Hotel Mio Vallarta — Hotel in Jalisco

Update, I wanted this hotel to work out for future stays, but it is difficult. The management is not unique and different. There’s no exceptions. We come for a month at a time, they know us. I am repeatedly questioned and treated poorly for the access to the beach.

I grab doggy bags, leash, water, walk through the hotel’s 3 halls, two elevators ~1/2 mile through the back hotel to the beach to walk my dog, in extreme heat, and today had forgotten my bracelet. I showed the back access hotel’s front desk and manager my hotel key card, number, reminding them that I am there every morning, asking if we can just run to the beach and back, 10 minutes, to get back for a doctors appointment. But reasonable solutions are not made.

Seems they could give out a bracelet I forgot, once. We would return right back with it or one of them could walk with us, plenty of staff stand around at all times. But we were treated poorly with no concern and turned away.

You will be shackled to remember your bracelet every single time you need out (for me a lot because the dog needs a walk) in what feels hotter than the 90° because of the pollution here and the mountains holding it in so walking back to Hotel Mio to get a bracelet was not an option I could do today. They are using the same “security” routine for 1990s spring breakers. Even though I’m just a lady with a dog.

The rooms still have flashing lights overhead, wifi routers in room and many bright leds that make for poor sleep.

The bright light that comes on your balcony at 6:30 PM blinds the view of the mountains and sky all evening, with no flexibility to turn off for guests to have a natural experience.

We’ve never had a room with a view of the ocean because we have a dog.

We have tried to enjoy an ocean sunrise, probably beautiful from the rooftop, but no access is allowed until later.

When I tried to go up to the rooftop later when open to enjoy a view I was not allowed entry with coffee from next door.

The Mio staff is always nice enough, housekeeping does superb job keeping it neat looking at all times and I appreciate there is someone there that can always talk with you, though can not accommodate.

I don’t feel welcome or my dog. The Friendly hotel staff have not ever been friendly to us and that is the only access you have to get to the beach. All of the areas around the hotel and down the walkways staff will yell at you, they do not want your dog on them.

We were apprehended and denied access through the Friendly hotel to the beach the first full week, even with our bracelets, due to a Christian conference, which we complied. But they keep coming up with excuses to stop us.

The only other option is walking along an 8 lane highway with so much pollution past the mall down a dirty walkway with crocodiles we saw once to what really is a dirty beach. This whole area is not the nice beaches.

Pet services or bringing up deliveries would be great additions.

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Hotel Mio - Puerto Vallarta. Beautiful hotel, beautiful people, we’ll be back in October. The rooms are impressive. We had our dog so we were on the second floor, with the outside doggy area. Everyone at Mio was welcoming of our dog, which is unexpected, that was very nice. It wasn’t an ocean view room we paid for an upper floor, but its a nice view. It is unique that the view is kinda nestled in a mountain range. It would’ve been memorable to look out over the main street and the mountains in the evening, but overhead lights on everyone’s balcony blind the view. They come on automatically, that couldn’t be changed. There was a great level of always friendly staff and managers that were working onsite happy to speak with us at Mio. Like lots of hotels, there are led lights on around the room and flashing overhead at night. Thankfully, they use unscented detergent for guest linens!:) but scented laundry detergent for guest laundry services with the dryer exhaust blasts chemicals at you when you walk out of the hotel. But those are the only wishes to improve to make healthier stays...

Someone said you get what you pay for. I agree but you do get a bit more here.

Pros: -Location is a short $5 uber ride to Romantic Zone -Rooms are nice and spacious. Beds are comfortable. I thought the tropical view was on the other side facing the water, I was wrong. I wish the photos I online actually showed the view so you know what you’re booking. -Showers are huge. -Rooftop pool is a great vibe any time of the day/night. From the views to the music to the food. I didn’t eat/drink anything at the rooftop. -Breakfast Buffett is really good. Lots of options and an omelet station. Attentive waitstaff available also. I looked forward to breakfast there every morning. Staff was very friendly. You can get less at the front desk.

Cons: A few sockets didn’t work for me. No big deal as there were many that did. Sinks tend to have a slow drain. Iron didn’t work and I had to request one for two days. Finally received a new one. The pool needs some attention. Once I got in I saw a lot of brown spots and noticed tiles were missing. A LOT of tiles. It kind of grossed me out and I got out and just laid by the pool. Breakfast Buffett had a lot of options but I wish the descriptions were more clear. I only eat fish and chicken and had to ask what was in some of the dishes. Even one of the cooks had to check what kind of meat was in one of the dishes. How does he not know and why isn’t it in the description sign? Some of the food was cold, days in a row. But there is a lot of options. You can always find something else. It’s pretty noisy which I don’t mind. I love noise. But some might find it hard to sleep, even with the patio closed. They give you a wristband to access all the amenities. A little odd to wear every day. I had them loosen it up and would only wear it when I used the amenities. I even forgot to wear it sometimes, but no one made a big deal out of it.

For the record, I would I definitely stay here again and I would recommend others to stay here as well. Just know...

I booked Mio in Nov ‘21 for our stay at end of Jan ‘22; we arrived in the late evening of Jan 29th to be told they were oversold - so we were offered a room in their sister property, Friendly. The experience was awful; the manager, Fabio was rude and lacked compassion; the rooms at Friendly were not renovated, fresh or modern like Mio. It was bait and switch - we payed for, and looked so forward to the Mio experience; we got an old, tired and nasty room instead. The Friendly Vallarta staff were unwelcoming and unhelpful too! The only good part was the Front Desk agent, Kassandra - she was nice, compassionate and tried to help us her best despite her tied hands. Although Mio is beautiful, I’ll never explore a stay there again, and I’ll never recommend it to friends or family due to the terrible management and poor administration. I quote “the machine is broken” as stated by the manager, Fabio.
They knew they were oversold, but did nothing proactively to let the guests know. And you’d think they’d prioritize prepaid bookings made far in advance as guests that’d have a guaranteed room. So, at 10:45pm we asked for a refund as we weren’t going to stay in the nasty room they provided in lieu at the other property, and headed to Holiday Inn & Suites - Marina and Golf, where we were offered a beautiful suite for the night at a great rate, and received excellent service! We’re so happy that we didn’t stay at Mio or Friendly! Highly recommend Holiday Inn & Suites Marina and Golf!!! To this date, Mio still hasn’t returned my emails regarding the status of our refund; I had to turn to our booking site who’ve been helpful and processed the refund. Terrible service in a world today where service is the...