We are a family of four which includes two teenaged boys, aged 14 and 18 years and this was our first visit to the Palladium. This was a surprise trip for my husband's 50th birthday and was his first trip to Mexico in just over twenty years. The first trip was a backpackers through the Puerto Vallarta and Cabo areas. This was his (and the children's) first stay at an all inclusive. Here are our thoughts on this resort.

We booked online and received the free upgrade from the rooms to the Royal Suites. We took two rooms as it was only $120.00 more for the week for the second suite. We requested the rooms to be adjoining or adjacent in order to keep an eye on the boys. We found the check in process confusing. We didn't realize that the check in for the suites was in a separate lobby. Some people knew this and shot off to line up at the Royal Suites lobby. It would be nice if this remark was noted on the hotel voucher.

We received rooms 5001 and 5002. Our unit had a faulty shower head which flooded the room the first time we used it. We reported it to the front desk and it was fixed the same day. Both of the rooms had the usual musty odor that lets you know you're in Mexico, but we noticed on a couple of nights that the air conditioner pumped in foul cigarette or cigar odors. We had to shut it down to stop the stench, which made the room hot and humid. We found the sound proofing between rooms was poor. Adjoining guests could be heard showering, using the toilets and jacuzzis and clopping around in heeled shoes on the tile floor. Some chose 1 or 2 a.m. to take their jacuzzis. The boy's room had the ice machine adjoining, which made a lot of noise in the night as the ice was made throughout the night. Their toilet had a plumbling issue which caused the toilet to run on all day and night and there was no hot water. The boys ended up using our shower. The hotel was busy on the weekend, so we didn't bother to request a room change as it meant we likely would be separated.

The beach area and the non motorized sporting rentals were a big disappointment for my younger son. He was not permitted to use any other equipment other than the boogie and skim boards. The requirements were that all users had to be 18 or older. They would not allow him to accompany my husband in the double kayak or the sail boat. The red flag was flying most days, so there didn't seem to be an opportunity to go anyhow. I'm not sure if they just don't want to bother loaning this equipment out or the ocean conditions really are dangerous. The beach swimming area was small and rough with the rocks, although the beach itself was clean and the sand was nice. Lots of chaise lounges in either the sun or shade of the palapas. Finding a place to sunbathe was never a problem.

Restaurants were mostly fine. We tried all that were open, although a couple of the a la cartes were not available. We were only able to use two of our three a la cartes. We dined at the Beach BBQ and also the Mexican Restaurant "Viva Mexico". Nice atmosphere on the patio and great performance for making the "sexy coffees". The buffets were good. Couldn't always get fresh milk and found the deserts were somewhat blande. Other than that, good selection and fresh salad/fruit bars. Our favourite restaurant was the one exclusive to the Royal Suites "Punta Mita". The service was always good and prompt. Menu was small and a wee bit repetitive, but all in all, no problem. The kids liked the sports bar restaurant for their pizzas and hot dogs. We also frequented the buffet restaurant by the main pool "Las Terrazas".

The bars were scattered throughout the resort. Never had to walk too far for a cocktail. The best service was the lobby bar at the Royal Suites "La Bahia". No sooner did we sit down to check the complimentary use internet computer, than the waiter was taking our order for drinks. Great service. My 14 year old was treated well whenever he requested his "virgin" tropical drinks. Lots of variety there. And speaking of drinks... is there any alcohol in those drinks? Not sure, as I could not possibly drink that amount back home and still stand up.

The pools were all fine. Good activity centre by the main pool. Note that the schedule published is out of date by about two years. You have to ask at the desk for the activities that are available for the day. It is also considered off season in late May and there is likely less staff. I also noticed that the theatre performers were running the activity centre during the days. Long working hours for those people as the shows didn't usually end much before 10:30 p.m.. The only complaint about the pool areas was the repetitive new age music that played throughout the resort. That drove us crazy. Some nice authentic Mexican music would have been better.

Speaking of the theatre, we saw seven shows during the week we were there and six of the seven were very good. One was so so. The same performers did every show. Very hard working and talented individuals. The live bands in the courtyard were enjoyable. The disco was not. Much too loud for all of us and the loudness was chasing out the people they were trying to attract. The beach party was fun. Mostly attracted the Mexican vacationers, but then again, the resort was probably 85% Mexican travellers. Sometimes the staff catered to them and didn't translate to English for the rest of us, but this didn't spoil my holiday. I would prepare by learning more Spanish before my next trip.

The resort was really busy on the weekends, but almost dead during the week. I think it's the time of year. I'm sure that our school holiday breaks would fill up this hotel.

Here is a tip for those that like to take excursions. Book through Scott's Tours in Bucerias. The trips are one third to one half of what they are to book through the hotel. You can book on line through his website. I chose to do the trips this way and I gave large tips to the tour guides. Remember that if you book tours you have to plan to get to the departure point. Sometimes you have to travel down to the Marina district in Puerto Vallarta. You could have up to an hours travel, so perhaps better to book the afternoon trips. We did the ATV's right from Bucerias. Buses are good means of transport. $1.50 from the Palladium to the Marina area, then the City Bus is .55 cents to downtown Vallarta. Taxi would cost about $35 for the same trip each way.

Hotel grounds, gardens and zoo were all kept in beautiful condition. Drink or food spillage needs tending to right away due to the teeny tiny ant problem which was mostly noticible on the Suites side. The ants do bite/sting, as tiny as they are. Public washrooms were always clean. With the exception of the influx of Mexican vacationers on the weekend, there were very few lineups for anything. Staff was attentive. We tipped for exceptional service, although it was not required.

Would we return in the near future? Probably, but there are also others resorts that I would like to try, so perhaps I would do this resort every other year. It is unfortunate about the rooms. I probably make them sound worse than they were. Overall, they were clean and comfortable - just noisy. Can't speak for the regular rooms as we didn't stay in them and didn't meet anyone from that section. Choose this hotel resort if you like being away from the hustle and bustle of the city. Be prepared to travel by bus or taxi if you want to visit the city or towns.