I wanted to tell you that they guy I sit by just came back from a cruise<BR>which stopped by puerto vallarta and he said it was horrible. All the bars<BR>and restaurants on the beaches are completely ruined and gutted. He said<BR>the beaches were totally gone. I asked him if he would change his honeymoon<BR>plans if he was going there next month and he said YES. Is this true

NO it is not true. There are many people currently in Puerto Vallarta who post on several internet bulletin boards I read and have seen photos. The heaviest hit WAS the Hotel Zone area, which is near where the cruise ships dock, so maybe that is what your coworker saw. They never had much for beaches in that part of town anyway!<BR><BR>In fact I just booked a ticket for myself December 5-15th. I stay in Old Town, which is well on its way to being cleaned up.<BR><BR>Hotels south of town like Camino Real and Mismalloya did fine. And north of town out in Nuevo Vallarta are OK too.<BR><BR>Unless you can correct me and tell me your coworker really spent some time *in* PV, not just a quick look around on a cruise ship stop... I think your post is falsely alarming.

p.s. But you might want to book a different hotel than the one you had originally planned if it sustained substantial damage.

Two bulletin boards with current PV postings:<BR><BR>http://www.puertovallarta.net/bulletinboard/UltraBoard.cgi<BR><BR>http://pub69.ezboard.com/btodopuertovallarta<BR><BR>Plus see updated hurricane kenna photos at www.vallartainfo.com <BR><BR>

Just got back from PV yesterday (Nov 7). The town was NOT ruined! In a couple of weeks it will be as if the hurricane had never happened. Restaurants and bars on the beach all open and happening. There is about a 4 block radius on the Malecon (where Los Arcos WAS) that is still torn up rubble but rebuilding is happeneing fast! All of the famous statues, such as the seahorse, are still there. Don't worry about it. We had a blast! And it was definately a friendly and festive atmosphere.

MEG:I don't like rudeness but I must say this: You must be a downtown/hotel zone person because I don't know what you're drinking, but I too just came back after a month there! I stayed (safely)in a beachfront condo on Olas Altas and among other things, I watched the fury of the storm and the stupidity of the locals and tourists who &quot;JUST&quot; had to have pictures of 30 and 40 foot waves! I have pictures of the statues on the Malecon is pieces! The La Palapa and El Dorado restraunts on the other side of town were totaled! The sea horse in front of the Vallarta Shores Hotel is also gone!<BR>While it's a mess, and I have many pictures of the shopkeepers trying to salvage what the looters didn't steal,they are a hardy lot! There will be many people out of work for a long time, especially in the hotel industry. But, they will prevail!I was there when Pres. Fox made an appearence and the gist of it is that it could take a year or more to rebuild the damaged hotels.The hotel Rosita was a disaster. The Buenaventura &quot;FELL&quot; down.The Las Palmas was a total loss. The Sheraton is a total loss! The mosquitos are a problem, as read today(11-9-02) in the L.A Times! Still in all, I'd go back but knowing what I do, I'd stay at the San Marino Plaza,Torre de Oro, or better yet, contact jr(john) at vallarta-info.com.<BR>A most helpful guy!<BR>And SUSAN, YES, all the bars and restraunts beachside were gutted! And all are being rebuilt. Bulldozers were out the next day clearing the clogged streets and the beaches.<BR>When you've seen what I've seen without being injured,you can say these things!<BR>

Vince, thanks for the compliment. But just a few corrections.<BR>The Buenaventura did NOT fall down.<BR>The Sheraton is not a Total loss, one tower may be.<BR>Las Palmas is due to re-open in Jan.<BR>The Seahorse statue on Los Muertos was found and will be restored, as well as all the statues on the Malec&oacute;n.<BR>The city has been fogging all the town, with a noticeable drop in the mosquito population. We are getting very dry here and as that happens the mosquitoes will no longer be a problem.

Well Vince... I'm gonna take a wild guess you are the same Vince with all the pre-trip hysteria Puerto Vallarta postings a few months ago. Dozens on finding a condo for yourself, sheez.<BR><BR>For Cathy, and agreeing with Meg, just take a look at the photos at www.vallartainfo.com of Playa Los Muertos and the Malecon of how much repair has happened already.<BR><BR>I would probably avoid the hotel zone (personally would never stay there anyway) and find a hotel downtown. Actually I AM doing that (rented a house Dec 5-15 on Basilo Badillo)*!*

J.R. is it possible for you to update your pictures and your website so we can the condition of the town and the hotels that are not in ruins. By the way could we see pictures of the Rosita and Sheraton since they are reportedly the worst hit hotels.

Too bad about the Rosita. I almost stayed there once. Nice little inexpensive hotel with a super location. <BR><BR>&gt;&gt;&quot;There is about a 4 block radius on the Malecon (where Los Arcos WAS) that is still torn up rubble but rebuilding is happeneing fast!&quot;<BR><BR>Where Los Arcos &quot;WAS&quot;? The hotel? Was that destroyed?

Never mind about Los Arcos. I found the website below with a photo which explains which Los Arcos. I hadn't known that's what that structure was called. <BR><BR>One person reports that the Hotel Rosita is set to reopen in a few weeks so it couldn't have been damaged that badly, thankfully. <BR><BR>Anyway, too bad about the damage that did happen, but at least the loss of life was minimal. <BR><BR>http://www.mexonline.com/pv/pvupdate.htm