My partner and I stayed at Hotel Encino for one week over the Christmas holidays. We found the hotel to be clean and safe. There were safety deposit boxes at reception. The maid did a good job and the towels were good. They have a free towel service so if you need a towel for the beach they provide a good, thick towel. It has to be back by 6pm though.
You have to leave a 200 peso deposit for the channel changer which seemed odd but it was no problem as that was the hotel rule.
The hotel is budget. Location is excellent. Right in the centre of old town PV and literally a 5 min walk to the Zona Romantica. One block to the beach. The rooms were old fashioned and a bit worn but it was all very clean. Balcony was great. All the reception staff were very friendly and helpful. They all spoke English well. We would definitly stay there again as it was worth the money. To stay in a more modern hotel you'd pay 3 times the price at least.

This is a nice, basic, clean little hotel right in the heart of Puerto Vallarta. If you want to be easy walking distance to shopping, the beach, and great restaurants, this is perfect. It is NOT a luxury hotel--stay at one of the resorts if that's what you're looking for. But this hotel was pretty and felt safe and well run, airconditioning worked and the bathroom was in good shape, if a bit old. Also, even though it's really close to everything, you don't get much street noise, at least our room didn't, and the front entrance isn't on a really busy street, which was nice. I would definitely recommend this hotel to anyone who wants to really explore the city.

After reading the negative review from the other Denverite, I thought I should give my opinion. I have stayed in six hotels in PV, from quite ritzy to budget. I have also stayed in many other countries south of the border. I enjoyed my stay at Hotel Encino. It was very clean, everything worked well, and I found the staff very friendly. I am considering going back there next month. It is a wonderful example of old Mexico. And, if you are interested in the culture of the city as opposed to that of the golf courses or the marina, it is in a great location.

The Encino Hotel was the worst place we have ever stayed in. Day 1 - it took 4 requests over a period of 7 hours in order to get towels for our room. Day 2 the cable went out and we were told that we could not get a refund to move to another hotel that had cable just 2 blocks away. I also made a simple request of the desk clerk to make dinner reservations for us and was told very rudely NO! Save the aggrevation and stay elsewhere!