The hotel facilities themselves are nice and the location is convenient, but the customer service at the hotel was very poor. The problems started when we checked in. The front desk clerk did not have a record of the $150.00 food and beverage credit provided for in the package. Thankfully we had a record of our reservation and the front desk made a copy of that reservation to verify the credit.
We stayed five nights at the hotel. Two of the nights the air conditioner stopped working. We woke up in a very hot room and were unable to sleep. Upon calling the front desk, the front desk agent informed me that that air conditioner was not working in the entire hotel. The agent did not apologize for the inconvenience. The air conditioner was fixed later that morning, but the air conditioner stopped working again the next night. We came back to the hotel to a very uncomfortable room. Again, I contacted the front desk agent and was informed the air was out in the entire hotel. Also again, the agent did not offer any apology or any accommodation.
Another evening before going to dinner, we went to the front desk to request a currency exchange. The front desk rudely informed us that he could do nothing, as they could not exchange funds until 10:00 am the next day. That was fine since we were able to use a credit card, but there was no reason for the rudeness of the agent.
The first day we were there we went to the pool and requested three towels so that we could lie on two and use one to dry off. The person handling the towels refused to provide three towels, informing us that there were only two of us and we could only have two towels. This despite that fact that we had to complete a form with our room number and the number of towels we were using. It was rather inexplicable that he refused an additional towel that could have easily been tracked (and, of course, not to mention that I had no desire to steal used pool towels from the hotel).
The night before we checked out, I requested a late check out for the next day because our flight was at 5:10 pm. The agent informed me that was fine, but that I would need to check back the following day at noon to request a replacement key because the key would automatically re-set at noon. I went down to the front desk shortly after noon to request the replacement key, but the front desk agent informed me there would be a charge for a late check out. I told the agent that the agent from the prior night did not inform me of any charge. Moreover, the hotel was not at capacity at all (it appeared that the hotel may have been 25 – 50% booked at that time) and so there was not any need to make the room available for other guests. The agent then agreed that I could stay until 1:30 pm without a charge. He then modified this to state that we could stay until 2:00 pm, but he was very unpleasant about the request.
Upon checking out of the hotel, the front desk agent gave me an invoice that did not include the $150.00 credit. I had to again inform him that we had that credit and that he had copied our reservation at check-in to verify that. It took some time before they were able to again verify the credit and produce an accurate invoice. We then went to walk around the hotel for a minute while we awaited our taxi cab. When coming through the lobby, the front desk agent informed me that he had undercharged me because the credit was for food and beverage only and not for tips. That was rather interesting, as I paid approximately 600 pesos for the amounts the $150.00 credit did not cover. I explained that the 600 pesos I paid was more than the tips from the bills. He did not understand that even after I explained it multiple times and even used his calculator to show him. He apparently gave up trying to understand and said he would not charge me anything else.
While we enjoyed our stay in Puerto Vallarta and the hotel facilities were nice (other than the broken air conditioner), the customer service was horrendous. The staff was not helpful and it seemed a bother if we asked them for any kind of service. I have stayed at many Starwood hotels throughout the year. This was the worst experience I have had at such a hotel. The staff at the hotel needs significant training in customer service. It is rather easy to satisfy customers with smiles and a desire to make the experience pleasant. The staff at the hotel has no idea how to treat customers properly.
We were very disappointed with the service and we left with an unpleasant feeling toward the hotel. Our vacation could have been that much more pleasant with some very basic customer service skills demonstrated by the hotel staff. Unfortunately, that was not the case.