Marival Resort Puerto Vallarta

Remarks:
"My fiance and I stayed at Marival resort the third week of January 2010. We have traveled many locations including cruises, all inclusive, timeshares, etc. It was a wonderful vacation and we would go back there again. The weather was perfect, the resort grounds were well maintained and the surf sound at night lulled you to sleep. The Resort offered maid service daily, pool towels (you receive a plastic card when you check in that you exchange for towels as often as you like), an English speaking staff, a nightly show and many activities and equipment you could use. Food: the buffet is open 3 times a day and the breakfast was the best, only other morning option was the La Pergola which was located near the pool and also had a small buffet of assorted items and a small menu. For lunch the other option was the two snack bar/grills located by the kiddy pool and near the quiet pool. These grills offered pizza, hamburgers/hotdogs with a few hot and cold sides. The grills were also your only option if you wanted to eat dinner prior to 6:30 when the buffet and restaurants opened for dinner. I highly recommend making reservations for dinners via email (check their website) before you arrive. I went to the restaurant reservation counter and immediately had 4 dinners planned. Otherwise you need to wake up early and stand in line to make reservations for the following night. As long as you have reservations you can eat each night in a restaurant at no extra cost. The Mexican (Las Palomas) and the Italian (Amalfi) were great, the steakhouse is actually the grill by day and Oceanside dining by night, and was decent, never made it to the La Pergola for dinner. Each night one will be closed. Beverages: there are no diet sodas anywhere just Pepsi Light and an assortment of fountain sodas. For beer and wine, the only red and white wine included were terrible, however the beer was Corona on tap and always cold. One evening I did order the cheapest bottle of wine from their list and it was awesome! At the bars you have a full range of liquors and drink options, be sure to ask for the top shelf brand when ordering otherwise you get the bad liquor from the gun (e.g. A Bacardi Pina-colada). Bring a very large plastic mug w/cover for drinks, the cups served are tiny and the line at the pool bars can get long. This resort guests were mostly Canadian, some US and some Mexican. The staff will repeat activities and show emcees will speak in English then Spanish. We lucked out, very few children at the resort the week we were there. I do not recommend the Nuevo Vallarta area hotels/rental for singles looking for fun, the guests are all couples and some families. Try to get a room located overlooking the pool area, the side rooms look straight at other hotels with not much ocean view. The highest floor is 5. There is a quiet adult only pool and a main louder-music activity pool. You may put your towel on chairs in the early morning to save a spot. This is a 4.5 star hotel, but it is Mexico, and not the Ritz. You will not see famous people nor will your bathroom tile work be something in a magazine. The only negative I found is they did not put enough chemicals in the hot tub or pool and a few of us did get a rash from bacteria, which even if you shower immediately after doesn't help. This resort is located in a wonderful development just north of the airport, 30 minutes from the city. We took a city bus into town and felt safe. Bring a bunch of small American dollars for tips (taxi's take dollars or pesos). About 180 pesos for a taxi get from the old village back to the hotel. If you get the chance, visit the very southern area of Puerto Vallarta, there is more lush mountainsides and is similar to Hawaii in look. We did an ATV adventure, a Canopy Zip Line tour, and a catamaran to a private beach and scuba dived all of which I would recommend. Happy Travels wish I was still there." - Denise from Plymouth, Minnesota

Stayed at the Riu Jalisco ?

Remarks:
"I would like to start this review by saying I feel like a "seasoned traveler". We've been on a dozen all-inclusive vacations. We tip everyone, every where we go. We'll go on many more vacations, only Never again to the Marival. So as you read this please keep that in mind. I feel we've "seen it all" the good and the bad. We don't go on vacation to a Third World Country believing everything will be perfect. But there are a few things that are important to us... Cleanliness, Safty, and the Weather. With that said, the weather was the only good thing that the Marival had to offer the week we were there. Cleanliness: The room smelled like Mold! Everyone we met at the Marival said their room smelled like mold too. Coffee pot in room but no coffee to go with it. Why yes of course you could buy some from the hotel... fridge was not stocked when we arrived, later 3 small bottles of water were put in... Cups, cups, they Do Not wash them, alittle rinse and that is it... Very Unsanitary. I watched them pick cutlery up off the floor and put it back on the table. I saw them pick up water glasses off tables more then once and pour the left over water back into the water pitchers. Moral: Staff was not friendly. Safe to say a hugh percentage of people were sick, including my husband and I. Not sure if it was the mold, food poisoning, or perhaps the lack of cleanliness. If you want a chair on the beach, better be up by 6am and put a personal item on the chair to mark your place. However that is not always a guarantee you will have your chair when you return. We witnessed beach brawls everday, over chairs and towels. The pool bar is the first to open at 11am, others open at 12 and 1pm. The bars have 1 bartender each, (who are not in a hurry)so plan to wait a long time for a drink and then a watered down one at that. The Marival advertised boogie boards included in this all-inclusive, however the hotel fails to tell you if you use the boards you will most likely be charged $20 for wear and tear on the board. Or maybe you will be one of the lucky ones and they will charge you $15. Every other person we ran into was charged Something too. I'm still confused.... why were they charging for normal use of a boogie board And why were the fees not the same for everyone?? Safety: While I was sunning on the beach, my husband was playing in the waves when all of a sudden a rope came up out of the water. The rope from the para-sail came up out of the water right in the middle of the beach where women, children and my husband were swimming. The boat took off - the rope tightened, came out of the water only to catch my husband in the chest and arm, flipping him up out of the water and over. Everyone around him drew near to be sure he was ok. When he returned to shore, he reported the incident to the security guard. He never said sorry, all he said was "oh, I will need to make a report, they are not suppose to be in the beach area, weve had a lot of complants about them". He then got on his radio with the hotel manager and said he would be talking to us. To shorten, the next 3 days, the security guard was going to make a report and have the hotel manager come talk to us which Never happened. Well guess what?? Time to check out and no one knows the security guard we talked to all week.... no one at the concierce remembers talking to us and our ______ rep is off to lunch or something. At this point we are told we owe $35 for boogie board... What??? Where the heck did 35 come from?? We were told day 2 we owed $20, never heard $35 from any one. The issue not was that the security guard and the concierce had both told us those charges were dropped. Now no one knows what were talking about... 30 minutes of screaming and shouting in the front lobby and out comes a lady and says, "Sir - I know you whole situation and you are free to go." WHAT?? "I am the hotel manager and I know your situation and you may go." Where the heck was she the last half hour?? Still never a sorry... not one apology from anyone. Well if you value your life and the lives of your family, wife and children = Dont stay at the Marival, you will not be Safe there. I would not recommend this resort to Anyone." - Maria from Janesville, Wisconsin

Stayed at the Marival Resort Puerto Vallarta ?

Remarks:
"I see why the resort is all inclusive. No one would pay to eat there after 1 meal. Resort does not deliver what they advertise. Be careful of small print or deceiving ammenities. They do not deliver. Upon arrival your bags are left curbside in front of hotel unattended until check-in. My cell phone was stolen out of my luggage I was told too bad! I was also told they don't care about a few bad reviews either. Apple vacations rate this hotel 5-plus Apples. What a farce .Would not return if it were free. I would have to write pages of what was not good." - Laurie from Chicago, Illinois

Stayed at the Marival Resort Puerto Vallarta ?

Remarks:
"If you want to be pampered and feel special then this is not to resort for you. Many rolled eyes and faces made when asked for a cup of coffee or other emmenity .Beaches are unsafe as the para-sail rope is often right in the middle of any water activity. One guy was lifted by the rope and flipped backwards right out of the water. Thankfully he only had bruises across his chest but what would have happened if it was one of the may young children who were also in the vicinity. I saw many parents run out to protect their children whenever the para-sail came near. I have been on many alll-inclusive trips and thankfully this was not the first because if it were, it would be the last. We stayed at the Rui five years ago about a mile down the beach and had a very different vacation. Go anywhere but the Marival. If you already booked your trip, I'm sorry." - Chris from Madison, Wisconsin

Stayed at the Marival Resort Puerto Vallarta ?

Remarks:
"My husband acquired a rash on his legs the second day we were at this resort. We noticed other guests with it too so did not think any further of it...maybe just the water, etc. After getting home we discovered it was bed bug bites and have now brought bed bugs into our home. I contacted the resort right away and got an email back saying my concern was being put over to the person that it needed to be put over to. A week later I still have not heard anything back. I will definitely NOT return to this resort." - Jennifer from Smith, British Columbia, Canada

Stayed at the Marival Resort Puerto Vallarta ?

Remarks:
"Absolutely the worst food imaginable. What is the point of "All You Can Eat" when none of it is edible? Same selections day in and day out. Even the reservation only restaurants the food was mediocre at best. Rooms were nice. Staff was ok. Staffing at the pool bars was horrible as waits were long for drinks. Liquor quality was horrible and selection was too limited for a 4 or 5 star resort. Kids club was great, pools were good. Beach a little disappointing. Games room was a joke. Gym was good though. Time-share sales pitch was disappointing. Resort may have been 4 star at some point but that point is long gone. I wouldn't recommend this to anyone and will never go back myself." - John from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Stayed at the Marival Resort Puerto Vallarta ?

Remarks:
"After reading many average reviews about Marival, I was apprehensive about my trip. However, any doubts were quickly erased as soon as I arrived at the resort and met by the incredibly friendly staff. The property was spotless. There wasn't a blade of grass out of place. I stayed in a suite and was more than impressed with the size of the room. The pool areas were large and you had different options of pools that had more of a party atmosphere with entertainment or quiet pools where you just heard the ocean waves. The beach was clean and there were more than enough Marival supplied beach chairs. Also, we loved the fact that giant 25-story condos weren't anywhere in sight. A very tropical feel. I went with a group of 50 and each person was as impressed as I was. I would strongly recommend Marival to couples, singles or families." - Scott from Joliet, Illinois

Stayed at the Marival Resort Puerto Vallarta ?

Remarks:
"Overall the resort was great. The beach and food were nice. The drinks were ok, you just have to ask for higher-end alchol otherwise expect to get rail drinks. The staff seemed nice, especially the doormen and the dinner reservation staff. Our two MAJOR complaints deal with the trickery used to get us to a time-share talk. It was pitched like a 90 minutes welcome breakfast with a tour of the resort but turned into a 3 hour time share. We specifically asked if it was a time-share talk or if they were selling anything and they told us no. Then we get into a room with 4 different pushy salesmen trying to get us to by a time-share right then and there. One of them even had the audacity to tell us that she hoped we enjoyed our vacation because apparently it will be our last one for a long time because we told her we couldn't afford that kind of commitment. If you go the resort, don't tell them it is your first time or if they ring a bell at the front desk right after check walk the other way; It is a scam. The other annoying thing is that while they say that every room has a safe they don't come with locks, you have to pay extra to actually lock your safe. It isn't much (like $2 a day) but seriously it is rediculous. Just add the two dollars to the room rate right away instead of making us ask to have a functing safe. The rooms were simple. Not high end ,but if you don't plan on spending a ton of time in your room it isn't that big of a deal. We would consider going back but we would definitely not fall for the same time-share scam again." - Breanna from Brookings, South Dakota

Stayed at the Marival Resort Puerto Vallarta ?

Remarks:
"This was our second time at the Marival. Everything was almost perfect. The Restaurants have been refurbished and the food in most was amazing. We found the streak not good at the beachside evening restaurent. It's a shame as the setting is very lovely. The Marival hotel has an amazing staff. They just make your holiday so much better!!! We had a very bad experience with some of the staff representing what they initally offer as a club. This turned out to be a time-share 3 hour offer. We were quite interested, but the mission was to have us buy before we left the room. We told them from the beginning this would not happen as we always discuss and investigate investments as a family. I actually had to be rude which I didn't like to do. We did not accept the free items. I couldn't believe the girl expected us to do so We loved the Marival and had intended to return in February with some friends. Because of this situation we will not return to the Marival in February or ever again. It was a very upsetting experience it spoiled the first few days of our vacation and we did not take in the spa or any tours for fear we would be trapped again.!" - Harriet from Windsor, Ontario, Canada

Stayed at the Marival Resort Puerto Vallarta ?