You get what you pay for up sums up our week long stay we just had at the Crown Paradise Club. We have travelled extensively with our family of three kids, currently 8, 6 and almost 2. We have done all-inclusives in Jamaica and the Mayan, as well as the Disney Cruise so we feel we have lots to compare it to.

Having already done a two week trip to Maui this year as well as a Disney Cruise at the end of 2007, and a Disneyland and Vegas trip still to come this fall, we were looking for a vacation rather last minute somewhere warm, where my husband could do a little surfing and mostly, one that was going to be really inexpensive given the amount we have invested lately into our family vacations. In the past we have spend between $8000 and $14000 for our all inclusive trips, one for a week, but the rest for two weeks. They were all fantastic 5 star vacations. This trip however we paid $4500 for the five of us for one week. When you factor that the flights and transfers were likely $600 to $700 each, we paid very little probably less than $1000 for the resort for the room, food and drinks. Pretty cheap, and pretty cheap is what we got. It was what we expected as it was what we had paid for. We knew exactly what we were getting into on this vacation, with the help of the reviews here, and by factoring in what we paid, so we were in no way disappointed, we made the most of our trip and overall had a good vacation. Despite the fact that the Crown Paradise was a 2 star property.

The family room, poorly maintained, noisy, very outdated, but clean. The food, the worst we had at any resort ever. The cleanliness and food prep was terrible. Never once saw anyone wash hands, although there were sinks there. Food was prepared with the hands. Watched the pancake lady scoop a lump out of the batter with her fingers, toss it on the floor, then proceed to scratch a wound on her arm. Found it really hard to eat any of the fruit and salads, the flies were really bad. Food was generally cold, unappealing and really, how many ways can you serve a hot dog?? Mostly we went to the grocery store, bought our own apples and bananas and a few snack foods, this got us through but I have never been as hungry as I was here, and certainly never lost weight on an all inclusive vacation before, but I did here. Main pool was way to small for the amount of people that wanted to use it. Pools were warm, and poorly maintained. Beach, well it is the ocean, but when you have seen the waters of the Caribbean, Hawaii and the Virgin Islands, it certainly won't take your breath away. Really hard to enjoy it with the venders. We did keep track once, we were approached 23 times in one hour. We were even approached while eating in the buffet and at the snack bar tables. A constant annoyance to say the least. That being said, we ventured an hour north to Sayulita for surfing, beautiful beach, town and area. Best day of our trip. Our best meal was at the Liverpool mall, at Chilis.
Our kids were unable to met any other children to play with as 90% of the guests were Mexicans. Nice family oriented people, loved feeling that you really were in Mexico, although the food and music did reflect this.
My youngest did get sick within 6 hours of us getting home. They still have not determined if it is E Coli and or parasite. The sickest we have ever had a child. Despite 7 weeks spent at Mexico all inclusives, this is the first time this has happened to us and we are VERY careful. Not surprised though as the standards are not there for this property. Never saw them once check the pool water and test it while we were there. Saw this happen almost hourly on the Mayan side. Also, saw probably six kids a day not in swimming diapers that should have been, the Mexican families never used them. Spent most of our time at the small quiet u shaped pool as it seemed the cleanest.

All in all if you are used to staying at higher end places, go to hotels that are $400 and $500 a night, you will find it really hard to have a good time and look past all the negatives. If however you don't mind $100 or less accomodations, and food to go along with it, this place will be great given as well you have kids as it is a family resort. For us, we would never go back. Although we had a good vacation, we know that we would rather spend the money on the four or five star properties. When it comes to this resort, I would have to agree with those leaving the negative reviews. The positive reviews especially the raving reviews, I would have to believe they are from people who just have not seen what is really out there for beaches and all inclusives. If however the Crown Paradise is all that your budget will afford, it is worth a try, just know that a vacation is what you make of it and if you can look past all the negatives (with this resort I really mean ALL the negatives) you can still have a good time for very little money as we had a good vacation.

We just returned from a 7 day stay at this resort. I was worried after reading some reviews, but if since there were so many positive we thought, well...there are always people complaining.
But here is the deal: When we arrived we were kind of "shocked" . The place is small and the noise level is tremendeous, aircondition only in the rooms, granted that we were a group of 7 with 3 little kids, yes, we expected a family resort.... however after 2 days it kind of grew on us. The room was small but clean, nice view on the ocean, but the aircondition !!! Geez, as if a 747 is flying thru the room. But I have too say we called and they replaced the obvious damaged aircondition with a ...slightly quiter one. Our friends who had the family room ( which btw all overlook the street..no ocean view) switched room due to the loud noise. Its rainy season and it rains every night, so the street gets flooded and the pump runs all night.
The kids pool was ok, but after 2 days even our kids got sick of it ( fortuantely, because there is no place, chairs or anything for the adults). We hardly used the main or adult pool, because they ( god knows) heat them ( hey, its 90 Degree and humid, you needs a COOL pool!). The pools are simply too small (and kind of fall apart).
The food, well, the food, we went once to the "japanese" restaurant, which was average the most, and we used once the french, which was actually pretty nice. We never got a reservation at the italian. The rest of our days we ate at the buffet, which btw does not have an aircondition ( so be prepared for some good sweats). I am picky with food and - again- I was shocked first, but I got to like the food. The problem is that the display is not very appealing, but once you dared to try some food, it was actually pretty good.
The staff was friendly ( I found it rather amusing that the guys from the activity desk entertain during the day and then dance at night at Club Nitro)
The vendors at the beach were really annoying although after a few days you got to know them and it could also be entertaining.

All in all we had a nice vacation, but would not go there again.

Let me start with our all inclusive history- we have stayed at Moon Palace in 2005, Barcelo twice 06 and 07, and two nondescript resorts in Cozumel and Ixtapa in 02 and 03.
I traveled with my wife and 6 and 9 year old boys. After three years in Cancun we opted to try Puerto Vallarta this year.
If you are expecting a grand lobby, you will be disappointed upon arrival. I must admit I was quite scared when the bus pulled into the front of the resort. Check in was quick, again I was a little scared when we are asked to step over to the "little ship". You will see what I mean when you get there. We arrived at 12:30 and our room was not ready (check in at was 3:00). We used the hospitality room and jumped into swim suites and headed for the pools. We have become accustomed to large expansive pools of the Barcelo and Moon Palace and were first disappointed in the size of the pool. We checked out the outdoor grill and I have never seen so many flies on food. Again very scary. So after my initial shock, and repeated thoughts of "vacation is what you make it" I slowly became acclimated to the resort. Remember this is not a 5 star resort. Beware of the time share people which are pretty much all of the hotel information staff up front.

The kid's water park is as good or better than Barcelo- except for the water temperature being ridiculously hot and the fact that there are no lounge chairs for the parents to watch their children play (makes no sense). There are few park benches around the kids club but that is the only adult seating. The park is mainly unsupervised, so I was uncomfortable leaving my kids alone. The kid's club is outdoors for the 5 and up and has very little to do. My kids would not go in at all. The resort could easily fix this by purchasing a playstation and a couple of games (ever heard of guitar hero or star wars lego). We did enjoy the game room building across from the main pool. They have pool tables, checkers, card tables, etc.

Meals- the food at this resort is rather nondescript. Breakfast is very good and we mainly ate at the Japanese- it is air conditioned and is not as hectic as the main buffet. You could also tell your waiter you wanted an omelet and they would bring it to your table, as opposed to standing in line at the large buffet. Lunch was okay but generally skipped it and waited for the speciality restaurants. We tried all three and they were good. We are accustomed to getting a few outstanding meals but these were all average at best. Reservations were a bit of a pain but we were able to get one every night that we wanted. Used room service a couple of times and it arrived timely and was good for the kids. For you folks that like to travel to another county to eat at your favorite local steakhouse- there is an Outback 200 yards from the resort.

Beach- the Pacific side is much rougher and has the dirty brown sand so water is not real clear. We played on the beach daily and enjoyed several walks. Boogie boards were fun. It was pretty easy to get a seat on the beach and get ready for the vendors, you will get to know them well! Remember "vacation is what you make it"! This was the first all inclusive I've been to which allowed solicitors on the beach. Super annoying but they move on with a quick no thank you. We did not see any jelly fish and they like me but no stings this year. Couple of years ago, I got sand flees but none of that here thank goodness. We had a couple of European topless sunbathers which horrified my wife but luckily my nine year old missed it. I offered my wife 100 bucks to take her top off just to see my kids faces but she was not game for public nudity. Oh, well. Man that would have been priceless!

Drinks- good . I am a beer drinker so it pretty hard to screw this up. I highly recommend you take a large insulated mug. I did not see too many with the other guests and it will save you many trips to the bar. Beer is served from quart bottles and was always cold and refreshing. Had several kid drinks which the boys enjoyed (no Barbie drinks for these two) sponge bob was their favorite. My wife enjoyed the Miami Vice's.

Service- we tipped pretty regularly but it did not seem to increase attention or service. Still made me feel good to tip these very hard working people. Did my best to speak as much Spanish as I could which they seemed to appreciate. Overall service was better here than at some of the 5 star resorts I have stayed. Pretty easy to get drink service around the pool and on the beach which is unheard of at the Barcelo.

Shows and activity staff- I had forgotten at the small resorts these poor people work all day leading activities, dance in the shows, and then take guests to clubs. Wow, what a day. They did their best and special thanks to Martin for greeting my kids by name. The magic show, Disney, and Hollywood show were very good. Get there a little early and you can sit against the wall, otherwise you will be sitting on a chair with no back rest. They have outdoor bowling, ping pong, and shuffle board which the boys enjoyed daily.

Room- we sprang for the family room with bunk beds, refrigerator, and an extra TV for the kids. This worked okay and the kids seemed to enjoy having their own space( although it is the size of an American closet). We had a king size bed which was nice and actually had one of the better ma tresses I've slept on in Mexico. I like a soft bed and generally beds in Mexico are similar to lying on a concrete floor. My wife thinks I'm nuts but I always take an egg crate and leave it (we use of the plastic bag that you suck all the air out of so it does not take up too much room). Call me crazy but it good night's rest on vacation is mandatory for me. Drawback to this room is the balcony is big enough for one chair and faces the busy street at the front of the hotel (it is very noisy on this side- sound machine is a must- again my obsession with a good-nights rest). The street in front of the hotel floods with every large down pour so a large generator is started and the water is pumped out to the ocean. My boys enjoyed people watching on this side but it would have been better to face the ocean and the resort grounds. Not for sure I would have upgraded to the family room having seen it first.

Housekeeping was fair. Tough to get wash clothes in this place. Never had any towel sculptures although we tipped. Never saw any ants.

Excursions - We enjoyed walking over to the flea market next to the resort. You think you get hounded on the beach well just wait till you get over there. These are true sales people but still it is part of the experience. We also walked over to Wal-Mart and Sam's and really got a kick out of seeing the different merchandise. We also took a taxi to the board walk and had a great time seeing the town. More flee markets and I'll be danged if there were not some more of those pesky time share people trying to get you to here a presentation. There's no escaping these people! We ate at the Hard Rock and it was excellent.

I was very surprised by how many locales were vacationing here. Generally it is 75% American, Australian, and a few Brits but this resort is 75% Mexican.

Things to pack- insulated mug, blow up rafts, extension cords (this is a must if you have kids with electronics- there are only two single plug ins), dish soap to wash mugs, sound machine, egg crate if you prefer soft bed, air freshener or plug ins (room was fine have stayed in some which smelled super moldy). We took bug spray and never needed it and then it was confiscated at the Mexican airport even though it was in a bag we were checking.

Overall we had a good 7 day stay. No one got sick, although my stomach is still not quite right a week later. We did take probiotics for a 2 weeks and during our stay. We also took 2 pepto tablets daily for preventive purposes. I would recommend this hotel for families looking for a three star, lower costing resort. Would I return, probably not. The ocean and beach is so much better on the Caribbean side. Really did enjoy seeing downtown Puerto Vallarta but once will be enough. The kids enjoyed the resort as much as any 5 star. For me though, I'll be Cancun or Jamaica bound next year.

We stayed for 3 weeks at Crown Paradise Club. We really liked it. First i was a little afraid because of what some people wrote. But we had a great time. Never had to go in line for dining reservation. We liked the Japanese best although it is not real Japanese. Italian was not what we wanted.
Animation desk opens at 9.00 till 6.00. A lot of things to do for adults but also for the kids (9 and 6). The first week they played a lot at the slides the 2 other weeks they stayed at the activity pool. We loved Paul and Lupita. The girls cried when we had to leave.
The room (standard) was good. Kept clean very well, by Bertha. If there was a problem, (light, not flusing toilet) it was fixed within 45 minutes.
The shows are good, some cruise ships can learn from them. Food was abundant and there was always something to eat. If you didn't like it you could always take a nice sandwich, which they make for you like subway. Or during the day take a snack. The girls never complained, their was always something for them.
Bar service is great. You don't have to go, the girls, Aurora and Wendy and more are walking the whole day arround and bringing you the drinks.
We had a lot of All inclusive hotels but this was one of the best, maybe the best.
There are also a lot of things to do in Puerto Vallarta, the sailing (pegaso) was excellent. We went with Wildlife connextion to search for the wild dolphins in the Bay and also could go in the water with him and played with him. It was a once in a lifetime experience. Not to forget the Zoo at Mismaloya. With the bus for S1.50. Feeding the animals was great.
We loved the hotel, and we miss everybody. We stayed for 3 weeks but didn't mind if we had to stay one more week. Don't expect the luxery from other hotels(then you have to pay more, but great service, nice people, good food and great shows.
Overall great for adults and kids.