Palladium Vallarta is NOT a 5 star hotel. It's a 3 star hotel with potential. Poorly managed - the A/C is minimal, drinks watered down, food is fair. Beautifully landscaped grounds are sullied by a constant sewage stench from the "zoo" a cluster of small, over-crowded cages. Rooms never adequately cooled smell musty. Beaches covered with thick piles of seaweed need cleaned more than weekly. Dirty pool decks need hosed off weekly (or daily?) and dirty pool chairs need wiped off as well.
The good news? A spectacular view! The cliff top resort overlooks a surfer's paradise with giant, crashing Pacific waves. Dusk to dawn, surfers are always present, and surfing lessons are free as well as boogie boards and kayaks. The regular staff is very helpful and friendly bartenders, maids, waiters, and entertainers. Better management and a little elbow grease could easily elevate Palladium to the status it deserves.
Excursions are misleading too. Vallarta Adventure zip line canopy tour forbids cameras in order to charge $17 per digital photo (not even printed!) and $79 for a CD of all the photos. Vallarta Adventures' La Caletas Island tour is a ridiculous $90 "day in paradise" to a dingy, jelly fish-filled lagoon that also has a nasty stench.
Lastly, Travel Agents and Apple should warn guests about Palladium's excessive stairways before booking a trip. Numerous stairs were a hardship for elderly and less athletic guests. We met a couple who left early because the husband was on crutches, and some members of our group experienced sore muscles from doing stairs.
In summary, our group decided that Palladium is a perfect example of "you get what you pay for" since we only paid $1043 for the all-inclusive. We laughed off the problems and enjoyed the gorgeous landscape for an overall nice vacation.
Would we go back? No.
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