My husband and I stayed at the CasaMagne Marriot for 5 days in late April 2008 for a relaxing vacation. The hotel was very busy during our stay but we still had an excellent time. We had a lovely room overlooking the patio/pool area which included a nice sitting area, flat screen tv and balcony. We went down to the pool almost every morning and while some of the poolside furniture had been staked out by early risers, there was always plenty to go around. We enjoyed cocktails served by attentive and curtious staff and lunched there on our first afternoon. The prices were what we expected for hotel services.
We found the marina area on our first night which is full of restaurants, tour groups and of course, fancy boats. Victor's was the place to go and we had lunch there often. Victor is a gracious host and the food was delicious! Plus, you can't beat a free shot of tequila with every drink.
We ventured downtown almost every night and did so by bus. The price (~ 50 cents one way) was cheap and the trip was adventurous! The return trip was easier by taxi because bus service to the marina becomes sparse after 10pm, but that wasn't very expensive either (~ $8-10 with tip). We walked the boardwalk every evening. There were many local artisans set up selling thier wares as well as snack vendors- try the fresh roasted corn on a stick on in a cup. We found a great place for pre-dinner drinks just past the busy downtown area: Los Burros! It's right on the water in the older section of downtown PV and had fantastic happy hour specials. We had dinner downtown at a variety of places and enjoyed every meal. The atmosphere was very relaxing, just what we needed on a vacation.
We decided on one activity and chose the Vallarta Adventures Sierra Madres tour (husband has a slight fear of heights so canopy tours were out!) We had an awesome tour group- Guide Cuey and driver JC. We drove up into the mountains and stopped at a few staged points. It was still super interesting, even thought it wasn't spontaneous. The tour ended with a great late lunch right along a selcuded beach.
Our trip to PV was nothing short of wonderful and we'll definitely return!

I visited the Marriott in April for a mother/daughter vacation. We really enjoyed our stay and most of the reviews sum up my experience. A few highlights and low points:

The Good
- An incredibly welcoming and friendly staff. Everyone speaks English but they were happy to entertain my bad attempts at Spanish.
- The pool scene is relaxing and was not as crowded as I expected. There are waiters ambling around to bring you drinks and lunch if you want.
- Compared to other resorts, there are very few vendors on the beach and they were good about not harassing us.
- The breakfast was delicious. They try to push the buffet but it's expensive ($22) and everything is offered a la carte on a regular menu.

The Bad
- The humidity in the room made it stuffy and a little smelly. Anything paper was damp and wrinkled and it took forever for our bathing suits to dry when he hung them up.
- The furniture in the room is very cheap and uncomfortable.
- The walls were a little dingy and could use a good scrub (squished bug stayed there the entire trip).
- Aside from breakfast, the food is mediocre. The drinks were very weak unless you requested a strong one.

As many other reviewers have warned, don't let the people in the airport bring you to any counters! They make it seem like they're from your hotel; they're not. Plow right through and get your own cab. Don't arrange for one at the taxi window because they are double the price they should be.

Overall, the hotel is nice. The rooms and food are very chain-hotel, but the location, pool, and staff were wonderful.

Wow, this trip was so much fun. We just returned from a 5 day trip to PV, 4/10 - 4/15. My wife booked this hotel for my 30th birthday and it was amazing. I can't thank her enough. The curb side check in right when you get out of the taxi was really nice. They give you your room keys and take your bags away. We were in our room within 5 min of getting out of the taxi.

Real quick about the taxis, make sure you leave the airport go out side the front doors, don't mind the people yelling out taxi or even the people with the yellow taxi signs. Go out the front doors over the walkway to get to the other side. It is about $6 to the hotel. If you take it from the airport it is about $18, you might as well have the hotel pick you up for that price. Oh and the taxis they bargain a little not much. About $6-8 downtown, $10 for old town, and about $14 for Nuevo Vallarta.

We had an ocean view room on the 6th floor, it was amazing. Very clean and very comfortable. The bathroom was a good size and very clean. The bed was very comfortable and big. The room was nicely stocked with a good mini bar, robes, slippers and a good size flat screen TV.

The service is what made it though. Anything we asked for was at the room within minutes. The pool service that I read about was not bad at all. We had excellent service every time, we ended up at the pool at all different times and always found great seating. The food by the pool was also very good, the shrimp and mixed ceviche was awesome. They are really refreshing and go great with a pacifico.

We ate at Las Casitas once went we got to the hotel. We shared ceviche and an order of fajitas. The food was really good and service was excellent. Other than that we went to the Marina a few times and also downtown to eat. Portobello was great, really good Italian food. My wife and I both got pasta dishes that were really tasty. Also I think it was El Fogon towards the end of the marina, they had a really good shrimp special. Most restaurants gave free chips and the best salsas you will ever eat. Along with free beers or margaritas and a shot of tequila. Downtown you have to go to La Palapa and request thru your concierge for beach seating. It was an amazing dining experience. I can't describe the service and food along with the setting was just perfect, a must if you are in PV.

We also went on 2 excursions with Vallarta adventures, first was the dolphin encounter which was really fun, you swim with the dolphins and interact with them for about an hour. The second was the Canopy adventure, this was really fun, I bit scary at times going around and crossing a walkway to other trees, but really fun. I would recommend both.

So all in all our stay was excellent, the hotel is lovely and you are on the beech it is just relaxing. Go to the pool hang out, make use of the swim up bar, the bartenders will always give you some kind of deal, get some drinks in the lobby bar before dinner and enjoy yourself. I promise you will not be disappointed.

The hotel is just a few minutes from the airport...

I've been to Puerto Vallarta before, but this was my first stay at the Marriott. It's very nice; between all of us we had 4 rooms and I would definitely go for the deluxe ocean view room...just gorgeous. We had our free breakfast on the balcony each morning and it was the perfect start to each day. As a note, if you need extra chairs on the balcony just call housekeeping and they'll bring up however many you want in 2 mins.

The pool was nice, the pool bar was fun, great place to hang out and watch the sunset. The pool service was just awful, which everyone around me agreed on...we all had to wait a min. of 30 mins. for a drink and a min. of an hour for food. It wasn't even that crowded.

I'm from L.A. and I'm definitely a big spa person...the spa at the hotel was not very good at all, but somehow keeps getting rave reviews. If you aren't a big spa person and won't know what you're missing, then you won't have a problem...but, if you know your way around a spa, I'd definitely skip it. I was very disappointed.

Las Casitas restaurant at the hotel is nice and has great food, but slow service. Mikado, the Japanese place, was a disappointment. The Lobby Bar is nice to just lounge and have a drink and a light meal. The shrimp quesedilla is really good. Since our breakfast was free, we just ate at the hotel. At the marina, a really great restaurant was Portobello, an Italian restaurant. Definitely high-quality, good food, good service. There were few places open late, but there were a couple of bars with beer deals after 10PM.

And just ignore all the people who try to talk to you about timeshares, buying boats, buying whatever. If you even respond with a "no" they at least know they have your attention and start talking to you more. JUST IGNORE them and walk by.