Mr. B at Cilantro's, definitely a "good"!
We'll start with the good first because, generally, it was more of a good trip than a bad or buggy one!
Travel
We had zero trouble with any of our four flights. I mean, none. Considering how much has been in the news of late about flight delays, crowded flights, lost luggage, added expenses, etc., I was fully prepared for some glitch. Niente! Now, some of this could have been attributed to the fact we traveled Wednesday-Wednesday, thus avoiding a lot of "families". Yeah, the planes were still crowded, but, there were some empty seats here and there.
Service at the Resort
The service at the resort was top-notch. What I mean is, we were treated well all the way around. All of the resort's employees were friendly with a "can-do" attitude. We had a few problems with our room(s) (see "the bad"); but, when called upon, the maintenance and house keeping crew were there very quickly to help us out. When we requested to change our room, there was zero issue with doing so. We interacted most frequently with the waiters/cocktail servers; all of them were fantastic. The waiters at the pool have obviously learned to be amusing and entertaining and flattering and to keep track of what you like to drink and to keep 'em coming!
Drinks and Food
The alcoholic drinks at the resort were really potent. Maybe that would be "bad" for some, not so for us. Hey, we're on vacation, after all; and, if you are going to pay for a drink, it should be a worthy one. I'd read a lot of reviews prior to our trip about the resort were people where complaining about "watered down drinks" and "expensive beer". Well, our drinks packed a powerful punch. For instance, we had two margaritas the afternoon we checked in. Afterwards, we walked down the street to a grocery store. Let's just say the walk and the journey inside the store/mall was a bit foggy for yours truly. And, every single day there was a two for one happy hour out by the pool followed by a two for one happy hour a hop, skip and a jump beyond the pool at the sport's bar the following hour. So, I don't know what folks were bitching about, frankly. Most of the food we ate at the resort was just fine, too (with one exception, which you'll see under "the bad"). We really loved the refried beans at the resort! Funny, huh?
Also excellent were a few of the restaurants we managed to get to: The Cheeky Monkey (cheap beer and a great view of the Malecon), Mr. Cream Pancakes and Waffles (in the Marina; this was a life-saver Sunday morning when we were craving non-Mexican breakfast food), Pipi's (FANTASTIC custom-order table-made (and free) guacamole plus HUGE margaritas) and Cilantro's (romantic, gourmet and not overly expensive; especially enjoyable if you like cilantro but not mandatory).
Note: I've posted/am posting reviews of the resort and some of the restaurants we ate at on my Trip Advisor site which you can access under "Mrs. B's Stuff" on my Blog.
Finally, we were incredibly close to a major grocery store, Soriana (about a 2 block walk from our resort). We were able to load up at a reasonable expense on staples for our room; coffee creamer, juice, paper towels (they never provide these for some reason), beer, wine, tequila, snack foods, bread, cheese, etc.) They have a huge bakery in the store where you could go every day if you wanted and pick out fresh pastries, muffins, cakes, rolls, etc., for something like 30 cents each.
Transportation
It was a cinch getting around Puerto Vallarta using either the bus or the taxis. Since this resort is in town, everything is fairly close by so the fares were not bad at all. There was a bus stop to the right of the entrance to the hotel. We took the bus one day down to the Malecon area (boardwalk). It was really easy to do, but, unfortunately, it was bloody hot and humid that day and Mr. B almost melted in front of my eyes. So, we didn't ride the bus again, but, had it been cooler, we would have for sure, since it was $1.10 round trip per person! Fares for taxi rides to the Malecon and points beyond ran about $5-$6 one way; to the Marina about $8 and to the airport the same. Very, very reasonable.
Shopping
Ok, we didn't do a lot of this (we really didn't need anything) but, I have to admit, there were likely some great bargains to be had if we'd chosen to get down and dirty at the flea markets and some of the other stores. Mr. B DID manage to find a few more than decent deals on cigars. I bought a very pretty beach dress from one of the hawkers near the resort for $20; I could have bought two for $30, had I been of the mind to.
Relaxing
We spent a lot of time laying out at the pool/in the pool talking, reading, working crossword puzzles, swimming, drinking, eating, playing games, people watching (although there was definitely not as much people drama on this trip as we've observed on others) and simply relaxing. The pool area was kept up very well and the water was lusciously warm. Oh, and they had a fun pool slide, too (which we actually went down a time or two, mostly, though, it was amusing to watch everyone else go down!) We also spent a far amount of time out on our lanais (in particular, once we got moved away from chain-smoking dudes). We really like to sit out, smoke a cigar (but not CHAIN-SMOKE, ha ha) read, sip a glass of wine, play cards, talk, and watch all the people down at the pool.
The Italians have a saying, "Il dolce far niente" (there ya go, Father!) that means "The sweetness of doing nothing". I must say that, for the most part, Mr. B and I are really good living up to this when we are on vacation (and we did so this go-around). Travel
We had zero trouble with any of our four flights. I mean, none. Considering how much has been in the news of late about flight delays, crowded flights, lost luggage, added expenses, etc., I was fully prepared for some glitch. Niente! Now, some of this could have been attributed to the fact we traveled Wednesday-Wednesday, thus avoiding a lot of "families". Yeah, the planes were still crowded, but, there were some empty seats here and there.
Service at the Resort
The service at the resort was top-notch. What I mean is, we were treated well all the way around. All of the resort's employees were friendly with a "can-do" attitude. We had a few problems with our room(s) (see "the bad"); but, when called upon, the maintenance and house keeping crew were there very quickly to help us out. When we requested to change our room, there was zero issue with doing so. We interacted most frequently with the waiters/cocktail servers; all of them were fantastic. The waiters at the pool have obviously learned to be amusing and entertaining and flattering and to keep track of what you like to drink and to keep 'em coming!
Drinks and Food
The alcoholic drinks at the resort were really potent. Maybe that would be "bad" for some, not so for us. Hey, we're on vacation, after all; and, if you are going to pay for a drink, it should be a worthy one. I'd read a lot of reviews prior to our trip about the resort were people where complaining about "watered down drinks" and "expensive beer". Well, our drinks packed a powerful punch. For instance, we had two margaritas the afternoon we checked in. Afterwards, we walked down the street to a grocery store. Let's just say the walk and the journey inside the store/mall was a bit foggy for yours truly. And, every single day there was a two for one happy hour out by the pool followed by a two for one happy hour a hop, skip and a jump beyond the pool at the sport's bar the following hour. So, I don't know what folks were bitching about, frankly. Most of the food we ate at the resort was just fine, too (with one exception, which you'll see under "the bad"). We really loved the refried beans at the resort! Funny, huh?
Also excellent were a few of the restaurants we managed to get to: The Cheeky Monkey (cheap beer and a great view of the Malecon), Mr. Cream Pancakes and Waffles (in the Marina; this was a life-saver Sunday morning when we were craving non-Mexican breakfast food), Pipi's (FANTASTIC custom-order table-made (and free) guacamole plus HUGE margaritas) and Cilantro's (romantic, gourmet and not overly expensive; especially enjoyable if you like cilantro but not mandatory).
Note: I've posted/am posting reviews of the resort and some of the restaurants we ate at on my Trip Advisor site which you can access under "Mrs. B's Stuff" on my Blog.
Finally, we were incredibly close to a major grocery store, Soriana (about a 2 block walk from our resort). We were able to load up at a reasonable expense on staples for our room; coffee creamer, juice, paper towels (they never provide these for some reason), beer, wine, tequila, snack foods, bread, cheese, etc.) They have a huge bakery in the store where you could go every day if you wanted and pick out fresh pastries, muffins, cakes, rolls, etc., for something like 30 cents each.
Transportation
It was a cinch getting around Puerto Vallarta using either the bus or the taxis. Since this resort is in town, everything is fairly close by so the fares were not bad at all. There was a bus stop to the right of the entrance to the hotel. We took the bus one day down to the Malecon area (boardwalk). It was really easy to do, but, unfortunately, it was bloody hot and humid that day and Mr. B almost melted in front of my eyes. So, we didn't ride the bus again, but, had it been cooler, we would have for sure, since it was $1.10 round trip per person! Fares for taxi rides to the Malecon and points beyond ran about $5-$6 one way; to the Marina about $8 and to the airport the same. Very, very reasonable.
Shopping
Ok, we didn't do a lot of this (we really didn't need anything) but, I have to admit, there were likely some great bargains to be had if we'd chosen to get down and dirty at the flea markets and some of the other stores. Mr. B DID manage to find a few more than decent deals on cigars. I bought a very pretty beach dress from one of the hawkers near the resort for $20; I could have bought two for $30, had I been of the mind to.
Relaxing
We spent a lot of time laying out at the pool/in the pool talking, reading, working crossword puzzles, swimming, drinking, eating, playing games, people watching (although there was definitely not as much people drama on this trip as we've observed on others) and simply relaxing. The pool area was kept up very well and the water was lusciously warm. Oh, and they had a fun pool slide, too (which we actually went down a time or two, mostly, though, it was amusing to watch everyone else go down!) We also spent a far amount of time out on our lanais (in particular, once we got moved away from chain-smoking dudes). We really like to sit out, smoke a cigar (but not CHAIN-SMOKE, ha ha) read, sip a glass of wine, play cards, talk, and watch all the people down at the pool.
For two people that are busy, busy busy all the time (albeit in different ways), this is a very pleasant pastime, especially getting to do it TOGETHER and at the SAME TIME! For me, this saying could extend to "The sweetness of THINKING nothing"; probably much more apt since my brain runs on full throttle the majority of the time.
Mrs. B
