Upon our arrival to Puerto Vallarta, we were greeted (did I say greeted? No greeting. No words.) by an appathetic , grouchy immigration officer at the airport. I was afraid that would be our greeting at the hotel as well but thank God it was not the case. My husband, our 5 year-old and I stayed at Grand Velas on June 5-9. We were greeted by nice cheerful bellmen who ushered us to the couches outside to admire the view. We were presented with nice cool towels and a cool drink. Then they checked us in while lounging on the couch.
We were ushered to our room (1st floor, master suite) which was nice and a view of the ocean. We sat there for awhile but called them back to ask is we could have a room with a view of the entire resort and the ocean and they gladly changed our suite to one in the middle of the building (5th floor, 2 queens and 2 bathrooms--parlor suite).
The staff were all so professional and helpful. The rooms were super clean. The staff at the pool were always cleaning. The bathrooms by the pools were always so clean. Unless you just followed a drippy person from the pool into the bathroom, the bathrooms were dry and the seats were always clean (as you can tell I'm a bathroom freak).
My son loved the kids club. I wish we had one in my neighborhoold. The ladies who worked there were all so nice and helpful. They did crafts, had treasure hunts, played soccer in their private backyard.
We loved the all-inclusive. This was our first time at an all in-clusive resort. For you people who hate being nickel and dimed this is the place for you. If they didn't have it on the menu, they work hard to accomodate you. My husband wanted lobster, which wasn't in the Azul's menu. They promised him to get one for the next night, for a fee ($38.00). He was a happy camper.
We only ate at the Azul restaurant since we only brought shorts with us. But between that and room service, we were quite happy. If you want to sample the other restaurants bring pants for men and decent shoes. Women wear a nice dress or pants outfit. But I overheard a man tell his friend that if he wanted to try the other restaurants with a dress code, he could borrow one at the front desk. I don't know about that, Urkel suddenly flashed in front of my eyes.
If rained cats and dogs in Puerto Vallarta this weekend so we were not able to enjoy the town fully.
The beach had some SERIOUS sea foam. It was like the ocean was having a serious cappucino party. (google: sea foam Australia..but not as bad) . I asked the hotel staff what that was about. They said the ocean was cleaning itself. Well, I didn't feel like standing in its bathtub ring. The pools at the hotel were three infinity-type pools. Perfect for me.
We did hire a taxi to check out Punta Mita which is just a little nothing town. Unless you go to the resorts which we did not bother, it's no big deal. We checked out Saluyita, a little surfing town just ahead of Punta Mita. We went into a restaurant which had nice bathrooms! Clean automatic flush and automatic faucets! Granite counter tops. It was facing the beach and we watch the surfers. There were surfing classes on the beach on baby waves. Just the cutest dusty little town.
The town had some cute shops. One shop there was tended by a cute petite blond young lady (think, surfer girl). It had great things in it. Great leather purses for $400.00-500.00 and beautiful Mexican-style embroidered dresses(they were featured in Elle Magazine with the name of the town) for $12,000 .00(I don't think so! That was definitely in US dollars.) They were definately working for the Four Seasons crowd with money to burn. OUCH!
There is another town that I wanted to check out called San Pancho. I saw an ad in a magazine called Costa Vallarta. They had a great antique shop there. But my five year-old was getting grouchy and wanted to go back to his Kid's Club. Damn, I should have left him there.
The adventure took us three hours. It takes about 40 minutes to get to Punta Mita.
Good luck in your search for fun and adventure.

We loved the Grand Velas in 2005. It is beautiful with clean stylish rooms. The service was excellent and the food and drinks were to die for.

We will be leaving soon to get married in a week at the Grand Velas. The planning was simple and helpful. We are thrilled. We looked everywhere when deciding where we wanted to go and we kept comparing it to the Grand Velas.

It is tropical, peaceful and they help spoil you. The spa is beautiful as well.

A previous review on this site was unhappy with the wedding planning, we did all of ours via email through the coordinator and haven't had a problem. A tip for future planners, communicate via email.

The Grand Velas is the way to go!

My husband and I totally enjoyed our anniversary trip to this calm luxury resort. If you are looking for an action packed wild party atmosphere, I would probably NOT choose here. But for adults looking to unwind from the daily stress of work and kids- this is your place. My husband enjoyed the spa treatments as much as I did. Book the 80 minute couples massage before you go- you won't regret it. Be sure to eat at the three smaller gourmet restaurants included in the all inclusive. We had breakfast on our balcony each morning- also included. Loved the all suite ocean view rooms. Only wish we could have stayed longer, would do some of the day excursions-snorkel, etc. We'll be back.
We booked through American Airlines vacations- best deal offered.

Well, we havent even made it to the Grand Velas yet and my fiance and I are regretting it. Booked about 2 months ago through Pleasant Holidays (that was a whole other nightmare). Have tried to secure a wedding date through the hotel to no avail for 2 months. We have been talking to about 3 different people and cant seem to get a commitment from the hotel. We thought we almost had eveything completed and they sent a contract that was inflated by $400, had our names spelled wrong, and had the wrong time listed. That was 2 weeks ago and now are told that they sent the contract via mail. In case you havent mailed anything from Mexico to the States, it can take a month to get it. Anyhow, they told us they would email the new contract. That was 5 days ago. Now, once again, we struggle to get a return phone call. I'm hoping by posting this, the hotel may check this site, and maybe they will correct the problem. I'm not very confident at this point. This is the most simple wedding ever- Just the 2 of us. No unusual requests. Maybe they figure there are better opportunities for bigger parties. Either way, I would think twice before choosing the Grand Velas for your wedding.