My family and I just returned from Lindo Mar in Puerto Vallarta. When leaving the airport be prepared for the first of many encounters with hard sell timeshare vendors. Just continue walking to the doors regardless of where they try to get you to go and once outside you will see the official taxi stand. A taxi to Lindo Mar from the airport is $35. These are special white taxis that are licensed to work at the airport. The return trip will only cost about $15. The resort is older structure that is well maintained. The staff is very friendly and attentive. Maria-Elena, the concierge, is extremely knowledgeable and can point you in the right direction for whatever activities you may want to participate in. Our room was extremely clean and comfortably used. Other than a dripping A/C unit in the bedroom, everything in the unit was serviceable. The only down side to the unit is the occasional noise from the hallway. The rooms are not well insulated and the noise does carry. Our room afforded us a great view of the beach. The pool was small but never crowded. The beach was raked daily and the ocean water was like a bathtub. When snorkeling I encountered several different types of fish and even found a lobster in one of the rock crevasses just off of the beach. We ate in the resorts restaurant La Playita during one breakfast, one lunch, and two dinners and were never disappointed with our fare. The restaurant bar has two happy hours a day, one from noon to 1 and then one from 5 to 6. Happy Hour is opened and closed by the ringing of a bell. Our four-year-old daughter enjoyed yelling “It’s Happy Hour” or “Happy Hours over” at the ringing of the bell. The Lindo Mar is a great place to go to get away from the rush of everyday life and the resort did a fine job of taking care of my family. Travel into town can be done by bus 6 pesos per person or by taxi for 50 pesos. Taxis seemed to always be available and we never had to wait, regardless of where we were. Centro, Puerto Vallarta is a large tourist trap. Regardless of where we ventured we were never far from someone trying to sell us t-shirts, trinkets, tequila, cigars, or a timeshare. When sitting at a table by a window eating dinner inside Senor Frogs, vendors approached on the street trying to sell trinkets to me through the window. Even what was meant to be a peaceful walk down the Malecon, was constantly disrupted by vendors. It is safe to say that I will not be traveling back to Puerto Vallarta. It is an extremely beautiful area that is well on its way to turning into a huge tourist trap.

This was our 7th visit to Puerto Vallarta and the Lindo Mar was a generally positive experience. The room was nicely decorated and well-equipped. The water jug was a great amentity. We found the place nicer than the reviews would lead us to believe. The bathroom was a little small (but very nciely designed) and the bedroom was dark. The staff was friendly and helpful and the building was fairly clean. The pool was a bit small and not good for kids and adults at the same time. Our 6-year old enjoyed it nonetheless. There are a few 1st floor rooms right by the pool, and the pool is part of their patio and that's OK if you've got kids. If not, don't stay there...get a higher room. The beach was smaller than we expected and competely disappeared at high tide. The surrounding rocks were interesting and made for good snorkeling, but the water was a bit cold this year. At night, the little crabs were a ball to chase around. The poolside bar and restaurant was nice and the food was very good but we explored mostly other eateries. Happy hour wasn't as lively as we like, but we usually head downtown then, anyway. The bus was convenient and we rarely needed a taxi, but took one once in a while. I didn't like using their computers but they have wi-fi in the bar and lobby for a small fee. The time-share regulars were friendly and we finally got to see our first Green Flash. The weight room was nicely equipped and working, but seemed isolated. The location was not too far from town and there were few beach vendors.

We have just returned from a week at the Lindo Mar. We spent November 17th through the 24th there and had a great time. Our room was a one bedroom on the 7th floor which was on the same floor as the gym and the Internet access computers. The resort is kept very clean and the grounds are maintained nicely. There isn't much of a beach during high tide but it was definately big enough for the number of people at the resort. The beds were quite hard which I enjoyed but my wife did not. The pillows were very hard so I would recommend bringing your own if you like soft pillows. The views are terrific. We had enough of an ocean breeze so we never used the air conditioner even though temperatures were anywhere from 85 to 92 daily. The pool is very small but it is nice to cool off in after sunbathing. There is a restaurant attached that is shared by Lindo Mar and El Set residents. The food was OK but nothing to write home about. We purchased breakfast and lunch items at a grocery store in PTO and generally took a bus into town (about 2 miles) for our evening meals. The bus ride costs 40 pesos and the taxi costs about $5 with tip. We had found this place on tradingplaces.com and purchased our week for $250.