Read Reviews of Vela Vallarta, a Family Beach Resort in Puerto Vallarta

Great Food, Great Service. Enjoy it every time we come down.

It's a very nice resort as expected of a 4 star hotel with marble/slate floors and bathroom. Rooms are studio to 4 bedroom suites with kitchen area. Staff are courteous and friendly. They come to your room twice a day, one to clean and one for turn down service. All inclusive can be added but the food at the restaurant is somewhat disappointing but the buffet tastes better. This place is near the end of the cul-de-sac so it's a little bit far from the main street where there is a small shopping area. By taxi, it is about 20-30 minutes to downtown Puerto Vallarta. There is also a bus that stops by the hotel but it comes every 20-30 minutes.

We’ve been visiting Velas Vallarta since 2011. Most guests here during December/January are retired and generally pleased with the food and accommodations. The main appeal of this property is its affordability, the excellent staff, and the beautiful grounds. The property is divided into the hotel section (which requires mandatory all-inclusive fees) and condos/rentals. Over the years, we’ve had mixed experiences with the food, so this year our family decided to rent a condo rather than book through the hotel to avoid the all-inclusive charges. We were much happier. We explored off resort restaurants (Marina is a $5 short cab ride away) and we had some of the best dining experiences we’ve had in Puerto Vallarta (especially at La Palapa in Zona Romántica, there’s also a second location a few resorts away). We still ate at the resort for breakfast/lunch and the food quality and overall taste have improved, particularly at the beachfront restaurant. However, there are still occasional hits and misses. If the all-inclusive option were mandatory for everyone, we likely wouldn’t return. A few other notes: Get a massage on the Jetty, life changing. If you’re booking a rental condo, avoid the “studio” units. They tend to be darker, and the bedrooms are located near the hallways, making nighttime noise from people returning to their rooms more noticeable. Finally, the staff. Diego, Cristina, and Cristina at the beachfront restaurant treated us like family every time we saw them.