Co-worker and I stayed at this hotel for one week in August.

Hotel is well located close to downtown shopping and next to the pier. It is a very busy beach area.

We stayed at the hotel during a time when there are mostly Mexican tourists travelling with children. The hotel does have an adult only area with pool, but due to the number of families with children staying at that time, security had trouble enforcing the 'adults only' rule. They did there best though. We booked this hotel because they did advertise the 'adult only' area. Our Air Canada rep was also helpful in explaining to the hotel that they can't advertise this and not provide it.

Food was very basic and minimal compared to other lower end all inclusive resorts I have stayed at in Mexico. Drinks kept coming and were great.

Our room was basic overlooking the street but had a nice sized balcony and two double beds. The beds were not that comfortable and the bathroom could have been renovated but we only paid $650 per person with the flight (from Calgary) so you can't complain.

Staff was excellent and did their best to make everything great for our vacation. We did tip well and were treated great. Some others were getting upset when we were able to get drinks from some of the bars that were closed over eating times.

Our cleaning staff was very thorough as well.

The only thing I have to say bad is the relentlessness of the time share people but they are all over PV (I have stayed at two other hotels in PV) so I guess you can't get away from it.

Overall, would probably stay again if I wanted lower end accomodations but would book a room that overlooked Banderas Bay.

The San Marino is located on a nice beach in the "Romantic Zone" of Puerto Vallarta, which is a charming area of cobblestone streets, great restaurants and shops, etc., but more like the "real" Mexico than the line of glitzy hotels, isolated far from town, where tourists usually stay. Everything we needed or wanted was close by and we never needed to take a taxi or bus anywhere during our eight day vacation. We stayed in an ocean front room at this reasonably priced hotel and I strongly urge you to spring for the extra $10 a day for oceanfront. The room and hotel were spotlessly clean.The room was big, with comfortable beds, nice bathroom, great air conditioning, big TV, wall safe and, best of all, a big balcony that overlooked the pool and the ocean. There were several small swimming pools, one of which is reserved for the use of adults. There is a restaurant. As others have noted the food is undistinguished. Kind of like cafeteria, steam table food, but not awful, just adequate. There is a good choice of entrees, usually pork, chicken and, or beef, cooked vegetables, sometimes Mexican food. The one exception was the soup, a different one served each day, always excellent. It's an all inclusive hotel so unlimited bar drinks are happily served up. (If the Margaritas seem weak, order a shot of tequila on the side. It's free, so why not?). This is a hotel frequented by middle class Mexican families and foreign tour groups, so we had an opportunity to meet many nice people from all over (including a couple of newleyweds visiting from Siberia!!) We got a fantastic deal on this hotel from Orbitz (Orbitz Tip: We googled "Orbitz Coupons" and got an additional $200 discount each). Please understand, this is a very very nice 3 star hotel. It is not luxurious, but it is comfortable and nice in every way. We will go back to the San Marino every time we go back to PV. We loved it.

We were able to get a one week all-inclusive at the San Marino for $675 Canadian and were very satisfied with the bargain. The hotel is older, but the room was nice and clean. We up-graded to an ocean view which was definately worth it. The staff is very pleasant and the meals were good, especially the breakfasts with omelettes made-to-order and lots of fresh fruit. The lunch and supper buffets were not elaborate but there was always a nice choice of entree. The beds were FIRM but we slept like logs with the sound of the ocean lulling us to sleep. The location of the San Marino is wonderful since everything is within walking distance and yet it doesn't feel like it is in a busy spot. We'd go there again at the drop of a hat.

Great location if you want to be in the heart of the action - Right on the beach in Old town (Romantic Zone). We ended up booking All Inclusive which ensured we wouldn't starve or run out of Sol, however we really only ate breakfast there and spent most of the day away from the hotel on the beach and into town for later meals. The food is basic at best, seems cleanly prepared and didnt cause either of us any woosiness (aside from the occasional glance at some of the dinner items while passing through for a pre-drink beer).

We didnt use the pools, they did look clean and were reasonably sized, just not our thing.

The beach right in front of the hotel is busy and is beside the main fishing pier where there were always local fishermen hauling in their catches - charming really. The beach can get garbagie through the day but they do a good job of raking it up in the evening. Just South a few Hotels is the infamous BlueChairs Hotel where you can people-watch while soaking in the sun and sucking down the margaritas.

The room was 4th floor, ocean view and very large. However, there were some nasty dark corners in the bathroom and cracks in walls in the closet, the a/c grill was pretty dirty, some small stains on the sheets and towels - nasty eh. All that said, still cleaned every day and aside from the marks, the sheets were clean.

Overall Borderline and I would stay in a pinch, h/e, will try a different place next time for sure.

B&D
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