Puerto Vallarta's most recognized hotel zone features the Friendly Fun Vallarta , an oceanfront property that not only boasts a beautiful beach lined with palm trees but is only minutes away from the international airport and the charming cobble stoned streets of this town's magical downtown area. With a 24-hour all-inclusive operation, the friendliest service on the Pacific coast, newly renovated accommodations, a grand SPA and highly personalized service, Friendly Vallarta offers a vacation like no other. The focus of the friendliest service in the industry all set in an atmosphere of fun and relaxation under the sun: our client's satisfaction is our first priority. The operation of our resort is based on the Friendly service of our staff. The focus of our service is based on hospitality, personal relations and warm services. This philosophy is what marks a difference between Friendly Vallarta and our competitors.
Property Information
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Resort Details
General Policies & Fine Print
Check-in Policy:
Hotel requires a credit/debit card authorization or cash deposit upon check-in for incidentals; this will place a hold on your funds.
Convention Policy:
Individuals attending a convention cannot book this property for their stay. If found attending a convention, guests may be subject to higher room rates upon arrival.
Hotel Spring Break Policy:
This hotel cannot guarantee a spring-break-free environment.
Transfer Policy:
A price may display when children stay free, if your vacation includes transfer to your hotel.
General Information:
Room taxes and service fees are included in vacation price.
Minimum night stay restrictions may apply.
Reservation changes may not be permitted unless authorized by the hotel.
Customer Ratings & Reviews
TripAdvisor Traveler Rating
5525 reviews
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May 21, 2023I highly recommend it.
So we made the reservation at the Friendly Fun. Upon arriving we were told that we were upgraded to the next tower, the "MIO Hotel". That is for adults only and much more quiet. But the all inclusive facilities were going to be at the Friendly Fun Vallarta. So we took the offer. The trip was 17 nights. I presumed that the weather was going to be a bit uncomfortably hot, as all the trips with my husband were in the winter months in Puerto Vallarta. I don't enjoy extreme heat and humidity. But to my pleasant surprice the weather was LOVELY. What I love about the Friendly Fun is the staff and the food. There are several restaurants. "Villalinda" is the first restaurant we visited. It is a buffet. I must say that the food in all the restaurants is EXCELLENT. My husband and I spent 31 days at another resort the month of January and the last 3 days of Dec 2022 and it was a royal dissapointment. "Las Palmas by the Sea" and it WAS a very good place up to 2018 ,one star has been knocked out from it and we didn't know, otherwise we would have not been there. Back to the Friendly Fun . Restaurante Villalinda in front of the family swimming pool. There is also a lovely ocean view further back with palm trees. Our favourite bacame "El Palmar", that is closer to the Ocean, and you get to sit sometimes outside even closer to the ocean in a patio. I remember Ana Cristina and Esmeralda were lovely servers for beverages. It is a buffet. We had a few breakfasts at restaurante "La Fiesta" , it is on a second floor, quite open to the ocean view and a smaller buffet. Lupe is the server that offers you coffee. he is very funny, he made us laugh with his friendy innocent jokes. There is a lovely coffee house. It is located next to the lobby. I personally do not drink coffee but I enjoyed several Chai Lattes. Cookies are offered at the coffee house, which has a great variety of specialty coffees. Adriana is there is the afternoons, a very nice young lady, with a great smile and calming nature. There are several bars. My very favourite bar is the one at the lobby. That is where I met Gloria, she is an amazing bar tender and treated us to a drink she created, when I asked her what is the name of her creation she had not named it so we called it " Gloria Special", I believe it has Passion Fruit in it. Delicious! But only Gloria knows how to prepare it.She is the only lady bartender that we saw. Another bar is located in front of the adults only swimming pool in a higher than ground area. You need to climb a few steps to get there. That is where I met another bar tender, Simon, we had a great conversation ( I hope I got his name correct) . That is a lovely spot as there are what they call "camastros" There are actually queen size matresses sitting on a permanent base, covered with a robber fitted sheet and they have regular sheets . For pillows they have 2 great cushions that are fastened with velcro. The triangular type used to rest your knees when you have a back ache. Side by side they create the perfect reclining for your head so you can drink and enjoy the ocean view. There is another bar right next to the restaurant El Palmar, I saw Gloria again a few times there. There is a snack area where you are served pizza and nachos next to the bar by El Palmar. On the one end of the family swiming pool sometimes there is a Coconut stand, you can buy a coconut for 100 pesos and right at the spot one end of a coconut is opened and you can just get a straw ( a paper straw) OR you can have some liquor with it. My friend had never had a fresh coconut and she was delighted with the sweet natural flavour. It is the perfect natural hydrator, full of minerals good for your mouth too. Sip it slowly. There is another snack area behind the Villalinda restaurant where you can get chopped fruit and ice cream and another bar right across from it, that is where we had our first drink. Payo is the bartender there. He is a smily and nice guy. So when it comes to the hotel I find that the exterior area is a bit narrow comparing with other resorts where I have been before. But they make it up with great food, I think it was remodelled because the lobby area looks very upgraded, very nice. I cannot tell how are the rooms because we slept at the MIO hotel and that is another review. Friendly Fun is very clean, immaculate clean in all areas that we went. And the staff is fantastic. When you are at the beach there is a server who comes often to ask if you want to have a beverage. There are people picking up empty glasses always and you often see someone mopping the floors, wipping wall decorations, railings, etc. The public bathrooms are always nice. In the afternoons many times there was at the beach some shows. like a band with a lady singing very nicely. A man with a music box playing an instrument, like sax, In the evenings...a few times we did not like the DJ's choice of music. I went to him once ( I am bilingual) and told him that nobody was dancing because the music was ugly, NOT dancing music. When he changed the music you could see the difference. Sometimes they had "Silent Parties". That is the coolest thing I have ever seen. So you get this headphones and you can choose between three channels at will. There are 3 DJs playing different music and you see people dancing but if you are not weraring the headphones you hear nothing and they look weird. Dancing to no music. Very cool! They have a successful business because it was never empty. Busses from other areas of Mexico came with people who had a short holiday. Family oriented, definetely. So to be placed in the nearby adults only MIO was fine with us. I want to mentioned the Head of the waiters (capitan de meseros) is a great guy. Always making sure all the restaurants are running smooth. Once we saw an American woman smoking at the entrance ( just outside) of El Palmar, we thought that was sooo unpolite so we talked to him and he immediately walked in the direction of where she was. There is a no smoking policty which we appreciate as we are non-smokers and there are bilingual signs all over the place. Next he came to informed us that she had been asked to put off her cigarrete. Overall I loved the location, the food and beverages, the grounds and the staff. I would go back anytime.
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May 12, 2023Nice little resort
I booked this resort from Calgary at a last minute great deal. Small resort. Staff very friendly. The hotel was clean, room was clean, beds comfortable air conditioner worked, no issues there. However a fridge in the room would have been nice but not a deal breaker. Family pool would get crazy busy, but at least the adult pool was quiet and no kids allowed. No fighting over chairs/lounges. The new style chairs i found very uncomfortable but i really liked the lounges around the family pool. Drinks were not good as alcohol is so weak cant even taste anything. So beer was my choice when i did drink. I drink very little so made no never mind to me. My two biggest complaints are the fact that it is such a small resort you cant get away from the pounding music that starts before 8am every day and bands or DJ's until 11 at night. No early nights in bed here. The other thing is they don't label the food. Yes they have a black board listing whats on the menu but when things are covered in sauce its hard to tell whats what. That definitely made me eat less as i like to be sure of what i am eating. What i did eat was OK never got sick at all. Would we go back.. yes if the price was as good as this time. But the loud music is off putting for sure. I'm not a fan of the PV area i do prefer the Cancun side of Mexico.
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May 11, 2023Puerto Familia Vallarta
First time in Puerto Vallarta, travelled with my girlfriend (28th April til the 4th of May). Positives: The staffs are so friendly and would go out of their way to please you: just to name a few: Double Double, Hugo, Yvan, Hernando, Ana Maria, Miroslava (adult pool), Juan, Gloria, Francisco (El Palmar), Adriana (Coffee Bar), Viktor, Noe, Alex, Sam, and Nati. Thank you for your warm smile and great service. The Room: I had room 1412, facing the Fiesta American, you also see the ocean on the 3rd floor (left wing). Very clean. Food: More variety at El Palmar, less choices at Villalinda (during lunch you get burgers, hot dogs, sushi). Negatives: If you're looking for a nightlife, you won't find it here. They close the light at 23h00. The Lobby bar closes at 1h00AM and no alcohol is served before 10AM the next morning, so does the Snackbar (AKA the Taco Bar La Fiesta). During our stay, 90% of the guests are locals (mainly families with Kids). Everyday, the same playlist of classic music is played at the adult pool from 9Am to 14h00. No show or animations other than the Kids' Club. The a la carte were all closed except one (Frida), we didn't get to try the Azul and Akio. Hint for travellers: It is a very small resort with elevator and ramps, so perfect for people will low mobility. It's relatively safe, you can take the bus for 10 pesos and go to town (10 minutes ride). Get up early to reserve your spots at the beach, space are limited (specially the beach beds). You won't need bug sprays, there are none! This is a family oriented resort, for parents with their young kids.
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May 03, 2023Avoid at all costs
This was our first time going to this hotel and I would not go back if it was free. We were on the 5th floor located in the middle of the lobby in the tower and there was a lot of loud noise. To me it was like being in an echo chamber, all the noise in the lobby was like it was outside our door. The food rarely changed and was always cold. They do not even have a lid over the supposed hot food. They also do not even say in front of the tray, what it is. They put on the front door the menu, and expect you to know what each item is. I like to do a lot of activities and here there are basically none. Daily you could do beach volleyball or go kayaking, otherwise nothing.
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May 02, 2023
loved
so nice everyone is super friendly and nice, no problems and people at the lobby help you whenever you need it! food is amazing vibe is amazing had so much fun! cried a little when i left! gracias for this amazing 9 days will be coming back ❤️