TravelTST’s Experts

We’ve all heard the old saying ‘never judge a book by its cover’ well the same rule can be applied to hotels.

Not to say the Hacienda Hotel & Spa has an ugly appearance but compared to some of the larger resorts in Puerto Vallarta the Hacienda is quite modest looking. But any conclusions you may have jumped to upon seeing the hotel’s façade disappear once you step inside its spacious lobby.

Where the Hacienda really stands out is in its spa. Tucked into the hotel’s courtyard the spa is a series of small interconnecting buildings surrounded by lush shrubbery. Have a massage and listen to the water working its way down the small stream outside.

If you don’t want to leave the kids on their own while you check out the spa drop them off at the supervised kids club where they can do arts & crafts, play games and watch movies.

When it comes to rooms the resort has two categories: standard and superior.

A standard room has a king or two double beds, air conditioning, cable TV, hairdryer and a balcony or terrace. The washrooms in the standard rooms are shower only.

The biggest difference between a standard and superior room is the bathroom. The superior rooms have full bathrooms with a “Mexican tub” which is just like a normal bathtub but sits deeper in the ground and has steps leading into it.

Safety deposit boxes are available for all guests but some are not located in-room.

The Hacienda has only one pool but it’s quite big and has a swim up bar.

The hotel has three restaurants: Portales, which serves Mexican and international food in a buffet or a la carte setting (depending on the season); La Troje and Sabores de Mexico, the latter two require reservations.

The beach is a quick two-minute drive from the hotel in an open-air shuttle. Now while this might scare off some people from staying at the resort it shouldn’t. The shuttle runs from 10am-6pm and at its peak goes about every five minutes and you can easily walk to the beach as well. The beach does have a private snack bar (open 10am-6pm) complete with drinks so you don’t have to make a trip back to the hotel if you get hungry.

The hotel offers all-inclusive packages or non-meal plans. If you’re staying on an all-inclusive plan you get 50 per cent off on room service.

The Hacienda is five minutes from the airport and 10 minutes from downtown Puerto Vallarta and is the perfect base for those who want to enjoy their resort but also get out and enjoy the rest of Puerto Vallarta.