My husband, Elder, and I spent 6 days staying at the Hilton Vallarta Riviera resort in Puerto Vallarta from February 26th to March 3rd, 2024. This was our first time staying at an all-inclusive, and our first time planning a trip to Mexico on our own. Elder had never been to Mexico before, and although I had been three times, they were all when I was a minor and the trips were directed by other people. When planning for our trip, there were many things we were unsure about, and there weren’t many reviews of the Hilton Vallarta Riviera resort that really described exactly how it worked. If you are planning to stay at the Hilton Vallarta Riviera resort, I hope this post can help you plan your trip and feel more prepared!
Since this was our first time booking a trip like this together, we decided to book our trip through Costco Travel. Booking a package through Costco Travel is easy to do online and we really enjoyed the convenience and benefits to doing so. The package we bought included our round-trip flights, transportation from the resort to the airport and back through a company called Grey Line (more info about that below), along with our all-inclusive stay at the Hilton Riviera resort. We chose the Hilton Vallarta Riviera due to the high reviews (it rated 4.2 stars on the Costco Travel website and 4.5 stars on Tripadvisor), good price, location, and adult-only options.
The Towers and Room Options:
The Hilton Riviera resort has two towers: the North Tower and the South Tower. The North Tower is adults-only, and the South tower is family friendly. We stayed in the adults only tower because there wasn’t any price difference between the two towers and since we weren’t travelling with kids, we figured that would be the most relaxing way to enjoy our trip. The tower has 14 floors. The first three floors have rooms on them at the cheapest rate because their view is partially covered by trees (of course the amount of coverage depends on the room you’re in). The ocean-front rooms are on floors 4-6. We paid for an ocean-front room and ended up on floor 4. We really enjoyed the privacy of being on that floor because there weren’t many people who could see us from below and despite not being too far up, we couldn’t hear much from below. We also had a King-sized bed in the room. The Superior Ocean-Front Rooms are on levels 7-11 but other than just being higher up, we didn’t see much benefit to that level. The Premium Ocean-Front rooms are on levels 12-14, but again, we didn’t see a ton of benefit but I’m sure the view was gorgeous! Then you get into the Enclave premium rooms which were extremely expensive. They boast a jetted tub on their balcony, much larger rooms, and have a lot of other features such as a lounge that only “Enclave People” (as we called them) could access. To be honest, we didn’t look very thoroughly on the Enclave options because they were way out of our budget so we didn’t even consider it an option for ourselves.
I believe the difference in price between a Partial-Ocean-View room and our Oceanfront room was approximately $40 CAD. We debated whether or not it would be worth it, but when we were there we did decide that it had been worth it in the end. For one, we had an awesome view and a ton of privacy, even though we were only on the fourth floor. We never worried about people seeing us changing in our room and even on the balcony, no one could see us unless we stood right at the glass. On our last day, we even saw humpback whales right from our patio! One night there was a mariachi band playing down below until about 10:30pm and it was quite loud from our room so I felt bad for those on lower levels who had to get up early the next day. Some of the Partial-Ocean-View rooms weren’t very blocked by the trees but others were fully blocked and I don’t feel that it would be very nice to sit on those balconies. I also don’t think it would have been worth it for us to pay more for higher levels of rooms. It’s the same view regardless!
Room Amenities:
In our Oceanfront room, we had a king-sized bed, small couch, small dining table, TV with some channels in both English and Spanish, a safe, coffee maker, and stocked mini fridge. We found the bathroom to be a little bit funny. It had a sink, toilet, and shower of course, but the toilet was behind a glass door just like the shower was. We found that interesting, but even more interesting was that instead of having a mirror above the sink, they had a window which faced the rest of the room and patio. Maybe some people enjoy looking out into the ocean while they brush their teeth in the morning? Regardless, we kept the blinds closed on that window because neither of us wanted to get up from bed to see the other doing their morning business on the toilet (or any other time for that matter).
The mini fridge had about eight drinks in there that were both alcoholic and non-alcoholic. Anything in the mini-fridge and snack bar was complimentary, but to be honest, the only thing we ever took from the mini fridge was bottled water because there were many other fresh drink options in the many bars and by the pool. The coffee maker in our room was a single-serve machine. I don’t remember what brand but it looked like a small Keurig or Nespresso. The coffee pods were complimentary and they also had powdered creamer and sugars for your coffee. The snack bar consisted of small bags of cookies and chips which were also complimentary. The mini fridge and snack bar were supposed to be replenished every day but we found that sometimes our snacks weren’t replenished. We did get a new bottle of water or two each day though. We heard that you can call the front desk to ask for specific items to be replenished in your snack bar but we didn’t care that much.
Housekeeping was completed every day and we found that they did a pretty good job, but we aren’t avid hotel-stayers so we had little comparison. We got new towels every day, any dishes in the room were taken away, and there was definitely some cleaning done. The bed was made every day, but I don’t think the sheets were changed every day. Again, we didn’t really care and our sheets didn’t get very dirty so we figured so there weren’t any complaints from us.
The room in general wasn’t the highest quality. For one, the shower door didn’t close properly so we would have water on the floor in the bathroom when we’d leave (luckily we had enough towels that it wasn’t a problem). Also, the lamp on one side of the bed didn’t work. Again, we didn’t spend much time in our room so we didn’t bother complaining about these things, so I can’t speak to the performance of the maintenance staff. If you’re looking for a place where you get an immaculate room and plan to spend a lot of time there, I wouldn’t recommend this hotel based on the state of our room alone.
Bars and Restaurants:
This hotel had a variety of different bars and restaurants which were all included with your all-inclusive stay. Some restaurants required reservations and were only open on certain days/times, whereas others you could drop in with no reservation. You could book reservations until 4pm each day, and you could book a day in advance. When you arrive for your stay, I would recommend looking at the schedule to see when each restaurant is open, decide on which ones you want to go to on which days, and be sure to book a reservation for them the day before you want to go. We did find it challenging to book reservations the day-of.
Sea Salt: Sea Salt was open every day from 12-5pm. This was a buffet-style restaurant where you were assigned a table and had a waiter to bring you drinks, take plates, and take any special requests. It is located on the pool deck to be accessed from outside. You do not need a reservation for this restaurant and everything is included in your all-inclusive stay.
Sea Salt – Steak House: This restaurant is the same place as the other Sea Salt, but the Steak House specifically was open from 6pm-10:30pm on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday. This restaurant did need a reservation. You will be assigned a waiter and given a menu when you arrive. Almost everything on the menu is included in your all-inclusive stay, but you will see prices next to the more high-end steaks and wines. Anything with a price next to it is not included and will be charged to your room if you order it. You can still order wine from the bar which is included.
Cocomar: Cocomar was open from 12-5:30 every day. This restaurant works similar to SeaSalt, but is not buffet-style and mainly has sea-food. We didn’t end up eating there so I can’t speak to the quality. I don’t think you could reserve this restaurant, most people just walked in. It’s located at the end of the North Tower on the pool deck.
Sunan: Sunan was open from 5:30-10:30 every day except Tuesday. Their sushi was open from 4:30-10:30 every day. We did eat there once, but found that the sushi was pretty dry and they didn’t have a ton of options. That being said, we are used to eating sushi that we get in Canada and don’t know how this compares to authentic sushi so maybe others would enjoy it. This restaurant is located on the fourth floor by the lobby. It has a beautiful view and had a lot of lower-tables (seemed like coffee tables) by the window which made it feel more casual than some of the other restaurants. You do need a reservation for this restaurant, but we did find that we were able to walk in one day and still get a table.
Maxal: Maxal is open from 5:30-10:30 every day except Friday. This is the Mexican restaurant and did require a reservation. We really did want to eat here but the timing never ended up working out. We heard it was good though, so give it a try for us if you go!
La Luce: La Luce is open from 5:30-10:30 each day and is the Italian-style restaurant. You do need a reservation for this restaurant. Like the steak house, most food is included in your all-inclusive fee, but the higher-class dishes and wines had prices next to them and would be charged to your room if ordered. La Luce felt a lot more high-class than the other restaurants, probably due to the dimmed lights and atmosphere. When we went there, my hair was a little wet still from the pool and we didn’t really dress up. The staff still let us in and didn’t seem to mind but we definitely felt underdressed. The servers were great, although Elder and I found that the dinner food was only okay. That being said, the Tiramisu and Affogato desserts were SO good! If we had more time we would have booked another reservation another day just for dessert! We heard very mixed reviews from other guests on this restaurant – some said their food was awesome and others said it was terrible. Maybe it depended on what you ordered? We’d recommend giving it a try anyway and worst case you’ll get a great dessert out of it haha
Azulinda – Lobby Bar: This bar is located right in the lobby and is open from 10pm-1am each day. There are tables beside the bar, and lots of couches in the lobby. We enjoyed ordering from here when there was live music going on in the lobby. There was no menu or food at this bar.
Azulinda – Market and Cafe: This market/cafe was open from 10am-2pm each day and is located in the lobby next to the bar. They make Starbucks coffee and have a variety of sandwiches and snacks. That being said, everything had a cost and would be charged to your room so we didn’t end up getting anything there.
Vela Food Hall: This restaurant was open for breakfast and dinner (starting at 6pm) each day. You can sit in the restaurant or on the patio. We enjoyed sitting on the patio as much as we could (but bring bug spray, as I got eaten alive one day). There is no reservation required for this restaurant and is buffet-style. We actually really enjoyed a lot of the food here. There was a great variety and there wasn’t ever a time when we didn’t find something delicious. When you arrive, you should sign in with one of the desks (there is a way to enter from inside the building or outside and each has a check in desk) and they will give you a table. Like Sea Salt, there’ll be a waiter assigned to your table to take plates, get you drinks/coffee, and take any special requests.
Food Trucks: The food trucks are available from 12-5pm every day and are located on the pool deck. The first day that we got there when we were still figuring everything out we got SO much guacamole and chips from one of the food trucks because it was super delicious! Food from the trucks are available with your all-inclusive stay. We didn’t try other things from the food trucks but they also had burgers and stuff which smelled really good!
El Rincon Family Lounge: This lounge is located on the 12th floor in the south tower and is open from 12pm-10pm every day. We unfortunately didn’t get the chance to visit this lounge so I don’t really know what there is there but I heard a rumour that they serve crepes and ice cream so someone should definitely go there and let me know!
Room Service: To call room service, you can use your room’s phone to dial EXT 30083. There is a menu available on the app that they give you. I can’t remember the exact hours but I believe you can order from at least 7am-11pm (maybe earlier and maybe until midnight). We scheduled breakfast the night before to arrive at a certain time the next morning so that we could eat before our excursions and that worked out really well for us! We also ordered a late night snack after the other restaurants and bars were closed so that was a nice feature to have!
Skybar: The skybar is an 18+ bar located on the 7th floor in the central tower. It’s open from 10am-10:30pm every day except Mondays. With its open sky and glass railing, the skybar is a great place to view the sunset! They often had “sunset sessions” on the calendar where you can listen to a DJ (and dance if you want to). They have a full bar, along with two hot tubs (although one was under construction when we were there). The hot tubs have a maximum 6 people rule though, so it’s possible you may need to wait or keep checking back if you want to go in.
Mojito Lounge: The Mojito lounge is located on the 5th floor of the north tower and is open every day from 5:30pm-10:30pm and is closed on Saturdays. It has some cool vibes, indoor swings, and patios to sit on, along with a full bar. They don’t serve food at this lounge.
Martini Lounge: The Martini Lounge is adults 18+ only and is located on the 11th floor in the north tower. It’s open every day from 6pm-11pm and is closed on Sundays. When we were there, they were redoing the signage for the Martini Lounge which made it a bit trickier to find, but also meant it was nice and quiet! They had a pool table in there and some nice patios.
The Pool Bar is located right in the adult pool, you can swim right up to it! It is open from 10am-7pm. I heard a rumour that some days they have coconuts that you can drink from but I was never lucky enough to try one. If you like coconut water, be sure to ask when you’re there, as the coconuts are branded with the resort logo, making it a perfect photo op!
Gratuity:
We chose to bring both pesos and US dollars to this resort so that we could tip for great service. Although the resort doesn’t make tipping mandatory or anything and the staff don’t seem to be always expecting it, we know that the staff work very hard so we did try to tip for good service when we could.
We brought both US$1 bills, and also bills of 20 Pesos (approximately the same as US$1). We used both to tip, as we weren’t totally sure what would be most appreciated by staff. We didn’t seem to notice a difference in their appreciation or the future service whether we tipped in US or in Pesos. We found that US dollars were easier to convert in our heads, but Pesos were likely easier for the staff to use in their day-to-day lives. Another bonus to using Pesos is that they are water-proof!
We know that many people don’t tip at resorts, and many other people tip much more than we did. I’m sure the staff see wide ranges of tips. We didn’t have a specific method that we tipped with, we just followed our hearts and gave $1 or 2 when we felt that someone was doing a good job or when we could see they were working hard.
At this resort, we found that giving $1 or 2 didn’t really increase the level of future service. We could tell that the staff worked really hard already so I wouldn’t suggest expecting better service for tipping, at least at those amounts. If you feel that a staff member is doing a great job and you want to thank them with a tip, I’m sure it would be much appreciated, but I wouldn’t suggest doing that with the expectation of better service.
Daily Resort Activities:
The resort had no shortage of fun activities to do! On the portal app that you get access to at the beginning of your visit, you’ll be able to access a schedule of activities and entertainment for the week. The daily schedule will also be written in chalk by the pool deck.
We did a Spanish Class and a Cocktail-making class with Edgar, one of the entertainment staff, who made things lots of fun!
I did a paddle-board workout with Bibi, which was a really good workout and was really fun too! Bibi provided a very supportive environment and the paddle board made working out a really interesting and fun challenge. When I was there, this activity was every day at 11am.
We did water aerobics with Violeta which was a great workout and Violeta had a great sense of humour!
Every day, weather/water conditions permitting, there are kayaks and paddle boards available to take out into the ocean. You can head down to the beach and talk to the resort staff there to get a kayak or paddle board and then you get 30 minutes to explore. There’s no need to book in advance and this is covered in your all-inclusive fee. Israel was the staff member down there when we went and he was great!
There is also a gym and a kids area available but we didn’t spend any time in either of those places. The gym did have some yummy water though with cucumbers and mint in it! There’s also a small gift shop open most days if you want to do a little shopping for souvenirs.
Night Activities:
There was at least two nightly activities per night while we were staying at this resort. We attended the Live Violinist Player (lobby), Live Singer Karla (lobby), Sunset Session (dj playing with a dance floor available in the Sky Bar), Latin Show (pool deck), Live Sax Player (lobby), Prehispanic Show and Fire (pool deck), Mexican Show (pool deck), Live Mariachi (lobby), and the Aqua Light Show (pool deck).
Our biggest highlights for nightly entertainment were the Latin Show and the Aqua Light Show. I wasn’t really sure what to expect for either of them. The Latin Show had an amazing singer and dancers who would dance to a variety of Latin music and styles. I was tired when I started watching but after only a few minutes I felt energized by the show! It was very well done!
The Aqua Light Show was also amazing! They incorporated fire, lights, dancing, tricks, and water into this show. If you can only see one show while you’re there, I highly recommend this one.
The Mexican Show was also mainly dancing and it was good but I didn’t find it quite as entertaining as the Latin Show.
The Prehispanic Show was also cool and incorporated fire and a storyline but we found that the Aqua Light Show had just as many fire tricks and more so I’d recommend seeing that one instead.
All of the lobby performances were also great! They have some great talent who comes to perform. Plus, you can get drinks from the lobby bar. The Mariachi band was my favourite, although I will warn you, it echos a lot in the lobby so if you have sensitive ears you may want to wear ear protection or sit far away. They put on quite a show though! The other performers played primarily American music so if you’re hoping to hear Spanish music you may want to go into downtown instead for entertainment.
The Pool:
There are two pools at the resort. One is in front of the north tower and the other is in front of the south tower. The north pool is family friendly and the south one is adults only. It’s easy to know which one is which because the adults only one has the swim-up bar.
I had read a review or two saying that the no-kids rule in the adult pool wasn’t enforced and that there were kids in the pool anyway but we didn’t find that at all when we were there. We never saw kids in the adults-only pool for the entire duration that we were there but maybe it gets worse during winter/spring breaks or long weekends? Based on our experience I wouldn’t be too concerned about that.
There are beach chairs laid out around the pool deck. If there’s a towel or bag on it than that chair is saved but if not, you can take it. This system does seem to work, but there are definitely some people who take advantage of the system by leaving their towel there for the entire day even when they aren’t in the pool area. We felt that that wasn’t fair to the other guests so please be courteous and move your stuff if you’re leaving the vicinity of the pool deck. That also goes for the Sky Bar.
There are also umbrellas around the pool deck which are nice for the hot times of day, as the pool deck can definitely get hot.
The Beach:
I haven’t done a ton of travelling around Mexico so I don’t know where has the best sand or waves or anything, but I would say that if you’re choosing a resort based on the beach, this probably shouldn’t be your first choice. It’s not that this beach is bad by any means, but it is public so you will have a few people wandering up and down trying to sell things like massages, jet ski rides, bracelets, shirts, and other goods. They aren’t too persistent, we found when we told them “No gracias” they left us alone. There aren’t many compared to more popular beaches but it is something to be aware of.
There are beach chairs down at the beach so if you like to lay down at the beach and listen to the waves you can absolutely do that and even still get drinks delivered.
Due to the shape and location of the towers, the beach is pretty shaded for most of the morning so that is a good time to get in your exercise but once the sun peaks over the towers it’ll be full sun on the beach for the rest of the day.
There are large rocks blocking part of the water to break the waves so there is a pretty good swimming area there, although the waves still can be decently strong at times. It is still the ocean so if you have small children who aren’t strong swimmers you’ll want to keep a close eye on them during those times or only let them in the water when it’s calm out there.
The sand was definitely coarser than other beaches I’ve been to, but I don’t believe Puerto Vallarta is known for their fine sand so if you’re looking for a place with extremely fine sand you may want to look in other parts of Mexico.
Time of Year:
We really enjoyed the time of year that we went to Puerto Vallarta. We were lucky enough to see two humpback whales on our last day which we viewed from our balcony. Israel, the staff member who was down at the beach, told us that a couple weeks prior there were a ton of whales so if you’re looking to go whale watching, I’d aim for earlier in February.
We didn’t find that there were a ton of kids around the resort at the time that we went. I expect that would change if we had gone on a long weekend or winter/spring break so it is something to be aware of if you are looking for a more adult-based resort.
To Sum Up…
All in all, we had an amazing stay at the Hilton Rivieira Vallarta. If you want a great place to relax, swim in the pool, experience awesome entertainment, have great drinks, good food, and be decently close to downtown Puerto Vallarta without the busyness of being right next to it, this is the place to go!
If you’re looking for a place to go for long walks on the beach or spend lots of time in a luxurious hotel room, there are probably other places that would be better.
We would definitely stay here again and I hope that this post helps to answer some questions about your future or current stay at the Hilton Rivieira Vallarta.
jessica.baltazar 