My girlfriend and I are looking for a good all-inclusive resort to stay at the end-of-November 1999. We have heard some great things about Sierra Nuevo Vallarta. We want good food/drink(International brands), have entertainment/adult activities throughout our stay, and have easy access to some of the more popular excursions ( any romantic dinner/boat cruises or booze cruises? ) We also do not want to be around a lot of children the whole vacation, but could cope with some. Thank you for any help you can pass on!!!

Hi Michael, <BR>My name is Kim and live here in Vallarta. <BR>I can indeed agree on the good things you have heard about the Sierra Nuevo Vallarta. It is a very nice Hotel with a lot of amenities and especially the ones you want. The only thing I find a pity is that it is in Nuevo Vallarta, like 25 minutes in taxi from downtown. It is not too expensive though to go to downtown,(more or less $14 US per taxi, with a max. of 4 pers.) And one thing is absolutely better than staying in downtown and the Marina area... The beaches are much nicer over there than down here. There are children in the Hotel though, but there are diffrent pools one with activities and music and the other one is nice and quiet. Some boattours pass by at the harbour in NV, others you would have to go to the Marina Pier in PV (like 20 min. drive) and other tours come to pick you up from the hotel.

Dear Micheal, <BR>Sierra is a beautiful hotel with excellent activities and great staff. There are alot of childrens activities, so obviously, kids! Although November is a slow month for children here. Please email direct at [email protected] I would be happy to help you out with other information. I manage a tour company...have lots of great excursions! Hoping to hear from you. PT

<BR>Two things I really enjoyed this winter: <BR>1) Caletas at Night - sunset boat trip to an island without electricity for a beautiful dinner. The island is lit by tiki torches and dinner was great!! Highly recommend it! There is an after dinner show as well - preColumbian ballet. Very memorable!! <BR>2) Our tour company (Signature Vacations) did a bar hopping tour - what a blast!! We hit Carlos O'Brien's, The Zoo, Stars?, and one other one. It was a panic -- there were 206 people on our tour ranging from teens to 70s!! What a hoot! For $16 US we got a t-shirt and a drink in each of the 4 bars...

Hi Lynne, I definitely agree with you. There are some great tours, and the Bar-Hopping as well as the Caletas by Night are some of them. I have a tour-company here and we do both of these tours. If anyone is interested in tours or activities in Puerto Vallarta, don't hesitate to contact us at [email protected] <BR>or have a look at our web-site <BR>http://www.royale-tours.com <BR>I will be happy to help you !

If you are going to stay in Nuevo Vallarta, my personal choice would be the Paradise Village. It was absolutely one of the best resorts we have stayed at in Mexico. Spoiled us rotten. A spa to die for; massages every day! The beach is wide and cleaned daily, with lots of palapas that have waiters assigned to them. One day we never left the beach-they just kept bringing us things! If you want to stay closer to town, on the south side is the lovely La Jolla de Mismaloya, which sits on the most beautiful beach in PV (I think). Dnt miss a sunset down at the Olas Altos district, where the local color is at its best. Lots of beachfront cafes, entertainment and drink. We are on our 5th trip and still keep finding new things!

Forgot to address the all inclusive thing... Been there, done that. I dont like them unless we are somewhere remote. There are a lot of great places to eat in PV. If you are all inclusive, you will always have to stop what you are doing to go back to your hotel at mealtime. Something to think about.

<BR>Michael - have to agree with Linda. Having been to PV probably more than 20 times in last l5 years, it is NOT necessary to get an all-inclusive hotel (unless of course you just don't want to leave the hotel often.) There are so MANY wonderful restaurants to choose from in ALL price ranges in PV. I love discovering all of them on my own or on a friend's recommendation. I think all-inclusives appeal to people who are maybe concerned about drinking the water and quality of food etc. Plus the hotels/condos are pretty competitive down there and of course they WANT you to eat at their place. Part of the charm and attraction of PV, for me anyway, is the wonderful food and ambiance everywhere. It may be cheaper to do an all-inclusive but I think it robs one of the chance to experience the real PV (or any place for that matter.) I'm already looking forward to our trip there this next March (unless of course we go there earlier!) Have a wonderful trip no matter what you decide.

My husband and I love Puerto Vallart and love all inclusives. I would highly recommend the Crown Paradise. All adults. Great location. We were there last November and loved it.

I am agree with avoiding the all-inclusives. Try for South of the river in Old PV. Safe enough for my sister to bring her daughters. Fun enough for my husband! <BR>

Paradise Village is on the beach, everything there is totally perfect. You can book excursions, etc., there aren't an over-abundance of kids--the resort caters to all. I agree with who told you not to bother with all-inclusives. The one and only time I did that was in Jamaica, where I'd been told its not too safe to travel around. In PV, many of the boat excursions include food, drinks, etc., and as you were told there are so many great restuarants in town--why would you want to bother with all-inclusive. The drinks/food in PV are really cheap. Drinks at the Paradise Village are really inexpensive--and then they have happy hour every nite (4-7:00) and they're half price. If you want to be closer to town, then look into the Marriott in the Marina area. Have fun.