. If you are very cost-conscious, you should inquire about these extra charges before you book the hotel and show up at the front desk to check in!

Overall, this place is a safe bet, but I really wish they'd update the guestrooms! That would really move this place from good to great.

This might sound strange, but I would not stay at this property again, although I enjoyed my stay. When you first arrive at the hotel, you can't help but be impressed . . . friendly staff and the entrance and lobby area are beautiful.

The staff - The staff is excellent. Both check-in and check-out were quick and painless. The bellhops were outstanding at arranging cabs. And staff at the pool bar, restaurant, concierge, etc. were all top notch.

The rooms - The rooms are not glamorous, and the decor is nothing to get excited about. They're very plain. I would describe the rooms as functional. I was on the 3rd floor and enjoyed the ocean view. I understand you can pay more for higher floors, but I'd have to find out what they saw different from me to know if that's worthwhile.

Beds are hard as a rock, but since I like that, I'm not complaining. Air conditioning in the room worked quite well. Rooms were very clean and also very large -- plenty of space to walk around. Also had a balcony with a chair and chaise lounger.

The bathroom was huge . . . almost Vegas sized . . . and with lots of space to spread things out. Water pressure in the shower was excellent.

My only complaints with the room itself is the lack of nice furnishings (not that I really cared) and the lack of drawer space. Please note that if you are a light sleeper, the surf is quite loud and can keep you up (although I found it soothing). There is no safe in the room, although they offer a safe at the front desk.

The pool - The pool is nice, warm enough, and there were plenty of chairs, most in the sun. In fact, chairs were so plentiful I wonder if the hotel was more than 1/3 full. We just never saw many people anywhere in the hotel. Beach towels are plentiful too and huge. I must say, however, that I didn't spend much time at the pool. The only reason I would complain about the pool is that I visited the Mismaloya resort one day and their pool area was about 3 times as large and much nicer. But I understand Mismaloya is all inclusive. And that's not to say the pool area is not nice.

The beach - Very nice, plenty of chairs for guests, and no obnoxious vendors bothering you. So what's not to like? The surf, undertow . . . extremely rough, such that it was unpleasant and exhausting to go in (and get out of) the water, and it was like this all 7 days of my visit (and I'm a strong swimmer). Rarely did anyone venture into the ocean and almost every day the red flag stood proud warning against going into the water. This fact alone would keep me from returning. On the other hand, the tide at Los Muertos beach was much lighter, and the surf at Mismaloya beach almost non-existent. I like going in the water, so not being able to go in the water pretty much ruined the beach part of the hotel for me.

The restaurant - We really only sampled the breakfast buffet (except one afternoon of guacamole and chips and salsa), but it's very nice. Great selection of fruits, yogurts, juices. Waffles, quesadillas, omelets, toast, eggs, etc. Fridays through Sundays seemed to offer a much more expanded buffet. The chilaquiles, when fresh, were the best find on the buffet. They also offered a very nice selection of salsas.

There's a nice workout area that was typically empty - 2 treadmills, an elliptical, a bike, weight machines, dumbbells and a television.

Near the fitness center was another room with 4 computer terminals and free internet use. I never had to wait to use the internet. Bring your laptop for the free wi-fi in the lobby area.

When I say the hotel is inconveniently located, I say so because it is about a 20 minute cab ride (around $7) to the old town area. On a previous stay, I stayed at Camino Real (now Dreams), which is about 7-8 minutes away from the Intercontinental, towards the old town area. It's only about a 5 or so minute cab ride to Mismaloya. Since we chose to dine in town every night, the cab rides became a bit tiring. If you are planning on going into town a lot, you better think carefully about staying here. Also, there is nowhere to walk to in the area.

Overall, I'd rate this a 3 to 3.5 star resort. The best aspect of the hotel was certainly the service. The staff is very friendly and goes out of their way to help. The surf at the beach was the most disappointing part of my stay. If going in the ocean is important to you, you might want to choose someplace else to stay. Finally, if you are expecting typical "Intercontinental" standards, don't (the service is up to that standard, but not much else).