Just the right size resort, enough to do during the day and evening (unless you are into the big party life) and don't have to walk a mile to get everywhere. Service was great. Rooms and view are superb. Wifi is fabulous; not restricted to just the room, have good connection at the pools, beach, and restaurants as well. Food choices and quality are definitely not 4 or 5 star. Mainly Mexican guests so they cater to them I guess (which is fair) but staff speak good English. Overall, very relaxing and enjoyable. I would return but my husband was not pleased with the food so he would rather not come back. Please take the time to review my specific reviews on the various aspects of this beautiful resort.
Rooms
We decided to pay a bit more for a premier oceanfront suite and I am so glad we did. All rooms have a balcony with ocean front view but with this room we got a kind size bed, upper floor room, adult only section and, the best part is we had access to the roof top terrace and bar which is where the best (and sometimes only) sun is and the best drinks, thanks to the bartender, Arturo. Only complaint about the room is the closet is in the bathroom and there is no dresser with drawers, even the bed side tables have no drawer. There are shelves in the closet so if was OK.
Nearby activities
As other reviews mention, this resort is a 30 minute drive to PV so mostly we just stayed on the resort. We went to PV (Walmart and malecon) for a day. Went by Uber, which was about 100 pesos cheaper than the taxi at the entrance of the resort. Cost us $16 CAN to go to Walmart, $10 CAN to go.fron there to Malecon, and then $14 CAN back to resort from Malecon. FYI, the Walmart is a zoo, particularly when the cruise ships are docked. If preferred, the tour Vallarta Adventures guys hang out at the beach most of the day so you can book snorkelling, jet ski, etc. right from there and they come and pick you up right at the resort beach. Didn't do that so don't know how much it costs compared to booking through you tour company. I couple that I met booked a snorkel to Los Arcos for 400 pesos each with a few other couples. They just went there, snorkelled for about 20 minutes and came back.
Safety
Felt very safe always. No concern leaving my beach bag, with no valuables in it, on beach chairs for several hours. No one messed with our stuff.
Walkability
It is in the way south part of PV. There is a hike to Cascade Palo Maria that is walking distance and Garza Blanca, a 5 star timeshare/resort is just 12 min walk. We didn't go there but you might be able to go for dinner in the restaurants there and the TerraLuna botanical gardens there, for a fee of course.
Food & drinks
This is why i only rated overall 4 of 5. The food choices are pretty limited compared to other resorts we have stayed in, including others in PV and Nuevo. The buffet is best for lunch and sometimes dinner depending on the day's theme. They do have different food themes every day but same salad, bread, and dessert options most of the time. Seafood al a carte just sucks. Only open for breakfast and lunch despite what the website and info paper says. Seafood for breakfast??? Not. We did try lunch one day and it was same salad bar as in the buffet and our meals came so fast that there is no way they were cooked fresh. Also came out Luke warm at best. The Italian al a carte was better. Same salad bar as buffet but at least the food choices were good and cooked fresh. This is the upscale al a carte with dress code. We went there for dinner often. Only open for dinner. We didn't go to the Mexican al a carte because i'm not a fan of Mexican food. It was pretty busy and I did hear good things. Again, only open for dinner. No wait for al a carte for the 2 of us. We went between 7 - 8pm most nights. A short wait for buffet at breakfast one day. If you go between 8:30 - 9am it is less busy. Starts getting busy about 10am. The outdoor patio in the buffet is lovely. Service is pretty good in all the restaurants. My favorite in the buffet is Alfredo. Oh ya, if you want salt/pepper/ketchup you just have to ask for it. Drinks....we are not big drinkers but the best drinks (with premium alcohol) are on the rooftop terrace. Pool bar drinks suck. Restaurant drinks suck, except for beer. Lobby bar drinks are OK. Didn't go to the sports bar. We have a mini bar in our room which is nice for a beer or soda on the balcony. One thing I loved is the water bottles they give you. Water stations everywhere and just ask for ice in them at any bar. We also kept our full water bottles in the fridge over nite.
Food & drinks
This is why i only rated overall 4 of 5. The food choices are pretty limited compared to other resorts we have stayed in, including others in PV and Nuevo. The buffet is best for lunch and sometimes dinner depending on the day's theme. They do have different food themes every day but same salad, bread, and dessert options most of the time. Seafood al a carte just sucks. Only open for breakfast and lunch despite what the website and info paper says. Seafood for breakfast??? Not. We did try lunch one day and it was same salad bar as in the buffet and our meals came so fast that there is no way they were cooked fresh. Also came out Luke warm at best. The Italian al a carte was better. Same salad bar as buffet but at least the food choices were good and cooked fresh. This is the upscale al a carte with dress code. We went there for dinner often. Only open for dinner. We didn't go to the Mexican al a carte because im not a fan of Mexican food. It was pretty busy and I did hear good things. Again, only open for dinner. No wait for al a carte for the 2 of us. We went between 7 - 8pm most nights. A short wait for buffet at breakfast one day. If you go between 8:30 - 9am it is less busy. Starts getting busy about 10am. The outdoor patio in the buffet is lovely. Service is pretty good in all the restaurants. My favorite in the buffet is Alfredo. Oh ya, if you want salt/pepper/ketchup you just have to ask for it. Drinks....we are not big drinkers but the best drinks (with premium alcohol) are on the rooftop terrace. Pool bar drinks suck. Restaurant drinks suck, except for beer. Lobby bar drinks are OK. Didn't go to the sports bar. We have a mini bar in our room which is nice for a beer or soda on the balcony. One thing I loved is the water bottles they give you. Water stations everywhere and just ask for ice in them at any bar. We also kept our full water bottles in the fridge over nite.
Noteworthy details
The rooms are gorgeous. The view and ocean is gorgeous. Location to the beach/pools from rooms is awesome. We never had a problem finding a lounge chair and all have shade umbrellas. They only put out a few at the beach so if you want one of them, you gotta put your towel/bag on the by 9:30am latest. One complaint for me is there is very little sun on the pool desks or beach until mid to late afternoon and even then it is limited. Rooftop is the best sun from 1pm on. Compared to other resorts we have stayed at, this one is so chill, no one even out and about until 9:30 - 10am which was bizarre to me. Fairly quiet in the evening too. Nights there was a show were loud, even with balcony door closed, until 10 - 10:30pm. We found the entertainment to be cheesy, again compared to other resorts. Fire show, circus show, rock band, Latin band, and the dreaded karaoke. Lobby bar had a decent singer one night. It was super relaxing. Final comment. The beach is private so very few vendors which is nice. They do approach you, particularly when on the beach, but once you say no, they pretty much leave you alone.