Puerto Vallarta Advice (hotels and anything else!)

Old Jul 9th, 2003, 01:07 PM
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Puerto Vallarta Advice (hotels and anything else!)

Planning a quick trip in early August for the 1st time to Puerto Vallarta...I think we'll stay at the Camino Real, but the Quinta Real at the Marina looks very nice. The Camino Real sounds a little dated in some reviews..?
Any other advice (restaurants, sightseeing) would be greatly appreciated!
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Old Jul 9th, 2003, 02:10 PM
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My husband and I stayed at the Quinta PV last Christmas and had an overall fabulous time. I'll give you a quick rundown of the pros and cons:

Pros:
- Staff is unfailingly nice. One morning I called to the front desk to ask about the weather and they went on the Internet and got a printed weather report in English for me and brought it up to my room in under five minutes. One evening, we were walking to the marina proper (the hotel is set off from the actual marina) and it was after dark and a guy behind the front desk asked where we were going. When we told him we were going to dinner at the marina, he rushed into a golf cart and drove us there so we wouldn't have to walk in the dark (although we did walk in the dark a lot in PV and it is perfectly safe). We also met the owner when we were in the computer room/reading room and he was very interested in both our positive comments and our criticisms.
- The hotel has a beautiful beach club that is on a perfect stretch of beach.
- They have the most beautiful, biggest hotel pool I have ever seen and the grounds are gorgeous!
- They will rent you brand new mountain bikes to tool around on, free of charge. We rode ours to the beach club and back and had so much fun riding around!
- The plunge pool on our deck outside of our room was like a bath - so perfect to soak in after walking around PV all day!

Cons
- In the marina area, so you have to take a taxi to downtown (we walked to downtown one day and never did it again).
- Not on the beach (but it has the beach club!)
- Not a big deal b/c we were barely ever in our room, but the speakers in our TV were blown out so you couldn't hear a thing.
- Everything is marble, so you'll hear high heels from people getting in late at night.

As far as sightseeing, we spent countless hours just walking around PV and we went to almost all of the beaches, including Majahuitas, where we stayed for a few days before relocating in town to the Quinta Real. We also went kayaking and snorkeling. Kayaking was great. Snorkeling was just OK. We'd gone snorkeling in Maui only a couple years back and the snorkeling in PV did not come close to comparing to Maui. PV has many, many good restaurants and all of the ones we ate at were great. We got our recommendations from Frommers.com. We spent most of our time in PV just walking around the different areas. I don't think there was an area that we missed, except for some of the southern beaches (e.g., Quimixto).
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Old Jul 9th, 2003, 03:06 PM
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I've been 15 x PV but always stay downtown. Having said that...

Camino Real is older & does have the reputation for being a bit more "mexican". But the BIG plus is that it's on its own private beach and south of town. If you decide on this one - post again specific, because there's something always mentioned about the tower rooms being better (or something along those lines).

The Marina is a more crowded, tourist resort hotel area, between the airport and downtown. But most likely that hotel is "nicer".

They are similar distance from the central Old Town, where there are tons of wonderful restaurants and nightlife, shopping, the Malecon, the cathedral, etc. ~10 mins. but the Marina is to the north and Camino Real to the south.

Once you figure out the hotel, ask again about restaurants. And let us know more details what you're looking for. Any PV regular has their list of favorites & believe me we're happy to share what we love best!!
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Old Jul 9th, 2003, 04:31 PM
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Thnak you both for wonderful replies! The Quinta Real sounds nicer in some ways, but I do like the location of the Camino Real, and the beach that its on. Also, that its more "mexican". We will be taking our 2 teens (yikes!), so the beach would be a real plus. I think we'll go for rooms in the Tower Section.
As to restaurants! We're happy to eat anything,we love good food, especially Mexican, but don't want to dress up too much. So, I'd love to hear some good suggestions. (I will look at Frommers, too, thanks.)Look forward to more, thanks!
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Old Jul 9th, 2003, 04:47 PM
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I have one must do! Eat at the Blue Shrimp in PV. AWESOME!!! I'm not a picky eater but I have good taste and this place is great. My fiance and I talk about it to this day (2 years later).

http://www.theblueshrimp.com.mx/about.asp

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Old Jul 9th, 2003, 07:39 PM
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The Quinta is actually rather "Mexican." While we were staying there, we only say one other Caucasian couple. The people we met there were mostly from Mexico and South America. It is a Mexican boutique hotel and the owner is Mexican. Go to differentworld.com - they have a website where you can do a picture tour of the hotel. The hotel is also pretty set off from most other things so it is actually in a residential area full of houses and condos and not on a hotel strip. If you post your email address, I can send you pictures. Or, you can just look on differentworld. Whatever you choose, though, you will love PV.
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Old Jul 9th, 2003, 08:28 PM
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Camino Real all the way, very classy, great service, one of the original hotels in Vallarta. No comparison to Quinta Real!
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Old Jul 9th, 2003, 09:23 PM
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The local bus runs on the highway from Camino Real into town, so that's cheap, easy & fun, if you don't want to grab a taxi.

You'll be hard pressed to find many restaurants in town with a dress code. There's a few expensive ones you might want to take a shower & change out of your t-shirt & shorts for, but most are extremely casual and comfortable.

One good choice is simply to go to Basilo Basillo, a street on the southside, recently dubbed "restaurant row" (maybe by the tourist office?). You can stroll along about 4 blocks and take your pick from all kinds of great places. Menus are posted.

Eating right on the beach at Playa Los Muertos can be lovely. Tables in the sand, torches, mariachi, like that. Food's not always so amazing, but the atmosphere is hard to resist!

The Red Cabbage in Remance is an out of the way place inland on the river, kooky decor, great authentic Mexican cooking. Calle Rivera del Rio 204A, tel: 22-304-11

Mariscos Tino's for open air setting, seafood grill, Avenida 333 & Revolucion in Pitillal tel: 224-5584. Again a bit out of the way but cab drivers know of it. Popular with local families and tourists alike.

The rooftop at Chez Elena restaurant/ Cuatro Vientos hotel is wonderful for sunset drinks (up behind the cathedral).

Memo's Casa de Hotcakes or Fredy's El Tucan (Basilo Badillo) if you happen to be in town for breakfasts.

(On Vallarta) Pie in the Sky for dessert or El Torrito (touristy but good food and great if you need a TV sports fix).

Dolphys or Bings for ice cream cones.

Then there's all the popular fancy one's which of course I haven't been to like: Bogarts, Cafe des Artistes, Daiquiri Dick's, La Palapa, Mezzaluna, The River Cafe, Trio.

I've only been down in winter & know some restaurants close for the summer. So check first, even of these I've mentioned.
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Old Jul 12th, 2003, 06:33 PM
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okay, now that we've booked the Camino Real, I've looked at luxurylink and seen the villas advertised for rent there! Has stayed or heard about these villas? They look very nice in the pictures! But there's no real rating system for them, so it would be scarey to rent them with no reviews...
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Old Jul 13th, 2003, 10:28 AM
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I am not familiar with that rental service, but think for a first trip to PV it's better to stay at a hotel. That way you have the front desk people to help you arrange tours, recommend restaurants, figure out transportation, like that.

Plus most villas are either further out of town, or in town but not on the beach (right?).

When you rent an apartment on your own ... well you're on your own! My advice is keep your date with the Camino Real and take a little time when you're there looking around at places you might enjoy staying on your next trip!!!
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Old Jul 13th, 2003, 10:50 AM
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you know, Suze, I think you're probably right, since it's our 1st visit...thank you all again for all the advice.
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Old Jul 14th, 2003, 01:36 PM
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We went to the Camino Real in March for the first time in 15x in P.V. The beach is amazing I think it's the best. The hotel is old but very very nice. The Rooms are spacious. The tower is the newer bldg. Breakfast was excellant! the lunches on the beach at the Las Brisas was fantastic! We had Grilled Red Snapper almost every day for lunch. The people there are wonderful. It's very close to town but walking is hard for you are on a mountain road but a taxi ride will cost about 3 dollars American. We did not care for dinner there so we went out almost every night. If you would like any more info please ask. I check this site almost every day. By the way I am going back in November that's how much my husband and I love it. And we live on the East Coast in the U.S.
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Old Jul 17th, 2003, 07:52 AM
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Here I go again! I have read good things about the Intercontinental Hotel in Puerto Vallarta on tripadvisor. Does anyone have any opinion about this hotel? (Beach, rooms, etc.)? Thanks for all your replies so far...
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Old Jul 21st, 2003, 11:41 AM
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As far as the Presidente Inter Continental I have heard both good & bad reviews but I do know that it is really a distance from town. I passed it once and it was really far away. Try the web site trip advisor and see what other people have to say. Good Luck. Any more questions please ask.
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Old Jul 21st, 2003, 11:53 AM
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I agree, i'm guessing from my map at least 20 mins. south of town(?) It is about 1/2 way between Camino Real and La Jolla Mismaloya. overall have heard much better reviews for Camino Real but this is from (obsessively!) reading PV bulletin boards, not my personal experience (as i probably already mentioned i always stay in town on the 'southside').
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Old Jul 21st, 2003, 01:47 PM
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thank you all again for such patience! Tripadvisor reviews of the Intercontinental were all positive, but the Camino Real does seems to come to the top every time. Just hope my spoiled family (after a fancier place in Cancun last year)doesn't mind the plain rooms and hard beds ! I'm betting the locale and view will overcome those negatives!
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Old Jul 22nd, 2003, 07:06 PM
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Enjoyed reading all this information! I'm going to PV (Velas Vallarta)in November for the third time. Hope I made a wise choice for all-inclusive hotel? I've stayed at the Mismaloya also, but it's too far from town. Thanks everyone for all the helpful advise.
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Old Aug 11th, 2003, 08:50 AM
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Just wanted to thank you all for your help. We returned yesterday from PV, and stayed at the Camino Real. It was a beautiful spot and a nice hotel. We were really pleased!
Our 2 best meals - Don Pedro in Sayulita, and Kaiser Maximillion!Thanks again!
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Old Aug 12th, 2003, 04:59 AM
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I am so glad you were happy with everything. I really thought the beach area wa the best I have been on the scenery can't be beat. This web site can be evry helpful as you can see. Glad again you took our advice with the Camino Real.
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Old Aug 13th, 2003, 09:24 AM
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Frankie, Thanks for taking the time for a followup post. It's always fun to hear how things turned out for people!
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