Hotel Playa Conchas Chinas

I am not a tourist, i am a traveler. Playa Conchas Chinas is quaint and the perfect place for me. The accommodations are comfortable, clean and secure. The staff is wonderful, very knowledgable and helpful. The location is on a beautiful beach between Playa Mismaloya and Playa Los Muertos. It is quiet yet close enough to Old town that you can walk there on the beach. There is the most wonderful restaurant on the beach, which makes the hotel a perfect place to relax when not exploring Puerto Vallarta's diverse adventure and charm.

This classic Mexican hotel is about 30 minutes of lovely beach walk from the south end of the Malecion. We loved the location, the view of the ocean from our balcony was amazing and the small, sandy beach perfect for families with small children as well as pretty good snorkeling around the rocks! The restaurant right on the beach has an AMAZING Sunday morning brunch as well as great meals at lunch and dinner. Rooms had lovely Mexican tile bathroom fixtures and functional kitchenette with stove and small refrigerator. There are lots of stairs, which we didn't mind at all, but be aware! Local bus to town: 8 pesos. Front desk staff VERY helpful!

We spent two weeks at Lindo Mar, which is next door to Playa Conchas Chinas; we couldn't get a flight back to California on the Saturday, so stayed one night at the Playa Conchas Chinas which was quite sufficient. Everything about the room looked worn and old; the bed was extremely uncomfortable, and the pillows were flat and hard. The room just didn't seem very clean.

This was our second time at Hotel Conchas Chinas and it was very different from the first visit. Different in the following ways: 1)Room- Very basic cleanliness. Tub and shower not cleaned during our two wk. stay. Bathroom sink water lines leaked causing floor to be wet. Old soggy soap rounds and shampoo bottles never removed by staff. Had to request basic kitchen items that were not in the room at check-in such as knife and drain tray. Coffee pot still had grounds and water in it from previous guest. Room safe not functioning. Drain tube from next door air conditioner exited on our balcony creating a pool of water thereby making our balcony unusable until the problem was fixed. Sheets and dish drying towels are changed if you request it. Soap for washing dishes supplied if requested but it will be laundry soap. Toilet will not operate if any paper is put in it and you will have to get staff to come in with a plunger. Be prepared to put used paper in a waste basket next to the toilet and live with it for the next 24 hours. 2) Room upgrade- Didn't make any sense. We paid for a room upgrade and could not tell if it was delivered. We also looked at other rooms to move to given all the problems we faced in the one we were given. We stayed in it because it was the only one with a new air conditioner. The only difference between higher and lower room grades that I could discern was that the lower you went in the building, the more stairs you had to drag your luggage. Is that worth the difference between room categories? I don't think I got the upgrade I paid for and didn't figure it out until we returned home. 3) Hotel amenities- WiFi only available in hotel lobby and connection is frequently lost while your laptop "aquires internet address". The Conchas Chinas claims an on site restaurant and the inference is that it belongs to the hotel. The restaurant actually is affiliated with the neighbouring Lindo Mar condo. You can use it however and it has a great view and good menu items. Also, the beach is not private, as all beaches are public, but is also primarily for Lindo Mar guests who use the palapas. There are no motorized water sports. The rooftop terrace is abandoned, unsafe and hasn't been used for years. The pool is ok and has three broken lounges for your personal enjoyment! The people who liked this hotel must have been short stay guests. The hotel makes many inaccurate claims about amenities and is going on the assumption that if you can make it sound good, people will believe you. Buyer Beware.