I booked Villas del Palmar via Hotwire, 3 Star hotel in PVR for about $65 a night.. I was a little hesitant about the hotel given the stories read on this site, but since I could not cancel I went ahead with the reservation. We stayed here for two nights at the end of April. This hotel is a $50 pesos cab ride from the Malecon, or in the same route as the public bus, so it is well located walking distance from Soriana/Gigante where you can buy groceries.

All Rooms have a kitchennette with a fridge, sink, pots/pans and silverware. This is a plus, you can keep your beer, milk and juice cold at all times.

For $53 addditional dollars I had the option to make it all inclusive which I didnt. Basically for $106 a night per couple you can reserve the non-inclusive option from the hotewl directly, which I didnt think it was a bad deal.

The elevators are new, the lobby is well kept, and the pools are small but clean.

The rooms have all the standard amenities, a balcony, and a partial ocean view for an additional cost.

I really recommend the food vendors that are on the beach to the right hand side of the hotel. Alfredo's tent is the one to go. He serves shrimp quesadillas, shrimp and fish tacos, shrimp cocktails, and a number of shrimp dishes (scampi, battered, etc), at very affordable prices ($3 shrimp quesadillas with rice, $1.50 ceviche tostadas, etc) and he makes everything to order fresh from the grill. He is to the right of the Holiday inn.

For the price, I think the Villas was a good choice. It was better than the Holiday Inn where I stayed a year ago at a much steeper price.

Just avoid the timeshare people and you should be ok. The hotel has great laundry facilities a mini-market, and a deli on site. I recommend this if you have a family as you can cook your own meals and do your laundry if needed ($3 per load to wash, $3 per load to dry).

Just returned from the Villa del Palmar on April 29th for the 8th year in a row. First let me say that I don’t own a timeshare here so this all based on a regular client experience and I don’t do the all inclusive so I will not be commenting on it.

Where do I start…..ok lets start with the front desk. I found them to be very helpful and friendly and check in and out went very smoothly but it probably also helped that we arrived and left on a Tuesday. In the past I have arrived on a Saturday and yes it can be quite chaotic but if you remain calm and just go with the flow things seems to go much smoother.

Moving on to the service people (ie maids, waiters). They are all fabulous and worth some extra tipping on top of the $3.50/day that gets added to your bill. Our maid was fantastic. We usually left the room around 10am and it was always made up by 2pm and we never had a problem with towels. The waiters around the pool and beach do a great job. They always make sure that you are happy and have a drink in your hand if you want it. Our favorite waiter was Francisco ( hope I spelled that right :) ).

As far as the rooms go, you couldn’t ask for more especially considering the amount of time you actually spend in them. This trip we had a large studio with 2 beds. The kitchen was perfect for making some meals and had everything you needed. The bathroom was large and clean. There is also an in room safe in the closet. They have done away with the key type safes and have installed electronic ones where you set your own code.

The grounds are kept immaculate. Someone is always sweeping, mopping, cutting the grass, pruning the bushes, watering the flowers, etc….

There are 3 pools that you can use. There is one right out by the beach, then there is a larger one in the center of the resort and then there is a quieter one at the sister resort Villa del Mar. We never had a problem at any time of day getting chairs around any of the pools.

The beach area is fairly large and we never had a problem getting a place on the beach but then we opted out of sitting under a palapa and got an umbrella and chairs and sat closer to the water but there always seems to be an open palapa w/chairs. Please remember to tip the beach boys if you get them to set up your umbrella and chairs. I saw a lot of people not tipping and these boys don’t make a lot of money.

I realize I haven’t commented on the timeshare people yet but I really have nothing to say about them, as I really didn’t encounter any. They kind of just left me alone.

If anyone has any questions please do not hesitate to contact me.

'The bath towels were scratchy'. And this is the WORST possible thing I could say about VDP after a week's stay in 4/08. What a great place.
Wife and I had #4152, second floor overlooking the pool. Did not have to sign up for a timeshare or any other committment to get the room. Check in was a breeze, the time share action was only about 20 minutes of jabbering and then they left us alone for the rest of the trip.
Did not do the all-inclusive and after trying a couple of the drinks (watered-down?), we were glad to buy booze at Soriana's and spend our time eating in town.
Beach was one of the best I saw in all of PV. Staff spent all day, everyday cleaning and taking care of guests. Everyone pleasant and seemed to love working at VDP.

Don't let the negative reviews get to you as they did to me. This place was great in every respect (except for the towels!!).

Go Cats

We stayed at the Villa Del Palmar, PV for 1 week. The property was clean and well maintained, the staff was attentive and friendly. We noted that the all inclusive package was a bit pricey, and the food served in the rest. on property was not that great. There was a magnificent on beach rest just down the beach from the hotel. It was a local place with plastic chairs/etc... and for 40 pesos you got the best damn fish taco's you have ever had. Fresh Mahi Mahi right off the fish, grilled and served with pico de gallo. Delicious.

The hotel staff expected a lot of tips, which is not so unusual, however, when you check out, review your bill closely. They charge you 37.10 per day in grat on the bill ,above and beyond any tipping you did on the bill.

Also, no internet in the rooms, only wireless in the lobby. This was a real pain if you need to work. You have to go to the lobby just for the signal. I did get a signal from the Holiday Inn next door while in the room, but they required a password.

Overall it was a nice stay. We stayed in a 1 bedroom unit, which was clean and well maintained. Some minor repairs and updating would be nice, however, overall not too bad. The location is great. 50 pesos got you just about anywhere. Remember to get the price prior to getting into the Taxi.

If you are going to Time share presentations. Hold out for at least 3 different offers. If you want an excursion, the Sea Gypsey was a beautiful 2 masted schooner that takes you to a private beach. Nice because only 12-16 people at a time fit on this boat. Also, resist the temptation to go on the City Tour, it was very boring.

Some of our friends recommended the Magic of the Night? tour which took you out on a boat to a beach at night for dinner. Very romantic.

This property is not 5 star, more like 4-4.5