The Westin Puerto Vallarta was last updated August 13th, 2023. This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you make a purchase through my link I will earn a small commission at no extra cost to you!
If you’re traveling to Puerto Vallarta and wondering whether or not you should check into The Westin, let me assure you that you’re in the right place.
This post has all the information you need to help you decide if staying at The Westin, Puerto Vallarta is right for you!
I spent three nights at this hotel, and it was the perfect start to my trip to Puerto Vallarta. From the food to the rooms views, the included activities to the surrounding area of the Marina Zone, is a stay at The Westin Puerto Vallarta for you?
Table of Contents
Checking In To The Westin, Puerto Vallarta
The Story of The Westin, Puerto Vallarta
Opening it’s doors in 1992, The Westin Puerto Vallarta was one of the first hotels to open in the popular Marina Zone. Very popular with golfers due to the golf courses in the area, the hotel draws lots of families and couples.
The grounds are lush, and the green palm trees against the blue of the 400 foot private beach makes this hotel simply stunning. While the hotel is now dated, the grounds themselves are on what used to be a coconut plantation and are well manicured. I would argue that I’d rather explore the grounds on The Westin than sleep in the rooms.
The Rooms
There are 280 rooms spread out over 14 floors. The theme of the rooms are wood furniture and accents with earth tones to compliment the surrounding beauty.
Each room has air conditioning, an in room safe, and comes with two bottles of water a day. There is wi-fi for a fee.
All rooms come with a private balcony to relax, and some even have a private Jacuzzi.
Our room had two double beds, a flat screen tv, and a bathtub and shower in the bathroom. I will say though, our room had bugs all over it. Thankfully we checked the beds and those were fine, but I bought us bagels from the market to have for breakfasts, and even though I hid them away in one of our bags, the bugs got in and we had to throw them out.
On Halloween night there were fireworks outside our hotel room. Those were really cool to see so close since we didn’t even have to leave our bed.
The Food At The Westin
The Westin hosts several restaurants on site, giving you plenty of options if you decide to stay in to eat.
El Palmar is the main restaurant. Here there is a buffet inside, but you can also order off the A La Carte menu. The food choices? Traditional Mexican and international.
You can either sit inside in the air conditioned dining room, or outside with views of the pool area.
This is the only of the restaurants that I ate at. It was during the breakfast buffet, but they were preparing for lunch while I was there, meaning we were left with very little options for a overly high breakfast cost. The food was good, but not great so we didn’t go back.
Open from 7 am until 11 pm, this is the only restaurant that is open all day.
Arrecifes Seafood & Steakhouse. As the name suggests, here you can have a steak and some seafood as you eat at the open air restaurant located on the beach. The views here are absolutely gorgeous!
Open from 6pm to 10 pm, Tuesday to Sunday.
La Cascada Tequila Bar. This bar is located on the third floor, and is where we spent a great evening playing pool and drinking beers. They have music playing the whole time, and various sports events on the tv. The vibe was relaxed and it was a fun way to pass a few hours before bed.
Open from 5 pm until midnight, every day.
Things To Do While Staying At The Westin
The pools were wonderful. We went around 7 pm one night and had the one pool to ourselves. We played volleyball in one of the pool areas, and they had towels out for our use.
You can also access the ocean if you walk just past the pool area.
There is a spa downstairs by the pool area for you to sign yourself up for a treatment. The spa has a hydrotherapy pool, or you can choose one of their massage or beauty treatments.
If you want to be active, there is a fitness studio with a sauna, tennis courts, and even basketball nets.
If you ask me though, the best thing to do while staying at The Westin is to head out for the day and explore the city!
Need To Know Information For Staying At The Westin, Puerto Vallarta
There is a daily resort fee you need to pay when you arrive. This is $20 USD per day, and includes your two bottles of water per day, two free drinks to have at the bar, and your in room wi-fi. While you do need to pay for in room wi-fi, it is free in the lobby for guests to use.
Check in – 3 pm
Check out – 12 pm
There are a few cats roaming around the hotel. They’re adorable, but if you want to bring your pets, only dogs up to 40 lbs are allowed.
Cancellation Policy – 72 hours in low season, 7 days in high season.
Rooms start around $256 USD but keep in mind that room prices at all hotels change constantly depending on high or low season, and demand. I always check Booking.com first when planning hotel stays.
Overall Thoughts on The Westin
The hotel is quite dated. That was evident throughout the whole hotel. It did not feel like a 4 star hotel. There were bugs everywhere, the shower glass separating the shower and toilet in our room was filthy, and the staff at the front desk seemed to dislike being there. The staff at the concierge and the ones doing the taxi’s were wonderful though.
There are sculptures all around the hotel which were fun to look at, but that’s not enough to have me wanting to come back.
I think this is a hotel to come to if you are only there to sleep, and not somewhere to want to spend your whole time there.
Interested in the Marriott? I stayed there too!
I was gifted a stay at The Westin Puerto Vallarta, but all opinions are my own!
Would you like to stay at The Westin Puerto Vallarta?
4 Responses
I appreciate the total honest review. It sounds like the area is gorgeous but somebody just needs to spend a little bit of money in a hotel
Thank you! I would much rather read total honesty, so I want to write the same way.
It really is a gorgeous area!
What a beautiful hotel! Mexico looks so beautiful…hope to get there in 2020.
I didn’t realize just how beautiful Puerto Vallarta was until I got there. It is SO beautiful!
I hope you get there!