The Villa Premiere was an overall great experience, starting from the greeting champagne and neck massage. The pool service was stellar- great service and a tasty variety of drinks and snacks. One of the best aspects of the hotel is its location- it's nicely situated close to downtown, allowing easy access to restaurants and shopping (so doing the all-inclusive would be a waste of an opportunity to see more of the town). Admittedly, the maid service was a little spotty, but that did not take away from the truly fabulous atmosphere. Stay here, and you won't be sorry!

My wife and I travel to Mexico each year, and we hadn't been to Puerto Vallarta since 2001. This hotel caught our eye and we're very happy it did. We had a great time and will return - but that being said it's important to note that this hotel is not for everyone. Much like the Las Brisas in Acapulco (our favorite) this hotel caters to a traveler of a certain nature, and some will not find it to their liking.

We loved it for the quaint quirkiness, and the fact that it was adults only - but our number one reason for loving this hotel was the fact that you could walk to the Malecon in minutes and enjoy all that Puerto Vallarta has to offer.

The staff was very warm and accommodating, and we found the environs to be more than adequate. The hotel food was about what one would expect when dining at a hotel, but with a multitide of restaurants a short walk away that really isn't an issue.

We loved it and would recommend it to our friends who we know are looking for similar experiences. For those who enjoy the all-inclusive beach resort experience we would not.

This is the second year we have spent our anniversary at the VP. We have stayed in both the honeymoon suite or the Master suite primarily because of the tiled bath/hot tubs on the balcony, the views and the privacy of these particular rooms - especially when relaxing on the balcony. This year, when checking into the honeymoon suite on Saturday, we asked if an upgrade to the Master Suite was available and the front desk said it would be available on Tuesday. So we immediately paid the increase in fees and reserved the Master Suite for the second half of our vacation. On Tuesday morning, I stopped at the front desk and they informed me that we had to be checked out of our room by 11 AM and they would store and move our luggage to the Master Suite and we could check into the new room at 4 PM. We headed to Old Town Vallarta for breakfast, shopped around downtown and then walked back to the VP arriving around 2:30 PM.............and lounged around the pool until 3:45 PM when we checked at the front desk for our new room keys. To our amazement, the front desk said the occupants of the Master Suite informed them at 2 PM (check out is 11 AM) that they were extending their stay. The front desk just allowed this to happen.......they didn't say that the room was already reserved, they didn't come and find us at the pool or prepare in any way-shape or form to deal with this situation. We then asked, what are our options? They showed us another room (small balcony, no outoor tub) - which was still uncleaned and wouldn't be available for several hours.........so we just decided to check back into our original room. We, to say the least were upset, so we grabbed our luggage and packed it ourselves back to our original room. When we entered, we were suprised to see that it hadn't been cleaned, althought the sheets had been stripped from the bed and piled on the chair, and it didn't appear that they planned to clean it that day. So we headed back to the front desk to inform them of the room condition and then headed back to the pool for another hour and a half waiting for our room to be prepared. We like the VP and may stay there again but this experience was very disappointing.

Where do I begin?

My first vacation to Mexico was meant to be a complete disconnect – no laptop, no cellphones, no work. My wife had arranged the trip through our travel agent (Nob Hill – PDX) with the following stipulations: it needed to be quiet, all-inclusive and no kids.

Her suggestion was the Villa Premiere in Puerto Vallarta. The website, although very nice fails to capture just how amazing this place was. The greeting of champagne and neck massage was not only welcome after the flight from PDX but also unusually fragrant. The choice of pillows (from a large menu) and which scent we would like for our room - we chose eucalyptus (our clothes, baggage, and personal items held on to this fragrance well after we arrived home - was done at the front desk before we were escorted to our room by our butler, who we were told would draw our bath and tend to any need we might have. Over-the-top!

From those initial impressions we were transported to an enclosed haven (heaven) of deliciously prepared and presented food (24 hour room service that did not come any less thoughtfully arranged), unlimited drinks (order any Bloody Mary's you might like for breakfast the night before with no-ice as the bar doesn't open until eleven am), and a more-than-accommodating wait staff that were not only attentive to our every need but representative of all that is attractive in Mexican people.

We completely and totally submersed ourselves in this warm (87 degrees everyday in early May) lap of luxury. The details (towel animals in the room) of our suite poured over into the restaurants and open spaces around the pool (say hello to Omar and Carlos at the poolbar for us). The pool was sparkling and pristine looking out onto Banderas Bay. The wandering merchants (selling silver? and other knickknacks) were kept away as well - unless what they sold interested you.

Needless to say, we left the hotel for two hours - to get souvenirs.
We swam with no dolphins (although they swan past each day), took no parasailing or zipline excursions, did not fish or explore the city and surrounding beaches. We did not want to leave during or at the end of the vacation.

I highly recommend the hotel and hope that, if your goal is to leave the outside world completely (although they do have wi-fi and a business center for you workaholics), this is the single best place I have found.

Paul and Bonni Petillo