Grand Palladium Vallarta Resort & Spa - All Inclusive

Customer Ratings & Reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

14629 reviews

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  2 old friends vacationing together

  Just got back from a wonderful week at the Grand Pallidium Vallarta Resort & Spa. I would definitely recommend this resort. The service was perfect. The place was very clean. Friendly staff. We enjoyed a massage on the beach. 80 minutes / 120.00$ CDN. Worth every penny! We stayed at the adult infinity pool where we could see whales from a distance! Spectacular sunsets. Sandy beach. The waves were a surfers delight and there were quite a few surfers. It was awesome to watch them from a distance. The Quiet Bar where Bernardo (?I think) served us our drinks was so nice and generous. The bar at the beach was well tended & friendly staff who remembered my name. The food was Okay. Plenty of choices for all. The A la Carte restaurants we went to 2 of them only. They were Okay as well. Not fantastic, but not terrible also. The vast majority of the people we met had been there multiple times and it's not hard to see why. I would definitely go back. Just a note worth mentioning, the site is quite large and walking is a big part of it. It's set on a falaise, so lots of steps, literally. Not friendly for people with mobility issues. Although we did meet a few older couples who had been there before and didn't mind all the walking, in fact, that appeared to be the reason why they kept returning! Most days I did over 10,000 steps! Today it's back to reality, snow and minus 6.

  Feb 12, 2026
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  Feb 26

  Wonderful trip, thanks to Vicky, Armando, Oscar and Bernardo for outstanding service at the quiet pool. Also big thank you to Abraham, Itzel, Fernanda and Antonio at the travel club for looking after our every need!

  Feb 12, 2026
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  Best to Bring Kids - But Not Necessary

  We had stayed there 3 1/2 years prior and we didn’t enjoy it as much this time. Can’t complain but we found the families were noisier, especially in mornings. The hallways are open plan so that all floors are connected. The acoustics amplified the delighted shouts. Parents seemed oblivious. However, there was no late-night chatter in the hallways. We chose Family selection so that we could have access to the Nest Restaurant, concierge and more exclusive pool seating. That part was great, especially concierge Acosta, pool server Carlos and bartenders Victor and Salvador. It was a treat to order snacks from the bar and have them quickly served at our loungers. More than one bathroom stall for each gender would help, especially since the weddings seemed to use them. Adult guests tended to stay at the lower pool and guests with children stayed at the higher level pool, which is shallower. We even met a few couples to chat with. We knew ahead of time that there are no elevators and lots of levels with stairs. Our mobility isn’t perfect, but we decided that it would serve as physio to climb a lot of stairs. We ate at the Nest a lot, and never at the buffet. All the restaurants expect diners to use the app to see the menu, occasionally finding a laminated one or a tablet for use. Only one of us uses a cellphone. Portifino Italian was okay to good. Las Terrazas was also good, except that we requested to sit outside and fruit flies took over the wine. The best a la carte meal was at the Japanese, with small servings of a variety of food. One problem was that when we were sharing items we kind of had to pass the plate back and forth. No side plates. We didn’t bother with the Mexican restaurant because on our last visit we couldn’t sit in the upper outside row to see the sunset unless we paid $75 US for a bottle of wine. All the meals at all the restaurants were carefully entered into an app used by the server. A couple of times we realized that we had forgotten something and that was a problem, due to the closed(?) order. Nothing was a big problem for us, but awkward. One maitre d’ was fairly rigid. I think he is new and his English still developing. He was unable to help us with our after-order request at the Japanese restaurant, and at the Nest he refused to seat us at a table that we requested because it was set for 4. Shortly after, a different hostess seated a couple at that table. Durn. Thankfully all the staff were at various levels of English, which we admire and appreciate. Otherwise, staff were helpful and kind. Nazly at the Nest helped us with our Spanish, Julie took an awesome picture of us and Verenice remembered our preferences. Check-in and checkout were easy. The bellhops carried our suitcases to and from the 2nd floor for us. Our maid Cecy kept the room clean and toiletries and towels were always there. The actual maid station was next to our room and the morning activities were quietly performed. There were 2 or 3 weddings held outside of the Family Selection. We were elsewhere except for one, a Mexican wedding. Although the music was loud, it was a privilege to observe from our table at the Nest. The bride invited us to join them and we did, for half a dance! Our room, 5101, had great noise prevention from the outside when we closed the sliding door. It didn’t help for hallway noise, but still appreciated. Beach swimming was pretty good with some rocks and waves but no steep exit or entrance. We used beach shoes. The only beach vendors were 2 stations on the beach, and a little pricey, with 450 pesos for a child’s t-shirt. We flew Air Canada which has a screen at every seat but the jack receptors were so loose that the dongle wouldn’t stay in. Headphones were better but still touchy. Nexus transport to and from the hotel was quickly accomplished, in SUVs instead of a bus. There was a technical glitch delaying our homeward flight but fortunately only lasted about 2+ hours with lots of email updates. We sat on the tarmac for a second part of the delay but except for a shutdown to reboot, we had air conditioning and toilets. Then we had missed the runway slot at home, so we circled until our new assignment was ready. It was interesting because it resolved efficiently and we were kept informed. We will still return to Family Selection. Although, we had also stayed in that section when it was adult-only, which was better for us. Can’t complain. We were treated well.

  Feb 11, 2026
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  Worst Resort Experience We’ve Ever Had! Filthy, Misrepresented, and Nowhere Near 5-Star!!!

  This was hands down the worst resort and hotel experience we have ever had anywhere. Palladium Vallarta is advertised as a five-star, luxury, all-inclusive resort, and that is completely false. This property is dirty, poorly managed, severely understaffed, and offers terrible food and service. It should not be allowed to market itself as a luxury resort. Our room had visible mold in the bathroom, and the room itself was extremely dirty. There was thick dust and debris around and behind the TV, with exposed, dangling cords covered in grime. The air vents were full of dust and dirt. It was obvious the room had not been properly cleaned in a very long time. We also paid extra for an “upgraded panoramic ocean view.” This was a complete joke. The sliding glass door was so filthy that we could barely see out of it at all, making it impossible to enjoy the view we specifically paid extra for. The room was not at all as pictured online, and the so-called panoramic view was nothing like what was advertised. This felt like blatant false advertising. The entire resort was consistently dirty. There were used cups, trash, and debris everywhere — by the pool, in common areas, and around seating areas — and they were rarely cleaned up. The beach was also dirty, with bottle caps in the sand, which is both disgusting and dangerous. Basic necessities like bottled water were extremely difficult to get. We asked at least five times in one day and still did not receive water. My husband eventually had to go to the front desk at midnight, wait 45 minutes, and they were only going to give him four bottles of water. At a so-called all-inclusive resort, this is completely unacceptable. The restaurant reservation system through their app was essentially useless. We were unable to make a single dinner reservation for over a week, except for the one night we were already scheduled to attend a wedding. Because of this, we were forced to eat at the buffet almost every meal. The food was consistently terrible and often inedible. It sat out for extended periods of time, was not refreshed regularly, and was frequently cold or stale. It was clear that food quality and safety are not priorities at this resort. Service was equally bad. At the pool bar, you had to wait 10–15 minutes every single time for a drink because there were only one or two bartenders serving the entire pool area. No servers came around to take drink orders, so you were forced to stand in long lines repeatedly. Afterward, no one cleaned up, leaving dirty cups and trash everywhere. At breakfast, we were rarely approached by servers to offer coffee or water. The only coffee available was from small machines near the buffet and lobby, which were also used by staff. This meant waiting 10–15 minutes just to get a latte, cappuccino, or americano — and half the time the machines were covered, unavailable, or not working. We raised these concerns with staff and management multiple times, and nothing was done. No meaningful effort was made to correct the issues. They acted surprised when we finally decided to leave the resort three nights early and transfer to another property — even though they knew we would not receive any refund or credit. We also booked through Delta Stays, and they were no help. After being on the phone for 45 minutes, Delta contacted the resort’s front desk and management and still could not get a response or any real support. Even after the manager on duty arrived later and emails were sent, there was no response and no apology from the resort. This property is massively misrepresented online. Based on the photos, reviews, and five-star branding, we had certain expectations — especially for a wedding venue — but this resort is nowhere close to what is advertised. Calling this a five-star resort is laughable. We travel frequently and have stayed at many resorts and hotels. This was by far the worst property we have ever stayed at. Dirty rooms, mold, false advertising, terrible food, terrible service, and zero accountability. Save yourself the disappointment and stay somewhere else.

  Feb 11, 2026
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  Large family of 27 485th birthday celebration

  We were a large group of 27. My wife and I are Travel Club members and used our nights for all of our family. Unfortunately, the check-in process was not as smooth as we would’ve hoped. Some room requirements were not able to be met in the process was a little confusing as some of the benefits had changed. there were some confusion in the Travel Club area on how the Palladium dollars were being handed out and the process wasn’t smooth to get points onto the app. We were very happy with the resort and the food. We also had a special 85 birthday celebration that went above and beyond our expectations. At times the music around the main pool was a little too loud. There is an à la carte restaurant that overlooks the pool and it would be nice for the music around the pool to be turned down, so the people having dinner can have a conversation. The music was supposed to be turned off at 7 PM but we talked to our waiter and he was able to accommodate turning it off around 7:15. In many of the resorts we have gone to in the past we bring local currency and go to the lobby to get exchanged into smaller bills for tipping. The lobby had no small bills in this instance, and we had to make a special trip into town and had to convert a lot of pesos for the 27 of us. Overall, the resort is small, but was very nice different areas that you can go to to unwind. The beach area was very nice. Not very many rocks.

  Feb 10, 2026