Villa Premiere Boutique Hotel Review

At a glance

1. Our own terrace Jacuzzi. Cobalt blue tile + a hammock for relaxing
2. Every room has an ocean view. And a balcony
3. The perfect check-in. Champagne and a quick massage for everyone.
4. Pillow menu + pick your own scent.
5. Super intimate. Big resorts mean 10+ minute walks. Here it’s under 2.
6. Family-run, not a chain. Only 3 hotels, so more personal, fewer corporate rules.
7. Made for couples. Laid-back and adults-only, so no kids. Romantic but not ooey gooey
8. Free sauna and steam room, plus morning cold plunge access with a reservation.
9. Romantic, old-world style. Love poems painted on the walls and candlelit terraces. Not cookie-cutter.
10. 10 minutes to the Malecón. Walk or grab a free bike. No taxi needed.
11. The catch: no turquoise-blue water, and only a few restaurants.

While all inclusive hotels are nice, there are a few things that can make them just feel the same every time.
They’re usually meant to handle a large volume of people. Suddenly, during your relaxing vacation, you realize you just walked 10 minutes to the pool, just to realize you forgot your sunblock. Or you go down for breakfast and realize you want to go to the pool but you don’t have your bathing suit. Everything can just feel like a journey.

Then you’ve got the cheesy activities you feel obligated to join and you’re fighting for a chair by the pool. Villa Premiere in Puerto Vallarta had me forgetting that I was at an all-inclusive resort… until the meals where I realized I didn’t have to worry about paying. It felt like a cute romantic boutique hotel.

I wish you could just land in your airplane, go through customs, and immediately be at the resort. While I didn’t quite get that, it was only a 15 minute ride (we recommend booking your ride ahead so you don’t get hassled by all the drivers up front) before we already had a glass of champagne and were getting welcomed in.

The entire check-in was an experience. They give you a wristband that you just scan to get in your room and to use around property. I’m always losing the room keys so having it literally attached to me is so convenient. They also give you:

Finally a beach resort where you’re not paying extra for a beach view, because they all have one!

The rooms all have this boho beachy vibe and the way the sheer fabric over the bed is draped from a rod on the wall like a canopy, the bed feels extra dreamy. The beds themselves are amazing, firm enough to provide support but still plush, especially paired with the neck support pillow we chose.

The resort feels like an old love story, with travel, the sea, and love reflected through poetry. Every detail seems to evoke that feeling of romance. Make sure you pause to let every page unfold into its special story.

• Shakespeare and Yeats hand painted on the walls in gold script:
• Little scenes tucked into the stairwells: light glowing through papel picado like panels of seahorse, fish, moons and stars
• Mosaics on the floor from black pebble and cream marble with stars and other designs
• Terra cotta medallions decorated with suns
• Whitewashed, stepped terraces, with blue triangle trim on the balconies on the outside

The resort is lovely, but it’s when you take a moment to sink into all the little details that the hotel transforms into a novel whose story you are a part of. (Cheesy maybe, but what can I say. I’m a romantic who will let the design transport me to a feeling or a sensation the way a story would.)

I’m a fan of a resort with 9 restaurants on site all with different themes. I will also get stressed because I will want to try every single one and want to order everything on the menu just so I can try something. Suddenly, I feel as if I need to stay at the resort for 2-3 weeks just to try it all.

Here Villa Premiere presents itself less all-inclusive in view, with only 3 onsite restaurants, but not in practice. La Ceiba’s menu is massive, and I appreciate getting to go back to try different things I wanted to. They also host different theme nights like Italian, and Mexican to mix things up. Plus you still have La Perla and Elena 1927.

I go into everything much further down, but for now here’s an easy list of what you get.

• Three à la carte restaurants
• Premium drinks
• 24-hour room service, with a 100 MXN delivery fee per order
• Minibar restocked daily with sodas, beers and water
• Beach yoga most mornings w/ meditations
• Butler service
• Bicycles
• Cooking and mixology classes/demonstrations
• Access to the sauna and steam room at Serena Spa
• Kayaks, paddleboards and other non-motorized water sports
• Access to Buenaventura Grand’s specialty restaurants and Thursday Mexican party
• Cold plunge at Buenaventura: free from 8–10 a.m. with a reservation; extra charge afterward
• Pressing of two clothing items per person, per stay

Note: they do offer a “European plan” that is room-only. However, the upgrade to all-inclusive wasn’t much and (you can compare the plans here) everyone we saw appeared to have gone for the everything included option.

Of course prices change on so many factors, events, availability, festivals, etc. So use these as an estimate. Holidays and peak dates can cost more.

*Day Pass includes a $1,400 MXN food and drink credit, pool, beach, plus 15% off spa. Adults only; availability capped at 75% hotel occupancy.
**Wellness Day Pass: Same as day pass, but adds a 50-minute massage

Here at Villa Premiere the pools are right by the beach so you can look out into the ocean. The hotel has two pools. Overall they are small pools vs the massive resort ones. Just one of those things that kept making me go back to the sense of cute boutique hotel w/ free food + drinks vs “all-inclusive”.

The great thing is, service tends to be quick and there’s always someone nearby. Also, I wanted ice cream and they could bring it to me because we were feet from the open air restaurant La Ceiba. The second pool (a few feet away from the main one, but more infinity style) has a swim up bar. And if you didn’t guess it, you’re pretty much never waiting for a drink here either.

Playa Camarones (which means shrimp beach) is the beach the hotel sits on, just north of downtown. The water’s color can change because of the rivers, but Playa Camarones has Blue Flag certification for water quality, environmental management, and safety.

During our stay we didn’t really go into the water. It’s a little rocky. There were many families at the sister resort in the water, it’s just not the resort you book when your whole goal is to hang out at the beach. For someone like me who doesn’t always have to be in the sea, someone who just loves to see the sea, it works out well.

The spa ended up being such a surprise. So many resorts, even the high end ones, just create a place with some rooms and a waiting area. Instead, Villa Premiere makes it an experience. You descend down these sandy stone steps into your peaceful sanctuary. The cream walls and warm backlit light create that sense of peace. I found myself wanting to get myself a pedicure here just because of how lovely that room was. Even more, what usually slightly bothers me are the rooms. You spend most of your time at the spa there. Yeah your eyes are closed, but what you see before you close your eyes still affects your experience.

The best part is you actually have access to the steam room and sauna for 30 minutes with your stay (not coed). I’m always trying to extend my spa ritual as much as possible so this was a highlight. And the Shakti spa at the Buenaventura also offers a complimentary cold plunge (before 10am, must be prescheduled).

Something about a butler service just gets me! I’m still so bad at fully utilizing it, but wow do I feel spoiled when I have it. As part of your stay they can help with:

• Packing/Unpacking
• Two pressed pieces during your stay
• Preparing the jacuzzi
• Reservations & recommendations
• Lost luggage tracking
• Ice Delivery
• Shoe-shining

They’re even certified by the British Butler’s Institute… Sounds legit.

A perk of the resort’s location is that you’re so close to the city and the Malecon. Some resorts are secluded, which is nice when you just want to get away and go nowhere, but they’re a pain when you want to explore a bit and have to pay for an expensive taxi just to go into town.

However, you’re just about a 10 minute walk along the beach from the historic downtown with all the colors, shops, and things to do. If people want calm at the resort, but an energetic night out, they don’t have to go far. If you don’t feel like walking, you can also use their free bikes!

• Downtown Vallarta Food Tour
• Rhythms of the Night
• Chocolate workshop

I hate when you’ve flown multiple hours, you’re tired and arrive in Puerto Vallarta, but you still have more to do to get to your actual destination. So the fact that Villa Premiere is only 10 to 15 minutes from the airport is so nice. We’re starting our vacation as soon as possible!

When you first leave customs, before you’re actually outside, don’t trust the people trying to get you to stop. They’ll tell you that you need to come to them, act like they’re one of your guides, and use every strategy to make you talk to them. Just keep walking until you’re literally outside, in the outdoors, before you try to find your transportation.

The thing about Puerto Vallarta is that there really isn’t a bad time to go since it’s warm year-round, about 80 degrees Fahrenheit on average. In the summer, you get sunny days and rainy afternoons. In October, you get some humidity, clouds, and afternoon rain.

But busy season doesn’t really matter here because there are only 80 rooms. It’s not somewhere you necessarily have to worry about feeling crowded.

• Check the dress codes. La Ceiba is casual, La Perla is casual / resort casual, and Elena 1927 is smart casual.
• Reserve your dinners. Reservations are suggested for La Perla and Elena 1927, and you can make them during the day for that evening. La Ceiba’s theme nights are first come, first served.
• Book classes and the cold plunge ahead. Arrange them with the concierge so you have your spot reserved.
• Be aware of the smoking rules. Smoking is prohibited.
• Check the cruise schedule. Cruise ships in port can mean more crowds downtown, so keep that in mind when planning your time out.
• Plugs and money. US plugs work with the hotel’s 110V outlets, and US dollars and cards are widely accepted.
• Get an eSIM if you need one. If your phone plan doesn’t include coverage in Mexico, get an eSIM so you can stay connected.

One thing I always ask before choosing an all-inclusive resort is “is it worth my money”. It’s not that I’m looking for the cheapest price, it’s that I want to make sure my experience matches what I’m spending. Of course, what everyone attributes value to is something different. Some people will pay extra for exclusivity, others care about service, others want to make sure they can eat and drink enough to feel like they saved money by going the all-inclusive route.

This is a very nice hotel, and it really calls to a specific person, which makes sense because they only have 80 rooms. It doesn’t try to be the massive resort that tries to be everything for everybody, but it offers something truly unique and magical to those it is meant for.

I truly think that with so many all-inclusives, it’s all about finding the right one for your budget, your energy, and what you’re looking for on that particular trip. Here are some of the others I’ve reviewed. I really try to highlight the differences between them to help you find the right fit.