I am booking a trip with my 30 year old daughter and have chosen Barcelo Mismaloya. I have stayed north of PV before and wasn't sure if I should reconsider my hotel choice. Anyone stay at Barcelo? And if so, how was it?

I have not stayed or even been there, but do vacation often in Puerto Vallarta. For myself I wouldn't like to be so far from downtown.

Have you looked at Dreams? It's also to the south, and on it's own beach, but quite a bit closer in.

For Barcelo, I would check the current situation with the beach. They've had some issues with it being washed out in the past.

www.bookit.com PV

Excellent PV AI deals ratings reviews.

For me Dreams a little better but at a better price.Barcelo properties are better value.

For me the Barcelo property.

My travel agent is holding a good rate at Barcelo till tomorrow. I have stayed at Riu Jalisco a few years ago and wondered if I should go back to that area. Also, how do you check out their beach conditions? Any help asap would be appreciated.

You could ask on the PV forum over at www.tripadvisor.com

Or on www.vallarta-info.com or www.allvallarta.com

I would definitely choose Dreams over Barcelo It's way too far from town. I have been to both and would choose Dreams if I was to do all inclusive

vallartainfo.com is not a bulletin board, neither is allvallarta.com. The related boards are
http://vallartascene.com (undergoing an upgrade right now, check later) and http://todopuertovallarta.yuku.com/directory

Thanks for the correction Cabron. My wording was incorrect. I realize there are not forums on those two website, just the bestt PV information around.

Barcelo is a very nice place. Have stayed there several times. As the crow flies it is realy not that far from town. It's a quick cab ride about 10 minutes or you can catch the bus for a few Peso's just outside the main entrance.

Dreams is better, the Riu properties at Nuevo Vallarta are FAR better. They're new, fancy, and on a better beach.

but it can take an hour to get from the RIU to town and cost more than US$20 in a taxi

I haven't booked my trip yet, but will have to very soon, and I was wondering if Melia has more activities as my daughter likes to do more than get a tan. The info on their website leads me to believe they have quite a lot to do there. Anybody?

I don't know about activities offered by Melia, but since it's so much closer to downtown even if the hotel didn't offer enough there would be plenty to see & do because you'd be staying in The Marina district, and have all of El Centro/Old Town a quick taxi or bus ride away.

Or Hotel Playa Los Arcos or The Buenaventura (the two mid-priced all-inclusives that are walking distance to everything downtown).