Hacienda at Hilton Puerto Vallarta

So you know a little about who is writing this review, I am a Hilton Diamond member (nearly Diamond for Life, so have hundreds of stays at hotels across the Hilton brand) and have stayed at only 1 All-Inclusive resort prior to this (in Cozumel). Check in -- Our taxi dropped us off at the Hacienda, where we were told to check in we had to carry our bags with us to the Hilton next door. Even though there was no Hilton HHonors line, initial check in was fairly efficient, as they had a lot of people working the desk. There was no recognition of being a diamond member at check-in. At 2:30pm, and were told our room wasn’t ready, so to come back at 4pm. We returned and it was still not ready—another 10 minutes. I asked about an upgrade as a diamond member (a Hilton Diamond perk), I was told nothing was available today (though they were still selling upgraded rooms online), but they could give us a “one level upgrade “tomorrow”.. We came back in about 15 minutes…and were told it would be another 10 minutes, but gave us keys to go to the room after 10 minutes. When we arrived at the room, the bed was unmade, there was no toilet paper, etc. It was another 35 minutes until housekeeping came to make up the bed. Room state - We had only 1 washcloth and no hand towel. We also had no Kleenex or cups for the coffee. We asked for them at reception, but none of the requested items ever showed up. After 2 days and 4 requests, we finally got coffee cups. The room itself and the bed was very comfortable. The curtains were black out curtains, which made it really easy to sleep in! The batteries in the safe died on day 4. We have seen this before, so expected maintenance to come with an override tool or code, to open the door. After an initial visit, they (3 people) showed up with drill and proceeded to drill into the safe, leaving metal shavings all over the floor. Then they put in a new safe. Food Temperature - Almost all of the food we had was tepid – not hot. The only hot food was the coffee and things that they made in front of you at the grill. Even at the sit down restaurants in the evening, the food was only warm. Taste - The sit down dinners had food that was tasty. Even the Buffet for breakfast was good. We did have papayas one morning that tasted spoiled, and we ended up with food poisoning from eating at the French Restaurant. Service - There were usually waitstaff around and ready to help at the restaurants, by the pool, by the beach, etc. We did experience a few times when we were waiting in line for our turn to order and, instead of taking our order when it came to our turn, the server attended to the Hispanic customer that was behind us in line. Drinks - They were generous with the drinks but consistency varied from bar to bar. (The same drink at one bar looked and tasted much different than another bar.) Asking for variations (like no salt on the rim) usually ended up in confusion and a wrong drink. Beach - It was a “red” condition the entire time that we were there. We walked to both ends of the beach that we could access, and enjoyed watching the surfers…But, the water was a milky-coffee color, and the waves were higher than a person, so, at least when we were there, it wouldn’t be a location for someone who wanted to play in the ocean. Cleaning - We were in Puerto Vallarta during the Coronavirus outbreak, so all the service personnel wore masks and they generally used tongs to put things like napkins and silverware on your table. They also used hand sanitizer every time we walked between the adjacent resorts, or entered a restaurant and checked our temperature on our wrist at check in and every time we went from the Hacienda to the Hilton via the front entrance. Overall - We would not rush back to this resort. I don’t think I would call it a 4 star resort. It seemed about on level to the 3 star we stayed at in Cozumel. We went because the price was good (we’ve paid more to stay at Hampton Hotels in the past), and we wanted to get away somewhere. They were just an OK resort.

We had a fabulous stay at the Hacienda. A week of poolside bliss, waited on hand and foot by the amazing staff. I only wish I could remember all the names of the great people who made us feel so welcome and at home. I can single out the amazing Erika. She ran that breakfast buffet and lunch restaurant like a Swiss watch. Never even a spoon out of place. Coral was also an excellent hostess. So friendly and sweet. I will stray from the beaten path of reviews now- my main complaint is the lack of information. Terrible website. Period. Photos online are confusing as Hilton and Hacienda photos appear together. Yes, Hacienda guests have the run of the house, next door, at the Hilton but not the other way around. Families might be confused by the photos of both properties intermingled. Maybe it was just our room (?) but there was no "manual" with a map to show us where the amenities were located. No hotel tv "channel" like, say, a Las Vegas resort has. Took a couple of days to figure out where everything was. But this is in no way meant to discourage you from staying at the Hacienda. We had wonderful stay and will be back, Covid-19 permitting, the same time next year. The fantastic staff at this hotel deserve to be supported. Of them I can't speak highly enough. Maybe most folks will be fine with this. Maybe its just me. But I found it odd that basic property info was hard to come by.