Hotel Mousai

I write this with genuine disappointment and sadness. For years, I have spoken highly of this resort brand and recommended it without hesitation. Unfortunately, after this experience, I feel a responsibility to speak candidly. What we encountered was not just disappointing—it reflected a troubling disregard for guest safety and an unsettling focus on revenue during a moment of crisis. As a result, I will not be returning to TAFER properties, and I strongly caution others against doing so. I want to be very clear that I do not hold the resort or the local community responsible for cartel violence or circumstances outside anyone’s control. I have sincere empathy for the people who live and work in the area, as well as for the frontline employees who continued to report to work despite very real risks. Where accountability does belong is with hotel management. Their failures in preparation, communication, leadership, and basic compassion significantly amplified what was already a dangerous and frightening situation. For travelers who value safety, crisis readiness, and sound leadership.. this is not a resort I can recommend. At no point did the resort make any meaningful attempt to communicate with us. There were no safety notices, no guidance on where to access food or water, and no updates of any kind. Television and internet service were unavailable, and we later learned that the resort had intentionally cut communication lines due to the crisis. Meals were extremely limited—lunch consisted of tacos, quesadillas, and nachos by the pool, while dinner was reduced to a handful of buffet items that ran out quickly. Hot water was unavailable as well, with the issue attributed to the city of Puerto Vallarta, though no clear explanation was provided. Despite these conditions, guests continued to be charged full rates. To make matters worse, guests who were forced to extend their stays due to travel disruptions were paying even higher prices and being price gouged while helpless with no other options available. When these concerns were raised, management’s response conveyed indifference rather than urgency or care. I have never been more disappointed by a total lack of concern and indifference by management. My heart truly remains with the people of Puerto Vallarta and with the resort employees who were placed in an impossible position. Both guests and staff deserved far better leadership during such a critical moment.

Let me start by saying that my husband and I are grateful to be home and safe following a horrible week at Hotel Mousai in Puerto Vallarta. I have never written a bad review of a resort, however, this was the worst travel experience of our lives. To be clear, I by no means blame the resort for cartel actions and violence. I do however blame the managements' lack of response, preparedness, and compassion in a difficult situation. Do not visit this place if safety is of a concern for you. To start, management seemed to have no plan in place in th event something like this happened. We found out from friends at home that a war had broken out in the streets. For three days we did not recieve a single message from the hotel. No note, no email, no message on the tv, no bulletin. This is important as we were ordered to shelter in place. Messaging and communication are everything in a crisis. This led to panic and distress as we did not know what to do. On the first night of the conflict, we headed to dinner at one of the resorts' six restaraunts. On the way to dinner we were told that we could not leave and dinner would be served "buffet style" in the lobby (an email letting us know this would have helped). Dinner consisted of boiled potatoes and chicken. They ran out of food by the time we waited in the long line. Meanwhile, fire alarms were blaring. We asked a nearby employee if we should be concerned and were told "I do not know, we know as much as you." We quickly ran upstairs.  Friends of ours were stranded as the airport was shut down due to the crisis. Not only did the resort say they would not garuntee them a place to stay, they charged them an increased rate. We heard from multiple guest Hotel Mousai was enforcing price gouging practices in a time of crisis.  During the crisis, services were very limited. No restaraunts, no hot water, no television, and very limited food. Despite this, the resort was still charging guest full rates. The skeleton crew that was able to make it in were kind and we were grateful for their service. Management however was non existent. We did get to speak with a manager on our way out of the hotel, Liliana Jiminez to discuss our concerns. Mainly, the complete lack of communication. Ms. Jiminez was rude and unsympathetic. She gas lit us and said that none of our concerns were true.  We asked Ms. Jiminez why we did not recieve any communication from the resort, her response was that there are contingencies for things like hurricanes but not cartel attacks. This is very concerning as this seems like something that is a known threat. This was a giant red flag. To top it all off, when exiting the resort in our Uber we were stopped at the front gate for in the gaurds words "skipping on our bill."  Not only had we prepaid for our stay, we had a credit card on file with a security deposit. The gaurd was standing in front of the Uber yelling as if we were common criminals causing a huge scene. We were just trying to get to the airport and were at risk of missing our flight. Keep in mind we had to drive through war torn streets to get to the airport and had no idea what to expect as far as delays. At that point I would have signed anything to get out of this nightmare. My husband and I were married at Garza Blanca Cancun and planned to visit the various locations every year for our anniversary. Our sentiment with his brand is now ruined and we are devestated. Shame on management, shame on Tafer Resorts.

We had an incredible meal at the Misika Peruvian restaurant. From the atmosphere to the staff to the food itself, everything was exceptional. Yan was our lovely and worldly hostess, and we had so much fun chatting with her and sharing life experiences. Felix our waiter was incredibly professional, provided great recommendations, made us laugh and feel right at home from the minute he arrived at our table. We wish we had more time to return for a second meal and definitely will be back in the future!

We stayed at Hotel Mousai South. All the staff was attentive and friendly. The room was spectacular with ocean and Mountain View’s. The pools, beach, bars, and restaurants were top notch. Definite 5 Diamond quality.

We had a great time as always. Jorge and Ricardo provided the best service at rooftop pool. Zandin at the elite beach was very attentive and accommodating. He went above and beyond. Javier with security on the beach always checking on the guests and sssisting as needed. Galilea was our concierge and Lilith was our butler, both were very professional in handling our requests and reservations.