It was a great place, but a little far out; the food was great; the beach was small, but a nice quiet location.

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.