Two girlfriends have a timeshare here and I was invited to come. This experience did not disappoint! The Mayan Palace is one of the older hotels as they continue to build more luxury accommodations but when you're in Mexico, you spend most of the time outside, pool side or on the beach that I hardly spent time in my room. The room was large with a king size bed, a large living room with two day beds and two trundles, a dining table and chairs and kitchen. It had everything we need! We spent our days by the Beachland pool, happy hour 2 for 1 drinks was between 11-1. There are several great restaurants on property (Sweet Paris, Gong, La Cantina, Tramonto) and since we were there in November we just walked right in with no reservations. I'm sure during peak times it is best to reserve table. The Joy Luck Club offered some great poolside games and water aerobics, the beach is so close to the main pool you can easily take a nice long walk on the beach or swim in the ocean. There's plenty of entertainment live music dancing and shows at the Santaurio. There are two golf courses, La Plaza with a grocery, more food and alcohol, floral, pastries, deli, froyo and more. You can walk via beach to town, maybe 20 minutes to enjoy more local restaurants and shops. The property is massive - I mean really massive and one of the reasons we like the Mayan Palace is that it is close to the plaza, main pool and beach. If you stay at one of the newer places, it can be a long walk. They have a shuttle service but often times you can wait a bit. I say enjoy the scenery and walk the path to your destinations. One day you spent an hour and a half walking the property. There are beautiful views, water views, a tram, mature landscapes and cool lizards and animals to see. What I can say is the staff is extremely helpful, show respect and focused on providing the very best service. The check in process is a little long but I take that with a grain of salt. read more

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We were fortunate to stay in this hotel with family. The entire Vidanta property is stunning. The lobby area of the Mayan Palace is beautiful. But the room is extra muggy and stuffy feeling. The room itself was nice. We had two rooms and a living area. There was enough towels and beddings for a group of 6 people. We had room service daily but they don't wash dishes. They will wash dishes for an extra fee. There is coffee for the coffee maker and a bottled water next to it but it cost money so no complimentary coffee. There is complimentary shampoo, lotions and bar soap. They'll also refill it if they see that you're using it. Overall, it was a decent hotel to rest after a day at the pool but I would expect more if this is the timeshare you paid for at this resort. Be aware that there is only one pool you can go. The pool is beautiful and is next to a really good eatery called Balche. But the pool does get crowded so go early to get chairs. read more

There's three different categories in there and they treat you unfairly we try to use the Bliss water and we got kicked out doesn't make sense they're all in one read more

I just arrived here. And the one thing I can immediately comment on is the ridiculously long weight fir a shuttle to take you to check into the resort. The resort services several of their properties. The shuttle wait was something I read about being disturbingly slow. If you don't tell them the attendants will just have you sitting around. They aren't attentive at all. And as a NYer, it's not as though I'm not accustomed to crowds or waiting. I have stayed at Vidanta resort before but I was the Acapulco and it was a much smaller resort. But to wait over 30 mins for a shuttle to CHECK-In us outrageously poor service. Disappointed so far. Will update my review as I complete my stay. read more

This place is horrible!. They treat you like smut when they see the green wristbands they only let you swim in one pool, you can only ride the tram to the taxi center. The Mayan palace doesn't have an ATM like the other hotels on the property. Their is a TON of walking the Ocean is a long walk away so take an umbrella and spend the day. Food is sub par. Also on check in they sit you down and tell you your room isn't ready but they are tying to sell you in their time share bull crap. I own a time share and was not interested in wasting a whole day listening to their spill. They tell you it an hour come to find out talking to others it's an hour in an office they take you into is locked with no windows. read more

The only reason I am giving this place 4 stars is because majority of the staff in every area of this resort are incredibly kind, compassionate, and extremely helpful. We decided to become members after they told us they would help us sell our existing timeshares through TRM.. well it has been over a year, and it still has not happened, now we have to contact our old timeshare companies because TRM has dropped us after taking 1800.00 per timeshare (3,600.00) total and to top it off, TRM sold our two weeks last year in addition, they made another 3,600.00, then they dropped our case. Sounds pretty shady to us... Ok, now back to the Mayan Palace room.. we brought friends that were interested in this resort and needless to say, they are no longer interested after seeing our room.. the living room and kitchen area was nice and updated.. but both bathrooms need serious maintenance, upgrades, cleaning.. I will try to post pictures. The bathtub was cracked in several places and repaired with yellow caulking and it looked dirty and looked like a bathtub you would see in a Motel 6.. the walls had food or who knows what on them.. we tried to tell them the first night to get moved to a different room, but the hotel representative could not help us, but we were told at the presentation that next time to call membership services right away. So we are learning how to use this membership.. also another thing we had no idea about is we are To only use Mayan Palace pools, etc.. you will literally be kicked out if you go to the Grand Mayan lazy River pool and their main pool. Luckily, we had a someone to call and he was able to get us a pass for the day at Grand Mayan.. the food is amazing in every restaurant we tried while we were there! La Caliente was the best out of them all for our taste! Overall, a great vacation, just have to get past the scams of the sales presentation, unfortunately. read more

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I can't say enough good things about the Mayan Palace. Upon arrival, they tag your bags and deliver them to your room and then you get on the tram that travels around to the different resorts 24 hours a day. You switch trams at Santuario and take the tram to Mayan Palace. Check-in was easy. They even exchange money for you at the front desk if you forgot to exchange elsewhere. There is a computer lab, fitness room, massage rooms, and other things on the main floor. The lobby is not enclosed so the air from outside blows through the lobby which is actually pretty refreshing. The rooms we had were amazing. It was a double suite with 4 beds total and then two couches that also had pull out beds hidden under them. So the room easily sleeps at least 12 people or more because you could even be comfortable sleeping on the floor. The room had a kitchenette, refrigerator, all the utensils, and microwave. There was also a sink off the living space for those that were staying on the pull out beds so that you wouldn't have to wait for the bathrooms to clear out just to brush your teeth. Also, the Wi-Fi was amazing. We were closer to the ground floor so you didn't get as great a view as if you were up higher but that was ok. Mayan Palace is in close proximity to the building with shops to suit your needs if you forgot something at home or if you just want a snack later in the evening. The shops have clothes, froyo, a chocolatier, patisserie, a candy shop, a liquor store with local specialties, a meat/cheese store, health & beauty aides and souvenirs, and an almost full grocery store with an ATM. You really didn't have to go far to get what you need and it's all reasonably prices in pesos. The outside and fountains are of course very well kept. It's also in very close proximity to all the restaurants and breakfast buffet as well as a short walk to the beach. It's really a beautiful resort. The service is super great too as many are fluent in more than one language and they really seem to try hard to get exactly what you're asking for. It felt super luxurious to stay here. I really could get used to that. read more

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Always good times at Mayan Palace! It's getting a little older now and could use a freshening up but it is still a good place and part of a really large Mayan complex with multiple properties, pools and restaurants all on site. It os so large they provide free transportation via 12 person golf carts. A good trade for RCI members. read more

Mayan Palace - Hotels Near Me - Nuevo Vallarta, NAY

Mayan Palace is one hotel within the very large Vidanta resort in Nuevo Vallarta. The rooms are nice, large and clean. It is probably the low end of the hotels within the resort. Everyone is given a wristband that you wear for the entire stay and you can only swim in pools designated by the bracelet. No restaurants are located in the hotel, one must walk or wait for the shuttles to go to one of the many restaurants. (Sometimes it's a long wait) It's quite a ling walk to the pool associated with this hotel as well, so bring comfortable walking sandals! The restaurants include Asian, Italian, Cuban, Seafood, Mexican and California style. I think their hope is that no one leaves the resort during their stay here. I'm sure many people prefer that, but I love going into Puerta Vallarta and it's a ling trip into town. It was nice staying here, but I probably would stay here a second time. Staff are trained very well and are quite nice. Nearly everyone speaks at least some English. read more

Stay away! We have been all around the world and I haven't been made fell so low! A friend had a time share certificate he gave to us to check it out. We came here on his recommendation which, he is so upset that we have been treated. From them forgetting to pick us up at the airport. To getting our room wrong. The motel 6 has nicer rooms and staff. They are Doing their best to sell us the timeshare and I laugh at them. We were segregated to one pool. But you can spend your money at any restaurant go figure. When I called customer service to request the room we were supposed to get it they said no there is nothing they can do. I said can you put me on the waiting list they said no. I said can we upgrade to a different hotel on the property (we will pay) they said no. I said OK can we just get a pass to go to the adult pool they said no. As if the staff is trained to say No! Stay away! read more

FIrst off the housekeeping staff is outstanding. They keep everything looking great and take very good care of you and the room. We are members and this was our first visit to this property. Took a Southwest flight into PV. First think no one tells you, but you need to know in advance - don't engage with anyone in the airport - You don't need a ride, you don't need directions, you don't need discounted show ticket or excursions, and they don't work for the resort - no matter what they tell you. Go outside, turn left and go to the end of the pick up area - the Vedanta Van will be there. If you get into a conversation with the folks at the airport, they will pressure you into one of the 14 different timeshare presentations in the area. Got the van to the property, they collected our luggage (very secure, put all the luggage for the family in a secure cart, put a plastic numbered seal on it and gave us a claim tag with cart and seal number. Took a golf cart (everything on the grounds is walking or golf carts, no cars) to the hotel check in area. It was ~6 PM on a Sat and the process took about 10 minutes. Then off to our room.... No upgrades available, no ocean view etc.. (Found out later how the rooms are assigned and it really hurt us that they didn't know we were members already, we were on an RCI Certificate and the fact we were members didn't get to the reservation system) - not sure you could have a less desirable room, first floor, right over the bell stand... and the smell.... like it had not been ventilated in a long time - more likely just musty and mold from the humidity and age of the building. AC worked well and I didn't notice the smell after the first night. Got the 'update / review pitch once they fond out we were members (not the timeshare presentation of course.... more on that later). Had some great outings (reviewed elsewhere) Food was plentiful and high quality. Service was outstanding at every meal. Reservations would have only made a difference once (Friday night) but every other meal we walked up and were seated almost immediately. I didn't find the prices excessive, but also don't have to feed multiple kids three times a day, and we have few alcoholic drinks. My wife and I paid about $500 for food and drink for the week we were there. We had what we wanted, when we wanted it, including room service, and snacks from the on property market. We walked a lot and spent time lounging at the pools and the beach. We didn't have the issues others reported with using the wrong pools, but it was also not busy and we didn't try to use the Grand Lux facilities. The 'update' because they want to make sure I know how to use my membership and get the most out of it.... this is where the fun really starts - you need to understand this - there are 14 different companies selling timeshares in PV - and they are PROFESSIONALS they give the pitch 1-3 times a day, most of them have been in the business 10 + years.... they are much better at this then you are.... if you are not interested in timeshares - DON'T GO to the presentations. Our rep was pleasant enough and provided a bunch of information that was 'different' or 'omitted' from our earlier presentation at another property... this is where I lear,ed that there are (at least) three main levels, not two... and why I think some folks are so upset over the Mayan Palace limitations --- its the entry level in the timeshare product. If you want the higher levels, they come at an additional cost. If you are using RCI / SFX / II etc to come here, press for or pay a bit extra for accommodations with GRAND in the name - Grand Mayan, Grand Bliss or if available Grand Lux.... you will really see the difference in accommodations. It's also like cabins on a ship - depends on how much time you plan to spend in them and if the upgraded amenities and larger spaces are worth the extra cost. read more

I only gave 1 star because I can't post without it. This location is pure trash. Only looks good until you get here. We are traveling as a group of 13 black people and we have been discriminated against since directly after the moment we all applied 1,000usd to our rooms. We have been followed. Forcefully removed from pools not based on rules but on the color of our skin. We have purposefully watched people of other races staying on the same grounds as us with the same color bands be allowed to enjoy each and every aspect of the facility while we have been denied. If you are black please do yourself a favor and do not book ANY vacation time at the Vidanta Nuevo Vallarta location!!! Most of our vacation here has been spent trying to rectify situations of being followed and trying to speak to higher ups. A total waste of my daughters before school vacation. I will NEVER come back here. I will be complaining to whoever is "corporate" or actually in charge. -Chloe Jourdan. read more

Got this place through our Hilton RCI exchange using our points. Their advertising through the RCI website is very much FALSE ADVERTISING!!! Most of the pictures on their link were of a huge play area for kids (called the "Kid's Club" and that was our deciding factor of booking with them. We get here and were told on check-in that the Kid's Club is OFF LIMITS to residents of the Mayan Palace. Mind you, Mayan Palace is also part of the Vidanta Resorts. We went ahead and checked out the Kid's Place anyway and saw many people with the Mayan Palace bracelets. So, we figured the rule must've changed. For 4 days we were able to bring the kids there so they can enjoy the play area. Right when we were getting to leave that last day, a resort personnel came over and pretty much kicked us out. Meanwhile, there's a family of 8 lounging next to us also having bracelets from the Mayan Palace and this personnel never once approached them. Must be because that family is Spanish-speaking. Throughout our stay, I noticed that there's preferential treatment among guests that can speak Spanish. Very unfortunate for us! We flew in late Sunday evening and got checked in at midnight. It was very confusing getting on the check-in area. EVERYBODY has to do valet parking and yes, there's a fee for it (surprise!). They have to take all the luggage so they personally deliver it to the room (as soon as we get to our room, we have to call valet and give them some luggage number and it took about 15 mins for the luggage to come). Of course, we have no clean clothes to change in to since they still have our stuff. And there's no way for us to carry the bags ourselves since we all have to ride on golf trams to get to our hotels. Needless to say, the check-in was complete pain especially when it's midnight and we have 2 kids that's already very VERY tired from the trip! Also, when we walked in, our room smelled like molds and mildew. I looked at the "white" curtain and true enough, it's mold and mildew everywhere. But since we're too tired to get any room changes, we sucked it up anyway. The next day (Monday), we decided to go to Walmart to get food to cook. We go to our rental vehicle and there were scratches that we noticed weren't there before. We checked our papers from the car rental and verified some marks that weren't there. A valet parking guy came and then called one of their heads and security. They have us file report, they took pictures and whatnot, and told us before we left that they should have an investigation and we will receive their report within 48-72 hours. They guaranteed that they will cover the expenses of the damages (trust me, rental car companies here will nickel and dime you for insurance!). Well, guess what, it's the night before checkout, and still no report. We checked out early (Saturday evening) since we have an early morning flight on Sunday. We asked for the report from the front desk, and the people there are clueless. They called valet parking and nobody can give them a straight answer. After an hour of trying to settle everything with them, front desk told us that security didn't turn in their report to them. Yeah... WHAT THE HECK, right?!! Then proceeded to tell us that they need to "re-investigate" and "re-capture" new pictures. We were like... what pictures?!!! Other than what they had already took on Monday, what all else can they find?! We argued that our car keys were in their possession when those scratches happened. And no, we didn't bump into anyone at midnight coming from the airport car rental place to the resort. And yes, the scratch was on the side where carts could've ran into it. It's completely annoying that on the last day, they would turn around and now say that they can't be held liable. And would now want to do another stupid investigation that they should've done the first 72 hours!!! Of course, they knew we were flying back to the US the next morning so yeah, they can just say bye bye and wash their hands clean so very easily. They may think that way but I'm going to submit this very review to every single social media outlet out there. And I am sure to inform Hilton/RCI about this too! The one star they get from this review really isn't for the resort itself. It's for the good cleaning ladies that have kept our unit in good shape. I've never written a review this long but this needs to be out there to WARN you all - ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK!!! read more

It Is such a shame that I have to give this place such a dismal rating, but you would not believe the pathetic customer service we've received. Our room had a toilet that would clog every time you used it and the concierge said he would send an engineer to repair or replace it. He never sent someone so I had to take a taxi into town to buy a plunger, since I was tired of chasing down a housekeeper after every flush. I have never been so displeased with any hotel that I have stayed in and there have been hundreds! I have 2000 Friends on Facebook that will hear this review! Do not stay here! read more

This place really pushes the timeshare business. When we initially came into the resort, we were escorted to the Grand Bliss where we were directed to a lobby and were greeted by a man named Ivan who gave us complimentary margaritas. Ivan told us that our rooms weren't ready so we would have to walk around until about 5 PM. He went on and on about different deals and after declining, he stated that he would still give us a 2 for 1 breakfast buffet at one of the restaurants on the resort. After he left the table to leave us to our exploring, I went to the bathroom, and right when I returned, he attempted a second bribe stating "I do have a room with a view of the water available right now. If you would like that, I just request that you go to a 10 minute time share presentation tomorrow at 8:30 AM. You don't have to buy anything but just listen so that you can get two free tickets to (some cirque de soleil event), a complimentary massage for the two of you and a free buffet breakfast." This is when I became skeptical, knowing that the room offered was available and for us from the start. We agreed because we were jet lagged and just wanted to get the room and change into our swimsuits already. The following day, we were too tired and didn't wake up early enough for the presentation. We received a call on our room phone from Ivan who was basically begging us to go to the presentation reminding us that it was only 10 minutes and of the message, buffet, and ticket gifts we would receive. We agreed just because we were hungry and needed massages badly. The presentation ended up being an hour long and every time one person would introduce us to another they would keep giving different prices on memberships attempting to convince us into buying even though we strongly refused multiple times. Overall, that presentation wasted half of our day during vacation and we never got the tickets, massage or buffet. Save some of your vacation time and don't go to the presentation if your not interested in buying a membership. All this aside, the rest of the Vidanta employees (the ones wearing the hats and striped shirts) are very nice and accommodating and the gym has exactly what you need to get a good workout in. Restaurants in the resort are a bit overpriced and the only let you pay via credit card or have it charged to the room. The small cars that get your around the resort take some time to get to Mayan Palace but they get their eventually. Hope this helps someone planning a vacation here! read more

I wish I would have looked up yelp before I made my way to the mayan palace, because everyone's experiance was as awful as mine. I got to PV Nov Fri the 9th 2017 and stayed at the most wonderful hotel called Garza Blanca, please do yourself a favor and stay there Not here, had the time of my life there until it was time for me to head over to NV to check into mayan palace the 14th 2017. Prior to us heading to our new place I had met a lady who worked for the time share company and told us how amazing this place was, we were so pumped. BEWARE IT LOOKS NOTHING LIKE THE PHOTOS ON THE WEBSITE!!! We took a 15 min cab ride to the check in point, waited another 5 min for a golf cart to take us to the hotel and a long the way we see all these beautiful grounds.. Pools... Iguanas.. Smileing tourist, then boom here we are motel 6 oh wait I mean mayan palace. All the workers were super cold and rude. Room smelled like mildew, cigarettes, stale food and musty flowers. Made me gag but my. Other half told me to calm down so I did. I had two friends come over to the resort because we had some luggage of theres and they treated them with such disrespect and acted like they where going to steel somthing over even possablely bomb the place. It was very unsettling the way they acted. So next morning I refuse to go threw a 2 hour semenire because I had plans and then they treated me as if I wasted there time... Please I came here to relax not hear you talk about nothing I'm interested in. So I get ready to hit the lazy river over at grand Mayan and BOOM the bomb is dropped that we can not use any amenities at any other location except to eat and drink!!!! WTF there webside says where happiness begins.. LIES... We are your family... LIES.. my family dosent treat me this way. After talking with 4 people about how I hate where I'm staying and it's not right what they are doing they guided me to the last person and she told me I couldnt use the pool becuase I didnt do the timeshare seminar!!!!! F..U... Lady. I tired to switch hotels or leave but of course "everything is booked" I'm so happy to be home and away from that concentration camp and all thouse rude people. We spent most our time in down town PV and away from that awful place. I'm sure its great if you stay at the fancy hotels on the property but stay away from mayan palace please spend your money somwhere eles. Your probably going to Mexico to relax and its very hard to do so in this place. You can't ever just leave the place eather you have to wait for a golf cart or pay for a cab to get off the property. Waste of time and money. Enjoyed zero of my time at this resort will be going to garaza blanca next year... See you never read more

We ended up with a non-ocean facing room, which happens. It's got a bit of a funky smell, which the agent hoping to upsell us told us was because it's in an older , non-updated part of the Mayan Palace. Not great but what's a fAmily of 5 to do. The big kick in the pants was when our neighbours raved about buying the $300 meal booklet and saving tons of money. It wasn't offered to us. And when we asked the front desk they said it was because the check in process can be busy and so they sometimes don't bother. Not being pleased with that explanation, we spoke with a manger at a later time, but literally got the same answer. It's a piss-poor way to treat membership and you'd better believe I'll remember this. Vidana needs to clean up this sort of stuff if they want to be revered. Otherwise they are just another timeshare company hustling for the contract but not delivering. read more

POOP stain pillow cases & BED BUG! Beautiful resort. Smells nice, beautiful decor, very relaxing. Our room was on the top floor. We weren't facing the beach but that wasn't an issue for us. Everyone was so nice. Everyone spoke English, so if you aren't fluent like us- no problem. They have everything you need on the resort- a grocery store, clothing etc. The pools we had access to were nice and clean. Prices seemed reasonable and some pleased were really expensive. But that's expected. All prices are in pesos. So be prepared to do the math on how much things cost in US dollars. I suggest downloading an app before going to know exactly how much you're spending on things. They do except debit cards or they can charge to room. Everything was wonderful, so why 3 stars? One-the money trap. Of course you're tipping everyone for every little thing left and right... also we were only there for 3 days but the second night is when we realized our bed had bed bugs! I woke up with multiple red small bites all over my back and side. My man had a few. Since we were leaving the next day we decided not to make a complaint for a new room. Instead we requested new sheets and pillow cases to see if it would make a difference (they hadn't changed our sheets at all since we stayed there up until we requested). While looking around the bed we noticed our pillow cases had what looked like POOP stains...GROSS! When we went back to our room the bed was freshly made. We checked to see if we had new sheets. It seemed the sheet that covered the bed was new, but our pillows cases were not, nor were the rest of the sheets/ blankets. And they still hadn't changed them.... we were happy to leave the next day considering that. read more

Mayan Palace - Bed bug Bites - Hotels Near Me - Nuevo Vallarta, NAY

I am staying at the Mayan Palace Vidanta Nuevo Vallarta. Worst experience ever. They stole from my room $280 dollars and $2300 pesos. I may have left the safe open but it doesn't matter they shouldn't take your money. I thought this was a safe spot know it makes me think the opposite. It's a nice place but make sure you secure you belongings. They just ruined my vacation!! DATE THAT HAPPENED 1/28/2016 Me stoy quedando en el Mayan palace Vidanta Nuevo Vallarta la peor experiencia de mi bida. Me robaron de mi cuarto $280 dollars y $2300 pesos.A lomejor deje la caja fuerte abierta pero eso no inporta no deberian tomar cosas de tu cuarto. Pense que era un lugar seguro haora pienso diferente, es un lugar bonito pero asegurate de guardar tus cosas importantes. Acaban de aruinar mis bacaciones dia que paso 1/28/2016 read more

Worst experience of my life. Dont waste your time getting suckered into their timeshare presentation. You will waste a whole day of vacation going thru 10 different salesman trying to sell you a timeshare after declining to offers. The place sucks, you cant get around the place without golf carts and most of the time you have to wait. The customer service there is the most horrible experience I've ever had in Mexico. Save yourself from this place, they will exhaust you and wont give a sh*t about you when you don't buy. read more

I've stayed here 4 times, but it's been over 10 years since I was there, it's now Vidanta mega resort, way too big, I have blisters on both feet severely from walking miles after miles getting around the resort, they of course closed the pool and their fake statement of their pool being second largest in Latin America.. no way José... it's not!! When you check in which is at 5pm you get escorted to a timeshare presentation offer, if you agree you get a good room, if you say no you get an area that has construction going on continuously and early and loud!! Low floor no view...now the resort is like a prison , they don't want you to spend your money anywhere else so they lock all old exits and have to escape on a very long walk on the beach to cut through another resort....we're talking miles..very rude timeshare closers, if you say you are not interested in cutting a very large check to purchase one complete rudeness will ensure!!! Pelone was very rude!!! Said we could never come back, no problem with us...air conditioner in whole resort went down so average room temperature was around 85 and humid, they add money to your bill for charity, they should be the one's helping their employees and their neighbors not us...the bill will have many wrong charges so keep track of what you spend by keeping your receipt when you purchase anything.... if you take a taxi to get around it will add another $200 per week in charges, take the bus for 18 pesos better deal... but you must escape first!! Do it !!! See the real Puerto Vallarta not Jurassic Park... read more

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This review is meant to be informative and to warn anyone looking to stay at any of the Vidanta resorts. Like many reviews the staff is very friendly and the rooms are clean and the resort is gorgeous!!! So why the 2 stars? Well, the first day we got there they set us up with our rooms and told us to sit down for a hostess to come over and chat with us. I knew they were going to ask us to sit in a time share presentation and I cut her off immediately and said I wasnt interested. I just wanted the keys to my room bc I was tired, I had two small children traveling with me and I just needed to get my babies changed, fed and put to bed after a long day of traveling. When I told her I wasn't interested in the upgrade, 10% off our bill, or anything else she said I needed to wait some more so she could find out our room number. However, we already had their program bracelets on our wrists and a room assigned to us. After another 15min of waiting I got up and tracked the woman down to find out what the hell was taking so long to tell us our room number. She informs me that they programmed the upgraded room on our room key bracelets and that they didnt know how to take off the upgrade. I felt like that was a load of crap, but I was desperate to get to my room so I said fine, I'll take the upgrade and agree to sit through a time share presentation. I spoke to MANY guest that were staying there and everyone informed me that even the members have to sit through a time share presentation to be sold up grades. The time share presentation was like any other and I'm proud to say that my family is part of the 32% that DID NOT sign up for their program. So take that!! Other things I did not like about Vidanta... The pool and the beach is a hike away from your room. We had someone with a bad back in our party and she stayed behind many times to avoid the extensive walking. There were several times when we tried to pay for something and the person at the register had to go to one of the other hotels to get change or make the transaction!! Why is that? If there is a register, it should have change right?! Lastly, many of the drinks on the resort were watered down. Of course I cant prove it but I know after 3 dirty martini's I should have at least had a buzz.....but nothing! Just warning you ;) Also, make sure you cut or take your bracelet off before venturing out of the resort. We found we were hounded 2 X more bc we had a bracelet on our wrist that let the world know where we were staying. Overall, it was a fun vacation. Will I be going back...probably not. read more

My concierge, Alfonso, have excellent service and performed above my expectations. He deserves a raise and a promotion.

I just stayed at Mayan Palace this past week as part of the Living Social SFX resorts package that was offered some time back. When I booked, I initially thought it was for the NEW Mayan Palace in Puerto Vallarta which is also part of Vida, but when the confirmation came through it was for this one in Nuevo Vallarta which is probably the oldest building in the Vidanta resort. Checking in was a mess and took about an hour, due to lack of communication with the reserving company. The room accommodations are good, for the deal price paid. It is not really worth the price if you pay list though, 3 star at most similar to your generic Comfort or Holiday Inn. The beds are hard and a small full size, not queen as indicated. The room was clean, and maintained well. Noise was a terrible problem here, I guess the rooms on the upper floors are being remodeled, so there was jack hammers starting at 8am that went all the way until about 6pm every day, it made being in the room excruciatingly loud. The walls are paper thin as well, could hear the lady in the next room over constantly complaining to her husband about something or other. The grounds are beautiful, but totally artificial. If I wanted to vacation with a bunch of entitled pompous rich gringos playing golf, I could have gone to pebble beach. I'm 33yo and can tell you I was the youngest person there the whole time besides the workers! This is in no way a good place to stay if you want the true Mexican experience. I had much more fun a short drive up to Bucarias, which is where I'll definitely be staying next time. It seems Vidanta makes it especially difficult to leave the property once you are there, it takes 20+ minutes of walking from the hotel just to retrieve your car, then another 15 minutes just to drive back to the main gate down a meandering road. Food on site is top notch and high quality, but expect to pay $30-40USD per meal if you eat here. I found similar quality in Zona Romantica for about half the price. The use of pools is stupid, it's one huge resort, but if you stay at Mayan Palace, you aren't allowed to use any of the other "new" pools that are for the newer hotels on the resort property, even though they are closer to you. You can only use them if you want to be sucked into the 6 hour timeshare nightmare presentation, which thankfully nobody bothered telling us about because we didn't meet the demographic, even probably possessing more net worth than half of the people we saw getting the sales pitch. That brings me to the culmination of this post. The Vidanta model is bullshit. They basically put a bunch of people in the Shark Tank at the PV airport to grab unsuspecting travelers and shuttle them off to this place in the middle of seemingly nowhere with the idea of a 1.5 hour "presentation". Day after day I would see older people stuck in this same sham at breakfast, getting this same pitch. "we didn't pay the people to bring you here, that is their fault, not ours, but while you're here listen to this". Those people are getting the hard sell, and from what I heard, they ask them for $20k upfront and 2k annual dues to enjoy this crap for one week a year for the rest of their lives. This is what pays for all of the ornate grounds, etc. I wouldn't want to buy into something that still makes me pay exorbitant prices just to use it. Another time share ponzi scheme model. read more

The Vadanta resort in Nuevo Vallarta sucks. It is miles off the main road, difficult to get from one hotel to another, over priced on food and drink. You have to take trams to get anywhere and is at least 40 minutes to Puerta Vallarta's old town. Uber's aren't allowed to pick up there, only taxis. To leave the resort grounds you need to take a tram to the parking lot and get a taxi there, and then it's a 10 minute ride just to exit the resort and get on the main road. If you like over paying for average food and poor service, if you like having a ten minute walk from the hotel to the pool or beach and the same from hotel to a restaurant, then you like this place, but, if haven't guessed, I DONT. read more

I am a member. I have stayed at 2 other resorts. I was treated well and had nice rooms, suitable for weeklong stays. Suites with a kitchenette. I recently upgraded my membership via sales pitch at Nuevo Vallerta, from the Mayan to the Bliss. Today I am at the Mayan, in a plain old hotel room. Not even a fridge, let alone a kitchenette. I might as well be at a Motel 6. Trapped here, claustrophobic!!! Beware. Rip off. read more

Don't EVER buy a timeshare at Vidanta!! To make a reservation they tell us that they don't have rooms available and to make a reservation a year before. Who plans a vacation so in advance. I would understand 3-6 months in advance. We been members for 3 years & finally made time to use it but NEVER again. Today, while using the pools we got humiliated practically escorted out by security because apparently we couldn't use that pool. That we had to use a particular pool. Which wasn't advise at check in. This resort is really nice but the rules and restrictions are not accommodating for anyone vacationing. The water & sand at the beach is dirty but has palm umbrella shade & lounge chairs. I will be selling my timeshare! & never use it again! read more

Pros and Cons for Grand Bliss (yelp should add Grand Bliss) Pros: -Noe and Oscar go out of the way to do "Almaverde tour" the best tour. -Mathew at The Grand Mayan activity is the best activity supervisor. He went out of the way and showed me iguana when I told him that I am leaving tomorrow and couldn't take Iguana's tour. He is the best. I also appreciate that he inflated my float. Thanks a bunch. -My daughter didn't like calamari rounds at Ela Mulata, they took it back and didn't charge us. She just took one bite and refused to eat further. - Fun lazy river, go after 3 to avoid crowds - Grand Mayan pool is heated and not grand bliss as the joy squad said, grand bliss pool is not for kids; so not heated. - Ask for ocean view room -Cafe Del Lago the best breakfast - Nice water slide - Flan at Taco's break in La Plaza is the best - Very polite staff (except timeshare people) - Good resort tours, some are just redundant and same with different names; but the joy squad works hard. - Nice stretching in Santuario -Grand Mayan pools are heated but crowded - Cleaning lady works hard and does a good job; sometimes does turn down too. - Didn't leave the resort, all the activities are at the beach though overpriced. - Nice and clean beach - Turtle camp is cool - Huge complex, too big and my daughter initially didn't like it at all; later on got used to it. Great beach, clean and soft sand; great water, good weather. Great staff: Joy squad, many waiters at the restaurants, check in, shuttle, cleaning etc. Nice rooms, great location, clean etc Some restaurants are really good, to mention: Cafe Del Lago, Blue Fish, some dishes at La Cantina and Chiniguita etc. Grocery store on the site, though expensive, but don't need to go out of the resort. Breakfast coupons make sense price wise. Free wifi; works at many places; but spotty. Check in lady said Premium is included in our package. Cons: -Grand Bliss pools not heated, made me sick with cough and cold - All chairs along the pool are covered with towels and no people - Expensive, just at a casual joint of Balance; regular coffee is $6-$7; never paid that much at Starbucks or Peets - Flan at La Cantina not good - Havana moon, the worst breakfast food; though better service. -Luis appeared at 1.25pm for 1pm activity of Mocktail in Grand Bliss. -Brandon refused to even try to change the Almaverde tour from Thursday to Wednesday at Grand Bliss. -Also the pregnant lady at Grand Bliss activity totally lied stating there is no tour on Wednesday. Later on I asked Noe at Almaverde tour that you don't have it on Wednesday; he said he has everyday from Monday through Friday. Why did that pregnant lady at Grand Bliss activities lied? -Andres just lied to us that there is no Almaverde tour, Noe at Almaverde has already left. Then I told him that we have been waiting here from 3.45 pm and Brandon said that trip is there, then he bothered to arrange the trip for us. - At Gong we ordered fish and got steak. I was clearly asking which fish I can order and then he suggested one and got us beef, we don't eat beef, it is against our religion. Only my daughter eats it sometimes, she doesn't like it; but then for waiter's mistake, she ate half of it. -At Gong, coffee jelly with ice cream dish; ice cream was totally melted. - Though Grand Bliss people can do any activity other than Grand Luxe, Altamar refused to do paddle boarding when I tried to do with Grand Mayan people since we stayed in Grand Bliss. -wifi spotty through out the resort. We didn't even try coffee in the room or used safe since some people mentioned that they charge for that. Chiringuita crab was inedible; very salty and no crab taste. But their ice cream was good. Lunch / Dinner coupons don't make much sense price wise. Ela Mulata stuff was really so so, my shrimp salad was just edible but no taste. Shows at Santaurio are OK. Lake show at La Cantina and Gong is good too. Balance smoothies were OK, sandwich was so so. Massage at Brio was OK; I had better at many other places. read more

This is the first time I ever write something in Yelp, but I just needed to. I am not one to complain but I needed to this time. We have had Vidanta time share for about 3 1/2 years. We have vacationed in Cancun the last two years and had a great experience. We decided to come to Nuevo Vallarta. Since the day we checked in it started off on bad. When we made our reservation we had asked for two beds. Our room is for 4 people. When we checked in they told us that it wasnt available. Eventhough the receptionist informed us that it was in the system. We accepted it and just made the best out of it. But my husband and girls did not sleep very well. Once we arrived they did tell us that there is a breakfast for members. Which we knew that we had to go. They told us that it was just an information for us of some benefits that we might be missing. They had us there for 3 hours!!! I found out that Nuevo Vallarta is considered the corporate office of Vidanta. Well.. Which I mentioned to them on how uncomfortable we were with only 1 bed. I explained to Jose Saucedo and Shannon about it they just seemed to brush it off. They just wanted us to upgrade our time share and really didnt care about how happy or comfertable we were!!! Vidanta Nuevo Vallarta is suppose to be corporate which you would think that they would really like to keep the customer happy. It seemes here that eventhough you spend your hard earned money here if you dont spend the delux your are just worth sh$#!!! Nuevo Vallarta is about categories (status). If you request something additional like 2 beds if you are at the bottom of they dont even consider you. To end our trip while walking to check out I slipped cause the lobby floor was wet. I told the receptionist about it and she didnt even say are you ok. She just called someone to cleen it up.I waited for her to say something she never mentioned anything. I asked for a supervisor cause I was so upset. He just apalogized and said he will talk to the receptionists. I hate to say it but If I would have been white they would have rolled the red carpet for me. I have never experienced anything like this before. I am not one to complain but I couldnt help it this time. Vidanta Nuevo Vallarta needs some lessons in Customer Service no matter what status you are! Very disappointed in this place! I would NEVER COME BACK HERE AGAIN!!!!!!!!! read more