The Canto Del Sol was EXACTLY what we were looking for!

Good price, Great location,Great Staff, Clean Rooms, The grounds are very well kept, The food was nothing to complain about! (And My Boyfriend Can be Picky!) We were doing other things at night so we did not try the "a le carte" dinners but heard the steak house is delicous. THe Snack bar was also great for the afternoon.

The hotel staff did anything necessary to make our stay better, not to mention they LOVE canadians there!

Everymorning the breakfast was made to order (if you wish) & non stop nice strong Mexican Coffee!

It was just my boyfriend and i and we found plenty to do in Puerto Vallarta. Try the tours they are all very safe & worth the money!

A friend and I traveled to the Canto Del Sol from Mar. 27 to Apr. 3rd, 2008. As 3 star resorts go, we found this to be a "nice" resort. The grounds were beautiful and the staff were friendly and helpful. The front desk staff were also friendly and good humored, which was a rare find for me coming to Mexico for the 3rd time.

I was surprised to find that P.V. was very commercialized. If I had done more research before going, I probably would have realized it, but it was a little over whelming and much busier than I thought it would be.

Our check-in was fairly painless, although they could not accommodate me with a non-smoking room at the time as they said they were full.

Once check-in was complete, we were sent to another desk in the lobby to receive our towel cards. The towel lady gave us our information and proceeded to show us some great reduced rates for excursions around P.V. Half price for some! The only catch? You guessed it, TIMESHARE presentation.

This kind of turned me the wrong way, as we were hit right off the bat by the towel lady... but we knew coming here that there was going to be some timeshare pressure.

We found out that it was going to be quite expensive to make a long distance phone call from the resort. I found a phone card dispenser just outside the lobby that sold phone cards for about $10 U.S. That gave me about 15 minutes to Canada.

Across the street, at the Villa Vallarta mall, we found a nice internet cafe with phone service. It also had 3 little phone booths for privacy. Calls to U.S. and Canada were only 20 cents a minute! Needless to say, all our calls were made from there for the duration of our stay. Use of a computer and internet was only $1.50 per hour.

After the first night at the resort I realized I'm going to have to get my room changed to non-smoking. I woke up with a horrible cough from all the smoke coming into the room from the bottom of the adjoining room door and the ventilation system. At the time, I was located in room 128 facing a back alley.

I spoke to the front desk and they told me they only had 1 more room left, room 136. The second night was better but the rest of the week was back to a smoke filled room as the room next door became occupied by a smoking couple. My friend who stayed in room 390 also had problems coughing from the smoking areas. I've since been to a doctor and was prescribed an inhaler and was advised that the cough was due to the smoke exposure and should clear up in a couple of weeks.

I'm not sure if my stay would have been more comfortable if I was given non-smoking room or not, as I did not have the chance to stay in one. The smoking issue was really the only problem I had with this resort; albeit not a small problem for me.

Away from the resort we enjoyed the flea market and downtown area. Only a $5 taxi ride away. We also went to see a bull fight near the marina. If you don't have the stomach to watch a bull get killed, I wouldn't suggest going. There were a few unsuspecting tourists we saw leaving early with tears in their eyes.

We found the food to be good at the buffet and Italian restaurants, and GREAT at the Mexican restaurant. We also tried the breakfast on the patio in front of the snack bar one morning. Great views and food.

All in all it was a good vacation but I don't think I'll be returning as I like to try new places each vacation.

We just returned last friday from our trip to canto del sol. i went with a girlfriend of mine for spring break, ages 18 and 17 (by ourselves! hahaha) We couldn't have asked for anything more! Check in was a breeze and the front desk people were very accomodating. From renting laptops, to getting the lock and key for the inroom safe...even at 2 in the morning when we came home from the clubs and my toe was bleeding from broken glass lol, they helped me out with bandaids and rubbing alcohol. My friend and I felt very safe, which was something we were concerned about. Every time we left the hotel, the bellboy would take the taxi number and your hotel number, and do the same when you returned back to the hotel...anytime. so they always knew where you were.
the pool was clean and nice temp. the bars were always fully stocked and you got helped quickly. we went to the steak and mexican a la cartes. they were both really good. Especially the mexican! you HAVE to try the mexican coffee!!! so good! the buffet was your typical mexican buffet. nothing special, but there was never anything disgusting hahah. the one thing that i wasn't 100% happy about was the beach. it was small and crowded and really rocky. but the temp was refreshing, and it was always clear. because we had such a great experience, the size and rockiness hardly bothered us. there are lots of beach vendors too, just to let you know. There is also parasailing, banana boats, jet skis, kayaks, catamerans...
Our room was beautiful. We had a full kitchen and bathroom, a living room, and a separate bedroom with a king-size bed. and we didnt request any of it! hahah it was sweet. We also had a balcony, but unfortunately it looked out over a tennis court. But how much time do you actually spend in your room right? No problem hahah.
The hotel is located in this cute little town of its own almost. Cobble-stone streets (be careful when you're walking, you could break your ankle...even in flats). The taxi rides into the malecon were 40 pesos ($4 usd). Watch out if your coming home late at night...they like to bump it up, we got anything from 50-70 pesos. and they didnt usually take no for an answer at that time...although they were all very nice.
My friend and I felt very safe even in the town. We were there during Easter, so there was a big carnival type of celebrations in town. There were just as many locals that stayed at the hotel as tourists.
If your lookng for nightlife, senor frogs is a must...with the free tequila shots flowing, also, zoo bar is a lot of fun and hilo (hilo is really small and crowded though.) Those were all smaller clubs, but if you're looking for something big...hit up Collage. HUGE. Over 900 people there when we went for a foam party. That's right, a foam party. As for favoritet restaurant in town...PIPI'S!!! AWESOME!
So basically, everyone and everything at canto del sol was perfect for us two girls. Definitely would recommend it for young people and coouples, or families with teenagers. Thats not to say that it was a crazy party resort or anything. There were a lot of families there, with little kids, but I just don't know what they thought about the accomodations for children. Overall.....GREAT EXPERIENCE. CAN'T WAIT FOR NEXT YEAR!

Reviews about this place run the gamut, so rather than rehash and rebut, following are impressions gathered from a weeklong stay, which began Easter Sunday.

The Good:
1. The room. In any case, not much beyond the basics in the way of furnishings, but we got an unsolicited free upgrade to a honeymoon suite at check-in!! The patio door opened to the pool area, with a partial ocean view. And it was nice to be welcomed with a beautifully (though a bit gawdily) made bed, chilling bottle of bubbly, and large plate of fresh fruit.
2. The staff. Friendly and reasonably efficient, usually more so if they thought they'd get a tip. Housekeeping was a little unpredictable, though. Bonus was that we were only asked once if we'd like to sit through the timeshare presentation, and only had to say "no" once before it was understood that we didn't..
3. Mornings. Coming from Oregon's climate, there were few things better than coffee and a leisurely breakfast on the patio of the snack bar overlooking the beach. We much preferred the relative quiet, sunshine and panoramic view, over the broader buffet offerings of the main restaurant. Even saw mother and baby whales from there twice during the week.
4. Location. About halfway between the Marina and town, a 40 peso ($4) cab ride to either, about 25 minutes if you're walking. Another location plus is that there are few beach vendors in the area.
5. Mar y Tierra, the taco stand across the main street into town from the resort. It doesn't look like much, but according to at least one cab driver, their tacos are the best in town. From our limited experience, we'd agree.
6. The price was right! But, in Mexico, you generally get what you bargain for.

The Not so Good:
1. Food. Chicken and fish served 7 different ways (if they held to pattern) in the main restaurant, depending on the day of the week. And no particularly good or interesting preparations, even on "Mexican" night. Specialty restaurants were a bit disappointing, too. After our first fully day, we began seeking alternatives for lunches and dinners, usually ending up somewhere outside the resort.
2. Drinks in the restaurants and at the bars. They're included in the price of course, and maybe that's why, almost regardless of what you order, it won't taste like you're expecting/hoping. Even if you're a generous tipper. I ended up sticking with the beer, specifically Pacifico..
3. Noise! The resort is built in a U-shape around the pool, with rooms facing either inside or outside. Rooms facing inside are exposed to noise almost all day, whether from the pool area, the evening "entertainment" or the bar, which is open until late into the night. Outside rooms fare better, unless they're close to the lobby, as was the case with my daughter and her friend's, who got the double whammy of a lousy view and lots of noise.
4. The pool. As has been said, the water's too cold (it's probably not heated). The swim-up bar is a nice feature, but if the drinks are lousy...... And we found that even when we wanted to swim, the pool was often usurped for organized activities, "tequila volleyball" for example. Maybe that was because of spring break, though.
5. The beach. Too narrow for lots of beach activities, and too steep for some water activities. And rocky. You won't see anyone diving for digs in the beach volleyball court (well, unless they've had a few too many). The sand isn't soft either; pretty grainy. Makes for nice photos, though.

Other:
1. Internet. The resort's website lists internet connectivity as an amenity, but you might have to pay, or rent one of their laptops to get wi-fi. Laptop rentals are 30 pesos/hour, double the cost of using one in the shop across the street.
2. Phone service. Only mentioning this because of the previous review. I called three times to our home in Oregon from the phone in the room, and was told by the hotel's operator that the charge would be $3/minute. Between those and several hours of laptop rentals, I didn't question the total $35 charge on my bill at checkout.
3. Clientele. As has been said, lots of Canadians, young families to middle-aged empty-nesters. And, when we were there, about the same number of Mexican families. Most other Americans we met were either young couples or spring breakers.

Would we return? At our stage in life (early to mid 50's), we'd decidedly not return to Canto Del Sol, and maybe not even Puerto Vallarta. We'd forgotten the almost constant pressure tourists are under to spend money, whether it be for chicklets gum, or a timeshare. If we do return, it will likely be to one of the smaller hotels south of town. The coastline there is absolutely stunning.