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| Overall |
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4
out of 5
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| Activities |
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5
out of 5
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| Amenities |
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5
out of 5
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| Unit Satisfaction |
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5
out of 5
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| Service |
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4
out of 5
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| Family Friendliness |
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5
out of 5
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Reviewer
Dpost
Location
Lansing, Michigan
Month of Visit
June
Year of Visit
2008
Member Since
2006
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Great resort quite a ways from downtown PV
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Date: June 9, 2008
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Best things about resortBeach Pool Restaurants Activities Family Friendly
Best attractions or restaurants nearbyRhythms of the Night tour Canape tour Puerto Vallarta
ReviewFirst of all, BEWARE OF THE TIMESHARE HAWKERS AT THE AIRPORT!!!! After you clear customs, you have to go through this part of the airport to get to the transportation to the resort. Just walk straight ahead and don't talk to anyone or you will be harrassed. Two different timeshare operations addressed themselves as the Mayan Palace. DO NOT LISTEN TO THEM!!! After you get outside, you will see the transporation to the resort. This is NOT the Mayan Palace's fault. It is other resorts trying to make a sale ILLEGALLY!!!! Just follow the directions that you get from the Mayan Palace and you will be fine.
The resort grounds are beautiful. Very well kept and the flowers and trees are beautiful. Check in went very smoothly. We were traveling with a large group of friends (12 of us) in three different units. We were all placed within close proximity of each other. We had a two bedroom unit which was quite large and roomy. There was 7 in our unit and we all had plenty of space and didn't feel like we were on top of each other. We got an ocean view even though we are not owners at the Mayan Palace (we just did a trade through RCI).
The pool is wonderful with activities all day. We were not traveling with children, but we could see that it is a great place for families with lots of activities for kids to enjoy. The pool is so large that we never had difficulty finding chairs, even later in the day. The water of the pool is a nice temperature (cool enough to be refreshing but not too cold). The beach is very nice to walk along. The surf is strong. You don't see many people swimming in the ocean, but the water is warm and walking in the surf was nice.
We enjoyed the restaurants. We ate at all of the restaurants at the Mayan Palace and several at the Grand Mayan and Sea Garden as well. We felt that the food was very good and attractively displayed. The Sunday brunch is excellent. We didn't really feel the prices of the food were that high, although the alcoholic drinks were quite expensive.
We attended the beach party. It was fun and the food was very good. Again, you could tell that the children were having a great time. Very family friendly activity.
We did the Rhythms of the Night tour. You can book tours through the travel agency at the resort. With this tour, you take a boat ride to an island that is lit only by candlelight. It was absolutely beautiful. The dinner was our best meal of the entire trip!!! After dinner, there is a Mexican cultural show in the amphitheatre. The show was fantastic!!! It was everything you would think as Mexican (flame throwers, fire dancers, Mayans/Axtecs, etc.). The trip to Puerto Vallarta was for a friend's birthday celebration and this is what we did not her actual birthday. She had a blast and said this was the best birthday she has ever had!!!!
If you are adventurous, you definitely must do a canapy tour. It was sooooo fun and very safe. A canapy tour is where you are hooked to a cable and zipline from one platform to another across the rainforest. It was one of the highlights of our vacation. On our tour, there was people of all ages from teens to people in their 60's. Again, this is very safe with much instruction before actually doing the ziplining.
The only thing (other than the airport) that we didn't like is that Nuevo Vallarta is a long way from downtown Puerto Vallarta (a $25-40 cab fare). The bus is easy to take and close to the resort (just outside the gates) and it only costs 5 pesos (50 cents), but it is not air conditioned and takes a long time as it makes many stops. We had fun at Senor Frog's and Pipi's restauants. Shopping was nice in the flea market and old town.
Staying at the resort in Nuevo Vallarta is recommended if you only want to go into PV once or twice. There is plenty to do at the resort so there is really no need to leave more than once or twice.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful.
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| Overall |
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2
out of 5
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| Activities |
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3
out of 5
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| Amenities |
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2
out of 5
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| Unit Satisfaction |
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1
out of 5
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| Service |
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3
out of 5
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| Family Friendliness |
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3
out of 5
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Reviewer
ElainePoff
Location
Spokane, WA
Month of Visit
April
Year of Visit
2008
Member Since
2002
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Mediocre resort long way from downtown PV
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Date: April 10, 2008
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Best things about resortLandscape was in great shape
ReviewMy husband and I own a Mayan Palace timeshare and this was our first visit to Nuevo. We were very disappointed overall and will not return to this location in the future. ( Do not stay at this resort if you want to experience PV -it is a $30 USD cab ride RT to PV) A few words about the resort: We did not get an oceanview room despite being owners and were told we would. We were told to check back in a couple of days which we did, but to no avail. The room we did receive was not in good condition at all. Furnishings very dated and worn. The shower is not marble or granite, but cheap preformed fiberglass - we didn't feel like we were in a very nice resort at all. Hangers are cheap plastic vs wood, etc. The kitchenette area was very unclean ( microwave looked like it was never cleaned, silverware dirty, coffeepot borderline, etc.) For a 1 bedroom unit, all you get is a small dorm size fridge. I'm sure they don't want you doing your own meal prep - no paper towels or napkins, so you are forced to make a trip to the store for these things. There was absolutely no literature of any kind in the room regarding things to do at the resort, local restaurants, shopping, where the ice and laundry were, how to get room service or a menu - to name a few. You had to call the concierge everytime you had a question. Of the 2 phones in our room, only 1 worked. The hairdryer did not work and after 3 attempts to have them replace it, I gave up and went to the spa everyday to blow dry my hair. Maybe this was because we declined their offer to attend the "owners" breakfast and that's where we would have learned some of this or got some cooperation- but we didn't want the pressure of a sales pitch which is a given. We also did not learn until the last day about the meal plans you could purchase in advance which would have been beneficial for us since we stayed at the resort for most meals. We also had a king size bed, but the sheets did not fit at all - they put 2 flat sheets together and you end up on the mattress by morning.
In regards to the pool - it is very nice, but not ONE umbrella around the "longest pool in Latin America" if you wanted shade. You have to go to the beach to be under an umbrella for a time. Having said all this, the customer service for the most part was above average at the front desk and the restaurants. The spa facilities are comparable to other resorts that are upscale. The food and beverage good, but quite pricey. A few times the hot food, was not hot- mostly at the buffet. The made to order fajitas on International night were great. I think they know they have a captive audience due to the expense of travel into PV for a meal. We don't mind paying except for the fact it didn't match the quality of the accomodations. 4 and 5 star food in a 1 star resort just doesn't fit.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.
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