Puerto Vallarta Recommendations? Best part of town to stay in? AI or not? (1 Viewer)

[skycriesmary]

Looking for something without kids and all night partiers. Boutique hotel, maybe? All inclusive if the food isn't a Sysco special. Anyone have any recommendations? I suppose not to get food poisoning or roofied would be an added bonus.  The more I read, the more I'm thinking of going non AI, and enjoying the local food.

Looking to explore during the day and relax at night. Reading Tripadvisor and others, it's really hard to tell the real reviews, and everything starts looking all the same. 

Trying to keep it at $250 or less per night.

 

[skycriesmary]

 

[Chaos Commish]

W

 

[Scoresman]

I just got back yesterday from a week there.  Excellent place. We stayed at the Westin using points but it's a Category 3 SPG hotel so it should be cheap.  We splurged and got the room with the jacuzzi on the room's balcony which was nice. The pool is nice with a swim up bar and beach access.  The food at the hotel is just ok ,but I gathered that the point in PV is to not eat at the hotel.  I liked the hotel, but next time might want to go with something walking distance to old town.  I think the only option here are boutique hotels.  

Along those lines, agree 100% with not going AI in PV  if only to enjoy the food which is excellent around town, not to mention cheap as hell.  Look up La Palapa, River Cafe, Cafe des Artistes, Tony's Please, Klif, and Pipi's for great places to eat.  Old town/Romantic Zone is going to be your main destination.  The Malecon is nice to walk down.

We did an old town taco/tequila tour for like $60 a person which was nice and ended up eating and drinking at places we never would've heard of.  It's called Mex-ology if you want to google it.  Ended up nice and sloshed and full too by the end of it all.  

We did a day trip to Sayulita which is a nice little town and beach to the north.  Uber goes there cheap but they do not pick up from there so you will get fleeced by a taxi driver to get back to PV.  I might only return to spend a night there and rent a car.  

 

[ren hoek]

I just got back yesterday from a week there.  Excellent place. We stayed at the Westin using points but it's a Category 3 SPG hotel so it should be cheap.  We splurged and got the room with the jacuzzi on the room's balcony which was nice. The pool is nice with a swim up bar and beach access.  The food at the hotel is just ok ,but I gathered that the point in PV is to not eat at the hotel.  I liked the hotel, but next time might want to go with something walking distance to old town.  I think the only option here are boutique hotels.  

Along those lines, agree 100% with not going AI in PV  if only to enjoy the food which is excellent around town, not to mention cheap as hell.  Look up La Palapa, River Cafe, Cafe des Artistes, Tony's Please, Klif, and Pipi's for great places to eat.  Old town/Romantic Zone is going to be your main destination.  The Malecon is nice to walk down.

We did an old town taco/tequila tour for like $60 a person which was nice and ended up eating and drinking at places we never would've heard of.  It's called Mex-ology if you want to google it.  Ended up nice and sloshed and full too by the end of it all.  

We did a day trip to Sayulita which is a nice little town and beach to the north.  Uber goes there cheap but they do not pick up from there so you will get fleeced by a taxi driver to get back to PV.  I might only return to spend a night there and rent a car.  

It was real nice.  I thought I stayed at the same place you did but apparently we stayed at the Casamagna Marriott.  They have a little swimup bar too.  

I don't think I've ever felt more alien than when I stepped off the plane and walked into the lobby of all those tourist advisors talking about 'activities' and 'do you have your activities planned?' etc.  It's an exit through the gift shop sort of thing, book the gringos for the vacation of their dreams.  We made the mistake of renting a car and fronting $400 for insurance on the reservation, but when we got there discovered it was liability only.  We were hung up at the Budget rental car for two hours trying to get things square before we even got to the hotel.  Budget reps were a degree or two less hostile than Crazy8 from Breaking Bad.  You'd think it'd work differently being a company based out of the US.  Just a total nightmare unlike the rest of the trip, but we'd all but forgotten it by the time we left.  

We'll probably just stick with cabs next time.  Cost goes down astronomically when you get away from the airport.  You can tell a lot of people are poor out there.  They're out there hustlin and I respect that.  We had a couple days where we just relaxed, milled around the resort, walked along the beach, walked to the docks.  There are some little stores that have nice souvenirs to bring back home, super cheap too.  It's a long walk but Mr. Cream Pancakes & Waffles does really incredible breakfast, and Victor's Place Cafe Tacuba is good for lunch/dinner.   If you just feel like lounging close to the hotel.  But we did go on a few day trips.  I recommend:

• Ecosail Tours (Playa del Amor at Islas Marietas)
  
• Malecon Boardwalk (beachside boardwalk, lot of restaurants and local stores and stuff)
  
• Jardin Botanica, although it's about a 45 minute drive from the main hotel strip
  
• Le Kliff, open-air restaurant with surreal view of the ocean 
  

The only other pro tip I have is if you end up going in June, stay in the water!  Stupid hard to stay dry in that humidity.  

 

[Scoresman]

Yeah number one thing at Mexican airports is to lower your head once you get by customs until you're outside. Those timeshare vultures are aggressive.

 Taxis are super easy there. Just make sure you know and agree on the price for where you're going before getting in. Uber has also just started up in PV. We used it and it was great. 

 

[skycriesmary]

Yeah, I'm thinking we'll end up staying in oldtown. W looks very nice, but we don't want to have to taxi 30 minutes plus each time to go into town. It's a bit more pricey than I was looking for too, it's not like we're bringing hookers and blow.

 

[El Floppo]

there was just a PV thread not long ago. I know the search engine sucks, but I'd bet you could find it.

 

[odin33]

there was just a PV thread not long ago. I know the search engine sucks, but I'd bet you could find it.

I left a lot of my info in that thread, but the abridged version:

I've been 3 times over the past 15 years. Love it there. Old town or near it is the place to be IMO.

We've stayed at the same hotel every time. Hyatt Ziva (it's changed ownership over the years). While a family hotel it's one of the nicer hotels down there, especially if you upgrade to the small tower instead of the main area. Best part, only 'private' beach in the city (rocks create natural border.