Sunday, October 31 We rose well rested to hazy skies in the east, clearing to bold blue by 9:30am, when it was time for a refreshing dip and soak in the rooftop pool with the lousy 360-degree view. Such a life, but, hey, somebody's gotta do…Read More

Sunday, October 31

We rose well rested to hazy skies in the east, clearing to bold blue by 9:30am, when it was time for a refreshing dip and soak in the rooftop pool with the lousy 360-degree view. Such a life, but, hey, somebody's gotta do it! WE met more visitors from San Francisco-is that town empty? The newlyweds were immersed in this part of town after leaving the northern reaches of Quinta Real: shopping, swimming, hiking, dining, and having an all-around super time that will never be forgotten. Donning my Ray Ban sunglasses and casual garb in hopes of thwarting the paparazzi once this trip, we headed around town looking, stopping here and there, and watching any certain local activity new to our eyes. Some scary costumes and creepy masks are appearing already and those were the tourists who had had too happy a night prior! Pick-up trucks are laden with young kids screaming down the cobblestones. Church mass is over, the bells are silenced, and the newly found American fiesta begins. Once more, over to newly refurbished Mama Dolores Diner-this time for a good lunch. What we like about this spot is that it has outdoor café seating above the street, but is removed one block from the major bustle and noise of the area. (Olas Altas 534B, near Pulpito OT/SS., 228-4061, mamadolores4@hotmail.com, 8am to 10pm and closed Mondays.)

Part indoor restaurant and part elevated sidewalk street café since 1996, now owned by Grant Hunermund and Kieran Justason from Toronto, Canada, features simple Mexican and American fare, such as burgers with french fries, BLT, turkey club, chef salad , taco salad with choice of meat, meat loaf, fried chicken , mac and cheese, green salad with soup and bread, baby-back pork ribs, fajitas, and Mahi Mahi. For breakfast, there are hot cakes or French toast; eggs benedict;a meat lover's omelet with chorizo, bacon, and ham; and chicken fried steak with fried eggs. From October to March, there is a Sunday turkey dinner with all the trimmings from 5pm to 10pm. There are Soda Fountain Cocktails (floats, sodas, shakes) and Mama D´s Margarita Club-buy nine and the tenth is free. Saturday night meet Mama D. We both were in the mood for a breakfast item, and since the morning chef was still on duty, we were offered that menu also. Check out the steak and eggs or Benny with Canadian bacon . . . what else?!

Sunday, October 31, continued . . .

We took a great afternoon walk to burn off the meal and breathe in the ambiance and spirit of Old Town. Waves splashed in, boats swayed in the sleepy surf, and banana boats and parasail motorboats awaited eager customers. Children were everywhere. It seems so much of this place comes out for a family Sunday of togetherness. Hawkers wish to persuade you to part with pesos for homemade pies, muffins, jewelry, rugs, shirts, ornaments, temporary tattoos, green palm frond hats turning brown in the sun, tours to Yelapa or Mismaloya, fishing adventures, assorted nuts, helados, churras, ceramics, and fish on the stick. Close your eyes and drift off to wherever you wish, snap them open, and there is the playa, the bahia, the locals, and the peacefulness. After a long relaxing time in and around the rooftop pool, chat with people from various parts of the globe.

Halloween in Vallarta- It was not all that long ago that it was not celebrated here, but Americanization has struck. Two of our Internet superstars appeared in outlandish regalia, toting overflowing bags of American candy. Now I know I must at least bring a bag for every Halloween from now on. As the sun set in the west and our CyC crowd got larger and livelier, the kids slowly appeared with a parent or two, many in the most endearing costumes of orange, black, and scary, gruesome masks. Some of our own partiers were pretty wild looking, but after second look, I realized that is the way they always look. Oooooops! (Present company included.) One proud papa was especially touching as he carried his most beautiful daughter from person to person as she planted a kiss on each, even without a small candy gift. It was a blast, and many of us wished it would go on and on.

A couple of us headed to Brasil-no not the country. This spot is an all-you-can-possibly-eat churrascaria with high-quality meats accompanied by a slew of salads. It is great for carnivores. (Venustiano Carranza 210 OT/SS., 222-2909, www.brasilpirey.com pirey@prodigy.net.mx, 2pm to 12am.) Churrascaria features all-you-can-eat meats served by skewer-wielding meseros dressed á la Brazil with soccer jerseys, though the meats are local, including very tasty rib eye, sirloin, turkey, and chorizo. The meal includes assorted salads, rice balls, and fried bananas. A huge mango tree grows right in the center! Come very hungry and ask them to go slow (good luck!). There is air-conditioning for non-smoker’s comfort, plus smokers have their own open-air room. For men, it costs 150 pesos while women have to pay 120 pesos! It’s delicious, but fulfills a beef desire for quite a number of days.

Monday, November 1

Pre-election jitters hit this sleepy town of Puerto Vallarta-not a local one, but the one in the U.S. CNN blasts from corner bars and cyber cafés, eyes glued to every word emitting from the boob tube. One of the top reasons I left for Mexico was to be free of the constant political barrage. Sharply at 11am, we were whisked off to several condo properties for my roommate to inspect as a possible purchase. A first-time buyer is not a great position to be in, but he asked many pertinent questions and took it all in. One place stuck in his mind, especially for the price, although the 100 steps were a large deterrent for me. We rested at the fine local ¡Chile's! for a lunch of hamburgers and other sandwiches with super limonada, back in the cool jungle patio. (Pulpito 122 OT/SS., 223-0373. 11am to 6pm, closed Sundays and all summer.) Since 1995, Hank Muffett and Conrad Kostelecky from Portland, Oregon have found their pleasant niche one block up from Playa Los Muertos, serving lunch and early dinner. The spit-barbeque chicken (ready around 11:30am) over potato chunks is wonderful, as are the plump hamburgers (best in Vallarta?) and potato salad. There are side orders, French dip, and the chicken or chef's salad. Drinks include fresh iced tea, lemonade, sodas, and beer. All food can be taken out, but whole chickens must be ordered before noon for a 5pm pick-up. It has a jungle atmosphere in a courtyard of an old casa and airy rear seating among plants. It is lovely, with a large local clientele, and is warm, sunny, and tempered by soft, yet refreshing, bay breezes. We still needed time in the rather cool waters of our pool and conversed with an experienced property developer, who must have made quite a fortune, as now he and his wife split time here in their condo and the rest on a catamaran sailing the oceans and seas of the world. He was unpretentious, but filled with stories of remarkable travels, connecting with people of widely diverse backgrounds and cultures-utterly fascinating to me. Needing a long session in front of a computer to connect myself with a myriad of people from so many places worldwide, I sailed in my chair through countless emails and responded to the ones linked to this sojourn in paradise. Using this method, I did not subject myself to high winds and seas nor suffer from seasickness!

Off with Diana of Diana's Tours-she has been booking her Thursday Rainbow Cruise very well. It departs from the Los Muertos Pier. I hear fabulous reports about it. Check with her upon your arrival at 222-1510 or Lesbetravelling@hotmail.com. She also offers airport pickups and virgin tours, private tours, and concierge special services. A wonderful person for support, she will answer your questions from a local standpoint! We checked out some local property to see if any was worthy of renting and took a bunch of pix. It was very productive, and we met several courteous owners. Some places had spectacular views; my fave being a rooftop pool that went right to the western edge, so you felt like you were swimming into the horizon! I told the owners that is where I would spend the majority of my time. My roomie needed his taco/quesadilla/parilla fix at our new fave place, Takos Panchos, not a stand but an indoor/outdoor place with a hot grill and great cheap food. It was too hot tonight to eat there, so we ordered a variety of items for take-out and arranged platters on the balcony with the view of the South Side and the Bahia, with soft crashing waves and city noise. Each morsel invoked an, "aaaahhhh." He went out and I stayed at my laptop to work, cutting down on the pesos spent at cyber cafés.

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When we arrived at the resort, it was late, but we were greeted at the entrance by bellboys. "Hello, Senorita" they said (I loved that! I was a Senorita all week...it just sounds so nice!) They got all our baggage out of the taxi and…Read More

When we arrived at the resort, it was late, but we were greeted at the entrance by bellboys. "Hello, Senorita" they said (I loved that! I was a Senorita all week...it just sounds so nice!) They got all our baggage out of the taxi and directed us to check in. It was fast and very easy. The bellboys then took us to our room, unlocked the door, brought our luggage into our room, and placed it wherever we wanted it, gave us our keys and off they went.

Daily maid service was provided every single day at no cost. The room always smelled so good when we would return. And it was always so spotless.

They would come in during the day and restock our fridge with beer, water, juices, fruit, butters, jams and milk. They would leave fresh bread and cereals for us.

We did our own dishes, but if we happened to leave something in the sink when we went out, it was clean when we came back.

In the kitchen area, although we didn’t need it due to the all inclusive, we had a fridge, stove, microwave, toaster oven, two sinks - it was great!!

And the best is that every night, they would come in and turn down our bed for us and place little chocolates on them with a card that said "sweet dreams." I looked forward to this every night. I just thought it was sooo sweet.

Honestly, I have never been treated so well. That’s where the name of my journal comes from. La Princesa...Because that’s how every single person I came across made me feel. Like a true princess. And not once did they ever make you feel like you where putting them out. They really seemed to like their jobs. EVERY SINGLE person I ran into made my vacation that much better!!

IF YOU WANT TO BE TREATED LIKE ROYALTY, THIS IS THE PLACE TO BE!!!

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I believe in testing yourself and engaging in at least one terrifying activity every now and then to keep the blood flowing. Okay, so I am not exactly an adrenaline junkie, and that terrifying activity more likely consists of my breaking out the emergency credit…Read More

I believe in testing yourself and engaging in at least one terrifying activity every now and then to keep the blood flowing. Okay, so I am not exactly an adrenaline junkie, and that terrifying activity more likely consists of my breaking out the emergency credit card to make some inane purchase like a $200 T-shirt. Still, after spending 7 days and nights lounging on the sands, drinking pina coladas, eating and eating and eating again, I was feeling pretty lazy and growing tired of the resort life. I wanted action! I wanted to see nature and swing from palm trees! Just to get a reaction, I shoved some brochures for a jungle trek (complete with canopy swinging!) under my boyfriend’s backpack. I was insanely relieved when he reacted by asking me if I was out of my mind and suggested we go for a nice, air-conditioned bus tour instead.

We compromised. I agreed to go parasailing on the beach, and he agreed to stand on the beach with the camera and capture every moment of sheer fright on my face.

Earlier in the week, when the holiday tourists were still buzzing around the beach, the cost of one parasailing trip was US$40. It actually paid to be lazy all of that time and take my trip a few days after New Years, as they lowered the price to US$20. Which got me worried. Would I be $20 less safe? Would the parachute host be $20 less motivated to strap me in correctly? If this ridiculous thinking is not the product of a capitalist upbringing, I’m not sure what is. Anyway, I forked over my money, signed my life away, and waited for my turn. I was feeling pretty brave, teasing my boyfriend and his friend about what a legend I was. Then the next-available parachute landed, and out jumped a bored-looking 12-year-old girl. I was going to have to go through with it after all.

I’ve heard that Mexican culture is rooted in superstition, but I was not prepared for the look of horror I received when I begged the parachute operator to assure me that there was zero chance I could crash and die. "No, mamacita, no die, no!" I climbed into a steel panty-like harness and monitored his every move carefully as he strapped thick suspenders over my shoulders and attached them to the steel parachute hooks. It looked solid enough.

As it turned out, the only frightening part of the 5-minute trip around the shores of the Malecon was take-off. I actually screamed as the boat gained speed and swiftly lifted me into the air. Faster and faster, it propelled me into the sky until, all at once, I found myself miles away from the shore and cruising at a slow and relaxing speed. My knees were still buckled, and there was no way that I was letting go of the parachute strap, but I did have a good look around while I was up there and savored the chance to sing at the top of my lungs and relish the thought that no one else on the planet could possibly hear me at that point. It was nice to get away from the hustle and bustle of Playa los Muertos.

Keep in mind: you should only pull on your harness string to land if you hear the instructor blow his whistle. If you insist on pulling it anyway, even though you were landing just perfectly on your own, you may just wind up on the rooftop of a hotel. Thank goodness for kind and forgiving instructors that come running after your parachute to help you land safely on the sand. Gracias, Carlos.

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The Malecon is a long boardwalk, the main strip where locals and tourists gather to stroll hand in hand; buy ice cream, candies, and other goodies; check out the talented sidewalk artists and street performers; or just kiss and gaze out at the ocean from…Read More

The Malecon is a long boardwalk, the main strip where locals and tourists gather to stroll hand in hand; buy ice cream, candies, and other goodies; check out the talented sidewalk artists and street performers; or just kiss and gaze out at the ocean from the pier. This is where you can find both quality and fast-food restaurants, lively and loud bars and nightclubs, and a cast of characters - both male and female - that are often scantily dressed and on the prowl for a good time.

Our hotel, Agua de Molino, did a fantastic job of decorating the main dining garden in anticipation of a New Year’s Eve celebration. Earlier that day, a hotel employee visited each guest cabin and personally delivered a lovely invitation to the night’s feast. We all gathered for a full sit-down meal, but I have to say, we were slightly disappointed with our food. The band they had hired was loud and the atmosphere was a bit impersonal, so after a few bottles of wine, we decided to blow that scene and walk across the beach bridge to the Malecon to see how the Mexicans really party.

And believe me, they party! The streets were teeming with people—young and old—dressed to the nines and in amazing spirits. I found an uplifting joy in the Mexican character that left an impression on me. It seems that they value laughter and pleasure, an inkling that was further enhanced by the sight of people dancing in the streets. If you find yourself in Puerto Vallarta during New Year’s, you’d be wise to make plans in advance to drop anchor at one of the many bars in Malecon. If you wait a few hours like we did, you will find yourself dealing with a massive crowd and high entrance fees. You can still have a hell of a time just walking the streets of Malecon and getting high off the buzz of the energetic partygoers. At midnight, the city hosts a truly spectacular fireworks display that easily rivals any I’ve witnessed in larger wealthy American cities.

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When my boyfriend’s buddy from New Zealand announced that he and his beautiful Canadian girlfriend would marry in Puerto Vallarta the night before New Year's Eve, we were ecstatic. What an amazing excuse to visit a new country and share the experience with 40 of…Read More

When my boyfriend’s buddy from New Zealand announced that he and his beautiful Canadian girlfriend would marry in Puerto Vallarta the night before New Year's Eve, we were ecstatic. What an amazing excuse to visit a new country and share the experience with 40 of my boyfriend’s closest friends. We had no idea what to expect, and as it turned out, neither did the bride or groom. I’m convinced that only the most relaxed of couples could successfully pull off the ceremony the way that these two champs did. They arrived in Mexico with only a few requirements—most importantly, that the ceremony be held on the beach at sunset. As for food, music, and dining location—they planned to kick back on the beach with their pals first and worry about the details later. Luckily, our hotel Aqua de Molina has hosted quite a few ceremonies in their day and knew exactly what it would take to charm the couple and their guests. With only a few days notice, they resurrected an elegant white-linen dining setting just steps away from the ocean. They hired an authentic Mariachi band, prepared a delicious main entrée of fresh-caught shrimp and rice, and kept the strawberry margaritas and Corona flowing.

We were all slightly concerned when the priest that the couple had hired appeared 1 hour late to the ceremony. Upon reflection, I think this was just one of the elements that made their ceremony so distinctive. The lack of pretense, planning, and stress created a feeling that these two were in it with the purest of intentions. Despite any setbacks, the couple continued to beam throughout the ceremony.

A traditional Mexican wedding combines the richness of ancient Aztec rituals with Roman Catholic beliefs. For their ceremony, the couple chose to combine old customs with modern beach bum bohemia. All of the guests were handed long firecracker Sparklers and were instructed to stand in two rows and create an arch that the bride and her father could pass through. At the hill of a blackening ocean, beneath the scarlet smear of the setting sun, the effect was nothing short of mystical.

Before they exchanged vows, the priest tied the bride and groom together at the waist with a large ribbon, a symbol of eternal unity and love. This tie is called a lazo. Traditionally, the material used to create a lazo depended on the wealth of the couples’ families. A lazo could consist of a wreath of flowers, a gold ring, or a rosary. After the ceremony, the priest removes the lazo and presents it to the couple as a wedding memento.

Another tradition that the couple adopted was the special exchange of gold coins. The priest handed several coins to each member of the bridal party, including the bride and groom’s parents, and asked that they then present them to the bride and groom as a token of good luck. This custom was very appropriate given the interactive nature of the entire trip.

The beauty of a destination wedding is that all of the guests feel like active participants in the celebration. Everyone has the chance to be charmed and walk away from the experience feeling that they have discovered something new about the world and its wealth of cultures. If you’re fortunate enough to attend the wedding of two people who have such deep love and commitment in their hearts, you may even learn a bit about yourself.

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We relaxed by the pool a little every day. There was a "loud" pool and a more "quiet" pool, also a kids‘ pool, so it was nice to have a choice. We didn't bring our kids, but found it to be a very family friendly…Read More

We relaxed by the pool a little every day. There was a "loud" pool and a more "quiet" pool, also a kids‘ pool, so it was nice to have a choice. We didn't bring our kids, but found it to be a very family friendly place and plan on bringing them next time.

We walked over to the marina area and shopped and ate dinner several times. Some great restaurants were Buenas Aires, Seafare, and Las Palomas. It was a nice walk with the marina view and reasonable distance from the resort.

We took taxis downtown. Beware of the shopping down there as there are timeshare people on every corner and if you go early in the day there are lots of other tourists and its a lot warmer than by the resort. It was great shopping, but not for the fainthearted. I recommend the LaHuichol shops and a very fun clothing store called Gaudalupe (or similar), which sells great hand-painted authentic/native lightweight clothing -- great souvenirs.

We also took two trips with Vallarta Adventures--the day trip to Las Celatas as well as the night one, called Rhythms of the Night. Both were very well worth every penny. The adventure staff was fun and friendly, the food was some of the best we had while there and Las Celatas was beautiful, with palm trees, hammocks, and even a spa! It was so relaxing to get a facial while listening to sounds of the beach. The night trip was also great food and their performance was very well done. We highly recommend doing both. The boat ride from the main marina over to the beach was nice too because we got to see Vallarta from the ocean--great views.

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ATV Tour - taken this twice...so much fun!!! You go up into the mountains and through dried-up river beds. Lots of fun! Dune Buggy Tour - Be prepared to get wet, and wear something you don't plan on keeping! Lots of fun, just…Read More

ATV Tour - taken this twice...so much fun!!! You go up into the mountains and through dried-up river beds. Lots of fun!

Dune Buggy Tour - Be prepared to get wet, and wear something you don't plan on keeping! Lots of fun, just very muddy. We took this tour through Chico's dive shop on the Malecon.

Rhythms of the Night (Las Caletas) (boat to island) - about an hour boat ride to another part of PV you can't reach by car. Very, very romantic dinner by candlelight with really good food. Then on to a show - we didn't care for the show, but the dinner was good and the boat is very lively on the way back.

Paradise Escape waterfall tour - Beautiful waterfalls. We went to the movie set of Predator and they have a waterfall you can go in. I think we saw three different waterfall spots and could swim at all. Lunch wasn't the best, but that is not what we took the tour for. You ride in an air-conditioned bus.

Horseback riding tour - I'm not a lover of horses, especially when my horse didn't listen to a thing I said!!! We went into the mountains and went to a waterfall. If you like horses, I would recommend it!

Sierra Madre Jeep tour - Best tour...you ride on jeeps that seat about 16 people. You go into the mountains and the guides were wonderful...we got to look at all the wildlife in the mountains and learned a lot about nature. This tour came with lunch. Our guide was responsible for our wonderful time. They call him Casper; if he is still there, I would request him!

Bicycle Tour through mountains - Only take this tour if you are in shape!! I wasn't! Take lots of water! We recommend Bobby's Bikes. They are reasonable and the guide was very nice. We stopped at a little secluded beach to cool off. They have trails that go as far as you want to and you can turn around at any time.

Boat tour to Yelapa - If you like boats, this is the tour for you. Our biggest complaint is that our boat was very old and very slow. It took forever to get to the first beach and we got off schedule for the second beach. The tour was an all-day tour and was running a few hours behind. Our suggestion: if you are looking to go to a beach...catch a water taxi across from the Malecon--they are super fast and cheap. You can arrange for them to come back and pick you up at a certain time. We ended up cutting this tour short and heading back in a water taxi.

Snokeling at Marietas Islands - Great tour, great lunch, great guides! This tour is on a large catamaran (sailboat). We sailed for a few hours to get to the islands...if you take this tour during whale season, you can get some great views and pictures of whales. We had one come right up next to our boat!! Good snorkeling, but remember you are in the Pacific, not the Caribbean...the water isn't as clear, but still worth it!

Tour of Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton homes - This house is located at the top of the hill directly behind the church clock tower. You can't miss it...look for the pink bridge over the roadway. The current owners use it as a bed and breakfast and give tours for $6.00 US a person. It is a really nice house and you will get plenty of info on Elizabeth Taylor.

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This was my first trip to Puerto Vallarta and was very pleased with my vacation. The weather was wonderful and the amenities at Velas Vallarta were fine for a vacation. Because it was all-inclusive, I enjoyed the meals and restaurants they had onsite.…Read More

This was my first trip to Puerto Vallarta and was very pleased with my vacation. The weather was wonderful and the amenities at Velas Vallarta were fine for a vacation. Because it was all-inclusive, I enjoyed the meals and restaurants they had onsite.

I suggest you take the timeshare tour early so that you can get 30-40% discounts on all of the activities in PV. For example, the bullfight tickets were $21 instead of $30. Swimming with the dolphins was $98 instead of $144 pp.

If you plan to swim with the dolphins, buy the tickets as soon as possible.

I was able to enjoy a full-day fishing trip. In March, yellowtail were very prevalent. The best time go fishing for marlin and other big fish, I’m told, is November and December. I would suggest going to Las Pienes Marina and chartering a boat right there to save money as compared to chartering through the resort.

I stayed in a one-bedroom unit and was satisfied with it. It did have a full kitchen. But be prepared - there are no laundry facilities on site - you have to go into town to use a laundry. When I took the tour of the resort, I was surprised that the rooms that were displayed were more updated than the one that I was staying - bigger TVs, more modern appliances, etc. But since I didn't stay in the room too much, I wasn't very disappointed.

I was impressed with the size of the studio unit - they are quite big.

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Upon arriving to Puerto Vallarta on Frontier Airlines we find ourselves parked 1/2 mile away from the terminal on the hot tarmack. We were put on hot buses and driven to the gate. My husband was pushed in a wheelchair by a very…Read More

Upon arriving to Puerto Vallarta on Frontier Airlines we find ourselves parked 1/2 mile away from the terminal on the hot tarmack. We were put on hot buses and driven to the gate. My husband was pushed in a wheelchair by a very kind individual. We were rushed through the line and we went through very quickly after being red lighted at customs. Being pushed in a wheelchair must put the word SUCKER on your forehead. The Federal white taxis charged us $25.00 to take us 2 miles to our resort. You have to walk up and over an overpass to the other side of highway to reach yellow cabs that would charge us $5.00. Upon our arrival at Velas Vallarta, the trip began getting easier except that the two-bedroom unit we requested was denied and we could have it, if we paid the all-inclusive charge for four people. If you expect to eat any American food for lunch or dinner, forget going to Mexico. Breakfast has a little of everything except biscuits and gravy. The drinks were good and the service great. On our second day we rented a car and drove to Compestela, where no one spoke English, and we enjoyed dining and shopping with very limited Spanish. We took another tour to EDEn where they filmed the Predator. The stairs were too much for my husband and I thought we would have to carry him up a long flight of stairs.

The best part of the trip was swimming with the dolphins.

The most exciting part was when they had you grab the fins and the dolphins gave you a ride the length of the large pool.

Coming home was a nightmare. We were early for our flight so we lounged around terminal and took and elevator to second floor to go through security. The gates to our flight were down a flight of stairs and the handicap unit would not work, so my husband made his way down the stairs. He had to go to another gate to be taken out to the plane and walkup the stairs to plane. Glad to be home.

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We have stayed at three different resorts in the Marina District of Puerto Vallarta in the past two Octobers (2003 and 2004). All three (Mayan Palace, Club Regina at Westin, and Club Velas Vallarta) were one-bedroom units and Gold Crown, with daily maid service…Read More

We have stayed at three different resorts in the Marina District of Puerto Vallarta in the past two Octobers (2003 and 2004). All three (Mayan Palace, Club Regina at Westin, and Club Velas Vallarta) were one-bedroom units and Gold Crown, with daily maid service and a swim-up bar in one of their pools, but there are differences. I would rate them as good, better, and best.

Club Velas Vallarta had a great lobby and lovely gardens and pools. Our unit had good-sized rooms with very comfortable (and new) furnishings and fantastic reading lights for the bed. The one- and two-bedroom units have a large balcony with teak chaise lounges and a dining table and chairs. The units all seem to have great views of the bay. The unit had a full kitchen that was very well-equipped with everything I could think of.

When we were there, they had an all-inclusive option that we did not select. (In figuring out expenses later, we figured that we would have just about broken even at $75 a day each – even excluding the meals we had in town.) The all-inclusive guests wore the wristband (and the tips were considered as already prepaid).

The restaurants were very good, as was the snack bar (which had happy hour beginning at 4pm) – everything we ordered was delicious. The pool/snack bar staff was very friendly and attentive and had some fun with the various drinks (such as making facial features out of fruit on the coconut shell of the Coco Locos).

The pools were really nice – they were free form but had a straight part for people who like to swim laps. There was even a waist-deep "river" that meandered through the gardens between two of the pools. One pool was used mostly for children’s activities. Two of the others had underwater benches, and there were two styles of semi-submerged lounges – flat and contoured – both with a built-in headrest. The fourth pool had a waterfall. The sandy beach seemed to be used only for the beach volleyball games, although there were a couple of chaise lounges there as well (on the sand and not shaded). There were varied activities for adults and children.

The mini-market was fairly well-stocked. The bus stop was just steps from the entrance. I would rate this as the BEST of the three.

Club Regina at Westin is a timeshare that is connected to a large hotel resort, and they have separate lobbies and check-in counters, but all guests may use all public facilities (pools, exercise room, etc.).

The grounds and pools are lovely. There is a very nice beach (rebuilt after the last hurricane removed all the sand), with numerous shaded platforms with chaise lounges. The four pools are free form, with islands with palm trees in the middle of some of them. Some are deeper than others (none over 5 feet deep – no diving!), and a couple pools also have the flat semi-submerged sunning lounges with built-in headrests and an underwater bench. Chaise lounges around the pools were located in both the sun and shade.

The rooms were standard sized, with a small balcony with two chairs and a café table. A very nice feature was the jetted hot tub on the balcony (one you filled when you wished to use it).

The view of the pools, gardens, beach, and bay was lovely (as long as you are on at least the fourth floor, so you can see the bay/ocean over the tops of the palm trees.) The furnishings were comfortable, but I ended up buying a 100-watt bulb to replace the 40-watt one in my bedside lamp. The partial kitchen had a full-sized refrigerator; a four-burner electric stovetop; a microwave oven; a toaster; a blender; a hand mixer; a small sink; pots, pans, and casserole dishes; a tea kettle; and dishes, glassware, and silver for four people.

The hotel restaurant was only okay, but Nikki’s by the Beach had a scrumptious brunch. The pool bar served very good snacks (the fried calamari and hamburgers were great). The prices for everything seemed higher than at the other places (perhaps because it was a resort hotel as well as a timeshare). There was a lobby bar in the hotel (on the lobby level, which was one level up from the pool area). The lobby bar offered happy hour everyday at 5pm – but the pool bar did not. So if you wanted a break on prices, you had to hike up to the lobby bar.

The mini-market was almost useless unless you wanted an ice-cream treat or a single-use camera. The bus stop was at the far end of the drive to the hotel – not convenient, so we ended up using cabs when we wished to go to town. However, due to the comfort at this resort, I rate it in the middle or BETTER of the good, better, and best.

Mayan Palace of Puerto Vallarta has lovely gardens and pools. The entrance lagoon was not to my taste (black, but a nice reflecting pool at certain times of the day). However, exchangers seem to be assigned rooms with poor or no views.

Our rooms were huge, but the furnishings were old and shabby. They (including the bed) were also firm to the point of being rock hard. There was nice bathroom and lovely complimentary shampoo, lotions, and soaps. The partial kitchen had a small apartment-sized refrigerator; a four-burner electric stovetop; a microwave oven, a toaster; a blender; a shallow sink; limited and beat-up pots and pans; a tea kettle; and dishes, glassware, and silver for four people. Both the living room and bedroom had floor-to-ceiling, wall-to-wall windows that looked out on a tar roof. There was no balcony.

The pools were lovely, and the snack bar served tasty food. There were many activities (including children’s activities by one of the pools). The little mini-market was fairly well-stocked. The restaurant was excellent. There were security guards stationed all over the grounds.

When checking in, guests are banded with a colored wrist band (hospital style). The color indicates the assigned building.

The bus stop was just steps from the entrance.

From our experience here (mostly because of the lack of comfort and view in the room), I rate this resort as only GOOD.

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