The San Marino is located on a nice beach in the "Romantic Zone" of Puerto Vallarta, which is a charming area of cobblestone streets, great restaurants and shops, etc., but more like the "real" Mexico than the line of glitzy hotels, isolated far from town, where tourists usually stay. Everything we needed or wanted was close by and we never needed to take a taxi or bus anywhere during our eight day vacation. We stayed in an ocean front room at this reasonably priced hotel and I strongly urge you to spring for the extra $10 a day for oceanfront. The room and hotel were spotlessly clean.The room was big, with comfortable beds, nice bathroom, great air conditioning, big TV, wall safe and, best of all, a big balcony that overlooked the pool and the ocean. There were several small swimming pools, one of which is reserved for the use of adults. There is a restaurant. As others have noted the food is undistinguished. Kind of like cafeteria, steam table food, but not awful, just adequate. There is a good choice of entrees, usually pork, chicken and, or beef, cooked vegetables, sometimes Mexican food. The one exception was the soup, a different one served each day, always excellent. It's an all inclusive hotel so unlimited bar drinks are happily served up. (If the Margaritas seem weak, order a shot of tequila on the side. It's free, so why not?). This is a hotel frequented by middle class Mexican families and foreign tour groups, so we had an opportunity to meet many nice people from all over (including a couple of newleyweds visiting from Siberia!!) We got a fantastic deal on this hotel from Orbitz (Orbitz Tip: We googled "Orbitz Coupons" and got an additional $200 discount each). Please understand, this is a very very nice 3 star hotel. It is not luxurious, but it is comfortable and nice in every way. We will go back to the San Marino every time we go back to PV. We loved it.

We were able to get a one week all-inclusive at the San Marino for $675 Canadian and were very satisfied with the bargain. The hotel is older, but the room was nice and clean. We up-graded to an ocean view which was definately worth it. The staff is very pleasant and the meals were good, especially the breakfasts with omelettes made-to-order and lots of fresh fruit. The lunch and supper buffets were not elaborate but there was always a nice choice of entree. The beds were FIRM but we slept like logs with the sound of the ocean lulling us to sleep. The location of the San Marino is wonderful since everything is within walking distance and yet it doesn't feel like it is in a busy spot. We'd go there again at the drop of a hat.

We (father and teenage daughter) really enjoyed our stay at the San Marino. The staff are naturally pleasant and did there best to makes ones stay enjoyable. Our one problem with a phone resulted in a new one in less than ten minutes. The hotel event coordinator is enthusiastic, even if guest participation sometimes falters. Safety and security was not a concern, at the hotel or in Puerto Vallarta. Five stars on service and staff. The hotel has history although renovated in 2003 - thus, it is probably two stars for rooms but everything is clean and works. As stated in other reviews, the breakfast buffet is great with lunch and dinner being plain but reasonable given what you are paying. The hotel is very central for access to restaurants, shopping and tour departures. Noise is the drawback to being in a central location - most evening noise arises from the neighbourhood rather than the hotel itself. For real world exposure, the hotel caters to all orientations and nationalities, including vacationing Mexicans. Unless there was a far better deal, we would stay at the San Marino again.

The hotel San Marino is not a good hotel by any means. I can't believe I am actually writing a review of this hotel. I guess I got misled through some of the reviews I read on this site (Stating that the San Marino was a great place to stay) and I felt the need to give my opinion and hopefully warn other travellers about this scam. I still can't understand why some people rave about this place. This is truely a mediocre hotel by any standards. I hate sounding like a spoiled Canadian but, in truth, if you don't mind dirty old rooms and bathrooms, stained comforters, holes in walls, disinterested staff (although I should be fair to some of the staff who try to make some effort to be helpfull). The food, as it has already been mentionned in other reviews, is truely bad (boiled carrots and broccoli everyday, boiled rice, mayonnaise standing outside for hours, etc.). The only positive aspects of staying at the San Marino relate to its great location (old Vallarta) and the fact that the money you save by staying here can be used to eat out most nights. Now you can't say you haven't been warned...