Aug 25, 2019, 5:09 pm
Sheraton Buganvilias, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico [Master Thread]
Dec 14, 2009, 7:50 am
#31
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: Now MFE... formerly SEA and DCA
Programs: Now UA free!, AA Ex Plat, AS MVP, Marriott Titanium for life
Posts: 664
I can vouch for the club lounge here -- I've sat in it more than a few times!! In fact, it was expanded and remodeled when this property went dark for many months after the big storm years ago.
As gabo02 stated, when occupancy dips quite low, some properties simply close the lounge as a cost savings measure. However, if you were in a club room, you should've been given some sort of club floor vouchers for snacks, drinks or breakfast. Did that not happen?
As gabo02 stated, when occupancy dips quite low, some properties simply close the lounge as a cost savings measure. However, if you were in a club room, you should've been given some sort of club floor vouchers for snacks, drinks or breakfast. Did that not happen?
I'm getting confused. If you were in a club room, that should've been on one of the top two floors. Since all rooms are oceanfront, and you were on a high floor, I'm surprised the view wasn't up to par.
You're absolutely correct about no balconies. That is the great drawback at this hotel; it was built with no balconies for 99% of the rooms, which is nothing short of a sin!!! All full service oceanfront hotels should ALWAYS have large balconies!!
It's very disappointing to learn that you were assigned a club room, but not extended any meaningful club floor benefits. Even in the case of a closed lounge, they should've offered you breakfast for 2 at a minimum.
Perchance did you ask while you were on site?
You're absolutely correct about no balconies. That is the great drawback at this hotel; it was built with no balconies for 99% of the rooms, which is nothing short of a sin!!! All full service oceanfront hotels should ALWAYS have large balconies!!
It's very disappointing to learn that you were assigned a club room, but not extended any meaningful club floor benefits. Even in the case of a closed lounge, they should've offered you breakfast for 2 at a minimum.
Perchance did you ask while you were on site?
Feb 16, 2010, 3:22 pm
#33
Join Date: Dec 2009
Programs: SPG Plat
Posts: 6
Nice Stay
Stay here from 2/10 to 2/15. Booked a garden view room, upgraded to a junior suite on the club floor. Large clean room with incredible views. The junior suites have a huge patio with 2 tanning beds. Awesome. The shower/tub has great ocean views too.
Club lounge is open and attended. Continental breakfast was ok. But no pastries after 10:30am. Evening appertizers are nice. You need to request bottled water. But it's available from 7am-11pm.
Room service is reasonably priced and delivered fast. The closest grocery store is Mega superstore. 5 minutes walk. There's a price list for the cabs at the porter. 50 pesoes to downtown. 60 to old town. Good price.
The exchange rate is sweet at the the hotel. My hotel bill has a rate of 1 to 13.6.
Club lounge is open and attended. Continental breakfast was ok. But no pastries after 10:30am. Evening appertizers are nice. You need to request bottled water. But it's available from 7am-11pm.
Room service is reasonably priced and delivered fast. The closest grocery store is Mega superstore. 5 minutes walk. There's a price list for the cabs at the porter. 50 pesoes to downtown. 60 to old town. Good price.
The exchange rate is sweet at the the hotel. My hotel bill has a rate of 1 to 13.6.
Aug 10, 2010, 10:45 pm
#35
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Whatever happens there never happened...
Programs: AA, Delta, SW, Priority Club Platinum, SPG Gold
Posts: 22
First time in PV
My wife and I with our son are booked in this Sheraton starting this Saturday (Aug 14).
I read the reviews form TripAdvisor and from what I can gather this hotel has very agressive timeshare salespeople and the beach area is rocky.
Other than that, what other gotchas should we look out for?
What places are there to see or go to in the area in Puerto Vallarta?
I read the reviews form TripAdvisor and from what I can gather this hotel has very agressive timeshare salespeople and the beach area is rocky.
Other than that, what other gotchas should we look out for?
What places are there to see or go to in the area in Puerto Vallarta?
Dec 8, 2010, 9:52 am
#36
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: PEK
Programs: Alas, the Gravy Train Hath Ended...just happy to be an OW Sapphire and a ST Ivory...whatever
Posts: 4,389
Typical Mexico Resort....
Just completed a few nights at this property, and this property certainly got the job done. It has a dynamite location, with the Malecon just a few steps away and many, many dining and nightlife options within a 10-15 minute walk down a safe walkway with a lot of tourists around. Massive pool area with plenty of lounge chairs, fast and frequent waitstaff, and very close to the surf so that I could open the windows and go to sleep with the sound of the waves crashing....awesome! 
However, this is a very typical Mexico resort property...mainly because it is very tired and has not been renovated in many years. While the public areas of the lobby and elevator landing areas are just fine, as are the restaurants and bar areas, the rooms were very tired. Just a general lack of care with the cleaning of the corners, window areas, etc. Reserved a nonsmoking room and was told that there were none available even though I guarantee you that the hotel was not even 1/2 full.
I also was very guarded with the timeshare people, because when I checked in, the front desk dude said "please give your name to the hostess and she will assist you." I asked "Is she with the timeshare people?" And he just shrugged his shoulders....what an idiot. He thinks that I am going to accept that he doesn't know who operates in his hotel? So I said that I do not want any contact with the timeshare people....she said from behind me that it wouldn't happen, and that was that. I hear that they were more aggressive in the past, but they never really bothered me. Just annoying that the front desk dude feigned ignorance...
No matter, as I got it for a steal ($101/night) and had a blast with the location and spent my evenings in the Malecon and saw several parades. Great weather in PV in December, and this property will certainly get the job done for a good beach resort.
Note that, although this has nothing to do with the property itself, I found the aggressive nature of the touts at the airport horrible. I would never tell anyone where I am staying in the US, so why would I tell two complete strangers who accost me as I leave customs where I am staying? They just ran up to me with a cheesy clipboard and asked where I was staying....I completely ignored them and kept walking as they yelled "Sir" at me. Annoying. Just keep walking and you will see the taxi stand at the end of the hall.
However, this is a very typical Mexico resort property...mainly because it is very tired and has not been renovated in many years. While the public areas of the lobby and elevator landing areas are just fine, as are the restaurants and bar areas, the rooms were very tired. Just a general lack of care with the cleaning of the corners, window areas, etc. Reserved a nonsmoking room and was told that there were none available even though I guarantee you that the hotel was not even 1/2 full.
I also was very guarded with the timeshare people, because when I checked in, the front desk dude said "please give your name to the hostess and she will assist you." I asked "Is she with the timeshare people?" And he just shrugged his shoulders....what an idiot. He thinks that I am going to accept that he doesn't know who operates in his hotel? So I said that I do not want any contact with the timeshare people....she said from behind me that it wouldn't happen, and that was that. I hear that they were more aggressive in the past, but they never really bothered me. Just annoying that the front desk dude feigned ignorance...
No matter, as I got it for a steal ($101/night) and had a blast with the location and spent my evenings in the Malecon and saw several parades. Great weather in PV in December, and this property will certainly get the job done for a good beach resort.
Note that, although this has nothing to do with the property itself, I found the aggressive nature of the touts at the airport horrible. I would never tell anyone where I am staying in the US, so why would I tell two complete strangers who accost me as I leave customs where I am staying? They just ran up to me with a cheesy clipboard and asked where I was staying....I completely ignored them and kept walking as they yelled "Sir" at me. Annoying. Just keep walking and you will see the taxi stand at the end of the hall.
Last edited by theblakefish; Jan 10, 2011 at 12:46 am
Jan 9, 2011, 9:14 pm
#37
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: DFW
Programs: Marriott Lifetime Titanium, HH Gold, AA Lifetime Gold, United Silver, BA Gold
Posts: 864
Kids Club -- Childrens Program
Does anyone know if this hotel has a Kids Club?
The Hotel Fact Sheet says something about "Childrens Programs". Does anyone have an idea about the same?
The Hotel Fact Sheet says something about "Childrens Programs". Does anyone have an idea about the same?
Jan 9, 2011, 10:01 pm
#38
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: DFW
Programs: Marriott Lifetime Titanium, HH Gold, AA Lifetime Gold, United Silver, BA Gold
Posts: 864
All Inclusive Option
I just read some comments on Trip Advisor that this hotel offers an All Inclusive Option. I have not seen any comments from anyone on this. Can somebody tell me how much it costs? We are a family of 2 adults and 2 kids (6 yr old and 1 yr old)
Jan 9, 2011, 10:29 pm
#39
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Lafayette, CO, USA
Programs: SPG Lifetime Plat, AA Gold, UA Gold, DL Silver, HH Gold, Vail Epic
Posts: 9,096
Do you have an activities program for children?
Yes. Our “SHERATOONS” program is available for kids all year round and has no extra cost.
Yes. Our “SHERATOONS” program is available for kids all year round and has no extra cost.
Jan 10, 2011, 5:57 am
#40
Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 3,990
Cheers,
Jan 10, 2011, 6:15 am
#41
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Lafayette, CO, USA
Programs: SPG Lifetime Plat, AA Gold, UA Gold, DL Silver, HH Gold, Vail Epic
Posts: 9,096
It's in the first round and only shows up sometimes. When it does, it's in the lower window. (Don't anyone get excited by this. It's just a briefly-displayed cartoon. And the games aren't very worthwhile.)
Jan 10, 2011, 2:27 pm
#42
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: DFW
Programs: Marriott Lifetime Titanium, HH Gold, AA Lifetime Gold, United Silver, BA Gold
Posts: 864
Can someone please comment on this?
Jan 10, 2011, 7:49 pm
#43
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: PEK
Programs: Alas, the Gravy Train Hath Ended...just happy to be an OW Sapphire and a ST Ivory...whatever
Posts: 4,389
I am not sure if they still offer this, but there was only 1 restaurant open when I was there (low season) and I was not all that impressed with the food....adequate, yes, but there are just so many cheap and tasty options close by that I would not get it, although ymmv
Feb 23, 2011, 4:40 pm
#44
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: 60614
Programs: UA 1MM Miler, Bonvoy Titanium, occasional AA Gold
Posts: 96
Review: My stay last weekend
I checked in last weekend and found that I generally agreed with most of the comments on here.
Front desk staff was very polite and very helpful. I am Plat, and was upgraded to Club floor (top floor -- 23rd) but not a suite. I did not press for one since I was alone -- don't know whether I would have gotten one.
While walking to the elevator, anxious to get to my room, a woman came over to me and said she "needed" to give me a tour and tell me about the facilities at the hotel. My timeshare alarm bells went off, and I politely declined and told her I would prefer first to take my luggage to my room and get settled before my "tour", so she let me go. I learned later that she was definitely selling something (not sure whether tours or timeshare).
Room: Very plain and smallish, but with a beautiful view. It had almost no furniture; if it had, it would have seemed really tiny. It had one King bed, a small table in the corner with two hard chairs, and a small armoire. No dresser or other shelves. The floor was plain tile, and the walls were plain white stucco with no art on them. Bathroom was also tiny. There was no balcony, but the windows opened very wide, so lots of fresh air and sound of the pounding surf below. The beach area was quiet enough to allow me to sleep with the windows open at night. I found the room to be clean and well-maintained.
Pool: Two huge pools with lots of lounge chairs available even though the hotel was sold out (at least per the spg web site).
Concierge lounge: Attendant was very nice, and the hors d'oeuvres were actually pretty good too -- better than I expected. Not much selection but what they had was good. Chips, decent quality guacamole, fresh picante, some type of meat and cheese snack, and some cakes which I did not eat.
I ate breakfast at the hotel off the menu (not the buffet). The food was okay but nothing great.
As others have noted, the location is good too, although I prefer the "Old Town" area south of the river, which is a bit of a walk even from the Sheraton. But the Sheraton is the closest of the big hotels to downtown.
Forgot to add: Two of four elevators in main bldg were out of service the entire time, but wait wasn't generally too bad. There were two more elevators at the N end of the building which worked.
Also, as happened with others, my key was deactivated at noon on the last day even though I had asked for and was given a confirmed 3pm checkout. Very annoying.
Front desk staff was very polite and very helpful. I am Plat, and was upgraded to Club floor (top floor -- 23rd) but not a suite. I did not press for one since I was alone -- don't know whether I would have gotten one.
While walking to the elevator, anxious to get to my room, a woman came over to me and said she "needed" to give me a tour and tell me about the facilities at the hotel. My timeshare alarm bells went off, and I politely declined and told her I would prefer first to take my luggage to my room and get settled before my "tour", so she let me go. I learned later that she was definitely selling something (not sure whether tours or timeshare).
Room: Very plain and smallish, but with a beautiful view. It had almost no furniture; if it had, it would have seemed really tiny. It had one King bed, a small table in the corner with two hard chairs, and a small armoire. No dresser or other shelves. The floor was plain tile, and the walls were plain white stucco with no art on them. Bathroom was also tiny. There was no balcony, but the windows opened very wide, so lots of fresh air and sound of the pounding surf below. The beach area was quiet enough to allow me to sleep with the windows open at night. I found the room to be clean and well-maintained.
Pool: Two huge pools with lots of lounge chairs available even though the hotel was sold out (at least per the spg web site).
Concierge lounge: Attendant was very nice, and the hors d'oeuvres were actually pretty good too -- better than I expected. Not much selection but what they had was good. Chips, decent quality guacamole, fresh picante, some type of meat and cheese snack, and some cakes which I did not eat.
I ate breakfast at the hotel off the menu (not the buffet). The food was okay but nothing great.
As others have noted, the location is good too, although I prefer the "Old Town" area south of the river, which is a bit of a walk even from the Sheraton. But the Sheraton is the closest of the big hotels to downtown.
Forgot to add: Two of four elevators in main bldg were out of service the entire time, but wait wasn't generally too bad. There were two more elevators at the N end of the building which worked.
Also, as happened with others, my key was deactivated at noon on the last day even though I had asked for and was given a confirmed 3pm checkout. Very annoying.
Last edited by 60614; Feb 23, 2011 at 4:45 pm Reason: to add more info
Jan 12, 2013, 10:12 pm
#45
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Chicago
Programs: UA1MM*GL/1K, AA, BnVy PlatL, HH Silver,
Posts: 681
Sheraton puerto Vallarta booking?
Anyone know if there is something going on with this hotel vis a vis Sheraton? A search on spg says hotel not available. I have searched the dates I want; dummy dates through May and it it just doesn't seem bookable (?) on spg. It does seem bookable on Expedia, but I'd prefer to book direct. Alternately, isit just me not able to book on spg?
Bottom line trying to figure out if hotel is on way to an spg blackball or something?
Was thinking this hotel made more sense since close to town...but maybe Westin or other hotel is more advisable?
Figured I'd ask here before calling spg directly in case some one knows something. Thanks
(Also searched for a thread on this property to no avail so if it exists feel free to merge...I'd be curious to read actually)
Bottom line trying to figure out if hotel is on way to an spg blackball or something?
Was thinking this hotel made more sense since close to town...but maybe Westin or other hotel is more advisable?
Figured I'd ask here before calling spg directly in case some one knows something. Thanks
(Also searched for a thread on this property to no avail so if it exists feel free to merge...I'd be curious to read actually)