We had a great week at the Canto Del Sol. The staff was amazing and very responsive to all of our needs. Checking in and out was a breeze. Tip your waiters a buck or two regularly and before you know it they have drinks in your hand before you even know you wanted one - all week long (not watered down at all by the way)!!! The hotel is older but our room and all of the common areas were very clean and well maintained, great ocean view too. The beach is a bit rocky but, during our stay the maintenance staff was out with shovels and wheel barrels doing there best to clean up some of the rocks. The buffet got to be repetitive pretty quickly but with all of the great restaurants in Puerto Vallarta, why would you want to eat at the hotel everyday? Try Morgan's at the marina for one of the best fillet mignion’s in town, but watch out because the manager will try to sell you on a timeshare presentation. Pipi's is a bit touristy but the margaritas and fajitas/
chimichangas are amazing. All in all, the hotel and staff are great; remember you didn’t pay for a 5 star resort so don’t expect one. Just relax and enjoy!!!

Went on Spring Break with my friends and we stayed at Canto del Sol. From the moment we walked in, the staff were really friendly and very helpful. Our rooms were nice and had everything we needed. i had read so many reviews stating how beds are really hard. but i have to disagree with them and say that the beds were perfectly fine and comfortable. i have a bad back and usually cant sleep on hard beds and i had no problems.
The food was decent, the buffet had a variety of foods to choose from everyday for different meals. I have been to all-inclusive hotels with much better food but the food wasnt too bad at all for the five days we were there. For our a la carte dinner, we booked it at the mexican restaurant. The food there was amazing. It was soo goood so definitely try to book there if you want some reallly delicious food. So overall no complaints about the food. There is a pool bar that is open during the day and then the lobby bar is open till midnight. Both were good and served good drinks.
The hotel is located right on the beach so it is really nice to go and sit there during the day. They have someone there to give you and set up a beach chair when you go which was nice. One of the days we saw whales from the beach. Each day the activities staff has different events set up for the day which are listed on the events board they are fun and really nice to take part in. The pool is also really nice water was warm most of the time and can get drinks from the pool bar while in the pool. Also, you can do nonmotorized water sports for free. We tried the kayaking which was a lot of fun. You can also do windsurfing but I heard that you have to go to a training session in the morning for that.
The location of the hotel is also not bad. It is about a 5 minute cab ride to the Malecon which costs about $5. In addition, if you want to walk around outside of the hotel complex there are many different shops to go in and on the main road there is a megamart in case you want to buy anything. The hotel is also located right next to plaza pelicanos. From what I could tell, it was a really big complex but I think the beach area for canto del sol was nicer. One of my friends and me wanted to get massages done and we went to the shopping complex under villa vallarta which is rite across and in the same hotel complex as canto del sol. we got a 75 min massage for $25 and it was wonderful. you should definitely try it out if you would like one.
during the day we spent most of the time at the hotel and then we would go to the malecon during the evening. it was really nice and we had a great time. make sure to watch a sunset on the malecon they are beautiful.
overall no real complaints about the vacation. had an amazing time with my friends and canto del sol was a great choice for us. the property is really well kept and hotel is beautiful. the hotel looks just like it does in the pictures. not sure if i would stay there again only because there are so many other nice hotels to choose from and i like to try different things but definitely would recommend others looking to stay at a decent place.

This seems like a nice enough place to stay in Puerto Vallarta. The hotel is clean, close to town, has a great pool, nice rooms, and friendly and helpful staff. The food, however, at the buffet and restaurants is terrible! We had the all inclusive and by the last few days ate from the conveinence store down the street because we couldn't bare to even look at the food anymore. We both, also, got very ill on the last few days and chalk that up to the food.

We sat through the time share pitch on the first day, which gave us promotional prices on tours in town and 50% of the inclusive. After that, they left us alone. If we were to do it again, I would not have done the inclusive. The room we had a little kitchen and it would have been cheaper and healthier to prepare our own meals or eat in town.

Most of the other guests at the resort were American, Canadian, and some Mexican. Most were families or groups of adults traveling together. It seemed like spring break for middle aged people. A lot of drunk adults, but we didn't witness anything crazy. The resort put on really bad, but entertaining nightly shows.
The pool was also clean and they had plenty of room for sunbathing on the beach or by the pool. We preffered the beach because the pool always had loud dance music playing.
All in all, I think the resort was good, but maybe I just wasn't into the tourist scene in Puerto Vallarata.

Us: Married couple (26, 33) w/ 3 children (5, 3, 1).
When: April 4-11th, 2008
Airline: Skyservice from Toronto
First time in P.V., 3rd time in Mexico (have always stayed in 4+star hotels)

Canto Del Sol turned out better than expected! There will always be people that complain about trivial things while on vacation, so please ignore the complainers...

CHECK-IN & ROOMS:
We arrived at the hotel around 7pm. There were only 2 families ahead of us in the check-in line. The receptionist was very friendly. We asked for a room w/ a view and he did the best he could. Our 1st room had a large balcony (w/ a view of a dry grass field--I think it was the back of the building)---not the best but no big deal. The room came w/ a stove, microwave, and fridge and everything was super clean. The next day we asked for an ocean view, and within an hour we were in a larger room facing the pool and ocean. Again, the room was exceptionally clean. The 2nd room, however, did not come w/ a kitchenette. The only clock available is on the microwave (if your room has one), so I would recommend bringing a travel alarm clock or watch. You could also call the front desk or check the t.v. for the current time, like we did often. Speaking of the t.v, the hotel has many channels, mostly in Spanish, but several have subs or are in English.

Hotel has its own purification system, although they provide you w/ 2 bottles of water everyday for those who wish to take the extra precaution.

Maids kept the room very well during our stay. We tipped every night because they work so hard for so little in Mexico.

FOOD:
Canto had a theme for every day of the week (Oriental, Caribbean, etc.). Food was decent (what food is exceptional at an all-inclusive anyway?) I personally found the food salty, but that is how it is in all of P.V. We ate out at several local restaurants and found them to be heavy on the salt. So nothing I can hold against Canto Del Sol.

Waiters were super friendly. Like everywhere else, speaking to them in Spanish will get you extra treatment.

We ate everything "they" warn you not to when travelling: seafood, ready-to-eat fruit, ice...None of us got sick.

There are 2 other restaurants at Canto (Mexican and Italian a-la-carte) that require reservations. We didn't go because of our young children. Kids are allowed, but it was just easier for us to dress down and go to the regular "walk-in" restaurant.

ACTIVITIES:
Kid's Club runs daily from 10-4:45pm for kids 4 and older. Our oldest child didn't get a chance to take part, but we did look inside the room. It was a good size and the lady there was very friendly.

For all you fitness buffs (such as us), the gym had more equipment than we had expected. There was enough to do a full workout w/ both free weight and machines. There is a personal trainer on hand the entire time, just in case you need help. There is no extra charge for him. For us, we worked out there once and then for the other coupld of times headed over to Gold's Gym (2 minute walk away). Gold's Gym has everything, incl. a juice bar, kid's club (free of charge), steam room, climbing wall, and massage services. Drop in is $10USD per person or $35 for a week.

Hotel has typical non-motorized water equipment for use (no extra charge. Didn't use any, but saw some people use kayaks.

Noticed some nightly entertainment. We could see some dancing from our hotel balcony. There were also fireworks a few nights we were there. There was probably more stuff, but w/ young children nightly entertainment is not really feasible.

BEACH:
OK, this is the only downside. The beach is rocky and small, and there is a bunch of garbage. We only used it to sunbathe and watch the kids throw rocks in the ocean.

Vendors, yes, like the rest of tourist Mexico. Annoying, but just say, "No, gracias."

Red flag up everyday, indicating danger. Water was rough most of the time.

OTHER:
Mexicans are super friendly in general. Like I mentioned earlier, speaking Spanish will get you extra treatment almost everywhere you go. There are certain deals given only to those who can speak the language (not a whole lot, but we did discover little extras here and there around town).

Weather was sunny every single day and b.t. 28& 33 degrees. It's not as hot on the Pacific Coast because of the breeze, so you feel comfortable, unlike the Mayan where it's hot and sticky.

Note: If you want the 24 hour open bar, you should look elsewhere. The pool-side bar closed around 4pm everyday, and then you'd have to go to the lobby bar or restaurants for drinks.

Drinks were watered down only twice. I guess it depends who makes them for you. Just ask to make it strong and they will gladly do so.


We could check out another hotel before going back to Canto, but would return if there was a good price on a vacation package. We are very clean people who enjoy 4+ star hotels, and Canto Del Sol did us just fine!!