Latest Reviews for Buscerias

The RDC is a 3 star hotel offering a hit & miss service. Some facilities are better than others. The cashier was the most unfriendly member of staff who rarely seemed to have enough cash when it came to exchanging travellers cheques. The reception staff were aloof better at Tropical than Flamingos. The cleaning staff were always cheerful & worked their butts off. The waiting staff were generally good but slack at times & seemed to prefer serving Mexican clients prior to us. The bar staff definatley preferred to serve those offering them dollar bill tips. Now I happily tip but I tip for good service, NOT TO GET SERVICE in an all-inclusive hotel! The rooms were spacious but spartan with the most uncomfortable hard bed I've ever slept in. The food was mediocre but done on the cheap. You wouldn't starve here. The Italian was by far the best. The Japanese was good but apart from 4 pieces of sushi which was delicious, not very Japanese There are 5 pools & the adult only pool started off quiet & peaceful as you might expect, but during the 2nd week of our holiday it was overrun by Canadian High School graduates of 17/18yrs some who were not wearing adult bands all who were loud & drunk & the staff did absolutely nothing about this despite many of us complaining. They also used the other pools & children found them intimidating. One evening at the bar they were vomiting all over the tables & chairs yet the barstaff continued serving them!! Unbelievable. The grounds of the hotel were immaculate & beautiful. The beach was clean & waves were fun & ferocious at times. Not the best beach I have been to but it was nice. The beach vendors traipsed up & down the beach relentlessly trying to sell their wares. I did not find them a nuisance at all. Horse riding at sunset is highly recommended. The hotel offers ceramic painting at a reasonable cost. This was very addictive & great fun, but was hot work. Can I suggest RDC move it to the shaded area of the gardens? Despite going in low season the hotel was full & a high percentage of customers were Mexicans. Entertainment was good in the evening but the ampithatre gets very crowded so get there early & be prepared to swelter! The disco was worth missing!! Our First Choice Rep Diego was brilliant & the best rep I have ever come across. We got married whilst here on the beach & the wedding co-ordinator Karla Carlos, & Diego went out of their way for us. Am very well travelled Doubt I'd come again but was quite good VFM

After an 8 hour delay, due to aircraft problems we finally got going.First choice gave us vouchers (£36 in total) to get food and drinks, and what we had left we could spend on the plane. The flight is long, 13 hours but the in flight entertainment was very good, food good did not pay the extra £200 each for upgrade (£800 total)not worth it in my opinion as the extra legroom in standard class is fine..Return flight was on time and only ten and a half hours.

The hotel is amazing, bigger then shown in the broucher it now has an extra block and another swimming pool and restaurant.

we were in block 4 and it was excellent, right next to the beach a pool and restaurant and away from the night entertainment.

Food was very good with 5 speciality and 3 buffet restaurants. The buffet ones having plenty of choice and had theme evenings aswell.
Of an afternoon the steak bar restaurant served hotdogs, burgers, pizza, chips, so kids and fussy eaters were happy and a buffet Restaurant was right next door so you can all sit together.
Drinks are a wide choice and a few bars along the beach.

We done a couple of days out. Swimming with dolphins which was excellent.
The other was a trip on a light aircraft (cessna caravan ) 14 seater.went to two villages in the mountain/jungle. It was expensive but worth the money to see real Mexico, and have real authentic Mexican food.

Rooms were good Huge king size bed in our room and two doubles in the kids room. They had good walk in showers balconys t.v. with a good choice including some american film and news channels. The only niggle is that there is no fridge in the rooms which i think is a must .

WE did not go into Buscerias , tried twice but to hot and came back to fall in the pool. Others who did make it said there is not a great lot there and better off going to Puerto Villarta .

Overall would i recommend it YES
Would i return YES but in a few years, to many other places to see

I would give this holiday 17/20.
A very enjoyable holiday.

We thoroughly enjoyed our stay at the Royal Decameron Tropical, agreeing with all the good reports about food, cleanliness, etc. already written. To add something different here are our various comments:

We only had 7 coat hangers provided and twice requested more, but after 3 days went to Wal-mart and got a pack of 10 for about a quid! It is not drinking water in your room, although the rep never pointed this out; a new litre bottle a day is provided and you can refill these from treated water in the machines in the restaurants.

If you had tea in the mornings, different waiters gave it to you differently which was amusing! One waited for you to put the tea bag in the water then poured the milk, one put the milk in the hot water and left you unwrapping the tea bag, etc.!

The dancing shows were very good although some numbers were repeated on different nights.

The hotel money exchange seemed to offer very good rates when we were there, and there's no commission charge either. Our travel agent told us to take mainly dollars which we did but we would have got better value if we had taken all pesos or changed sterling there.

The security guards also tidied up plastic cups and straws left on the beach, you would think people could put them in the bins provided for themselves.

We took the local buses to Puerto Vallarta, Nuevo Vallarta and Punta de Mita. It was 5 to 10 minutes walk to the bus stops (cross the main road for Punta) although you need to run the gauntlet of the taxi drivers! Paradise Plaza in Nuevo V. was a nice shopping mall with ordinary shops and no hassle from vendors.

We had a few days of rain and there wasn't much to do then, although they did bring out some board games.

There was some excitement one day as there was an iguana in the 'quiet' pool! A member of staff got a big net and after some chasing it around scooped it out.

On departure day, we were impressed that you can book a room for half an hour in the afternoon to shower and change.

As a resort, Buscerias village was not really worth looking round, and street vendors hassled you!

Well what can I say... this was our sencond visit to the same hotel which says somthing in its self, however this time we choose to get married there, and I must say (soppy as it may sound) it truely was a memorable experience and the best day of my life, totally exceeding expectations. The tour rep and hotel staff were fabulous always available and always helpful.

As we had been before (2 years ago) we knew what to expect but all the family that came with us for this trip all agreed it was a lovely hotel and area. The food was good we tried all the a la carte resturants although book quick to avoid disappiontment we were suprised to find that the food did not repeat itself that often considering we stayed for three weeks ( I believe it was a two week rotation).

The hotel is lovely very traditional looking and spotless there is always people cleaning and gardening, and if you look carefully plenty of wildlife geckos iguanas etc.

The beach is nice but gets really hot so we tend to opt for poolside but there is plenty of room, although this isnt always the case a weekends as the locals get weekend passes and can take over the place alittle (we did not experience this first time round).

Small tips do the business and ensure you get served first every time by the barmen.

Try some of the trips, recommend swimming with dolphins, snorkling, and the pont trekking through the mountains and rivers dont worry if you've only ever sat on a donkey your in safe hands, and don't leave before going on the local bus to the end of the bay (or any where for that matter) a once in a life time experience!!!.

The hotel and the area overall is excellent throughlly recommended rest assured we will return for a wedding anniversary!!

I wasnt too sure about what to expect but this is truly a wonderful place to have a relaxing and good value holiday. The flight was very long - 14 hours going there and 10 hours coming back but aside from that the hotel and facilities were very good.

We were in the tropical section in a 1st floor room overlooking the hotel and some of the beach. Rooms are clean and beds very big and also cable TV.

Food was good in the buffet and varied although if you stay 2 weeks then the 2nd week repeats the 1st but not a big problem. The speciality restaurants were also good particularly the Piccolo (Italian)

It was only a 40 min bus ride to Puerto Vallarta which cost about 15 pesos per person which is good value compared to the taxi fare of 150 pesos (7 pounds) unless you are travelling with 4 people I guess.

All in all it is a nice place to go and the people are very friendly. Well recommended and very hot...around 30 degress when we went.

We flew with Air 2000 at the end of september in their premium cabin. This is not the best premuim cabin we have been in and would not recommend it for the extra money. People who had booked extra legroom in economy had more legroom and paid a lot less. The positive bits are on the outward journey you have a quicker check-in, board the plane first and get you luggage quicker. On-board you receive free drinks and a couple of extras like ice-creams. The amenity packs, hand-held DVD's and choice of meal have been scrapped. There is also no guarantee that even as a two you will sit togther. I would recommend pre-booking your seats together and extra legroom and save your money for the trips.

The transfer once everyone is on the coach only takes 20 minutes. Do not be too put off by the drive and the amount of development work the resort is undergoing. On arrival all First Choice guests are checked in at the disco due to the volume of people. Around 3 coaches checked in with us. Thomson guests check in at reception. The disco check in is chaotic.

The hotel is good but definitely is a 3 star complex. The rooms are clean and basic. There are no amenities ie hairdryer, iron etc and remember to pack toiletries as there are also none left in your room. There is satellite TV showing a dozen channels, CNN etc. Most of the brits are allocated to block 4. We changed as did many others on our flight to block 5 which is the quietest despite being nearest to the disco.

Facilities

There are 4 main pools with the adult pool over at block 5. This pool was not used by families at all and generally was quite a friendly pool. The pool bar closes at 6 though, so after this if you want a drink you have to go over to one of the bars by the beach. All pool areas are cleaned daily.

There are 3 buffet restaurants and 4 a-la-carte. As the hotel was under occupied, only 2 buffets were open and the Japenese and Thai were closed with those menus running on alternate nights at the Tropical buffet. Both buffets served different menus. All menus are published outside the internet room at the Flamingos lobby. All a-la-cartes must be booked at the internet room between 8am-12pm. There are 2 sittings 6.30 and 8.30. To be guaranteed 8.30 you need to book by 8.30am. These reataurants are ok and made a change from the buffet. We ate at all of them and had no real complaints.

The only criticism for the restaurants is the service. Some days you would sit for over 30 minutes and not be served. The waiters are not the best but a few of them are very good, usually the older guys.

The entertainment team are ok. The shows are very similar to all the others we had seen in other all-inclusive resorts. The team did work hard though and lots of people took part in both night and day activities.
We did 3 trips. The first was the evening turtle camp. We would definitely recommend this. It really was lovely. You release 2 babies only hours old. The camp is a voluntary agency so much of the money goes to conservation which is nice.

We also did dolphin trainer. This was fantastic. I think the package has changed since so check with the rep. However we spent all day with the dolphins. we did 2 encounters, 1 swim with other guests and 1 swim by ourselves. You also have lots of free time to play with the dolphins and get to know them. We received a certificte, photo, video, t-shirt and assistant trainer cap. This was a great day and well worth it. The final trip was rhythms of the night. This is a night trip. You take a 90 minute boat ride to Las Caletas and have a meal by torchlight, and watch a tribal show. It is very atmospheric and a good night out. The boat crew are also excellent fun.

Our biggest criticism of this hotel is that from Thursday to Sunday it fills up with locals. They have 6+ per room and really take over the hotel. The waiting staff also will always serve them before you. Other hotels we have been in do this but this hotel goes mad. All of the entertainment etc will change to gear towards them. Also they can be very rude. We heard many stories of people going to get a drink coming back and all of their things chucked on the floor so they could have the beds. The pool in block 5 does not get as full as many of thelocals bring lots of children, so this is worse at the other pools. There is not a problem with sunbeds and you usually could always get one. There is very limited umbrellas, about 8 per pool area so bear this is in mind if you are fair skinned.

Overall we had a good time and we made lots of friends with fellow brits and canadians. This is though a 3 star hotel and do not expect anything more.
First choice are dropping Puerto Vallarta next year as are all other brit companies. So if you do want to go you will need to soon.
The resort is tired and we certainly preferred Cancun as there is much more on offer.

This holiday was our honeymoon so we wanted something where we didn't have to worry about money or anything.
We chose this complex because we had previously been the year before and loved every minute of it.
The food was fantastic, with a good range of restaurants and bars to chose from.
The staff were really friendly, and would do anything for you.
The room was cleaned every day and was always cleaned properly.
We never made the evening entertainment as it was always too hot to stay and watch it.
The hotel was directly on the beach so it was in a great location.
There were a number of pools to choose from, we spent most of our time at the adults only one, as it was the quietest.
We couldn't fault this holiday one bit, and I'd definatly recommend it to anybody, there is something for everyone all day and all night.
Definatly well worth the money!!!

Absolutely fantastic, highly recommended (although there are one or two downsides)we had a fabulous time.The 15 hour flight is a chore and air2000 767 has cramped seats for long haul, then mexican customs search everyones baggage (in and out),just what you dont need! Transfer time is only 15 mins and a lot of construction is taking place on the highway in between shanty towns, as well as the entrance road to the hotel, but dont be put off, on arrival at the pastel shades ragwash painted hotel, you are greeting with refreshing drinks and given bracelets (for AI) and quite efficiently organised into your room.

The hotel is a complex of 3 sections -Royal,Tropical,Flamincos, we were in flamicos and the room is quite big with good storage,massive bed - comfortable- small table/2 chairs,big dressing table/mirror,large power shower and toilet area and there is a large separate sink and mirror area. There are 2 beach chairs on a big balcony overlooking pretty and well tended gardens. All the other complex sections were pretty much the same. Does need tea and coffee making facilites and chiller/fridge in the room as there are times when lobby coffee is not available.Air conditioning works well but noisey. Leave regular small tips for the maids who are inventive with flannels and flowers.Towels/flannels/sheets are changed daily. There are 4 pools, the royal pool at the back is the ";quiet"; pool - no under 16's - mostly frequented by Canadians (who talk very LOUDLY, maybe they are deaf!) the other 3 are just back from the beach, loungers are plentiful but can be reserved by putting a towel on but only supposed to left unattended for an hour. The beach is big enough but is on the narrow side with grey/white sand and has shades and loungers.

The ocean can be a little rough at times (stirred up sand clouds the water a little) but makes for great boogie boarding and it does get HOT but about 1pm a strong breeze blows. Beach peddlars will politely pester you but a no gracias is enough to get rid of them (Bucerias is cheaper and better haggling cos you can walk away)There are 3 buffet restuarants in the day but only 2 in the evening as the royal doubles up as 2 (wok and jap jap)restuarants that have to be booked (other bookable are piccolo -italian -and the steak house,which is a burger snack bar after 11pm. We had no problems booking any before 9am, piccolo did seem to be popular and can be filled quickly) Food is plentiful and varied although sometimes a little strange(chicken stew for breakfast!)but there is enough choice to suit everyone. We used to wander through each place to find the best choice. Service is usually very attentive and friendly (as are all the staff)but at busy periods waiters can go missing.Flamicos generally the best.

Entertainment is available throughout the day but can be a bit on the butlins side but if you join in it can be fun. Evening show staffs are enthusiastic.

The trips we did are very worthwhile but can be expensive - dolphin swim, rythyms of the night, rough guide to vallata and Las Caletas in the day.

Go to puerto vallarta at night - it bounces with nightlife, but the main bar drinks are very expensive.

Use the local buses, cheap plentiful and an experience.

If you smoke free cigs are available singley at the 3 beachside bars - drinks come in plastic beakers and are not strong and did not seem to make the real mccoy. Sol from bottles is the beer, ok but drink corona when offsite. Cigs in the hotel are comparative expensive double the local shop price which are about 12/14 pesos (80p)per pack. HOWEVER if you smoke cigars take your own/duty free as they are exorbitant and not good. I did find cafe creme for as much as 280 pesos (£19!!!)a pack of 10 - haggled to 100 pesos.

Weather is good in may (80+ degrees)but we were told the rainy season starts in june (not much rain but can be cloudy)tempratures stays the same but gets very humid and sticky.

Overall however for us this place was paradise and is totaly recommended - but outside the hotel mexico is not cheap.

This was the best holiday we've ever had. Although the flight over was long and a bit boring it was well worth it. On arrival in Mexico the heat really hits you. It was 7 o'clock and 32 degree. The transfer to the resort is about 20 minutes on an air conditioned bus. When we got to the resort we were really impressed with the hospitality of the Mexican staff. They are genuine and sincere and very helpful. Nothing is too much of a problem....something you'll get used to as the Mexicans are the most laid back people on the planet. The resort itself is spotless, the food is good, the pools are very clean and you'll always see someone cleaning. whether it's the rooms, the pools or sweeping up leaves around the resort. If you want a quiet time then head off for the adult pool or if you prefer they have a activities pool run by the Mexican entertainment staff. The beach is lovely and clean. You will get people selling you things from silver to hammocks. Always haggle for a better deal, they expect it but always haggle with a smile. They are not a nuisance so don't be put off......it's all good fun.

There is so much I could write about the resort but one thing I would advise is that you use the local buses!!! It will cost you 9 Pesos to get to the centre of Puerto Vallarta and it's a ride you'll never forget.....very bumpy but an absolute must, and it's cheaper than the taxis!

Try and do some trips as well, Vallarta Adventures do a flight to 2 small villages in the mountains called Mascota and Talpa. It's well worth it.....ask the reps about the horseshoe on the plane( it's a 14 seater Cessna)!!

To cap off I will say that we will definetly be going back and Mexico and the people are superb, you will not find a friendlier bunch.

If you have read this and you decide to go this year, tell Jose Luis(Bald barmen)that his England shirt is on it's way(registered)from Bill....trust me he'll remember as he got me a Chivas football shirt!!

Spoil yourselves and go....you wont regret it!

This was absolutely the best holiday that either of us has ever had. The hotel was terrific, you could not go out at any time of the day or night and not come across someone cleaning something.

The main entertainment venue was far enough away from the main hotel not to be intrusive, and we were very impressed with the coffee in both foyers so you could get a drink whenever you felt like it.

The food was excellent, perhaps a little on the samey side, but very good quality. If you fancy a change, just go to one of the themed eateries. If you need a quiet time, visit the adult pool. It's not what you are thinking, just no-one under 16 allowed. Very peaceful and it is, as they all are, a lovely pool. They are all 4ft 6"; at their deepest.

All in all a great time. The local is a bit dusty and poor, but the people are fantastic. If the time share folk in town get to you, say you are English and they wish you ";good morning"; and leave you alone. Too far away. If you're missing the football or motor racing, go to the Bar Magana down the road towards Buscerias, and they'll put it on for you.

Have a great time, and don't forget to barter...I got my wife a bracelet that came at 430 pesos for 120.It's fun