Grand Park Royal Puerto Vallarta - All Inclusive

My wife and I just spent our vacation at Grand Park Royal in Puerto Vallarta - all inclusive resort. The experience was mostly very good: - the location is excellent - on the beach of Banderas Bay just south of Puerto Vallarta in Mexico. The ocean is very calm most of the time with very clear water. We saw whales several times offshore from the patio. - the weather was great - mostly sunny, high of 28c each day, with low around 20c overnight. facilities were first rate - the lobby was open and welcoming with the breeze coming straight through from the ocean. - the rooms were great, with ocean views. Very clean and comfortable. - the elevators kept up mostly, with a short wait at times during the busy periods. There were stairs for people who were perhaps in a hurry, or who wanted a little exercise - (when you are on vacation, you should never be in a hurry). - there was a small gym/exercise room with 3 treadmills, elliptical, weights, and other equipment. - there were two pools adjacent to the beach - only one was heated. I am not sure if all to the guests knew this - we were informed by another hotel guest on our first day. The non-heated pool was a bit cool in the morning. - there were chairs with umbrellas around the pools and on the beach in front of the hotel. - wifi was good, with the occasional hiccup that was quickly rectified. - on the 12th floor was the “VIP” area, which had comfortable chairs, several shaded lounge beds. This was my wife’s favourite place to be. I also enjoyed this quiet area. There was Ekinox Bar with cocktails and snacks through the day. There was a pool with an area to relax for adults only. - Overall I thought food was very good - BREAKFAST at either elPescador with buffet or menu options or at LaVeranda which was only buffet. Every day had fresh fruit, choice of cereal and oatmeal (Avena), multiple Mexican breakfast staples, as well as pancakes, French toast, omelettes. LUNCH was a-la-carte in elPescador or buffet in LaVeranda. Again, abundant choice with fresh fruit, salads, multiple meats, vegetables. DINNER/SUPPER was available at LaVeranda for buffet, or at two specialty restaurants - the Andiamo restaurant provided Italian food, and Frida had a Mexican menu. Food was excellent overall - 5/5 - the entertainment was good - a young lady sang, or a young man played saxophone in the evening adjacent to the "lobby bar". There was a show each night - a magic show was excellent. A "fire show" with performers juggling, spinning, swinging fire. A "Mexican Show" with music, dancing, costumes. Live music. Good for all ages. Copious activities through the day - water volleyball, beach volleyball, crafts, cooking classes. - the most important compliment that I can provide for this hotel is the GREAT STAFF who work so hard providing their guests with a good, memorable experience. -- Brayan of guest services, along with Ximena and Grace made us welcome, provided excellent care for anything that we needed. -- Alfredo, Orlando, Alan were the waiters in LaVeranda. We also saw Alfredo and Alan during an evening wedding event. -- Monica was our waitress in ElPescador. -- Gonzalo (the Godfather), Omar, Moises, Rubi in Andiamo, where we had many great meals. -- Carolyna and Pomona greeted us for most meals, and were exceptional. -- Chew can mix a beverage better than Tom Cruise. -- Luis and Arturo were always at the Ekinox bar on the 12th floor. -- There were so many others as well. Negatives: - the pools are in the shade until after 1pm due to the physical location and structure of the building. The unheated pool is a bit brisk, but in the afternoon is fine with the blazing sunshine. - For some, but not for all - It is a noisy atmosphere, with music playing and the various sports being announced on the PA through much of the day. Younger patrons enjoyed this. - The evening shows run from 9:30pm - 10:30pm. The younger kids were often tired and/or sleeping in the parents’ arms. This is noisy for the early-to-bed crowd since the rooms overlook the pool and stage areas. - There is a 15min cab ride to go uptown for any off-hotel activities. Overall - the good far outweighs the bad. If you prefer a quiet, early to bed environment - you need to get a room on the high floors, or may consider booking somewhere else. We had a very relaxed and enjoyable stay. Good value, and will definitely return next time we are in Puerto Vallarta.

A little pricey for what you're getting. All inclusive with a steep learning curve. Amenities are here but jockeying for position for breakfast and lunch at the buffet and for towels and appointments and reservations. It's a hassle. No real amenities to speak of outside of the hotel that's close by. Crowded and very difficult to get peace and space. Watered down drinks and loud drunks can be a problem. Weddings and other events happen so watch what time of year you come and asked for additional information in terms of additional events happening at the resort. We had to change rooms due to electrical issues and smell and proximity to pool being very loud as they start their morning music at 9:00 a.m.. Rooms were clean and daily turnover is good. Service and workers are nice and friendly. Reservations at dinner spots can be spotty and ill-timed service. The recycling of food is very apparent here as I'm sure the food cost here can be pricey.

Great food, drinks, plenty of activities to do for kids and adults, heated pool, super clean private beach, can snorkel right off the beach, all rooms were ocean view. Saw whales and dolphins from our balcony. We would go back again for sure.

Nos gustó que el personal es atento, las instalaciones están muy limpias, los cuartos son amplios y tienen todo lo que necesitas ademas tiene una vista hermosa al mar y el hotel está céntrico, 10/10 .

La zona es tranquila, con poco tráfico y

La calidad de los alimentos no era la mejor y en toda la estancia solo una vez se nos acercó un miembro del personal para ver si todo estaba bien

Beautiful view pretty much no matter the room and room was good. Bed a little hard for me and few rooms with king bed so had 2 double size beds. So ended up sleeping in different beds for the most part. The sad part here is NO top sheet and you know they are not changing the duvet or cleaning it between guests. So that's gross. Poor drink selections in lobby bar. No espresso martini or Moscow mule. Took a few days for them them to get mint for a mojito at the swim up bar. Ran out of spice rum at pool bar and instead of going to get more just said nope. Walking outside of resort is doable but the sidewalk is only on half of street and is only in partial areas. No water exercises as pool is small and gets NO sun till about 1pm. No massages on beach Its all about the little things. Cheese sauce for nachos is like water need to thicken it up. NO guacamole or Pico but the last few times I've been to Mexico these things are hard to get at resorts Sadness pizza ive eveer seen at the snack bar. Nothing is happening till noon but people stick around the pools till 7 pm easily. Pool needs to be heated when it doesn't get hardly any sun. Smoking section is top of stairs as u walk down to beach. Why the make peoplemwalk through that is beyond me. This resorts caterers to locals which is totally understandable (you are in Mexico after all) just think you should know. Positive The lunch a la cart had good food the shrimp or fish tacos are great. For day time activities they do try to have things going on to provide some entertainment. Evening shows are ok. No theater so it's just chairs around the pools u.

Concierge Brayan Torres was very helpful and friendly. Answered our questions in a positive attitude.

Everything was what we expected for.Worth the money invested in a vacation. One sugestion:could you somehow speed up the entrance to lunch and dinner.To long waiting,even there are many empty tables.

First we were warmly welcomed by Ignacio at the front of the resort. He was quick to assist with our luggage and very friendly throughout our stay, keeping us informed about the resorts rules and keeping us safe. A few Staff really shined and made our stay very comfortable and fun! Maribel at the molette station was excellent, she always had a warm smile and seemed to really love her job! We looked forward to seeing her daily and eating our delicious eggs! Ganzalo in the Italian restaurant gave us a good time, he was also very attentive and quick! The buffet staff were all amazing! Alfredo went out of his way to make us feel welcome and at home, we requested his area each day, usually twice a day! He was quick and efficient and each time went out of his way to make sure we were well cared for! Alan in the lunch buffet made us a special treat which we enjoyed and won't forget! Jose and Jorge at the buffer for dinner were so good, very friendly and fun! Lastly, I have to mention Fernando Chew, also known as Fer and Chew; this Staff member at the lobby bar went way out of his way to make fun & delicious drinks! He kept us entertained, he has so much energy and spark! We really missed the nights that he wasn't working! Our one negative was the Premium lounge, the bartender seemed quite unhappy to be serving us, he didn't try to be pleasant and made us feel like we weren't welcome. The rooftop is gorgeous and only had 6 of us there which could have been so much more fun had he lightened up. The rooftop upgrade is pricey and should not close down at 7pm, they have staff there to ask you to leave right in the dot; whether the sunset was completely gone or not. We will be back, mostly because of the Staff and clear water/location of the resort.

Always fantastic staff, namely Tino at check in and Alfredo at the buffet. Excellent personal service