We were told when we bought into the timeshare that several of our weeks could be sold almost immediately and we would get back our purchase price and more. It has been over a year we have not seen any type of return and the manager Johnny Noe is very rude and does not do anything to help. We will never go back and we will be selling it off as soon as possible.

Went to Velas Vallarta for the 3rd time April 16-21. We had my wife and I plus 4 kids ages 6-14. Everything went great. Our condo was a 3 bedroom private owner that we booked through www.vrbo.com. The rate for the condo was great and it was on the 3rd floor looking at the pool and ocean. Plenty of room for our gang.

On arrival my wife and I discussed the AI and the cost. After going to lunch somewhere in town and dropping 70 bucks on bad food the AI seemed the way to go. It was pricey for adults but reasonable for the kids. They ate their moneys worth at the ice cream bar and pool bar with banana smoothies. The food was good. Went out 1 night on a date to Casa Velas and it was very nice with an upscale feel. No extra cost with the AI and we paid for our daily fee with 1 meal there!

The staff is what makes the Velas properties first class. Everyone calls you by name no matter where you are on the beach or pool, in the restaurants or room service. They are professional, speak excellent english, let you practice spanish, and don't treat you any different whether you tip or not. We always tip as their wages are poor and we want to take care of the staff b/c they are great. We have seen the same faces year after year, that tells me something.

It was a great 5 days of vacation. We will go back and I would recommend this resort to families or young people. If you want a luxury place with 5 star service and price, go to Grand Velas in Nuevo Vallarta. It is a top class resort and worth the price for a couple. My wife had a 3 hour massage there on this visit and she loved it.

Safe travels, vaya con Dios!

I was in Vallarta for a conference for two days. The Velas was selected for this conference. It is held in Vallarta every year and they rotate hotels. I was thoroughly impressed with this hotel. They did not have my requested room level available, so they upgraded me to a three bed room suite for the same price! The service was excellent. The staff was constantly coming around asking about drinks and food. They even made up trays of little smoothies and appetizers and offered them to everyone. The groups are beautiful! The food was above average. I prefer to eat authentic Mexican food when I am in Mexico, so I was not a huge fan of the Italian, American, etc. food in the restaurants--not that it was bad, I just didn't prefer it. I told my husband that we will definitely go to this hotel again.

Great Property with everything you want to get away. 10 minutes from the Airport, $20 regulated cab fair from PVR. Check in is easy, AI service is great at both beach bars, swim bar, and restaurants. RCI traded, we had high expectations and they were met both times we stayed.

Stayed at Casa Velas last year and the private beach Clubhouse is amazing. Incredible food and views by the pool/beach for sunset dinners. We didn't like being away from the beach at the golf resort since we're not really golfers, but shuttles were there and always no more then 10 minutes to wait. While at Casa, we could stay/dine at the Velas as well and we did frequently. Any choice of restaurant, any day, anytime.

Lots for kids to do here, amazing pool. Chris heads up the pool patrol and has activities daily including volleyball and aerobics. Rooms are clean, stocked, spacious and staff is friendly and attentive. No problems with English. The lobby bar stays open till 2am I believe, and has live music and casino nights. Good times.

Scuba was murky, chilly but all right. It's not the caribbean. Sayulita is an hour north by bus and has much more gorgeous water because the river dumps sediment into the Pacific at Nuevo Vallarta. Great surfing in Sayulita, great pueblo atmosphere and dining. Good day trip, although it's trechorous in the hills, and we got backed up for an hour and a half behind a wreck. Other then that, I recommend the journey highly.

The Malecon in town is a must see, check out some Tequila tours to the distilleries. Good restaurants, but stay away from the "all inclusive" nights at the downtown bars that resort activity advisor's recommend. The foam parties and $30 cover will get you banished to an area of the club where no one hangs out to get your free drinks, and common mixers such as "cranberry" or "tonic" are unavailable. Unless drinking straight, well liquor is your thing, stick with the locals and ask where the staff would go.

Enjoy your trip anytime of the year, but best to avoid mid to late march. You could find yourself in the middle of a high school spring break...