4 Best Hotels in Marina Vallarta, Puerto Vallarta

This family-oriented all-inclusive resort features a pirate-theme water park as its main attraction. The Baby Paradise and the teens’ club are also well appointed. Rooms aren’t spectacular but they offer ample space and include kid-size bunk beds. All restaurants feature their own kids’ menu. An adults-only sister hotel is available next door, for those looking something a bit more peaceful.

The Marriott is hushed and stately in some places, lively and casual in others. All of the restaurants—including a sleek Asian restaurant serving Thai, sushi, and teppanyaki and a large, pleasant sports bar—have kids' menus. The meandering grounds boast a large infinity pool as well as gardens of indigenous plants. Rooms have cheery, classy decor; each has a balcony and most have an ocean view.

The sprawling, all-inclusive Meliá, on the beach and close to the golf course, is popular with families. Rooms are quiet havens in subdued blue, cream, and sand. There's a huge pool, an outdoor theater with nightly shows, and elaborate children's programs and amenities—including a climbing wall and a batting cage. Considering it's an all-inclusive, prices are very reasonable.

There's not a bad vantage point anywhere at the Westin, whether you're gazing out to the leafy courtyard or down an orange-tile, brightly painted corridor lined with Mexican art. In the spacious, balconied rooms concrete-and-stone floors massage bare feet, and top-of-the-line mattresses with soft duvets make for heavenly siestas. Guest quarters above the sixth floor have ocean views; those below face the 600 palm trees surrounding four beautiful pools.