This was my second time at the Jalisco. And needless to say I’m coming back in May with 8 friends. You can absolutely not go wrong with the price, lots of different restaurants, plenty of bars and good show with exiting parties and a fun club. Amazing staff and day activities.
Sunwing Vacations Nov 20-27, 2022.
All culinary options were very enjoyable and lots of flavours. Selections and choices at the buffets were always generous.
There was walk-up access to the a-la carte restaurants was available, subject to immediate availability or going onto a wait-list,... the longest wait time was 35 minutes.
While dining at the Mexican, Asian and Italian restaurants was excellent, Botana (Steakhouse) was the best of the options though I'm biased towards the ribs and offerings there.
Room: Having been here 3-4 times previous, I'd requested & was assigned a room with King bed on 2nd floor with courtyard view near end of a wing....no hall noise, and close enough to hear the band or theatre sounds...which is OK/expected given where the room was located,...sounds like vacation to me.
But the room had bunk beds, I'd have preferred a couch/table and it would have freed up the bunk-bed room for a family.
Service: All the staff were very friendly and helpful. Check-in and check-out were very smooth. As usual, the maid services always offer a personalized touch with subtle touches in the room.
Wifi coverage was very good through-out the resort.
Other: Location is great, a very enjoyable walk to Bucerius either via beach or the street/paved trail....feel very safe and confident while still being aware of the surroundings. Great shops and restaurants along the way.
Consider: Having bicycles for rent or use would be a nice touch, the ride along the meridian path in any direction would be a nice outing.
I suspect it would be very tough to ensure everyone gets access to them while always needing maintenance of some sort. But if there was something to add to the Jalisco, this would be 1 thing. There're no tennis / pickle-ball courts either,...which given the room available in the property and popularity of the latter sport, perhaps another activity option to consider.
Ha ha...jokes on me! What an absolutely horrible place. Total house of horror. They must sell banks of rooms to the locals as I heard very little English at the hotel. There was hotel generated ( bands, activities etc ) EVERYWHERE. There are NO quite zones, I mean none. There is free booze so most everyone was drunk ALL THE TIME. The guests were a collection of massively overweight human beings that quite literally couldn't change their direction, so the amount of times I was propelled in a different direction by just walking down a path was simply astounding. The food: the SAME greasy fare day after day. They did have salad! I great place to go on a diet, was really the only upside. I absolutely lost a few pounds there so that was good.
Dear J9365BPbrianl,
Thank you so much for your feedback regarding your recent stay.
We place great importance in providing our guests with unforgettable experiences therefore we are sorry that not all the aspects of your experience did meet your expectations.
Your observations will be shared with corresponding department for further consideration and we are looking forward to having another chance to welcome you back in the near future for a much better experience.
We wish you all the best,
Hotel Riu Jalisco
Online Reputation Manager
I wish I could say I really enjoyed my experience at the Riu Jalisco but I didn't. It looks pretty from the photos but the reality is quite different. The beds were so uncomfortable, it felt like I was sleeping on a board, the pillows seemed to be stuffed with balled-up cloth and shoved into a case. The rooms were small and bland like the food, which was also low quality. It was overly salted including what appeared to be fresh lettuce. Nothing tasted fresh. The guacamole could be eaten with a straw. I'm not sure what they put into it to turn it into a soup, but when you go to Mexico you generally look forward to great guacamole. Sadly this wasn't the case here. You could hear people walking down the hall at all hours of the night and the music from the pool/event stage late into the evening. If you're looking for peace and quiet this is not the resort for you. I will never patronize a Riu hotel again. Very disappointing...But you get what you pay for!
Dear Inspiration547696,
Thank you for your comment,
We are very sorry to hear that you left with such feelings about our facilities.
We are sorry to hear that you did not find our rooms comfortable, however, we are sure that our housekeeping department would have dealt with the mattresses and pillows immediately as they are always available to assist with the wellbeing of our guests.
We are sorry that we did not live up to your expectations regarding the wide and varied gastronomic offer, although we would like to point out that we have a team of chefs who work hard every day to please the many palates that visit us, and we note that in your case this was not the case.
We hope that we may be fortunate enough to welcome you in the near future and have the opportunity to reverse the service experience offered.
Yours faithfully
Hotel Riu Jalisco
Online Reputation Manager
Family with 2 adults and 3 kids between 5-10.
Pros
-Very clean. There are staff cleaning everywhere, all the time. Mopping, dusting, sweeping, wiping, its just clean everywhere, and being cleaned all the time. We only had our room cleaned 2 out of 5 days (that's all we asked for) and it was perfect every time
-Food was awesome. Is it 5 star gourmet? No. Is it delicious and did my picky kids have lots of options? Absolutely. Breakfast was by far the best. So many kinds of eggs, pancakes, fresh fruit, there is no way anyone should complain about the food at this resort.
-Got into the specialty restaurants with little wait every single night. The asian food was great, the sushi was good, the indian food was very tasty. The steakhouse had the best bread EVER. The salmon is a bit bland/dry, so maybe stick to the chicken.
-Service in the restaurants was always fast and friendly. Staff were always smiling and very quick to help with anything.
-Staff were great everywhere. The energy of the games staff organizing volleyball soccer, or doing the pool games was 10/10. The women running the kids program were also great. My kid's wanted to line up early every single day (Be warned they max out at 8 kids so lining up is not a bad idea)
-Checking in/out was a breeze. Front desk staff very friendly and helpful.
-The neon party on friday was awesome. My kids had a blast and they did a great job of making it kid friendly up until about 9 pm.
Cons
-Going to get a bit food snobby here, but the pizza was a bit bland. I didn't travel to mexico to eat pizza, and my kids ate it, but it's just not great.
-TV worked intermittently in our room, but I'm sure if I had mentioned it they would have fixed it
-There is some minor damage around the fake rocks around the pools that obviously need to be repaired but I doubt this could be done without shutting the pool down completely so no big deal.
-The beach area does kind of smell. Now this is not because of dirt or horses, but I'm guessing just the smell of the ocean in that area. You get kinda used to it, but just be aware.
-Can be a little loud at night, but we were in bed at 9 pm, I don't expect them to shut down the parties/shows just because I go to bed early.
Overall we paid $1000 for 5 nights for 5 people in 1 room, and I think for what we got, this place is an absolute DEAL. No it's not 5 star luxury, but your kids will have a great time and you will be well fed and not worry about anything. This is a solid 4 star resort I would easily return to. Only once did someone drink too much in the adult pool and they kicked everyone out because I'm guessing the barfed, but didn't witness it. It got a bit busier between thursday-sunday but never had to wait in any lines. Head to the sports bar for your early morning fresh made coffee.
