More about Casa Iguana Hotel
Loved Casa Iguana
by TripAdvisor Member brddthomas
We just returned from a week vacation in Puerto Vallarta. We spent 3 nights at the Casa Iguana. It is exactly what it advertises. Simple accomodations at a great price. We enjoyed the open-air restaurant with great breakfast for a great price (less than $4.00 U.S. per person)! The rooms are basic, but very clean. The 3 nights at Casa Iguana cost less than one night (we had six people and had to have 2 rooms) for us at the Marriot Casa Magna. We have visited PV several times and never experienced Mismaloya before. The location at the base of the mountains is beautiful. It has a great jungle feel. The money you save by staying at Casa Iguana can be used to enjoy many of the great tours around the area. We went to Los Veranos for the Canopy tour - AWESOME. We rented a car and enjoyed a drive to Chico's Paradise. A car was nice for part of our time, but we didn't mind the bus rides. They are inexpensive and easy to figure out. We did the Marigalante (pirate ship) day cruise. This was great because it included breakfast, lunch, open bar, entertainment, snorkeling, kayaking, and the banana boat. There is a nice onsite store that sells snacks, drinks, bread and milk. Casa Iguana also has internet services for $3.00 per hour. The pool and hot tub (really cool tub) is very clean and relaxing. We ate at Tony's as someone had suggested in a prior review. It was very good - the seafood platter was about $20.00 U.S., but it had the biggest, most delicious shrimp and lobster. Great Miami Vice drinks. Down the small hill from Casa Iguana is the La Jolla Mismaloya hotel. We went in and looked around. This hotel has several bars and eating places. The bars and restaurants don't accept cash, but you can open an account at the reception and they give you a number that you can charge any purchases to. This allows you to have a drink or eat at the resort and you pay your bill at reception when you leave. We enjoyed drinks while our son (15) swam at the beach.
We had a bad experience with a local horseback riding tour and Antonio (the manager of Casa Iguana) was very helpful. He called the tour manager and had him come and meet with us at the hotel the following day. He told the tour company that if the problem wasn't corrected, he would advise his guests to not use their sevices. There is more than one horseback riding tour and I WOULD NOT use the Rancho Manolo if I were going again.
We loved our vacation and will most likely return to Casa Iguana on our next trip to P.V.
Happy Memories of our time at Casa Iguana
by A TripAdvisor Member
I booked a week at Casa Iguana based on the reviews I read on the Tripadvisor site. I was not disappointed. We were there for one week in March. My children loved the pool. I loved the jungle surroundings. The village of Mismaloya was interesting - I enjoyed hearing the donkey each morning! We can also recommend Tony's restuarant in the village (the little children in the village will lead you there!). The restaurant at the hotel was good too - we ended up eating most of our meals there. It was convenient that they offered a children's menu. I would suggest that the hotel also offer a Senior's Menu (as is common here at home). We would definitely stay at Casa Iguana again. Next time I would use the bus for all trips into town...we spent too much money on taxis (unnecessarily). We also enjoyed the horse back excursion up to El Eden (3 hours for $20 per person) and the beach was great with really warm water - although there was a sharp drop off so you have to watch kids carefully. A great week!
Casa Iguana - PV's best kept secret!
by A TripAdvisor Member
We just returned from a week's stay at the lovely Casa Iguana in Mismaloya. The staff was very service-oriented and just delightful to deal with. We arrived on a Friday afternoon after rolling out of bed for a 6 am flight, and really needed a shower. Unfortunately, the glass shower partition had separated from the frame and we had a bit of water in the bathroom after our shower. Rogelio from the restaurant came up with a welcome platter of fruit and my husband asked him to mention to the front desk that we had a leaky shower. Within 5 minutes (!!) there were two staff members in our bathroom fixing the partition, and they did so within about 10 minutes. After that, there was absolutely nothing to complain about. The food in the restaurant was excellent at all mealtimes -- we were happy to know what if we didn't want to venture into town we could always get a great meal at our home base.
Pool was pleasantly warm but refreshing on those hot days when you could only take the sun for 20 minutes at a time. We took the bus into town (45 pesos per person) and it was about a 20 minute ride no matter what the age of the equipment or how many stops were made along the way. Cabs to town ran about 80 pesos, as others have said, but we only used this option once. Across the road at the Mismaloya beach, the Las Gaviotas restaurant has the absolute best (giant) pina coladas we found for 60 pesos. The Andele Bar in old PV had the best giant margarita on the rocks, made by bartender Jose, for only 50 pesos. We had some excellent food at the restaurants in town -- the Fajita Republic (on B.
Badillo street -- When the bus gets to town, you get off and walk up to the next cross street, turn left and walk towards the beach) is a little Americanized, but the "Crunchy Salad" is awesome and the fajitas were great! Another place down the street is Cafe de Olla -- a great little place for authentic Mexican food where the chef cooks the meat on a grill right on the sidewalk. There were always people lined up to eat there and we went on our last day and were not disappointed. Note: we found out the hard way that Cafe de Olla is closed on Tuesdays. We were so set on eating there that day but had to adjust:) We walked up to Le Kleiff one day and meant to go there for a drink at sunset, but that day it was very overcast so we never made it. The walk was a little treacherous because there is not much walking space on the road, but we survived! We also attempted the walk up to El Eden, but the road was pretty hilly (good if you like to "hike") and ended up hitching a ride to the top with a gal in a VW. We also did the horseback riding with the folks from Rancho Manolo up to the same area and our guide Chava was just wonderful. All in all, I cannot say enough about this area and in particular, this hotel. Clean, pretty, fairly quiet, and great service. I was hesitant to write this review because part of me wants to keep it under wraps!
Amazing experience!
by A TripAdvisor Member
My husband and I recently visited the Casa Iguana Penthouse on Los Muertos beach for our honeymoon -- WOW! I don't think I could ever do Mexico any other way. This is the trip you compare all other trips to. It was the perfect ending to all the stress in planning a wedding. The service under our own Palapa on the beach, to our housekeeper in the room was impeccable. We visited the Casa Iguana Hotel for breakfast one morning and had the best breakfast we had all week in Puerto Vallarta. If you have the chance, be sure and do the Canopy tour -- absolutely incredible! This is what vacationing is all about. Can't wait to go back.
Good Deal
by A TripAdvisor Member
My husband and I stayed at La Casa Iguana for 3 nights in January '04.
Although the rooms are very sparse, they provided the basic necessities and for $60 AAA you can't beat it. The beds were harder than expected but were very comparable to a more expensive hotel closer to town.
Breakfasts & lunches were inexpensive and quite tasty! The pool area was lovely, refreshing and uncrowded. The surrounding scenery was lush.
It was nice having the opportunity to see the outskirts of Puerto Vallarta, especially on our first trip to Mexico. We took the bus into town everyday, the last bus home ~9:30 was always very crowded and takes about 25 minutes. The onsite market closes just before 10PM- the few nights we took the last bus home from downtown we were unable to buy any bottled water for the evening as the market had just closed.
There is a market at the La Jolla Mismaloya- but it's a lot more expensive for everything.
Can't beat it.
by A TripAdvisor Member
My family and I spent one week (3/2 - 3/8) at the Casa Iguana and were extremely happy with our pick. First of all, the town of Mismaloya is a treat. Mismaloya is quiet and quaint with some of the most friendly people you'll ever meet. In just a few days we were on a first-name basis with several new friends who we won't soon forget.
As for the hotel, we found the services excellent and the staff friendly and responsive. The facilities were very clean (there was always someone sweeping, mopping, or cleaning the pool). Our room was very spacious for the price. Yes, the TV offerings were mostly in spanish but we really didn't care to watch much. The internet cafe was useable but I have trouble with those international keyboards and didn't really want to use the internet much, but it was there and available for a reasonable charge.
The kitchen was adequate for simple meals, with just two electric stovetop burners and a fair selection of pots and pans. No microwave, oven, or toaster so food prep was fairly limited. For food prep, however, the hotel was very convenient with a very respectable market with fresh eggs, milk, some fruit/veggies, and even extra-virgin olive oil (couldn't believe I hadn't packed this!)
The pools were nice although the hot tub was never very hot. I would not advise this hotel for the child-averse. It is not a large hotel and any children will impact most anyone trying to enjoy poolside or even the restaurant.
The beach access was very close and the beach was extremely enjoyable.
The beach is just a short walk and has beach-side restaurants with complimentary lounge chairs, tables, and permanent umbrellas -- great drinks and tasty food at an affordable price and the table/chairs/etc.
are complimentary for paying customers.
The bus transportation into PV was extremely reliable with bus fare only 40 cents per rider and the buses arriving about every 10 minutes.
Also a taxi stand is nearby so calling up a taxi was never an issue.
A much different experience perhaps from the $$$ big hotels in the Hotel Zone, but we appreciated everything about Casa Iguana and the surrounding area and recommend it highly. Especially recommended for families and those who are looking to be a bit more connected to the local culture and people.
Great hotel, PV sucks
by A TripAdvisor Member
My wife and I went to La Casa Iguana for our honeymoon. We expected really nice beaches and good mexican food. We didn't get either. What we did get was a really nice hotel that is out of that dump of a town referred to as Puerto Vallarta, about 15 minutes south, in Mismaloya. The hotel rooms are all two or three bedroom suites with two twins in one room and a queen in the other, It had a small kitchen, fully equiped, an L-shaped couch, and a tv. The bathroom has only a small shower, no tub. The room is pretty narrow, but pretty nice. The floor was tile; however, carpet anywhere in Mexico is a rarity, even in 5-star hotels. Upon arrival, a man carried our bags to our room for us. After about five minutes, someone from the restaurant brought us a very nice plate of fresh fruit. The pool is right outside every hotel room, and the restaurant is by the pool. As for the restaurant, the food is OK, but not very authentic. Prices are very reasonable. There were two waiters. One was very nice and had our food to us within minutes. The other flirted with any and every girl that worked at the hotel, the whole time. He didn't get our food to us very fast, he didn't take our orders for the first 20 minutes, and he never got the order right. But the other guy was so good, he made up for it. There were only about 5 other families there the whole time, 4 of which were from Mexico. I think this is where the natives stay. It is about 15 minutes from PV, but the bus is only 50 cents. Don't take cabs, they rip you of(9-10 dollars per way). There is a beach across the street at La Jolla de Mismaloya, but it is dirty and small. If you are going to PV for the beaches, don't. We didn't find a single one that was clean and the beaches were even a little scary to walk on. The vendors overcharge, and the food isn't very good. I would recommend the hotel but not the city. Make sure you get your pesos in town because you can't exchange money at the hotel. Oh, and the restaurant will bring you your food in your room for free. Tipping, of course, is recommended for this option.
Paradise
by TripAdvisor Member Bird-Fanatic
Lovely place, lots of room, Best buy in the areaSurrounded by great jungle. This is a great little hotel in the middle of real Mexico.
Quiet with beautiful pool and fine restaurant. Nearby beach was steep watch the kids!! Much of the sand was washed away in 03 storms. Great but $$$ nearby restaurants at LeKliff and John Huston's. Great for birders.
Great Diversion
by A TripAdvisor Member
Our 3 days in March this year wasn't nearly enough. The Hotel setting is very romantic,I wish I could show the pics from our 3rd floor suite. Hotel staff were very co-operative. Thanks,Ignacio, check in/out was very smooth. Thanks, too for looking after our forgotten clothes. One warning for all, the walk to the beach and the beach here, is swarming with little biters! Deep Woods "Off"country. Mind you, I really think that adds to the experience, as does the ***** Donkey across the road and the cock crowing at all hours. All in all a very romantic experience in rural setting.
