Reviews for Our Top-Rated Luxury hotel boutique in Puerto Vallarta

Casa Velas was recommended to us personally by two couples who we know travel a lot globally and have good taste. Their endorsement combined with the TA reviews made this seem like the perfect choice for our vacation. Maybe our expectations were too high, but we thought it was just ok. Before I dive into the details, let me preface my review by saying we are hotel snobs who have high standards and have traveled all over the world. Please take this review with a grain of salt since we tend to be pretty critical. Pros: Close to the airport Small resort - 80-ish rooms so not super crowded Hotel pool is well maintained Staff is very friendly and attentive Check-in process was very classy and welcoming Grounds are nicely manicured Although the property is pretty old, the public facilities don’t look dated Spa services were great Rooms were very sound proof Nice workout facility A/C worked very well Cons: Only one restaurant on property. Other dining options require shuttle service to other properties. Food at the on-property restaurant is above average but not outstanding. The Beach Club and Velas Vallarta were average and below average respectively. Water temperature and water pressure in our room were terrible. I only got a portion of one shower over the course of five days that was truly hot. Liquor was definitely not premium. My definition of premium liquor is Grey Goose, Hendricks gin, Bullit bourbon, etc. They had Absolute, Tanqueray and Jack Daniels. The resort is on a golf course. Seeing the ocean requires a shuttle. Not enough chairs/cabanas for the number of guests they have. They were 80% full when we were there. The room decor was pretty dated. Restaurant and poolside service was slow. Casa Velas was nice and we had a relaxing getaway, but for the price I expected more. It’s a solid 3 stars - not bad, not great - just average

There are elements of this property that are exceptional: the rooms, the pool, the grounds and the spa/fitness facility. These are all top-notch and clearly the best in Puerto Vallarta. I was solidly disappointed, on the other hand, with the service and the food here. I ate only at Casa Velas, so cannot speak to the beach property, but I found the food very average. In particular, the breakfast "buffet" which is just cut fruit, stale pastries and standard mediocre warm offerings that you'd expect in any mid-range hotel. Dinner service was not to my liking either, and it took more than 90 minutes from start to finish. That feels a bit long. What really disappointed me here, though, was the service. My server at dinner asked me at every single interaction for my room number. Why not write it down? I was one of only a handful of tables in the restaurant occupied. He then forgot part of my order, and overlooked completely that I had ordered dessert while I sat with nothing on my table except my phone. I also had an awkward encounter with the gentleman who showed me to my room. He outlined a "special" dinner service that night before asking me if it was included in my all-inclusive package. I said I did not know. He then said "well if someone did not tell you at check-in about it then it is not included." Why tell me about it then? I was very confused at that point, unsure where I was supposed to go eat dinner that evening. I had to confirm with the restaurant that I was "allowed" to eat there without extra charge and it was a very bad situation to put a guest in. I also don't care for the "long pants, long sleeve button down" dress code requirement. Further, although I was wearing long pants and a button down, I saw people eating in shorts and short sleeve shirts. Hello, it's 90 degrees outside. I understanding wanting to create a more elegant, formal environment. It just feels a bit outdated. All in all I'll skip this property on future trips to PV and continue to stay at the Westin, at least until it closes for condo conversion. Casa Velas has no views, and the price premium charged is more than I am willing to justify given the location, poor food and service I experienced

Into our 9th day at Casa Velas. We paid about £400 (or $520) per night for our wellness suite. At first they seemed very attentive with lots of little touches (exactly what you’d expect for the price) e.g. you can specify what smoothie you’d like in the morning and how you would like your room scented. As our time here has progressed the service has become very inconsistent. Perhaps the $50 a day we’ve been tipping isn’t enough? Who knows! When we arrived the service at meal times was great. Filling up drinks straight away, fast service and very attentive. This morning we waited 45 minutes for breakfast. Took them so long to make drinks I opted not to bother with a second... didn’t want to waste anymore time waiting. Booked to eat at the pool bar one night but the concierge hadn’t made our booking. You can tell they’re really trying with the food but portions are small (sometimes they will give you three whole hash browns, other times they’re cut in half?!) and desserts aren’t defrosted properly. Combined with the increasingly bad service we’ve decided to forget the all inclusive package and pay to go out to dinner. Service round the pool is virtually non existent. Again, the first couple of days they were bringing us drinks (we were tipping!) Now we have to go to the bar and frequently bring our own drinks back (first world problems but again - I can’t understand the inconsistency!) Maid and turn down service again is inconsistent. One day our room wasn’t cleaned until 4pm and they came back at 6pm wanting to turn the room down! Some days they leave us ice. Other days we don’t even get fresh water?! Scents we ordered upon check in have been given to us on only one occasion (again, first world problems but so confusing!) The morning drink we ordered upon check in has only arrived twice. We had a free massage as part of our package which was nice but they only took one of the massage beds away...the other is still on our terrace. This was 5 days ago?! Final tip: the hotel taxi charges $25 to and from the airport. You can get an Uber for like $2

The reviews of Casa Velas are largely based on staff, and for that, I cannot disagree. However, I do not find Casa Velas to be a 5 star resort and I would not stay here again. We booked a suite with a jacuzzi bath in the bathroom. When we arrived, we were "upgraded" to a suite with a plunge pool outside and no jacuzzi bath. While some may be happy with the upgrade, we were not. The plunge pools are NOT heated and in February are pretty freezing. We never used it. When we inquired at the front desk, they told us the website had incorrect information on a jacuzzi tub being in the bathroom. Ok, fine. Also, they advertise "premium" alcohol brand, but the vodka is Absolut. At times, I saw them pull the Grey Goose out from below, but it didn't happen often. The food, while pretty good, is very tiring. They have the one main restaurant, which is the same menu except for the addition of a couple items on the first page every day. We had a night at Grand Velas included in our stay, but when we went to inquire about it, the concierge told us they only get one reservation per night and they were booked the whole time we were there. Only after paying a special tip, did we get in. There are no warm pools/jacuzzis at Casa Velas. The main property pool is not heated and there is no hot tub. The beach club has two hot tubs, but none of them are heated and therefore, not hot. Our rooms were not attended to until 4-5ish in the afternoon. When inquiring about a late checkout (after 12), we were told we would have to pay extra even though no one entered our rooms to service them until after 5 pm the prior day. I could understand had they needed the rooms, but wow. The staff is great. Everyone that works there has a smile on their face and is very nice and accommodating. I would rate this hotel as 3 3/4 stars..