We arrived at about three o’clock in the morning as our plane was about an hour and a half late landing in Puerto Vallarta. The Air Transat holidays representatives were waiting for us and we were quickly loaded onto buses to take us to our hotels. Marival is a relatively large hotel complex, and from looking at vacations on the internet, it was full. Amazingly, while appearing quite busy, the hotel and the beach did not feel crowded. I attribute this to the large number of umbrellas and loungers both on the beach and around the hotel’s numerous pools. The hotel is very bright and spacious with lots of seating inside the white stuccoed lobby areas. Check-in was quick and we were given two keys. (Palladium only gave us one.) Unlike Palladium where safes are provided free with each room, we had to rent a safe lock at the cost of $2 per day. This is recommended for any valuables, not because the staff would be likely to steal, but because it avoids the whole issue of the possibility and will make you feel much more secure.
Julie, our Air Transat Holidays rep was very helpful, very patient, and was very good at making sure everyone knew where to find her and when. This is nice, as was knowing what to expect to pay for transportation into town by bus or taxi.
When you arrive, you will have a plastic bracelet snapped around your wrist. This will identify you as a guest of the resort and provide you with access to all the amenities. There are a variety of restaurants within the hotel complex. There is a buffet restaurant that is open most of the day and when it isn’t, there are two snack bars to take up the slack. The snack bars have everything from hotdogs and hamburgers, pizza and taco makings, to some really great spareribs and chicken. The other restaurants are the theme restaurants. There is a Mediterranean Restaurant, an Italian restaurant, a steakhouse (the sirloin steak here is about a quarter inch thick and has the consistency of shoe leather, but I think that is because they seem to cut their beef differently. Everywhere you turn there is a bar. There is one by each snack bar, one in each lounge an there is even a bar in the theatre where they do the shows at night. The shows are a little lame compared to some I have seen in other hotels, but the entertainment staff is energetic and enthusiastic. They seem to focus more on the dancing and acting than they do on putting up fancy sets. The shows are about an hour long which is just enough to keep you entertained without dragging on and getting boring. One of the days they apparently had an auction of some sort going on and another was some sort of casino night (no shows).
The rooms are quite nice and housekeeping does a really good job. The rooms aren’t large, but then, the whole idea of being here is to be out in the sun. Unfortunately it rained for a good portion of our stay. I understand that this is NOT the norm as we ran into a couple who said they had been coming here for eight years in a row to this hotel on the same weekend, and this was the first time they encountered this kind of weather. Luckily we came with lots of our own toys to keep us busy, including laptop, DVD player and a selection of books. This meant the lobby was very busy, noisy and crowded. You had to stake your claim on the couches and chairs the same way you would on the loungers outside, by leaving your towels, sweaters or bags on them.
If you are staying here, I would suggest you ask for rooms on the ocean side of the hotel, or one’s that do not face out onto the maintenance yard or over the kitchen. Our traveling companions had rooms there and, as well as not having a particularly nice view, there was a rather unpleasant smell on their balconies. They also found the noise from the kitchens disruptive in the early hours of the morning. Our room was upstairs on the top floor and looked out over the pools in the courtyard. The only drawback of this was that because of the noise of the revelers in the courtyard in the evenings and at night, we had to keep our balcony door shut to filter out the noise. Once the door was closed it wasn’t too bad and really, it just shows that people are having a good time. Party noise can be a factor at any hotel. We had a somewhat hard king size bed and lots of pillows were provided. I think there were either five or six. They also change the sheets everyday. As has become our habit when visiting all inclusive restaurants, we left a tip of $1 US on the pillow each morning for the housekeeping. Tipping the staff is not necessary at these all inclusive resorts, but it is a nice touch and can make a big difference in the local Mexican family income. You will also find that they will respond with a little extra attention to details in your service. Minimum wage here is about $5 – per day, not per hour. From what I have heard, this is about what housekeeping staff gets.
Oh, by the way…. I’m told that a large number of the rooms here are time shares. That means that some of the more ocean-side rooms are not available for the average guest.
One nice feature of this hotel is that it has a small laudromat with 2 washers and 2 dryers where you can wash your own clothes. The washers do only take a small load though. You can either purchase your soap from the desk or take your own along. Tokens can be purchased at the front desk for 25 pesos for each washer or dryer load.
The entertainment staff and Transat staff appear to be from all around the world. One of the women working here was from Calgary, Alberta, Canada. She stated that she had come to the resort as a guest with her parents about a month earlier. She mentioned to someone that she had just graduated and they asked if she was interested in working here. Now she is until at least the fall. Everyone has been very friendly. All the staff are extremely polite, helpful and friendly and they always seem to be smiling. This is, by the way, the first hotel I have been to down here where they seem to include both Spanish, English and French as their major language. I can only assume they get a lot of Europeans and French-Canadians here. While there are some Spanish speaking guests here, they do not appear to be nearly as prevalent as they were at Palladium, where a large number of the guests were Mexican. The resort does host a number of conventions, though.
There are many ways to keep yourself entertained while you are here. There are the shows and there are the water sports. Any non-motorized watersport is free. You can do boogey boarding in the surf, kayaking or wind-surfing. If you are feeling really brave and want to pay out some pesos, you can pay to go parasailing or rent the jet-skiis. Or you can do my favorite free sport – slathering myself in oil and soaking up the rays. The boogey boarding is a gas. You just have to make sure you catch the front edge of the wave just after it breaks. Keep your weight on the front of your board and you can sail right up to the dry sand. The beach her is awesome. Lots and lots and lots of sand. Lots of lounge chairs and lots of umbrellas, both on the beach and around the pool. The tide went out on our last day, and the sand stretched out almost flat for yards and yards. I didn’t find there to be a lot of undertow like we had at Palladium/ Viva Vallarta, and there are no rocks to stub your toes on. I will warn you, though. The tiles can be slippery to walk on when your feet are wet.
The resort is only about ten minutes from Puerto Vallarta. It is really easy and definitely less expensive to take the bus into town. Just make sure when you get on the bus that you let the driver know where you want to go. Again, everyone was very helpful. People on the street were wonderful about pointing out which bus we needed to catch. I figure that besides the gregarious nature of the Mexican population, they know how much their income is influenced by tourism. From the resort gate, you turn right and walk about a block to the bus stop. (There is also a cash machine there.) Catch the Puerto Vallarta bus (Pt.Vallarta) to the Wal Mart store (also known as the Marinas bus stop). Then you go across the street and take the blue and white Centro bus down town. Don’t worry about getting off until you get near the boardwalk unless you want to do a lot of walking. Some of the stores on the outskirts are really kind of neat, but it is a long walk. The boardwalk is made of cobblestones and you will see a number or really interesting statures. To come home again, you walk about a block up away from the waterfront (where the traffic goes in the other direction). Catch the blue and white bus (it will say Wal Mart or Marinas on the window) and then catch the Nuevo bus back. Really easy. There are some guys at the Marinas bus stop that run back and forth announcing which bus is in and where it’s heading. Again, on the way back, let the driver know you want to get off at Marival. He’ll let you know. The ride to WalMart is 12 pesos (about $1.20 US) and from WalMart to downtown is 4 pesos. If you want, you can take a taxi into town and back. They are always at the front gate or the front desk will call you a cab if you want. It is more expensive though. For a small cab that will hold 3 or maybe 4 people, you are looking at 160 pesos or ($16 US). If you want the bigger van taxi which holds 5 to 7 people, you are looking at 320 pesos ($32US). This is EACH WAY. This fare is for the cab load, not per person. Before you get in the taxi, make sure you have a confirmed price from the driver to or from town. It is not unusual for the taxi driver to tell you an outrageous amount if he thinks he’s got a chump on his hands. Agree first or take the consequences. If you can’t agree on something, take a different cab.
There are banks HSBC and Scotia Bank all through Puerto Vallarta. This can be much more cost effective than changing your money at the hotels or with the vendors. The vendors will NOT give you the best rate. There are also money exchange shops. While not as good as the banks for rate of exchange, they are relatively comparable, much better than the shops and extremely faster than going through the banks. By the way. If you go in to a bank, don’t expect to waltz in and waltz out. They have a mini-lobby that you go into as you enter. The outside door has to close before the inside door will open. The same works on the way out again. The inside door has to be closed before the outside door will open. I can see that this would deter a potential bank robber.
The resort also has at least three gift shops. They have some decent t-shirts , sun tan lotions, shaving creams and stuff. A can of shaving cream was about 58 pesos. ($5.80 US). A little more expensive than you would find at home or at the pharmacies in town. I also noticed that the clothing is about twice the price of the same stuff in town. A pair of beach shorts I was looking at was 350 pesos here and 199 in town. Again, in town, it’s all where you look. The gift shops don't usually barter. On the boardwalk in PV, there is a small market that says ‘Flea Market’ on the sign. Just for your info, this is not “the” flea market. They do not barter at all. This is further down. Just keep walking and you’ll come to it. The real flea market is about two solid blocks of building that are like a maze inside. Be prepared to barter! It is not at all unusual for them to tell you an item is 250 pesos and then end up selling it to you for 100. (as we found out. We bartered down to 170 for a hammock chair and then walked down twenty yards and were offered the same thing for a hundred. Ah, well… that’s what it’s all about anyway. It’s all a game. And we both benefited from the bartering.) The cruise ships come in to port usually Monday to Wednesday. Sometimes they may still be berthed there on Thursday. On a day that a ship comes in, you will find that the shop keepers will be much less inclined to barter and more inclined to give you ridiculously inflated prices. Now, if you go across the suspension bridge. (ooohhh – what a treat if you like to walk funny.) there is another little, more colorful group of shops that have a really interesting selection of stuff. One thing I really do suggest. Go through the shops and ask the prices. Then come back to do your bartering on your way home. Then you will get an idea of what kind of variety in pricing there is. White T-shirts often sell for anywhere from 4/100 pesos to 8/100 pesos. This is a little further out from downtown (if you want to walk a few more blocks on your way home). There are some really, really neat shops there that have very imaginative artwork in them. There is one huge statue that you may pass of a humpback whale and a baby whale swimming together. We passed one shop that sold smaller samples of this artists work. Prices ranged up to 59,000 pesos. Awesome stuff, though. There was one with three or four whales circling that was made to hold a glass table top. I want it!!!!! I just can’t afford it right now.
As well as the gift shops in the resort itself, there is a shack on the beach that seems to house the numerous ‘beach merchants’. These men and women walk back and forth across the beach offering wares for sale. For the most part these wares may be had at a rate much lower than that of the gift shops and sometimes lower than those in some of the downtown shops. Some examples of pricing and bartering results are….. One of our group bought three coloured T-shirts with logos of reasonably good quality. The merchant first asked for $240 (pesos) or $24 US for them. At end of bartering, they were down to $120 (pesos) or $12 US. (or 40 pesos each). For white ones, they started out at 3 / 200 pesos. I am sure they would go down to the 4/100 that you could find in town. She also purchased 3 silver bracelets with inlaid stone on the top. These were 3 for 120 pesos. Again, they started out at 3/200 or 3/250. Last visit here in Puerto Vallarta, I was offered the same thing at 3/80 pesos.
Also, I purchased a set of earrings. The merchant asked 250 pesos and I came back at 80. I offered him 100 pesos and when he couldn’t talk me up, that’s what I walked away with them for. If it’s a slack day, they will go lower than on a busy day, just because they want people to be seen walking away from their shop with items. If you want something really badly, they can tell and will fight the price upward. If you aren’t willing to go over a certain price, then you’ll either get it for that price or you won’t. Ultimately, what it all comes down to is how much you want the items and what you are willing to pay. Remember, you can always go back and barter again later. Don’t feel guilty about bartering them down. They are never so desperate as to sell below their cost and it is their lifestyle to barter for things.
We went on the Sierra Madres tour by Vallarta Tours. You will find it and may other tours promoted heavily at the resorts and on the streets of Puerto Vallarta. This was a great day. We had to take a taxi to the Adventure Tour office (60 pesos), but once there, it was all inclusive. They had breakfast ready for us and lots of bottled water. All five of us (our group – there were five other passengers in our truck plus the guide, Lucy) had a good time as we bumped along in one of the Mercedes trucks they take you out in. We caravanned with two other trucks. Now, the seat belts could have been a bit more secure (they tended to loosen with each bump) but we had loops of rope to hang on to for extra security as we bumped and jerked along the rutted roads. The roads are often little more than dirt trails and are full of twists, bends and potholes and are frequently taken at some degree of speed.. The nature walk was a bit lame if you are anyone who has been raised near the woods, but some people got to eat termites. All the guides give the tour a little differently. We stopped at a little house by the side of the road and had very fresh made tortillas with beans and chopped cactus, guacamollai and salsa. Amazingly good. Then we went to a BBQ at a seaside property where we met up with the rest of the trucks (13 in all). The guide said that they do not send all the trucks on the same route and that the other ten trucks would have taken two or possibly three other routes. This is because of the strain on the roads and the local populations. (We had a gentleman on a very unruly burro that we had to pass. His burro did not like the trucks going past it. We also had to watch out for cattle, dogs, chicken and kids.) They had excellent steak and chicken, tortillas and salads and of course – an open bar. The water was too rough that day for swimming, but we wandered the beach and collected shells. Then on the way home, we opened up the tequila and partied. A very good day and lots to eat and drink and good value for our money. We got to see a lot of neat sights and got a better in depth view of what Mexico is like. The tour guides seem to come from everywhere. Lucy was originally from the German Alps and has worked her way around the world. At least one of the guides appeared to be from Canada. By the way – if you book a tour, don’t expect it to be cancelled if it’s pouring rain. I’ve been told they go out regardless……
Our plane was scheduled to leave at 2:20 am, and a couple of the duty free shops upstairs in the departure lounge are open until 2:00 am. One word of advice…. Not all the shops will necessarily charge the same amount for the same thing. One of them had the 1 litre bottle of tequila for 14.00US and the other had a 2-pack for $26US, a $2 savings. Sometimes, depending on where you are in town, you might be able to find your alcohol cheaper, but for the most part, the airport duty free shops are quite comparable. This is not necessarily true for souvenirs, though.
Now, what would I like to see the hotel do as an improvement? Hummmmmmm…… Let me see. It’s always the little things that make the difference.
1) They could put a few plugs down at at least knee level in the lobby for me to plug my laptop in…. We finally managed to reach the one on the ceiling by standing on the end of the furniture.
2) They could put some mats by the bed to help get the sand off my feet before I stick them between the sheets.
3) They could teach the staff to make a good mocha cappuccino! Take a half cup of hot chocolate. Steam the heck out of it. Add a double shot of expresso and a shot of chocolate syrup and add some whip cream. What is it that they don’t use whip cream around here? Sigh……. Even in the éclairs, they use custard. It’s just not the same.
4) They could put out a book at the bar that shows what drinks are available. This was common at the last couple resorts we were at and was a great help. It broadened my imagination where drinks were concerned. Speaking of drinks….. Killer Koolaide – This does not have koolaide in it. It has amaretto, melon liquor and cranberry juice. Watch out – it sneaks up on you. That’s the killer part.
5) A couple more hooks in the bedrooms to hang things on would be nice and the water pressure on the top floor was a little iffy at times.
6) A little more variety in the buffet…. Honestly, it’s not bad though. Generally there is something for everyone and most of the food is very tasty. You can have pre-cooked eggs or you can get them to cook them to your preference.
7) We were really disappointed in the Mediterranian Restaurant. The food was relatively good, but the service was slow. We were there for over an hour before we managed to get some wine on the table. The appetizer came quickly, the soup/salads took a while, and we were almost ready to walk out by the time the main course arrived. I don’t know if this is the norm down there or if there was some other reason, but we weren’t happy when we left there, even though the steak was very good. (The prawns in the Surf and Turf, however, were all head and legs, and very little meat, having less edible parts than even one of my Shrimp Fernando) For some reason they have both ‘cappuccino chocolate’ and ‘café mocha’ on the menu. I’m afraid I couldn’t tell the difference.
8) Ah, yes, the wine. They will put a wine menu on the tables in these restaurants. The prices for the menu wines are not cheap and you do have the option of requesting the house wine by glass. House wine is free and they will fill your glass as many times as you want.
9) The other thing I thought they needed to do was to rake down the sand under the beach umbrellas a little more often. There were a number of straws and a lot of cigarette butts there…..
Would I come back here again? Yes. Definitely, despite the little inconveniences. We really enjoyed the people and the hotel.
If you have any questions, or comments, please email me (below) with them. I will be happy to help (and add any info to my page that may be of interest or of benefit to others). I like to hear if this has been of any benefit to you on your travels or even just making up your mind whether or not to go.