Samba Vallarta - All Inclusive

“Great place for a family trip”

A very nice hotel. Very clean and great drinks. Service at the bar and restaurants is great. Food is terrific with many options that rotate every day. The seafood is fresh and the fish tastes amazing. Also Alex and David are great servers at the Italian restaurant.

“Best thing about this hotel are the people that work in it”

The people here are so sweet and charming! Salvador working the downstairs restraunt was always super kind and greeted us daily. We had a lovely time staying at the resort. I recommend bringing ear plugs when you come because the music can be loud in the evenings, but they typically stop around ... more

The people here are so sweet and charming! Salvador working the downstairs restraunt was always super kind and greeted us daily. We had a lovely time staying at the resort. I recommend bringing ear plugs when you come because the music can be loud in the evenings, but they typically stop around 11 so people can rest up. The beach was also amazing 😍 i came during the low season but it truly was amazing to see some of the tropical summer rains. They cleared up during the day always for us. PVR is about a 40-1hr drive south if that’s important to you. Ubers were relatively cheap too which was great.

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“Accessibility/ food restrictions”

Accessibility and honest review: Beach, pool, outdoor bathrooms, ramps and Mexican restaurant (outside): The hotel outside was very nice and accessible paths, we loved the beach beds over looking the ocean, there is plenty of loungers down at the beach and a massage tent, they offer massages for... more

Accessibility and honest review: Beach, pool, outdoor bathrooms, ramps and Mexican restaurant (outside): The hotel outside was very nice and accessible paths, we loved the beach beds over looking the ocean, there is plenty of loungers down at the beach and a massage tent, they offer massages for I believe $30usd for half hour and $50usd for an hour, they also take pesos, the massage was great. There is horses for rent by half hour, not part of hotel but private. They do poo on beach and you can smell that from even the pool area when it’s very hot you kind of learn not to mind it but would be nice if the people offering this service picked it up (it’s not hotel). The pool is well kept and comfortable temperature. There is a wait staff in the afternoon but only one at beach and one at pool area to get drinks. The kids area seems fun and that whole area is accessible for wheelchairs. The music however is extremely loud, it would be ok for the activities but it’s loud all day long even into dinner which should be off as the restaurant reservations overlap. The waiters said the music is supposed to be off and they can’t control it, entertainment turns it off, they had to go speak to them at 2 reservations we had there as people in restaurant including ourselves couldn’t even hear each other during dinner. I suggested to have a timer to turn it off they said that would be helpful for them because quite a few people complain daily. This may be fine for most but for people with sensitive hearing or disabilities makes it very hard. Accessibility: the bathroom for the beach and showers are beside the beach beds with stairs, so not accessible at all for people with mobility issues/physical disabilities, the bathrooms are clean and so are the outdoor showers, staff keep it clean all day. There is a ramp on the one side of the beach to get down if you can’t do stairs or have a wheelchair but walk way for wheelchair crosses the one side of the restaurant (where the Samba beach sign is) which is Always blocked by chairs, I brought this up to the concierge, I did see that the next day the chairs were not blocking that part of the path I figured Bernardo talked to the staff, but unfortunately it happened the very next day again. I had to go onto the grass to get to the rest of the walk way to get to the ramp going to the beach, however, one would need to leave the wheelchair at the end of the ramp and walk to the lounger or beach. Other hotels have a wooden walk way to facilitate accessibility and designated wheelchair accessible palapas/huts, this would be great to add. The ramp is not too steep so my mobility scooter could get up. Lobby and elevator: Inside the hotel leaves a bit to be desired, there is a steep ramp I could not use to bring myself up to the lobby with my electric mobility scooter I had to ask the bell boy and taxi driver to pick up my scooter and put on the lobby floor. Everyone is helpful but this is not the point of accessibility. Check in is at 3, the workers at reception are young and nice but sometimes have to be walked through what you need. I did have to make a few changes to my reservation as I was put on the 4th floor but the elevator get stuck many times a day. As I have a scooter I can’t rely on stairs, I had read reviews about the elevator and I was there literally 15 minutes and the elevator got stuck so I asked for a room on the first floor. The elevator got stuck more times than I can count, thankfully we weren’t in it. The day we left at 6:30am bell boys were not working yet the reception said, so my mother had to bring the suitcase to lobby which is on 2nd floor and the elevator didn’t work. She had to bring the suitcases up the stairs (she is 75) and hurt herself in the process. We ordered a taxi the day before which reception forgot about and we had to get one that morning and wait for the bell boy to start working to help with luggage. We were not told of this prior or we would have made arrangements the day before. For most people this is just an inconvenience but for older people and people with disabilities it’s a very stressful and big problem. Ramp to room: All the ramps to the hotel rooms are extremely steep, my electric scooter only weighs 50 lbs and I’m not heavy and I could not come up, many people in wheelchairs had to be pushed up as they had manual wheelchairs and it’s dangerous for the person pushing and sitting in wheelchair as all ramps are extremely steep. I brought this up to the concierge Bernardo who was very polite and friendly and helpful with anything we asked. I know it’s not anyone’s fault the ramps are steep but the property should be adapted to truly be wheelchair accessible. Hotel rooms and bathroom: The hotel rooms are dated which is ok, the furniture is older and paint chipping off but you can see they fix them, but the heat makes the pain peel off. The beds are super comfortable and clean, great pillows but the whole room could use some new furniture and window curtains. The balcony is great with a bistro set, we had a lovely garden view. The bathroom is dated as well, if you don’t mind the inside of the hotel being dated then it’s fine for you, we didn’t mind. The AC worked well, the cleaning ladies are great at their job. There is a coffee maker, coffee/creamer/sugar/splenda daily if they forget just ask. You’re provided with 2 water bottles daily included in your reservation, there is 2 beers and 2 soda pops all free the first day. We only consumed the water bottles, we brought water jugs from town. Accessibility: they said it was an accessible room as it had a shower and not a tub, it’s not wheelchair accessible shower as it has a high threshold, one needs to step into the shower so keep that in mind, I brought my own shower chair. It is wheelchair friendly but not accessible. One can hear the night entertainment in the room with doors closed for hours starting at 9 PM ending at around 12 AM every night except for Sunday and we had worn earplugs because it was so loud. I can’t think how little children were able to sleep at night because of the noise, we were fine as we so had earplugs but again this is not accesible for all. Restaurants/ gluten/ food allergies: The restaurants are nice but again they all have steep ramps except for the Mexican restaurant/snack bar on the closest side of the beach. The other side is steep too. The doors of the main buffet in the back (wooden door then blue/grey doors) by the Italian restaurant are always closed and there is no button to open them therefore it is 100% not accessible unless you are with someone who can open the door. Prior to my visit I emailed regarding gluten and other food allergies to see if I was able to go to this hotel, at first the agent over email told me that there was no food that did not have gluten so I asked to speak to someone else because I explained what foods made up gluten. I was redirected to the concierge and he connected me to the chef and they told me to email reminding them that I was coming over a day before and they can prepare different food for me and tell me what I’m able to eat at the buffet . I was given a meet and greet with the chef, he told me to ask for him every time I came to eat to be told what I’m able to eat or not. The chef was extremely nice, I cannot remember his name, but he was very friendly, was kind, and very helpful, however, none of the cooks could tell me if something had gluten or not. They literally did not know the ingredients to the food that they cooked. It was only a chef that could tell me which I found incredible as I believe they should know what’s going in the food they are preparing in the event of the chef’s absence which did happen and I had to ask for a piece of chicken and another day beef to be grilled for me because I did not know what I could possibly eat out of the whole buffet two different days. I believe the chef’s shift might have been over and he wasn’t there, which is completely understandable, but the cooks should know what is in the food. Unfortunately there wasn’t any substitutions for desserts that did not have gluten aside from the ice cream machine that sometimes worked or Jell-O. I was only able to eat dessert when they had candied pumpkin one day. The fruit was very repetitive as well as the salads, one is able to definitely eat, but there isn’t a lot of variety. The stew and the other food at the buffet was not very varied either but again it was fine and we always found something to eat. What was very yummy was the grill, they had Birria one night, steaks another, there was fresh sushi made also, some other foods made there so if you do want the variety at dinner go to where the grill is at the end of the restaurant . All the staff are super nice and helpful. We found Salvador specially helpful. There was absolutely no gluten-free food at the Italian restaurant so I did not go there but my mom went and she really liked it. The snack bar is burgers, hot dogs and nuggets. There is no nachos, pico de gallo or guacamole like most Mexican snack bars at least that would be gluten free. Sometimes there is watermelon but nothing really one can’t eat there if you can’t have gluten. The Mexican restaurant had gluten-free options, we ate there three times and it was delicious but you have to make sure to ask the waiters not to include a couple of things that may have gluten. Unfortunately, at the Mexican restaurant the one time I came alone and I was completely forgotten about. I was in between larger tables, so it’s not like I was off completely on the side where I wasn’t able to be , I was actually the first person there, I was seated, they did not give me a menu or offer me anything to drink until I asked for a menu and then probably about 10 minutes later I asked for something to drink and, I told them that they had forgotten about me. Other people came. They were all served and it was really very disappointing. I also remember on the first occasion I was at that restaurant, a lady and with her child left because they forgot about her as well, and she complained that nobody offered her anything to drink and was just left there, and everybody else was served different things so this is not just my experience but other peoples. Overall, I rate this hotel as a 3/5, for the amount of money that we paid to stay we don’t think it was worth it because of the food and the inconveniences with the elevator/ramps/loud noise which in my case is a very big deal due to disability. If a hotel expresses that there accessible, it’s not only to wheelchairs, but it’s accessibility in all senses. There is definitely room for improvement and I believe that it can be achieved. Everyone at the hotel is extremely nice, polite and helpful and I thank everybody for their help during my stay, however, if it was a more accessible and reliable hotel than I wouldn’t have needed so much help.

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“Not worth the price since there's not much to do and they”

The food was good at the buffet. The Italian food was close to bad. I was hoping to use the gym but half of the machines were broken. You can't go higher than 5mph on the treadmill without it shaking and creaking so loud and the pedals on the bike go the same way. Ther