Qualton Review

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My husband and I recently stayed at the Qualton Resort in Puerto Vallarta. We do not have a pretentious attitude, however, rated a five star resort, my expectations were high. My review is based on room accommodations, shoreline, pools, cuisine, service & entertainment.

I’ll start with the lobby, since this is the first thing you see checking in. The furniture is filthy. It is stained and dirty, certainly not appealing to sit on. There are several couches and chairs, which they need to employ a concentrated effort to clean them.

The rooms were attractive, most overlooking the pool with a nice balcony, but certainly not equivalent to a five star rating. They were notably cleaner than the lobby. The air conditioning was adequate which kept the room a pleasant temperature.

The beach is easy access from the pool area, however it is very small which includes many bothersome vendors. If you are planning to take a leisurely walk along the beach, be equipped to climb rocks which I presume are there to separate the resorts.

Along with the beach being small, the pool is, as well, small. (one pool, childrens pool attached) Approximately 85 people cram into the pool which allows you about one sq. ft. per person. It definitely does not accommodate the number of people in the rooms. Activities are held in the pool a good portion of the morning and afternoon, which at this time, there is no swimming, floating, maybe cooling off in a corner of the water right next to another inhabitant. There’s just not enough space. If you plan on any relaxation on your vacation, there is no quiet area from 7:00am-midnight. Many locals and their children enjoy getting out there at 7:00am splashing and yelling and screaming. The noise travels straight up to your room. Whether you’re ready to get up or not, you might as well and get ready to go to breakfast and wait in line. The resort itself is very small. Walking the grounds consists of strolling around a concrete deck. There is one bar by the pool and 2 bartenders. Well, kind of 2 bartenders. They are responsible for making the drinks, washing the glasses and collecting the dirty ones. Needless to say, a long line forms for a thirsty crowd. My suggestion is to get 2 drinks while the going is good. Four if you are with a party of two and so on. In the evening, check out the scum in the pool floating around.

The food is very marginal. Breakfast is probably the worse. Count on sharing a table. Stick with a pancake, or have them make you oatmeal, I mean a omelet. That only takes about 15 minutes not including the wait to get into the breakfast. The resort does claim they have morning room service, however, ours never showed up. There is a outdoor eating area on the beach, again small, enclosed by netting, otherwise, vendors would be joining you. The netting doesn’t block the view from you eating, consequently many eyes are on your every bite eager for that sale. The distance between them and you is about a foot, depending where you manage to find a table. You do have the option of eating inside. Sandwiches are served in the lobby, every afternoon. I don’t go to a 5 star resort to eat bologna sandwiches on white bread. Dinner was OK. Some of the food is unidentifiable but worth giving a try. Dinner is served in a dining hall with barely any air conditioning and no windows. A friend of ours was taking his dinner napkin and dunking it in the ice water and wearing it as a tie. I highly recommend this. He was lucky to get the water. The service for drinks was very poor.

The nightly entertainment was excellent. The shows they put on were great. Many talented dancers. Certainly worth seeing.

When you’re ready to leave, don’t count on a bellboy. Drag those suitcases down the stairs. Also when checking out, make sure you have plenty of pesos to pay for that surprise phone bill you thought you were charging on your credit card.

Overall, I rate this resort a 2 star. Go to the Royal Decameron 10 minutes away and compare.