We have been forced to reschedule our honeymoon due to Wilma. We are looking at the Vallarta Palace. I know it has recently been reopened under the management of Palace Resorts. Does anyone have any information about this hotel? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

I don't know anything about this particular hotel, except that it appears to be between 10 - 12 miles north of the town (the malecon area). So this sounds like it is about in the hotel zone. With any hotel 10 miles out of town, you most likely would taxi into town for all the best things Puerto Vallarta has to offer. Puerto Vallarta is a wonderful old town. Unless you like being in a hotel and doing all the activities the hotel has to offer and eating at the hotel, you might want to consider looking at hotels around Los Muertos Beach. But, I am not impartial. I love old town. I walk everywhere and I walk far. I love being in the center (almost) of everything. The hotels in the hotel zone offer nice beaches if you want to stay in one place. If you want more flexibility and interesting places to walk to, look into Gringo Gulch and Old Town. For hotel suggestions hopefully the person with the screen name "suze" will respond with her expertise and numerous recommendations. Good luck.

I visited the Vallarta Palace last week, though not a guest. My wife and I stopped by to capture old memories from a previous stay when the palace used to be the "sierra resort". We did get to look around, even visited a couple of rooms. It was virtually empty as they have not even officially opened. There were maybe 3 or 4 guests at the pool. The rooms are all "superior" rooms which means 2 queen beds and a bathroom. Each room does have a cool jacuzzi for two! We were told there are suites but they were still be remodeled so we didn't see them. The resort was very clean, obviosly recently remodeled. The pool is fabulous and the beaches in Nuevo Vallarta are far nicer than in PV...the beach at Vallarta Palace being no exception. I'm guessing that if you don't want a crowd now is good time to be at the Palace since it appeared to me that no one knows they're open yet. It is an all-inclusive and i wondered if Palace resorts Inc. are offering their full menu and service with so few guests. I have no idea but it would be a concern for me. By the way, this resort is not in the hotel zone. It is in Nuevo Vallarta, about a 25 minute ride into downtown PV. Bus ride costs 15 pesos, taxi will cost you about 150 pesos. I've been to the PV area numerous times, night life is in downtown PV. Quiet and beautiful beaches are in Nuevo Vallarta. Be happy to answer any other questions regarding Vallarta Palace!
Blessings to you, Barry

I would have loved to chime in (as I usually do about all things PV) but I don't know a thing about resorts or Nuevo Vallarta, only the hotels in Old Town and El Centro. Some places I know from people talking about them but never even heard this hotel name before.

hola blondlady, Love your posts and appreciate your views on Puerto Vallarta. I think once before also you mixed up these names. The Hotel Zone is actually an area that shows on the map as between The Marina and El Centro, so say within 1 mile or 5 mins. from The Malecon.

While Nuevo Vallarta certainly is a "hotel zone" that's not what it's called -LOL.

I don't mean to be picky because you are a great new addition, having someone with wonderful PV suggestions who obviously knows and cares for the town, and likes to talk about it!!

Thanks so much for your responses. We went ahead and booked it because we were in a bit of a time crunch. The wedding's coming up fast! Barry, I'm a little confused because I read on another forum that things were almost completely done as of Labor Day but since you were there only last week it looks as though that forum may have been incorrect. Your comment about the menu is a good one and one that I hadn't considered (I'm rather new at this). Do you know how I could find out if the restaurants are, in fact, up and running? Did you see anything else that would give you pause about staying there? Thanks again and have a great evening.

Hi, the information you received about the resort being finished at Labor day may very well be accurate. The person at the registration desk explained to me that there were only a few guests due to the resort not "officially" opening(whatever that means)yet. It did appear to me that they were fully operational, no obvious signs of construction going on. The lobby is a huge and beautiful room but was missing small details in decor to make it look truly finished...ie. plants, vases, prints on the walls, etc. Just things that said to me that they're still putting final touches on the place. As far as checking out the restaurants, I would begin by calling Palace resorts or emailing them with the question. You may mention my comments about having just visited and raise the question. Palace resorts is a big corp., they must realize that word of mouth is everything in tourism and as such they should know better than to skimp on their AI meal spread. Overall, i don't have any other concerns. I do prefer rooms that have a balcony to sit on,which this resort does not, but thats not a deal breaker for me. I would be happy to be a quest there right now if the price was right. Hard to go wrong in PV, it's a lovely town that has captured my heart, I hope you and your fiance/husband enjoy it as well!
Blessings, Barry

Hello, I am also going to be going to Vallarta Palace for my honeymoon and am curious about things nearby. I had looked at Vallarta Palace, Gran Velas and Velas Vallarta. The Gran velas looked really nice but $400/night for the both of us was kinda pricey, so then it was between the other two. After researching them I have found that Vallarta Palace had more things to do, more activities, so we booked that one. We will be going in the end of May. I was wondering if anyone could tell me the different things to do out there like horseback riding, windsurfing, jet skis, water ski etc., either in Nuevo Vallarta or Puerto Vallarta as well as prices. Also if anyone knows of websites that could give me useful info on this then please let me know. Another question, Does anyone know about going to the timeshare meetings and getting free money to use at the resort? I would appreciate any knowledge about this area and hotel that you can share. What amenities does this hotel have? Basketball, tennis courts, pool tables, game room, ping pong, surfboard, boogie board, bike rentals? What does it have?

Thanks,
Brandon

Brandon-

www.puertovallarta.net is a tourist website that includes a forum similar to Fodors but specific to PV.

it's loaded with information, go to the "Bulletin Board".