Almar Resort

Our first time in Puerto Vallarta and we fell in love with the resort. The rooms are divine and always clean. The food is delicious. We will always return to this hotel! Thank you so much for treating us so well.

I was leery about staying here after reading some of the reviews and speaking with others that have stayed here. My husband really wanted to be in PV with a room that had a view of the ocean. Since this was presented as an LGBTQ resort and because their website had a picture that clearly showed a room with a lovely view of the ocean we booked THAT room type. We figured we would at least be given something similar. Day of arrival we checked in at the front desk. Instead of receiving keys to our room we were told that we had to meet with another agent. Some guy came over and said that yet another person was going to talk with us. We thought she had our room keys and would escort us to our room. NO that was not the case. She was there to strong arm us into a “special package” that would include a bunch of free amenities if we accepted them. (At what cost, that was never clear) This is the tactic that I had heard and read about. We declined, we just wanted our room keys. After that “pitch” and telling her that we were not interested in what she was offering. She said, “I can help you out if you help me. Don’t you want to do that?” We were thinking no, for god sake, we just wanted keys to our room. We had to tell her multiple times we were not interested. It was only after that they came over with our room keys. Obviously that was the exercise in deciding what room to assign us. What hotel on earth doesn’t give you your room keys upon check in? Apparently this one. Once we finally got our room keys we were taken to our room by the hotel bellman. Our room was anything but what was pictured and advertised on the hotel website. We did have a view of the ocean but only if we stood on the balcony. If we sat on the deck chairs then none. But the majority of the view was of the top of the ugly corrugated tin roof of the pool bar one floor below us. In addition we could see all the dead plants stored behind the pool bar wall that only we had the view of from our room. Not visible from the floor below. In our room we had only one large bath towel and this was a room with two queen beds. We had a clothes armoire that was placed awkwardly in our bathroom area that obstructed part of the bathroom counter space. It felt like an afterthought, as if they forgot that people bring clothes to a hotel and need someplace to put them if they don’t want to live out of their suitcases. The day before I called the front desk to confirm check out time. 11am. Day of check out after being in town for the morning we arrived back at the hotel to retrieve our bag and leave. We went to our room with plenty of time and discovered that both of our keys would not open our door. We had to go back on the elevator to the front desk to activate our key just to get back in the room so that we could check out. We then went back to reception to check out. We were given our folio and I signed for our charges. They then cut off our wristbands (don’t get me started on that nonsense). My husband then signaled for an UBER. He took our bag, I said goodbye to the agent at the desk. She then said that I had to stay while they checked if we had used anything from the mini bar. I told them we had not. Why did they decide that was the time to check? Could they not have done that before as part of the check out process? Our UBER arrived my husband was already inside I told them that I was leaving and that we were done. The driver had to make a U-turn to go back down the street. They sent a security person to stop the UBER driver only to then radio the person checking the mini bar and confirming indeed I was telling the truth. Checking in and out of a hotel, especially one trying to market itself as a luxury property should never be this time consuming. I know because I work as a front desk agent for a hotel. This place is all about high pressure upsell and bait and switch tactics. AVOID.

Great stay for a gay time in PV! This was our first time at Almar, and it's a great choice for staying close to things in the Romantic Zone. Pros: - On-site amenities: Being able to go to the Top Bar, the Eden restaurant and pool, and the future gym space will be really nice to have. Eden was a big highlight for relaxed afternoons over our trip. -Beach and club access: Easy to go down to Mantamar or the beach and get quite service. -Room cleaning. The staff were very effective and room cleaning and keeping fresh towels around. Cons: -Lots of on-site noise: We heard music all-day from our room, which we didn't mind but might be an annoyance depending on your trip. -Additional sales: When we arrived, and at a couple points, there was a push to get us to join a time-share style program. We weren't interested, and after a couple conversations they stopped mentioning this to us, but if you want to avoid any sort of sales on your trip Almar might not be the place for you. -Food and drink cost: The food and drinks on-site are great, but do cost more than other places around the Romantic Zone, so be aware. Staff: 2 people we remember from our trip who were great. Brian at Eden is a very fun manager, friendly, helps build a fun environment, and is great for service. He will keep you well-supplied with drinks! Paul at the front desk is also a great greeter. Friendly, and very helpful with getting bags. Overall, we would plan to stay here again. It may not be the right choice for everyone, but it was a very good spot for our PV trip.

A great hotel, free, suitable, clean, comfortable, it was a great week, the gym was excellent, the rooftop pool was very relaxing with great drinks and the nachos were delicious, the view was spectacular, highly recommended

I can not -not- leave a review. The resort is wonderful, the rooms are nice and if not mistaken I believe they all face the ocean. On a map, I think it's tucked away on the very end where the resort almost meets the sand, it's a quick elevator down and you'll cut through Mantamar and you're there! The atmosphere itself is kinda what you make it. We were there for different occasions and could easily transition from today is relaxation to tomorrow it's a party. Either way, you'll be in good company with people doing one or the latter. I'm impressed by the cleanliness. Housekeeping was very on top of keeping the place so pristine. From rooms to common areas, I found workers polishing tables and mirrors (also cleaning the elevators) there was not a place where you couldn't take a good selfie. Noise level is subjective. I slept COMPLETELY fine the entire week+ that I was there, but my friends were awoken by some party goers a morning or 2. And why did I *have to* leave a review?*FABIAN* I spent the majority of my time poolside between activities or waiting for my friends to finish their agendas or working, and Fabian was so attentive and caring. Day after day the same level of attentiveness, always gaging what mood I was in or what I was needing - was it party? Was it relax? Was I just waking up? Whatever it was, he was always there. The rest of the staff were equally exceptional, but there was such a personal touch with Fabian that I even had to rush to the pool to bid a farewell. PV is very close to my heart and I love exploring different places to stay. But Almar and their staff really have set a bar!

Great view of the ocean and quick and easy to get to it. If you want a massage they will make sure you are able to get one. Especially if you are looking for a deep tissue massage. Their newly remodeled spa is beautiful. At the poolside Fabian took great care of us bringing us drinks, food and giving us recommendations on where to go. The receptionist, Andrea, answered any questions we had and also gave us grey recommendations.

A beautiful view of the beach, direct access to the pools and the beach, incredible views, the sunset is amazing, very expensive hahaha, but the price is fair for what you get