The food was outstanding in every restaurant. The beach and ocean were perfect for relaxing and playing in the waves.

By far the best part of our trip was the staff of Omar (tennis pro),
Alejandro Lamadriel Olivares (Alex), Manny, Hector, Carmen, and Jose the bartender at the Barracuda Bar. Our maid Norma was also a joy.

My seventeen year old son had the time of his life, and made lifelong friends.

If we ever get the chance, this is our first choice for our next vacation.

Just returned from Dreams All Inclusive resort. The food and
drinks were excellent. Good view from our rooms. On arrival,
we were disappointed at the appearance of the check in lobby.
It didn't appear to be a real clean place. We were not greeted
with champagne as promised by our travel agent and as mentioned in other reviews. There was a lack of air conditioning throughout the resort plus no electricity in the rooms on 2 days for 2-3 hrs at a time. There was very much a lack of entertainment at this resort. The Mexican fiesta was entertaining on the first night we were there. Enjoyed the banana boat ride and the Spa is awesome. Would definitely recommend a couples massage to all.
Louisiana (6/13/08-6/18/08)

Met many nice people from all over the country.

We stayed at Dreams from June 2-June 7. We traveled with another couple and had a great time. We're in our mid twenties and married and wanted a relzaxing vacation. Dreams definately met our expectations. We were in the old tower on the 7th floor. Great view from the sliding glass doors. We were pleased with our room, however we weren't in them that much.

During the day we went to the beach and enjoyed the drinks! I prefer the Dirty Monkey and Miami Vice. There is plenty to do on the beach during the day...rock climbing, kayaking, trampoline, volleyball, boogie boards, and playing in the waves! Make sure if you want a boogie board you go check them out first thing in the morning. If you get nachos on the beach go into World Cafe to get the salsa.

The restraunts were all good. My favorite was El Patio and least favorite was Seaside Grill. The room service and breakfast/lunch buffets were great! Plan on eating 4 meals a day here.

We took an all day excursion called Seaside Safari through Vallarta Adventures. It was definately worth the money. You ride on an air boat past the downtown, Los Arcos, fishing villages, and Siera Madre mountain range. Snorkeled, kayaked, jungle hike, swimming hole, BBQ on private beach.

We went to town one day. They have a nice flea market and souvenir shops along the boardwalk. Amazing sand castles, art, Hard Rock Cafe, Senor Frogs, and Carlos O'briens were some points of interest.

Overall, we had a great time. We went right before the rainy season started so it was sunny and 90 degrees everyday!

I just returned from five days, six nights at Dreams in Puerto Vallarta, and while my memories are fresh, I will write as complete a review as possible. On the trip was my husband and myself, my three teen sons (18, 17, 16), my tween daughter (12), and her friend (12). We stayed at Dreams PV from 6/15-6/20. Two yrs ago we stayed at Crown Paradise in Cancun, also an all-inclusive. We had had a great time there, so there were a lot of expectations for this trip.
Weather:
First, and at no fault of Dreams, was the weather. I had not realized that June is the start of the rainy season in Mexico. That made for gorgeous, green mountainsides and beautiful vegetation but also for 90-100% humidity. Since we are from Southern CA, that was a challenge for us. Just extra info for you.
Resort Overall:
Now, to the resort. Dreams is lovely. The grounds are lush and clean, and we saw groups of butterflies and hummingbirds every day. We also saw geckos and a couple of iguanas (small ones). All of the resort is covered in brick or stone, so I would recommend NOT wearing any kind of heel, even to the restaurants. I felt very sorry for the two people I saw in wheelchairs. It must have been a very bumpy ride for them.
Check-in was a breeze; check-out was a breeze. I never saw a line at the counter at any time of day. They were very clear in their instructions. Everyone on the resort staff spoke English very well with their beautiful Spanish accents. Although the weather made this a tough time to visit, the resort was not full, so it was helpful in that way.
We received the rooms we asked for, 2 rooms w/double beds and ocean views. All rooms are advertised as ocean view, but with all of the lush vegetation, if you are in one of the lower three levels, it is possible that your view would be obstructed. We were on level three in the older tower, which was just fine, and the view was beautiful. The bathrooms were nice--marble countertops and elevated sink. Sure, there was some aging, but it was lovely and nothing dirty at all. Gloria, our chambermaid did a wonderful job, and the man who restocked our refrigerators always added what we asked for. (With so many teens, we were in constant need of sodas and no beer!) We were pleased with the number of English-speaking TV stations, and the girls watched a lot of Disney channel while they enjoyed their room service.
Restaurants:
We were extremely pleased with all of the food.
Seaside Grill was one of my son's favorites: great steaks, great fish. It is right on the beach at one end of the resort, so it has beautiful views of the sunset.
Oceana also had wonderful food, but we found the service to be very slow, so we didn't go back.
World Cafe is the default restaurant. It is buffet-style and offers many options for all three meals. I especially liked the option of having your eggs prepared any way right in front of you. I had an omelet every morning. For lunch, there is even sushi. My kids were frustrated that they had to be seated at this restaurant and couldn't just go in and grab something and leave. The food was not spectacular, but it was fine. Perfect for families . . . there is something for everyone.
Portofino was our favorite restaurant! It was high-quality food, presentation, and service. We ate there twice, and our server was so kind to us. He had champagne chilled and waiting for us on our second night! You must ask him to make you Mexican coffee! I had never seen flambeed drinks before. It's dinner and a show!!!
The kids loved the 24-hr room service!
Our one complaint about the entire resort was that there were no snacks available. If you are at the pool or beach, there is no where to just get some chips and salsa or a hot dog. They will serve you drinks anywhere, even on the beach, but no food. You cannot go into the restaurants (even World Cafe) w/wet suits. This was a huge frustration to our kids, who, in Cancun, had had three or four pool-side options for food. It seems like it would be so easy just to have a chips/salsa/guacamole table out by the pool, and I really cannot understand why they don't do this.
Activities and Entertainment:
The staff works very hard to provide a variety of activities. Here is some of what we did that was included in the price: snorkeling demonstration, beach volleyball, pool volleyball, massage class, kayaking. One son participated in Karaoke Night, and most of us went to the final Laker/Celtics game on the beach, which was projected onto a big screen. (Late sunset meant you couldn't see the game until the second quarter.) For the game, they had a huge buffet on the beach and a couple of group games before the game started. Very fun. one night they played a movie on the beach big-screen while people sat in beach chairs on the pool deck. The girls went down for that.
I also liked that they had vendors (only a few) each day in the patio by the pool. They had Mexican ceramics, jewelry, or clothing. They were never pushy, and it made the patio look so colorful and festive.
Each day, jet-skis, parasailing, fishing boats, and "banana boats" come right to the resort's private beach. These are for a fee. Even if you don't do it, it provides entertainment to look out and see it on the beach. We did the jet-skis ($65/30 mins).
My sons wished there had been video games or mini-golf, like at our previous resort. They really missed the teen club, where they could get to meet teens from all over the world. There was no hang-out for them.
Excursions:
We only took one excursion, but I couldn't recommend it highly enough! Vallarta Adventures has their booth set up at the towel counter of the resort (BTW, the towels are fabulous! big and thick, not like the tiny rags at some other resorts), and you can ask Victor to explain the various adventures to you. We wanted to go snorkeling, so he showed us the three options and recommended one to us very highly. We did it, and it was just as great as he said!! Take the Sea Safari, and you won't be sorry! Snorkeling, speed boat, small group, fishing village, waterfall, horseback ride, snokeling, private beach. Kimi, our guide, was amazingly informed. There are lots of companies that do wonderful tours, but I can't believe any of them does it as well as Vallarta Adventures! We were the first to the fishing village, taken to a private spot for snorkeling, had lunch on a private beach with just our group of 23. Really amazing!
Spa:
The spa was wonderful! I had a deep tissue massage, which was one of the best massages I have ever had. Julio was fabulous. They have beach massages and outdoor massages at the spa, as well as indoor massages. The prices are just as high as American massages!
Hint:
One thing we did that was a real help was take walkie-talkies. The tween girls had lots of freedom at the resort because they could let us know where they were. If you are taking a group, I highly recommend bringing some!
Closing:
The best thing I can say is that the hospitality of the Mexican people was incredibly evident. Tourism is so important to the economy of Mexico, and they value their guests. We were pleased to tip $2 a bed each day, $2 a drink, and $2 or more at dinner each night.