| Samba Vallarta Resort | Patricia ~ England |
April 2009
Arrival: July 2008
my husband and I return to samba this year in july.This year we will have stayed at the Samba ten times Rooms
rooms could be up dated but saying that everything is very clean, the girls work hard keeping the hotel clean. they are very pleasant and friendly Restaurants and Bars
all the restaurants are clean and the staff friendly and helpful,also the bars Beach/Pools/Grounds
very clean beach good size pool with small one for children. grounds are well kept. Other Comments
As this year will be our tenth year at the Samba ,when we arrive it’s like coming home the staff give us such a warm welcome .and actually say "welcome home"
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| Samba Vallarta Resort | Jim, Christine & Riley |
December 2008 Nov22-29, 2008 Great family resort, we travelled with our 5 month daughter and had a fantastic time. Quite a change from the many trips we took as a couple but well worth the extra effort. We found a seat sale for 528.00Can. through Signature and unfortunately Sky Service for the week. I had a few years back sworn off Sky Service and this flight reminded me that deal is too good to turn down. We bumped up to Star Class for the extra weight allowance as we bringing the stroller and her play pen as well as the extra things babies need. Took the stroller through security and walked it to the loading doors, where you would think it would be safe. When we landed in PV, the brand new $600.00 stroller had gashes in the material, we are dealing with them to try and get this rectified. The flight attendants were brutal both ways…..4-5 hour flight I was offered water once and had to ask for a beer which was free in Star Class…….anyway I won’t beat this dead horse. The drive to the hotel took about 20 minutes which was great as we landed about 2:00 AM. Check-in was quick and easy even with us upgrading to a suite. We figured with the great price we found the suite would be worth it. Absolutely, worth every penny, we spent more time in our room with Riley’s naps breaking up our day. The suite consisted of a separate bedroom that with the drapes drawn was as black as the inside of a cow. The two bathrooms were nice as we didn’t have to go into the room when she was sleeping. The other room had the bar area with micro wave and coffee pot with another TV, fold out futon couch and the great balcony facing the ocean, where we spent a lot of time reading when she was sleeping. Travelling with an infant:
We brought tons of stuff we wouldn’t repeat in the future as everything can be bought at the MEGA Store about 5 minutes away. It’s a huge chain and kind of looks like a small Walmart, but much cleaner. For children, you can find all the usual diapers, formula, baby food, wipes, sunscreen which allows you the ability to not drag all that stuff with you which is what we did. We bought distilled water in big jugs for the formula and also bought rum Malibu and beer for the room. Yes it is an all inclusive but when she was sleeping I would make my princess a drink on the deck and for the cost it was well worth the effort. Back at the room we used the coffee pot to heat up purified water from the hotel to clean the bottles, the water came out really hot so it worked out well and Riley did not have any tummy issues so it obviously cleaned the bottles properly. The staff are amazing across the board, rooms were cleaned daily, the bartenders remembered your drinks after the first two days. The food is good not great but certainly there was always a nice selection. One thing to remember is that the wings at lunch time are amazing, this is the first time in 35-40 trips to Mexico I actually found good wings. I did try a burger once at lunch time and if you do ask for a double burger as the patties are really thin, and no, I am not a big eater, it was my wife’s suggestion . All in all I would return to this small resort for any number of reasons but one in particular is that not once in a week did I see anyone try and reserve a lounger either a the pool or at the beach. Because of us going back and forth to the rooms during naps it was nice to find a chair around the pool when we came back down.
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| Samba Vallarta Resort | Peter |
April 2008 My wife and I went to the Samba Vallarta in Nuevo Vallarta with Apple Vacations from Detroit. We had a great vacation. The beach was clean. Plenty of lounge chairs under shade on the beach. Great breakfasts and lunches. We had dinner each night in the Mexican and Italian restaurants. The food was excellent. The rooms were comfortable and very clean. Resort is excellent for young families. The staff was very friendly and very helpful. Nice walk along the beach to Bucerias. Bus from resort to Walmart $1.50…then another bus 55 cents into Puerto Vallarta.
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| Samba Vallarta Resort | Mary and James |
November 2007
My husband and I spent 9 days at Samba Vallarta and we love it It was quite and relaxing. The staff was great and the food was ok. We spent most of the time at the beach . We did some shopping at some small towns . We will go back. I read some reviews before we left and was afraid we made the wrong choice. I guess each has to make there own choice.
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| Samba Vallarta Resort | Kim and Gil, both age 49 ~ Ottawa, Canada |
March 2006
My wife and I just got back last night from the Samba Resort in Nuevo Vallarta.
We had stayed at this hotel eight years ago (January 1998), when it was only a couple of years old. The hotel has aged gracefully, and has generally been well maintained.
That being said, there are a few observations that we would like to share with others that might be considering this hotel.
Hotel
This is a smaller hotel (by local standards) approx. 180 rooms. The smaller size of the hotel lends to it’s overall charm, as you have the opportunity to get to know the staff and the other guests.
Common/Public areas
Extremely clean everywhere. Grounds, Pool and Beach are impeccable.
Room
Good size, all furnishings are outdated and are in need of replacement. No purified water (for drinking, teeth brushing) in the rooms (you have to go down the hall to the ice machine and adjacent sink to get some – one per floor).
From our viewpoint, here are the highlights/lowlights of this hotel for your consideration;
Highlights – you never wait for anything (drinks, restaurants, service at the front desk, etc.) even during the very busy mid-March timeframe when we were there. – very easy to reserve the two speciality restaurants at the hotel – just ask the ‘maitre de’ at breakfast. no crazy line-ups, restrictions, etc. that we have experienced at other all-inclusives. Both à la carte restaurants were good. I preferred the Italian…better atmosphere and service – the room A/C works very well especially for a hotel of this age – hotels get a lot of hard use and can go downhill quickly if they are not constantly maintained. – the staff are all great; friendly, helpful….. – lots of loungers around the pool and on the beach…no need to ‘unofficially reserve’ them early in the morning, unless you want the best/specific location on the beach or at the pool! – the food was good. I agree with other reviews that the food is ‘above average’ but not ‘gourmet’ by anyone’s standards. – bars were never busy and the bartenders will make you anything you want……with a smile!
– drapes in the room are dark…good for those who like to sleep in a bit.
Lowlights or perhaps better stated as ‘Areas with Room for Improvement’ – rooms need refreshing/upgrading. – noise is a negative factor, particularly emulating from the common hallways. Doors slam shut even if you are trying to be considerate of your neighbours. There are many sound attenuating materials that could be used to minimize the noise levels in the hallways. The hotel management should consider this important problem during any upgrade/renovation to the hotel. I was awakened a few times at 3:00 or 4:00 AM as a result of noise from the hallways, not necessarily from ‘party animals’ just from people closing the doors to their rooms!
– the quieter rooms end in an even number i.e. 312, and are on the other side of the building from the hotel’s bar/disco and theatre. Our room was # 403 and the evening theatre was very noisy, luckily the entertainment was over by 10:30 PM …yes, we are early to bed early to rise people!
Overall the vacation was great! With a few improvements, this hotel would be a five star in my opinion.
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| Samba Vallarta Resort | Tom & Bette ~ St. Catharines, Ontario |
February 2006
I started my research for our winter vacation last September (2005), when I came across the "Signature" brochure advertisement for the Samba Vallarta I was sold! It turned out to be exactly as advertised – a beautiful, medium sized hotel, immaculately maintained, top quality food served in their three restaurants….our favourate was La Hacienda Restaurant, at breakfast they had a wonderful assortment of tropical fruits as well as six different types of yogurt and granola, if you prefer the heavier breakfast there was everything you could think of – specialty omelets, bacon, French toast etc. etc.. My husband happens to enjoy a poached egg and the short order cook (a delightful little Mexican lady) couldn’t understand what he was trying to say, so later in the afternoon when he was taking his Spanish class he asked for the translation, which Sergio gave him along with the cooking instructions. The following morning Tom had his poached egg cooked to perfection!
My husband and I are in our seventies so not into all the sports that where available – we were there to relax, read a few books and hopefully make a friend or two.
After breakfast we would work out in the Fitness Center on the treadmill, Nordic Walker, (for me) weights and bicycle for my husband, then down to the pool to enjoy a few chapters before the water aerobics started at noon. This was always a fun time, the entertainment staff took turns putting us through our paces every day, afterwards there was always a game of bingo if you were so inclined.
The beach at the Samba stretches for miles, barely a pebble to be seen, heavy waves pounding onto the shore which made it fun for those that enjoy the boogie boards but too turbulent to swim in, there is always a breeze – great for flying kites – saw several which at first glace I thought were large birds.
The mornings and evenings are cool; I wished I have brought my pashmina. If any error was made it was at the time of booking, while our room was immaculate and every evening we returned to amazing towel sculptures, rabbits, cats, and baskets, hearts covered with bougainvillea, hats, dinosaur, and swans etc.etc. Sonia our maid was a genius, whoever I should have booked a room with a balcony……I won’t make that error again.
During the early part of our first week, we took the “Rough City Tour” which orients you with the cityof Puerto Vallarta, another day we took a taxi to the quaint little village of Bucarias and later took the local bus which pulls right up to the hotel and went to a beautiful plaza.
We were privileged to meet a delightful young couple who celebrated their wedding at the hotel with family and friends. I would say about 80% of the people staying at the Samba are Canadians and at least 40% would be repeat guests. One couple we became friends with had been going back there for six years! The Canadians come mainly from the west, especially the west coast. The Americans came from all over, there again we met and enjoyed many couples along with their children.
The entertainment staff is superb! The shows were great; our hats go off to all of them. If you want a low key, resort which caters to couples and families this is the place for you! VIVA SAMBA! *****
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| Samba Vallarta Resort | Ed & Giselle ~ Mississauga, Ontario |
March 2005
We visited the Samba Vallarta March 11 to 18th with our three kids 12, 13 & 17. Our preference is always a smaller hotel (around 180 rooms here) compared to the Riu Jalisco next door (monster sized and like NYC). The hotel is kept really clean, with constant cleaning and straightening up.
Our room was a suite with 2 bathrooms, 2 TV’s, a pull out couch on one side (lousy for sleeping so we asked for a roll-up) & a small kitchen area. The humidity is just amazingly high if the air isn’t on but it’s almost too efficient when it is on, and gets really cold since you can’t run it long enough slowly to dry the place out.
We were on the 3rd floor facing the pool (all those rooms are odd numbers) and an easy walk up.
The pool is clean and big. They actually washed the loungers at night with a power washer. The beach is great for swimming and boogie boards and great for walking. There never is a problem getting a lounger anywhere on the beach or at the pool. In other resorts you have to be up with the sun to reserve something.
The beach grill is fine during the day to get a snack, at night you have to reserve a seat. The main dining area is buffet. The food could have been a bit better for dinner but lunch & breakfast is always OK. The Italian restaurant needs reservations. It was OK as well, but we ate there twice to get the service. Order a Spanish Coffee for the show that comes with it. At night the place gets real quiet after ‘showtime’…Disco at the grill every other night but the music is annoying if you go to bed before 1:00am and face that way with a window open. You can hang in the small lobby where there is a real friendly atmosphere.
It’s easy to get downtown by cab or 2 buses. Buy your Vanilla at the Sam’s Club for $3.00 a litre where the bus changes. You can walk north along the beach to the next town Bucerias in 45 minutes (there is a bank machine there). A cab is $7.00 to get back (it’s a long walk). We golfed the Mayan Resort Gold course twice. It’s in good shape, but relatively uneventful as far as a golf course goes. Nice restaurant & club-house. The staff at the Samba are terrific. Very polite & friendly and make the resort top-drawer.
We have traveled to many different all-inclusives throughout the Caribbean and have never gone back to the same place twice just so we can experience the many options available. The best rating anyone could ever give a hotel is if they would return, and this place is a definite YES. Questions? tryfish@hotmail.com Enjoy!
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| Samba Vallarta Resort | Wenda ~ Ont. Canada |
February 2005
We just got back Feb. 4 from a weeks vacation at Samba Vallarta in Mexico. We went with another couple. ( Ages 55 to 62 ) . None of us had been to Mexico .
We flew from T.O. with Skyservice and had booked in Oct. with Signature.
Upon arrival to the Samba we were greeted and made very welcome. As our rooms weren’t ready until 4 p.m. and this is around 11:30 a.m. they would look after our luggage and we could change and get lunch. etc.
Our rooms were just what we had booked. We had balconies (A Must). Yes the rooms smelled musty and there was some mildew but it didn’t bother us, they were large and very clean.
The pool is very big and beautiful at night. The beach is wonderful and kept very clean. There is never a problem with getting a lounge. There is also bar service on the beach.
The food is fine. We ate mostly at the buffet and there was always a wonderful choice. We enjoyed the Italian but didn’t like the Grill a la carte.
You can walk by beach to the little town of Bucerias, which has a market or you can go into Puerto Vallarta by taxi and see the large ships and enjoy the wonderful shops at the pier, which we liked better. The price was no different.
We didn’t find the entertainment at night to be great; it seemed to drag on an on.
Most of the people visiting the Samba are from Western Canada and because it is a small hotel you get to know and talk to allot of people.
We felt that Mexico is beautiful and the Samba was a very good hotel, the people that work there for the most part were very friendly and went out of there way to help you. We would most certainly recommend this to anyone, but would hope that the hotel can get the air circulating in the rooms better to help the smell, and make a better holiday.
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