46 Best Hotels in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

The original St. Regis in Mexico (there's now a sister property in Mexico City) boasts a nouveau Mexican architectural style combining geometric simplicity with the warmth of giant palapa roofs and other natural elements. Sleek white tubs, simple outdoor showers, and flat-screen TVs maintain the spare look of the overall design, but room decor is simultaneously cheerful, light, and charming. Separate adults-only pools and restaurants make the space welcoming for couples seeking quiet or romance. Punta Mita's two golf courses flank the property, which is a boon for golfers; the beach is pretty and private but rocky and not suitable for swimming. When reserving, request a partial-ocean-view room, as it's the same price as a garden-view room.

This boutique hotel with huge suites and panoramic views is Boca’s hidden gem. Furnishing and decor are stylish and modern, with delicate colorful touches. Perched between the mountain and the sea, Villa Armonía allows for true connection with nature and a complete luxury experience.

Located on downtown's northern edge, this is just a few blocks from the malecón, shops, hotels, and restaurants. Rooms are cheerful, with wood furniture, bright white linens, and tastefully subdued accent colors. There's a lively pool scene; the adults-only area, a shallow pool with submerged chaise lounges facing the sea, is a big part of the draw. The all-inclusive rate is a good deal, especially for families.

Located in the Playa Rosa area and just beside the trendy beach club of the same name, these completely renovated bungalows have been called the world's smallest beach resort. The bungalows' interiors come in white with touches of pink and feature palapa roofs.

What began as a hilltop home has slowly become an amalgam of unusual rustic but luxurious suites with indoor and outdoor living spaces. The higher up your room, the more beautiful the view of Sayulita's coast. Accommodations, managed by different owners, range from basic to honeymoon suites with terraces and plunge pools. Details like recessed color-glass light fixtures, Talavera sinks in bathrooms, brick ceilings, wrought-iron table lamps, art in wall niches, and colorful cement floors add a lot of class. The property overlooks a rocky cove where you can fish from shore; a beautiful sandy beach is a few minutes' walk. The staff lends out kayaks, boogie boards, and snorkeling gear.

This popular, up-to-date boutique hotel is located a 10-minute walk from the beach and the Zona Romántica, catering largely to an LGBTQ+ clientele. Most guest rooms have terraces with wonderful views of the sea and the surrounding neighborhood. Suites have kitchenettes, washer-dryers, separate living and sleeping quarters, and a home-theater system. All the rooms are classy, restrained, and individually decorated. The airy, shared dining room–lounge is comfortable and welcoming; the rooftop terrace with infinity dipping pool is lovely.

Palms and plants edge the walkways lining the swimming pool and goldfish ponds, while balconies look down on this idyllic garden scene. Suites have full kitchens, shower-only baths, and tropical-style furniture. The hotel is on a cobblestoned street off the highway; if you don't want to hoof it into Puerto Vallarta, take one of the local buses that pass by every 10 minutes. The beach is a five-minute walk away on the other side of the highway.

Some of the pleasant rooms overlook the beach from a balcony or terrace, but most people stay here for easy access to the good burgers, guacamole, and seafood platter for two ($13) at the adjoining El Alebrije restaurant. The bar, with its cool, brick-floor interior open to the beach, is also popular. Other perks: the long beach, large pool, and hiking and other outdoor activities.

This is an attractive little enclave of cozy and clean (albeit basic) cottages with screened windows. Full kitchens with lots of pots and pans invite cooking, but the real draws are the lovingly tended gardens surrounding the lodgings, the covered patio, and the sparkling, three-lane lap pool. If you love it, settle in for a while; monthly rates are usually available.

Formerly known as Hotel Costa Careyes, Casitas de las Flores is a series of renewed condos, part of the whole Careyes community face-lift. The casitas offer wide-open spaces with traditional Mexican decor and spectacular ocean views. They feature fully equipped kitchenettes and private balconies. Casitas de las Flores is located a few steps from the beach and inside a gated community.

This storied resort rises above a deep-blue pool that flows beside palm oases. The ocean-view rooms have a modern neutral color scheme, beige marble floors, balconies, and tile baths with powerful showers. The beach is small but bustles with activity and equipment rentals, and the breakwater forms a sheltered nook that's nice for swimming. It's in the Northern Hotel Zone, about halfway between the Marina Vallarta complex and downtown Puerto Vallarta.

Built in 1882, this beautifully restored mansion turned hotel was once part of a large hacienda. The restoration is stunning: surrounding a pretty, plant-filled courtyard is a covered veranda of lovely floor tiles, with lazily rotating ceiling fans, antique furniture, and groupings of chairs for a casual conversation. Opening off the veranda, elegant suites have also been restored to their original glory. It's right across from the cultural center and near the market and town plaza.

Each room is unique and elegant at this pricey boutique hotel in the hills five blocks above the malecón. Public spaces also exude luxury with antiques placed throughout, and water pours from fonts into Talavera-tile-lined basins. The Celestial Room has a wondrous view of Bahía de Banderas and the cathedral's tower from its open-air, thatch-roof living room. You can enjoy live music with complimentary cocktails in the early evening, and there are fabulous views of the bay from the restaurant.

With stunning views and acres of trees, as well as blissful breezes off the Pacific Ocean, Haramara Retreat is an oasis of tranquility just south of Sayulita. Originally a retreat for yoga groups, Haramara—which means "Grandmother Sea" in the Huichol language—is now open to individual travelers. With its own private beach and several large pergolas for meditation, Haramara is a wonderful venue for a rejuvenating vacation away from technology. Included in the price are three healthy meals daily at the ocean-view restaurant, which specializes in vegetarian cuisine but offers seafood as well. Expert bodyworkers give several types of massage, and private yoga lessons are available, as are surfing lessons and surf safaris. A packed dirt path leads up and down the hilly, 12-acre property to thatch-roofed bungalows that open to the sea breezes. The showers also are open-sided so you can admire the views as you bathe. Comfortable beds are surrounded by mosquito netting; hardwood floors, bamboo siding, and thatch roofs complete the Robinson Crusoe feel of the place.

Set right in front of the best beach in Barra de Navidad, this is a clean, comfortable hotel—just don't expect any kind of luxury. Mostly frequented by national tourists, Hotel Barra de Navidad has a nice restaurant and offers a wide range of spa services.

This brand-new beachfront boutique hotel has just 10 rooms, plus a rooftop infinity pool and oceanfront views. It's a great alternative for travelers looking for a quiet place to enjoy good food, magnificent ocean and mountain views, and a bit of solitude. The hotel can also organize tours to many local attractions, including whale-watching, surfing, and trekking.

In the heart of Bucerías and one block from the beach, this small budget hotel is unassuming and well maintained. Simple small rooms with matching furniture of wrought iron and wood, and cheerful artwork face an L-shaped corridor. All rooms are the same, with one full bed and small, clean, brightly tiled bathrooms with shower only. A periwinkle-and-mauve color scheme brightens the corridor; rooms at the back face a wider corridor with plastic tables and chairs. All rooms are non-smoking. Although they advertise the two-bedroom suite ($120) with a king bed and two doubles for a family of six, the space is pretty tight.

A block from the beach and overlooking Lázaro Cárdenas Park, this hotel offers great city and mountain views from the rooftop, which has a pool and party area. Suites have small kitchenettes in one corner. Units with great views cost the same as those without, so ask for one with a panoramic view.

Opened decades ago by a family of dedicated bird-watchers, this meandering, three-story hotel with expansive grounds is the home base of choice for birding groups. Rooms have small balconies and polished limestone floors; junior suites have large whirlpool tubs. Betty Vásquez, who runs El Delfín French restaurant here, studied at Le Cordon Bleu in France; she prepares elegant and very tasty meals.

Simple rooms in this six-story low-rise have somewhat battered colonial-style furnishings; some have tiny balconies but only a few on the top floors have a partial ocean view. The small figure-eight pool in the middle of the courtyard is exposed but still refreshes. The two-bedroom apartments are poorly designed and have stiff Mexican furnishings. J&B Dancing Club next door provides Latin and pop music throughout the week.

This might be the largest building in Mayto and arguably the hotel with the best amenities; the manicured gardens and gorgeous swimming pool offer a quiet and refreshing area for those not ready for the beach. Rooms are clean but nothing remarkable. A good restaurant, Wi-Fi, and camping facilities round out an already attractive proposal from this hotel.

A block from the beach, in an area with lots of good restaurants, "The Palms" has two floors of rooms surrounding a large, clean, rectangular pool. Guests can use the barbecue grill and eat or socialize at umbrella-shaded café tables or plastic loungers with cushions around the pool. Rooms and suites are either in the original, street-facing complex or the newer, ocean-facing building. They vary in configuration and price, but most rooms have a full kitchen; at the very least each has a three-quarter-size refrigerator, microwave, coffeemaker, and toaster. Some units have room for a family, with two separate sleeping quarters and kitchen, but no patio or private balcony. The two suites have ocean views and large, private patios.

If you hang around the pool or the small shared balcony overlooking the street, it's not hard to get to know the other guests—many of them savvy budget travelers from Europe and Canada. Rooms are spare and vault-like, and some are downright dark. Fredy's Tucan restaurant is popular with locals, mainly for breakfast. The hotel is in a part of the Zona Romántica known for its restaurants and shops; Playa Los Muertos is a few blocks away.

A few kilometers from the beach, this spacious hotel hosts weddings and events and acts as a getaway destination for those who live in Tomatlán.

Located in downtown Puerto Vallarta just a block from the beach, Hotel Rio offers quaint traditional accommodations as well as some modern rooms. This was the second hotel ever built in Puerto Vallarta, shortly after Hotel Rosita.

What started as a sleepy 12-room hostelry—Puerto Vallarta's very first—is now a busy 115-room downtown hotel. It's still a viable budget option, mainly recommended for its location on the north end of the malecón close to restaurants and shops. Rooms are very basic; expect white-tile floors and fabrics with floral prints. Request a room facing the water, as much for the view as for the natural light; rooms facing the street are dark, making them feel cramped.

This is a reasonably priced, well-landscaped, bright white hotel at the south end of Playa Los Muertos. Superior rooms don't cost much more than standards, and although they have more or less the same amenities, they're in a newer wing and most have better views. Suites have no separate living area but are larger than other rooms and have several different areas for sitting or playing cards, as well as a four-burner stove, blender, and fridge.

Widely considered the best hotel in Pérula, Playa Dorada features 50 well-appointed accommodations distributed between rooms, suites, and bungalows. Rooms don’t offer ample space but are fully equipped. The bungalows include kitchenettes. There is a swimming pool for families and an adults-only pool. The pleasant picnic area has lounge chairs, tables, palapas, and a playground.