Estancia San Carlos Puerto Vallarta — Hotel in Jalisco

We stayed at the Estancia San Carlos for 5 nights at the end of our visit to Puerto Vallarta, having moved there because it has a pool in a lovely courtyard. We always stay in the old town in places that have cooking facilities. Our room, #13, was a two bedroom one bathroom suite on the top floor (of 3) at one end and had two balconies, one overlooking the pool and the other overlooking the street (a busy street with lots of buses - be warned). As a result, it had a wonderful cross breeze when both balcony doors were open. Although the rooms have air conditioning, we never used it - the breeze was enough. There is a fan in the living room but none in the bedrooms (we would have liked fans). Another small issue is the wifi - it isn't very fast and sometimes doesn't work.||||The suite is very spacious, with a double bed in the back bedroom and two singles in the one nearest the street. The mattresses rest on concrete slabs so the beds and pillows are very hard (this seems to be standard in most places in Mexico). The kitchen has a stove top with 4 elements, a medium sized fridge, a microwave, table settings for four and a few pots and pans which we made work for us. Only one sharp knife for cutting, though. If you like to cook you might want to buy a few things for the kitchen (we did). If aesthetics are an issue, you might need to know that from the ceiling hang bare bulbs and the counter is cracked and buckling in one spot. The furniture, hard wood in a typical Mexican style, is very uncomfortable - this was really the only negative for us. There are also two plastic chairs and a plastic table.||||The pool is clean and lovely, the staff are great - very friendly and helpful, and the place is cleaned daily. It has parking available (unusual in this area), is pet-friendly, and in a fantastic location about three blocks from the beach at a reasonable price. Although it can be noisy sometimes, mostly we slept well. ||||Overall, we really liked the Estancia San Carlos and...

The building has been neglected for years, is in need of a total update. All the furnishings are either worn out, broken or missing. The kitchen was barely usable, no sink stopper, no toaster (got a cheap new one after a few days which we shared with our fiends as theirs didn’t work), no mixing bowls, no pots and 1 knife but very dull. We were hard pressed to make a meal with out borrowing from our friends. The microwave and fridge were ok. The bed was also ok but firm. We had very lower water pressure which made showers tricky. Water was hot but took forever to get to get to the shower and sinks. Had a small balcony overlooking the street which was very noisy to say the least and party went on until 6am some nights. There were a few shops close by for groceries and liquor but could be pricey. There are no rooms on the ground level so you need to use the stairs to access your room. Pool didn’t look great, a-lot of missing tiles but it clean and usable. Also plenty of lounges and tables with chairs in the pool area which were in good condition. The staff was very friendly and attentive. If your only requirement is finding a cheap place to stay centrally located in the Zona Romantica Puerto Vallarta, at $55 Canadian per night this could be it. Just don’t expect much. As you can probably tell we didn’t enjoy our stay and...

The building has been neglected for years, is in need of a total update. All the furnishings are either worn out, broken or missing. The kitchen was barely usable, no sink stopper, no toaster (got a cheap new one after a few days which we shared with our fiends as theirs didn’t work), no mixing bowls, no pots and 1 knife but very dull. We were hard pressed to make a meal with out borrowing from our friends. The microwave and fridge were ok. The bed was also ok but firm. We had very lower water pressure which made showers tricky. Water was hot but took forever to get to get to the shower and sinks. Had a small balcony overlooking the street which was very noisy to say the least and party went on until 6am some nights. There were a few shops close by for groceries and liquor but could be pricey. There are no rooms on the ground level so you need to use the stairs to access your room. Pool didn’t look great, a-lot of missing tiles but it clean and usable. Also plenty of lounges and tables with chairs in the pool area which were in good condition. The staff was very friendly and attentive. If your only requirement is finding a cheap place to stay centrally located in the Zona Romantica Puerto Vallarta, at $55 Canadian per night this could be it. Just don’t expect much. As you can probably tell we didn’t enjoy our stay and...