| Dreams Puerto Vallarta Resort Reviews | Dougie |
September 2008
Our trip was scheduled from Sept 6th through 13th. >From the start this was a nightmare. Right off the bat let me explain that I am a VERY experienced traveler to Mexico as well as many other Latin American countries, and even own a home in Panama, so this is not a ‘bad report from a ‘newbie’.
We booked our trip from Edmonton using Air Miles, and with the upgrades I purchased, cost another almost $2500 in extra costs for one week. This was high, but I accepted it, as I have stayed at the resort twice in the past, and wanted to spoil my fiancé. I had booked a Jr Suite on the newer tower, with all the trimmings. This was booked in March. One week before our flight I received an email from US airways saying the the flights had been changed. The arriving flight was far later in arriving, and our return flight had been cancelled. This left me scrambling, and I ended up agreeing to pay another $250 US to stay another night at the hotel, but in a lesser room. OK fine, at least we have a hotel room.
In a constant phone call, e-mail tag team, I finally, on the day before I left, received the proper vouchers for our flights, transfers, and stay at the hotel. (This it appears as a Holiday House error, but still am not sure). Well, we fly via US Airways(no food at all on the flight, and even water costs you $2, as nothing is provided, so much as a bag of peanuts) We are delayed over 1/2 hour prior to take off due to mechanical difficulties, and then another 45 min on the tarmac due to more difficulties.
OK, we are finally in P.V. Fight our way through the massive and ignorant time share people, and find our contact. It is a Sunquest agent, actually Royal Tours in P.V. as this is who Airmiles went through (Actually Holiday House, that farms it out again). He takes our papers for transfers, and tells us they are not valid, but will give us others…Ok we wait…Now he can’t find the transfer papers we gave him.. After 15-20 min, we finally agree that I have paid for the transfers, and he gives me new vouchers for my return to the airport. Whew…
Finally arrive at the hotel….
No more wet towels and welcoming drink as in the past… new changes they say.. OK
Start to check in, and am told that the newer tower is under renovations and has been for two months…I have to stay in a regular room in the old tower…but!!!I can have 4 days sometime in the next year to stay in the new tower again free and 25% off a spa treatment… Duh…how do you spell rip-off. I explained how much I had paid extra for my room and that I had no intention of returning within the year…Deaf ears..just as with the manager.. Sort of a take it or leave it thing..Oh Wow am I impressed now…I brag up this resort to the finance’ so much she thinks she will be in heaven…Good start!!!
Well, settled in and had a bite at one of the restaurants..the food is really great here I must say, and always has been. The Oceana always my favorite. Well, it was really good, and we decided to have a few drinks and head for bed…Up since 3 AM already. Lobby bar is now the only one open after 6 PM. Open until 1 AM, no longer the ‘Desires bar which was great for dancing, etc…shut down..) Ah well, since the lobby bar and all of its ten or so tables are full, we call it a night.
Did the ‘Rhythms’ tour as it is always nice, but rain held activities to a minimum, but still worth the trip should you want to see something really nice, and if the windows are up, very romantic as well…
OK, day 3 and I am still trying to contact my Royal/Sunquest rep as to what is being done about the big boo boo’s, as we did talk to him the morning after we arrived and he was going to get us answers…Uh Huh… We all of a sudden develop a leak in the main piping to the bathroom that runs across the rooms’ entrance door..I call down saying we have a lot of water.. Gregario, the head concierge, and a person I have dealt with in the past was on it right away… Shortly a fellow shows up, finds a ladder after some time, and checks it out. Yep there is a leak all right..
Away he goes…no sign of anyone after that. We put towels down so we don’t slip on the puddle.
Next morning…Call again…people will be right there…Maids mop up what they can… Lady maintenance person shows up, look over the situation, and sure enough, there is a big leak in the piping…Whew, thought I was dreaming it all.. Duh… She leaves, after putting down towels on both sides of the door.. Went through this routine up till we left, and I doubt the leak is fixed yet…
The beach area has changed somewhat due to the tides, etc, but is still probably the nicest in the PV area, and isolated from the public…Yahoo…Always loved this beach Debbie got to release day old turtles, and on two occasions during the late hours, I got to help, some of the staff are a little reluctant, to recover eggs from a few lady turtles that came up and decided it was time to deliver… A National Geographic moment for sure…
Other parts of the trip were typical PV stuff..good food and bars, and great people, although if you want to shop for junk stuff to take home etc… bypass the market, as it has become a total rip off, and their prices are often even well above the beach vendors… Check the side street shops away from there for better deals.
My rant and rave is about done, but as a warning to anyone using Sunquest.. BEWARE!!! I am told they will look at my complaint in 30 business days or more, and get back to me…
A second warning is the baggage people that US airways has.. In all my years of travelling I have never seen the baggage thrown around the way it was as we saw it in Phoenix. We actually watched two guys loading the plane playing soccer with a smaller bag. They seemed to take great pleasure in seeing who could through the baggage the furthest onto the tarmac.. Someone’s guitar case was destroyed when they tossed it from the belt to the ground about 15 feet away… PV is a great place to visit, but thought I should put a warning out.. The first negative comment I have ever written on a trip, no matter how bad it was.
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| Dreams Puerto Vallarta Resort Reviews | Deborah |
March 2008
My partner and I stayed at Dreams from January 5th to 12th, 2008, booked through Sunwing vacations. Overall, this resort is wonderful!! The resort didn’t seem full while we were there, which may have affected our stay.
WEATHER: Beautiful and sunny (25 C) during the day during our stay. Quite cold (12-13 C) at night. Bring a jacket if you visit in January. The ocean temperature seemed fairly warm; couldn’t really swim in it because of the waves and the undertow.
ROOMS: We emailed the resort directly requesting an upper floor in the old tower. We were given one on the 9th floor. We then requested a balcony at reception and were given one. The ocean view from our room (1904) was absolutely spectacular!!! The sunsets were amazing. Previous reviews indicating concerns about the state of the rooms in the old tower were accurate in our case, but not representative. That is, there were rust stains on the tub and some chipped furniture, but the overall look of the room was great. There was mattress pad on the bed and the bed was firm but not uncomfortable. Reading previous reviews, I expected a board with nails in it!!
ACTIVITIES: There are plenty of activities at the hotel and you could be busy all day if you wanted to. For example – Yoga on the beach, kayaking, a hike up to a waterfall (bring appropriate footwear – it’s not easy), water aerobics, rock climbing, and sometimes a baby turtle release at 6pm. We also one evening saw an adult turtle on the sand laying her eggs, which was really cool. Night time activities are fairly limited but after being in the sun all day we didn’t want to stay up too late. There are three pools; the main pool is the only heated one and can be crowded with really drunk people. The other two pools are quieter (the infinity pool is BEAUTIFUL) bu