Hi all -

My wife and I will be visiting PV in mid-March. We'd like to find a small hotel with a local feel - not a Sheraton, Marriott, etc. Four- and five-star properties don't really interest us, either. We don't need to stay on the beach, but we'd like to be fairly close.

One place I'd found is the Casa Dona Susana (formerly Los Arcos Vallarta). Can anybody comment on this hotel or similar properties?

Many thanks!

Sure, I can help! These are some of my favorite hotels. They are all on the south-side near Playa Los Muertos beach ("zona romantica&quot.

I haven't seen Casa Dona Susana since it's remodel, but generally the 3 properties owned by Los Arcos are all good. I did visit a couple years ago pre-remodel and liked the general feel of the hotel but it was in desparate need of updating at the time.

Right on the beach are the Tropicana or Suites Emperador.

Within a couple blocks of the beach: Hotel Eloisa, Hotel Posada de Roger, Casa Andrea, Vallarta Sun Hotel, Hotel Encino.

Highly recommend Hotel Los Cuartro Vientos high in The PV hills at 520 Matamoros above downtown. Fabulous sunsets, basic but charming rooms. No Phones or TV's here. The deepest & coldest pool in Mexico. No guests under 16. Excellent bar & resturant. Only 12 rooms & suites. Owner Ms. Gloria whiting (owner since 1980) recently added to her staff her grandson Chad, a recent grad of U of Kansas, is a real Asset. Free Internet WiFi. Been staying here off & on since 1986.
A second choice Posada Roger in "Old Town" another longtime favorite at bargain prices.

suze, Stewbear, thanks for your responses!

I've checked out your recommendations; the Encino was *way* out of our price range ($400/night -!) and the Empereador had a 5 night minimum (we're only there for 4). We also concluded that the beaches were likely to be full while we're there - Good Friday weekend - so we decided against the Tropicana.

It looks as if we'll give Cuatro Vientos or Eloisa a try (in addition to Casa Dona Susana) - those both appear to have a lot of the local flavor we seek out when we travel. Another question: will lack of a/c be an issue? With highs in the 80s and lows in the 60s I wouldn't think so. If windows need to be open, is there mosquito netting or screens? My wife brought a nasty case of dengue back from Costa Rica a couple years back and is *not* eager to revisit that episode...

I'll also take another look at Posada de Roger; it didn't really 'click' with me, but 2 recommendations tells me its worth another look.

Thanks again for your help!

-jeff

I'm guessing that price was shown in peso?

No way is Hotel Encino $400USD per night... more like $40.

I like to have air-conditioning, though I have made do with only ceiling fans. I use it to control noise, as much as for temperature.

I don't think it's going to be as cool as 60 degrees F in PV in March. That would be fairly unusual.

Ears~

I looked at the Hotel Encino website... their prices are shown in Mexican Peso, not dollars


I love Los Cuatro Vientos hotel, but realize it is quite a hike from the beach, up on a hill overlooking downtown.

Oops - thanks for catching that one, suze.

Weather info was from Mexican Weather Service. Bottom line is that is doesn't appear a/c will be necessary, especially at night.

We don't often mind city / local sounds. One of the best trips we ever had involved a B&B that was right across the street from an active railway line...

One of the attractions of LCV is the view. Sunsets are a big selling point! We do lots of walking when travelling - we won't have a car - but didn't want to be 2-3 miles from the shore.

Thanks again for your input!

-jeff

Happy to help... you must have thought I was nuts for a second there -lol!

Many of the rooms at Cuatro Vientos do not have views (right Stewbear?) rather they look out over the pretty hotel courtyard. That said, the view from the rooftop bar is astounding.

We won't be spending lots of time in the room - why go anywhere just to hang out at the hotel?

Is availability a problem? Saw a couple sites that said LCV books very early, and there's no way to check through their website...I can give them a call later this afternoon.

We stayed 2 nights at Posada de Roger. 5 star it's not. What it IS is quaint, clean, charming, well located, and a great value!

We'd stay there again in a heartbeat.

Many of the rooms at Cuartro Vientos do not have views (right Stewbear?) rather they look out over the pretty hotel courtyard. That said, the view from the rooftop bar is astounding.

Suze is correct. 3A is the best view or 2A is decent also. Several others such as 3B, 3C & 2B & C have partial views. The others overlook the courtyard/pool which is lovely. This hotel is not for all but definitely a gem for the Independent traveler.As an example one single gal showed up the day before our first departure planning on staying one night. When we returned 8 days later she was still there enjoying the isolation & peace. It's a hike up the hill buy only a 30 peso cab ride. we usually walk down & cab back.

PS You can read my most recent review on Tripadvisor.

We just returned from the Playa Los Arcos (sister hotel to the Casa Dona Susana). We really liked the hotel even with the few minor problems we had. The location is great and directly on the beach. If interested, absolutely spend the extra money and get a suite. The superior rooms are very small and the bathroom is ridiculously small.

Our Trip Report is on this forum.

re mosquitos. You might find them in certain seasons or out in the jungle but they are rare in down (I understand the city sprays against them). I think I've seen 2 total... in going on 20 years of traveling to PV.

I would like to warn you against Encino. We stayed there and did not like it at all. The only good thing about it is its location.
The noise level in it is horrible. The floor on every level is covered with tiles that makes every sound inside echo. Plus the outside noise from traffic, loud music from the first floor restaurants and cars alarm syrens. I had to turn on the air conditioner that was extremely loud to suppress the noise but it did not help much since it got chilly in the room after an hour.
Please consider the noise factor in all hotels that are in downtown/ old town/ zona romantica area especially if you are a light sleeper snce there are bars and restaurants all over the area and horrendous traffic noise.

Thanks needsun. I'm really sorry to hear the hotel didn't work out for you. Do you think any of the rooms would have been better? Were there any that did not face the street?

I know noise is a terrible problem in many of the downtown hotels. I always travel with earplugs, but PV is simply an extremely noisy place. Even more so in most of the budget hotels.

I think a well-selected location can help with the noise. We always stay at the Tropicana, near the far southern end of Los Muertos, and the only noise at night is the surf crashing onto the beach.

Of my usual downtown hotels... Posada de Roger can be extremely noisy on the street-side rooms, Casa Andrea is a very quiet place, and Suites Emperador ocean-side is noisy only from the surf. I had a very noisy apartment on Olas Altas once (we joked the traffic and the way the street was set made it sound like the Blue Angels were in town).

Suze,
thanks for the support. We had a good time in PV after all but to be honest it took some time for adjustment. At first we were a bit disappointed. My daughter even cried the first day we were there She wished we went to Hawaii instead.
Our mood changed after we went on a few tour. The jungle jeep tour and the catamaran one were her favorites. As for the hotel,we did change the room after two sleepless night but it did not help much. The first room had a horrendous street noise, the other one facing the river Cuale was a little quiter but it was still bad from the inside noise. It echoed all the conversations from the lobby.

needsun~~ I apprecite the honest report. It's hard to express ahead to people what Vallarta is really like. I totally understand your daughter's first impression.

It is not a sanitized vacation resort like I imagine Cancun is. And it is definitely not as clean or beautiful as Hawaii imo (I love it for different reasons).

Because people are thinking of all the ammenities and looking forward to their own great vacation, many don't realize PV is still a very nitty gritty authentic working Mexican city. It is also getting more developed every single year as the tourist infrastructure booms and things like timeshare are out of hand. Plus it has always been an extremely noisy place, with horns, sounds, traffic, people, music.

(I was in tears myself the first trip years ago when our 1st hotel room was sooooo noisy - there was no glass in the windows & on a busy street, I literally hadn't slept for 2 days! and was a basketcase!)