Do NOT Stay at the Hotel El Pescador, Puerto Vallarta

Note to self: Do not book ultra-low-cost hotels in Puerto Vallarta.

For our two week sojourn in the Puerto Vallarta area last month, we planned on three different sets of accommodations 1) because I love sampling different offerings in any area and 2) I couldn’t make a decision on just one and 3) we had different needs at different points in our vacation.

For the first three nights, we stayed at the Hotel Buenaventura. We loved this all-inclusive property just a few blocks from Puerto Vallarta’s oceanfront boardwalk, the Malecon, lined with shops, restaurants and nightclubs (not that we partook in the late-night action on our family trip). This moderate property is value priced, and contained everything we needed: a pool, beach access and plentiful dining options on the all-inclusive plan.

For the last six nights we stayed at Casa Manana in Bucerias, a rustic fishing village north of P.V. Our condo-apartment a half a block from the beach had a thatched roof a la Giligan’s Island. Loved it!

For the middle part of our stay, we wanted accommodations within walking distance of the downtown Spanish Experience Center, where we studied the language for five mornings. While we’d considered some condo offerings from Puerto Vallarta Vacation Services, ultimately we decided on a room at the Hotel El Pescador and locked in a rate of $57/night. We knew it was cheap and were fully prepared for a budget property.

What we weren’t prepared for was the ickiest hotel room I’ve ever seen. The bellboy showed us our dingy, interior room with a view of decrepit buildings across the street (above left), a bathroom with no toilet paper (above right), fingerprints all over the walls (left), a balcony door handle that fell off, scuffed shelves and old wire hangers in the closet. ICKSVILLE!

Since I’d emailed a note that we’d like an oceanfront room when I booked the reservation online, I asked about availability. We got the old “bait and switch” I’d read about on TripAdvisor! The bellboy called down to the front desk (who knows if he actually talked to someone), and told us, “Sure you can have an oceanfront room, for an additional $20/night.”

The front desk said that since we’d paid the “Internet rate” we’d booked the interior ick room. I said there was absolutely NO VERBIAGE on the site detailing that if I paid the $57/night, we’d have an interior room. They said, in essence, “Too bad,” and if you want the oceanfront room, cough up the bucks. So we did, as the room was marginally better. (The oceanfront had toilet paper.)

However, the “air conditioning” did not work in the room! We had the unit on the highest and coldest setting, but with no ceiling fan in the room to help circulate, it was like sleeping in a concrete shoebox. We even had hotel staff come up and check it at 11 p.m. to confirm, “Yes – it’s working just fine.” HA! Though the kids slept through the night (spending the day at the pool will knock you out!), ColoradoDad and I were miserable.

With the help of the kind staff at the Spanish Experience Center, we revisited the condo-rental website and we got into a GLORIOUSLY beautiful, two-bedroom, two-bath, full-kitchen condo with an amazing view of downtown and Banderas Bay (left) and still within walking distance of our school. For $105/night, just $28 more a night than the icky El Pescador, we got plenty of room to spread out, blissfully cool air conditioning, laundry, a pool and wireless access. Heaven!

Moral of story: In many, many instances, you get what you pay for. Going for a budget hotel south of the border is not the best way to save money. Instead, eat like the locals do or take public transportation to shave a few bucks off your vacation. Don’t try to cut costs with sketchy, budget accommodations. It’s not worth the headache!