Updated November 1, 2022 - The resort is changing the name from Hilton Puerto Vallarta to Krystal Grand Altitude (eventually to Krystal Grand Puerto Vallarta) as of today. I stayed there in 2018, in the Hilton era.
Disclaimer: this is NOT a sponsored review or paid content. I picked and paid for for this vacation myself and no parts of it were financed by any other parties, nor were they considered a F.A.M trip.
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| Hilton Resort in Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico |
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| The Hacienda at Hilton Puerto Vallarta |
After 8-years away from all-inclusive vacations, I decided to take a plunge and visit one of my favourite travel destinations, Puerto Vallarta, again. After doing some initial research on resorts available under last minute deals, I noticed "The Hacienda - Hilton Puerto Vallarta" in search results. Since I had previously shortlisted the Hilton as one of my preferred properties, I was intrigued, despite the fact that the resort had no profile photo. What it usually mean is the the hotel is either not very presentable or just very new and the images were not yet fully loaded into booking systems.
A short research later, a still very limited number of reviews later (The Hacienda doesn't have it's own page on TripAdvisor but there was a handful of travellers who reviewed it under the main Hilton umbrella), it turned out be be a very new development indeed!
The Hacienda, the adults-only section of the Hilton Vallarta, opened its doors in February 2018 so just mere months ago. What I initially found really appealing from the information I managed to gather, other than the fact that it was still very new, was that it had plenty of mature (read: tall and lush) palm trees and a roofed outdoor pool which, for someone who can't spend extended time in the sun, was a dream come true. After consulting with my travel partners, we decided to go for it.
We booked with Air Canada Vacations, partly due to the ability to earn Aeroplan Miles on the flights, very humane flight times as well as prices much better than those of the competitors offering similar vacation packages. We ended up booking the least expensive room type, Hacienda Garden View.
On travel/departure day, we arrived at the airport around 8pm, with our flight leaving the Toronto Airport/YYZ at 10am. No 3 am wake-up calls! The bag drop off took maybe 3 minutes, the security process maybe 15. Our flight departed on time, operated by Air Canada Rouge (not my favourite mostly due to the lack of charging outlets and duty-free shopping) but that's a minor inconvenience. As a frequent flier to Vegas, I'm used to the disadvantages of said flight service by now.
The flight was mostly uneventful, the immigration process at the Puerto Vallarta Airport took maybe 20 minutes. Be mindful of the timeshare vacation marketing people who will be attacking you as soon as you go through immigration. They try to pretend to be tour operator representatives. They are not! Just keep walking until you get outside. The ACV Rep was easily identifiable (red polo with ACV logo) right outside the airport door and sent us across the street when our destination rep, Miguel, handed us our vacation booklet with his contact info and local tour offerings (City and Tequila tour was free but we decided to pass on it and spend the entire vacation on our own, flexible schedule). After informing us about a meeting the following morning to go over options as well as plans for the return trip to the airport a week later, he put us into a nice air-conditioned passenger van. After about a 10 minute wait and maybe a 7-minute drive, we pulled into the Hilton Puerto Vallarta driveway.
We got dropped off at the main Hacienda door, right outside the lobby and waited maybe 10 minutes to speak to one of the check in agents. Since we booked the lowest-priced room type, we knew the view would not likely be great. And it wasn't. After checking out the room we had originally been given, I went down to the desk to inquire about potential upgrades. The staff were kind enough to show me several rooms in the main resort as well as the Hacienda. In the end, we decided to pay extra and upgrade to the 2 double bed Hacienda Swim Out room. Those are the ground level rooms, the one we received had a beautiful deck with furniture.
From the moment we entered the suite for the first time, we knew me had made the right choice. Brand new (you could even smell it), spotlessly clean, with beautiful floors, patterns, huge shower. The list goes on. If you scroll down, you'll find video walk-through of both the room and the bathroom. I'll let the visuals do the talking.
The Hacienda is located right next to the main Hilton resort. It takes maybe 3 minutes to walk through the lobby and into the main pool and restaurant area bordering the beach. On the way there you pass by the security station, main checking area, the lobby lounge, the lobby bar (with TVs, perfect for watching the World Cup), the Ki Spa, the tobacco/convenience store and a little souvenir shop.
All the staff members you'll encounter at the resort are friendly, professional and speak English. There is maintenance going on around all the buildings and amenities 24/7. The entire resort is spotless. And once you sit down at one of the tables at the Seafire (buffet) restaurant, a waiter will be with you very shortly and your drinking glass or coffee cup will never be empty.
Food was plenty, varied and fresh. Scroll all the way down for photos of some of our meals. We also tried the O'West sushi bar on the rooftop of the shorter of the two main/poolside hotel buildings and it was excellent, the meals at La Catrina (the Mexican restaurant at the Hacienda) and La Delice (French restaurant) also left nothing to be desired. Fantastic food and service all around.
Another great thing about the Hacienda - there's a Starbucks location in the lobby - regular coffee and all snacks (pasties, sandwiches, salads, cakes, etc.) are all part of the all-inclusive program. Lattes and such, are extra. Our room had a mini bar that was replenished daily with a variety of beer and soft drinks.
Housekeeping, quick and efficient. All the pools were clean and beautifully maintained, with the pools at the Hacienda being for the 18+ crowd.
Safe to say - we have found our new go-to resort in Puerto Vallarta and will most certainly be back.
On our last day, we checked out at noon and were met outside the building by a local ACV rep who collected the return transfer voucher given to us by Miguel on day two, put us into a cab, and of to the airport we went. The airport is new and modern and works with the efficiency of your typical international airport. There are many food, drink and shopping options both before and after security. What a difference from my last PVR trip 11 years ago when bag scanning consisted off airport workers going through your dirty laundry manually (yikes! hope they were making really god money for having to deal with people's post-vacation mess).
Our return flight departed on time, at 3pm. Perfect timing. That's what I meant when I said the flight were at humane times. No early wake up calls, no wait for the room or for the flight or transfer on the way back. Thank you ACV.
