Our recent trip to Puerto Vallarta took us to the Riu Jalisco in Riviera Nayarit which was a first for us for this chain of properties. We were there March 3-10, 2013.
The weather was absolutely lovely the entire time. There were a few days where it was windier than others but overall, sunshine nearly non-stop and clear nights. Temps stayed in the 28-33C range we'd guess.
The rooms:
We had a suite on the 6th floor on the outside of the bldg which was just perfect for us. It may not have had the most perfect view of the ocean but it was great for us. Nice and quiet... no party pool or disco sounds and far enough down the hotel that the noisy drunks wandering past yelling at each other was minimal. The room was a very decent size with a pretty comfortable king bed, small table with 2 chairs, balcony with 2 chairs, toilet and shower. Frankly I was a little surprised the bed was so comfortable as I've not had alot of luck with hotel beds in the past! As well, there was a overhead fan, a free safe, large closet and a dresser for unpacking your things. The room also included a hair dryer, a fridge stocked with 2 large bottles and 2 small bottles of water, about 6 Tecate beer, a couple of Pepsi (diet and non), 7 up, and club soda. Lastly... 4 liquor dispensers providing as much vodka, gin, rum and ...(can't remember the last one). NOTE: They stock the fridge and dispensers every 2nd day.
Only comments I have about the rooms:
1) They get musty easily. It's not the resort's fault, its just how it is. They keep every inch of this resort spotless. They're tireless frankly. We tend to not have housekeeping every day so the towels would get nasty if we left them in the room. We learned quickly there is a drying rack on the deck outside to hang towels and that helped. As well, earlier in the day or evening when it wasn't as hot, we would leave the screen door open to help air the room. Always made a big difference when we did that.
2) There was an occasional wafting of a terrible sewage smell (probably happened 4 times all week so its definitely not constant or anything) and was enough to literally wake me up after a night of good drinking and had me gagging reaching for our air freshener we travel with.
Food:
Food was decent frankly. We found the restaurant (Don Emilio'?) on the left on the 1st floor was always less busy than the right side even though they're attached in the back and technically could be considered the same large restaurant so if you're doing buffet, stick to the left side after you come down the stairs. There is real Ketchup, you just have to ask for it. We learned this after a couple of days of eating this weird sweet stuff they have labeled as ketchup but doesn't taste like it much!
The fruit juices are made fresh every morning if you go for the breakfast but if you ask for juice (or coffee) from your waiter, you will get the weird powdered crap. Don't waste your time asking for orange juice. You'l get Tang. If you want real juice, get it yourself right by the door where they have juiced up real fruit for the guests.
The coffee is terrible and sludge. Be prepared for this if you order it. The only place you'll get a decent coffee is at the sports bar or the lobby bar. They will make real cappuccinos and they're pretty good.
A la Carte dining:
We went to 2 of these restaurants. Be prepared to get up early (8am) to head to the line up at the reservation desk beside the front desk to get your reservations for dinners. They only book up to 2 days in advance and its 1st come, first served. It appears from our experience each dinner has 2 sittings, 630 & 845pm and there are 3 restaurants at a time offering dinner.
We had our first dinner at the Nayarit (Rodizio restaurant at night).... really good and a great experience. I won't ruin your fun by telling everything about it but if you've done Brazilian before, you'll have an idea what to expect. Bring your appetite. There's ALOT of food!
Our second dinner was at La Botana (steakhouse at night)... equally good but the menu is a tad confusing but it seems like the entrees are all this AND this AND this... but its' not, you order 1 from each line like you would anywhere else, its just worded on the menu weird. Food was very good. Some of the best steak we've eaten actually... (and we're from Alberta originally!)
Sports Bar - this is open 24/7, there is internet stations there for pay if you want to use them, there's a few pool tables, sports on the tv's and you can get nachos, hot dogs, hambugers, sandwiches and fruit any time.
Beach - lovely. Water was nice, beach was nice decent amount of shade although just like the pool expect people to reserve chairs at 6am and never come back even though it is hotel policy you're not to reserve chairs. I think until hotels crack down on offenders, its never going to change. You're always going to end up sitting on the ground because there's 200 chairs with towels on them and 20 people around. I really don't get that...
Pools - same as above really. Pool was typical pool with a bar. You will always have a few losers that are smashed by 11am and yelling and slurring their way through the group. There's another pool too but it had alot of kids at it so we didn't go there.
Internet - you get free 90 min of very slow internet every 24 hours. You don't get to go on and off for a TOTAL of 90 min though, rather once you log on, the clock starts. 90 min later, you're done until 24 hours from your cut off time. so.. go on at noon, you won't be able to go back on again until 130 the next day. You can pay for faster internet without these limitations but its ridiculously expensive.... something like $10 for an hour? No thanks... Facebook will live without me!
Activities:
We went to Bucarias for the day and had lunch at the same place we went a few years ago... Miguel Angel's. Great little place full of charm and... NHL hockey jerseys line the roof and tv's broadcast the games! The owner is a huge fan of the Calgary Flames and there's some cool signed stuff in the restaurant from them. We learned last time we were down there that Jerome Iginla's parents frequented this place :)
We took in 1 excurision as well.
"Rhythms of the Night" was a fantastic show and overall night. We were picked up at the Marina and took an hour sunset ride to Las Caletas on the other side of the bay. We sat up top so we could see everything which is apparently the place to be because most of the people on the lower deck ended up getting sick from the movement of the boat!!! So sit up top!
They provided some snacks and a couple of drinks and music to pass the time over and then we arrived at the venue. Beautiful. Candles and torches lit up the entire place... you could see the light from them even far away. It was magical.
We were led to the theatre where unfortunately (considering how much money they take in every single day ) there was wooden benches to sit on with no backs, no cushions. We estimated there was probably 500 people there and at $100 a person (average), they really could invest in some cushions at the very least.
Now.. on to the show! I wish I had some pictures once it started but it isn't allowed. I heard somewhere this show was designed by Cirque de Soleil and frankly it doesn't disappoint. I've been to a Cirque show in Vegas (Ka) and it definitely isn't the high flying awesome acrobatics but its very entertaining, inspiring and just fantastic. I really recommend it.
After the show we were placed at these beautiful tables with candles and had very personal service from our waiter for the section of about 6 tables. He was always at the ready and very pleasant. It is a buffet dinner and we had no problems with the food. It was amazing. AMAZING, all of it. My husband said it was the best steak he had in MX and actually.. it was on his top 10 steaks ever so that's huge praise for a guy from the Prairies! While we ate dinner we were serenaded by the actors from the show. It was pure romance there with all the candles, the music, the incredible location...
Afterwards, we wandered the spot a little and later headed back to the boat. We once again came back to the top deck while most the passengers chose to be on the lower deck (crazy?). It was a little cooler than it was coming out but we were at least a little prepared. I WAS cold but really I'm always cold so it wasn't a surprise. What WAS a surprise was the sky we witnessed. It was INCREDIBLE. Living in big cities you don't get to see this sky... it was so amazing. We sat there for a very long time just enjoying being able to see the Milky Way, the stars... even Venus (I'm told) made an appearance! So great. This was the best excursion I'd say I've ever been on!!
NOTE: IF YOU GET CHILLED EASILY, MAKE SURE ITS MORE THAN A "LIGHT" SWEATER. THE BOAT CAN GET QUITE COLD.