Hard Rock Hotel Vallarta

Spent about a week at the Hard Rock hotel with family, and there was always an event or activity to look forward to. Spent a lot of time in on the beach, around the pool, and using the facilities there. The staff members were also very friendly and great; Benny from the spa is a great massage therapist that helped me deal with soreness and pains I had started to get the first few days there. Food was great, always a great selection to choose from, even when going to the same restaurants again. Drinks were fantastic as well, without being so overbearing. Great times were had, will definitely visit again in the future!

Rooms, service, activities, hospitality, amenities, entertainment staff were literally so amazing and 10/10. The entertainment staff and service people all did their absolute best and made you feel happy every second. The hotel provided a great time for my family and I. The guests here are also great. Shoutout Zamurai(Fernando), Magic Manny, Fefe, Jessy, Canelo, Saul, and the other staff member but I can’t remember her name but she was great too!!!!! Only thing I think needs improvement at this hotel is more options for a nightlife. A club, hip hop music, karaoke. Just more diverse options of nightlife. But also not just an hour segment of these things. Like actual “hip hop night” or “karaoke night” and a club maybe for younger adults. But all in all a great time

We just got back from five days at the Hard Rock in Nuevo Vallarta, about a 20 minute drive from the airport. This is a nice resort away from all the noise in Puerto Vallarta, but close enough to visit. A cab ride to the famous El Malecon boardwalk (a must), is about 20 or so minutes away and cost about $18 (dollars) one way ($16 back), depending on the value of the dollar, which seems to always fluctuate. We also took a day trip to Sayulita, a charming surfing village which is about 40-45 minutes north and approximately a $23 cab ride one way, also worth a visit - but expect crowds. As for the Hard Rock, breakfast and lunch are buffets with a pretty good selection of food. Dinners are sit-down with no buffets at any of the restaurants (note to guys: no tank tops at the dinner restaurants). Snacks/lunch are available at Frida near the pool area during the day as well as a pizza stand where you can order a pizza with toppings of your choice. For dinner, we ate at the Italian (Ciao) and Mexican (Frida) restaurants and liked the food there. We were not that impressed with the Brazilian and didn't try the Asian - though others seemed to really be enjoying them. Service at all the restaurants was good (see "FOOD" below). A special shout-out to ROSARIO and CESAR at the Ciao for breakfast. These two are so friendly, hardworking and very attentive, always filling our coffee cups, serving us our morning green juice and smoothies (which are excellent), and making sure we had everything we wanted -always with a smile. FOOD: Guacamole is excellent!!!! Fruit juices offered at breakfast are fresh and tasty. There's a little bit of everything with some dishes better than others, but for an all inclusive, not bad overall. TIMESHARE/WELCOME PACKAGE/UPGRADE SPEECH: Whatever you want to call it, if you are not interested, just say you are not interested. The pressure is on if you show ANY kind of interest in upgrading or sitting through a "short" breakfast presentation for freebies. I told our representative right at the start, I didn't have time and didn't want to waste any time in ANY presentation nor was I interested in any upgrades or complimentary tours (freebies), but "thank you anyway". He respected that. ROOM PROS: our room was front and center on the 7th floor with a/c and a ceiling fan. Because it overlooked the pool, it got noisy, but it didn't bother us. The evening shows in the nearby amphitheater into the late evening hours as well, but again, we were able to fall sleep. Just a heads up if you go to bed early and you are a light sleeper. Clean rooms, comfortable beds, plenty of water and alcohol in the refrigerator. Turn down service was was nice too. ROOM CONS: No Kleenex! Not much counter space in the bathroom. No where to put wet clothes after a day of swimming. We put one of the luggage rack/holders out on the balcony and set our wet clothes on it to dry. You are not allowed to hang clothes on the rail - they might blow away anyway. At times, workers are heard talking loud and knocking on doors when making their morning rounds. Couldn't tell if it was our floor or others, but if you are light sleeper - it could be bothersome. POOL: Entertainment was fun to watch. Pool water is clean. Swim-up bar was very popular. The drinks were good and the bartenders friendly (and very patient). There are plenty of lounge chairs, but the ones around the main pool where the bar is are most popular and go fast. You can still see and hear the entertainment from other areas, but if you prefer being along the pool edge, you have to get up early and set a towel on them. EATING AROUND THE POOL: If you eat around the pool, the seagulls are watching. It's open air space and they can't be kept out. Clean up after yourselves or DON'T leave food unattended - you'll be sorry. It's not the resort's fault that the birds fly faster than the attendants can get to your dirty plates. IGUANAS: Respect them. They wander around and get close, but they won't bother you. SPA: I signed up for a 50 min massage and was told to arrive an hour early for sauna, steam room, jacuzzi, cold dip, and shower (in that order), followed by massage. A real treat. BEACH: Since we were yellow bands (we didn't upgrade our status), palapas and lounge chairs were those in the middle section only. There were always plenty available and "Zu" was always coming around offering and delivering beverages, and always with a smile. RENTALS: Waverunners available for an extra charge. Kayaks -no extra charge. The grounds at this resort are beautiful and clean. Everyone works hard and very friendly. Just outside the resort and down the street is a mall with shops, Starbucks, gelato, etc. - about a 5-10 minute walk. We also saw Lime scooters in the area for rent and a designated raised bike path that runs down the middle, among the palm trees, that divide the street. You won't be disappointed here (unless you are super picky). Also, please tip these hard working people.