Mayan Palace Vallarta

Food, drink, and perfect weather

We stayed at the Mayan Palace in the Marina area the first week in december and had a lovely time. This was our first time to Puerta Vallarta and had 10 wonderful days. We also spent 4 days at two other properties so had a chance to compare different places and locations. First let me say this about timeshare salesman and beach vendors: We never found a beach vendors that bothered us after we said no gracias, smiled, and kept doing what we were doing. They are just trying to earn a living and seem to be very well mannered and polite. Most timeshare salesman are probably of a different breed, although a firm no thanks and continued walking took care of them. With all the warnings out there, don’t complain about the 3-4 hour presentations and pushy salespeople. Just don’t go in the first place unless you are interested in buying or do not mind spending part of your vacation hearing a sales pitch. Taxis in this city are very cheap and easy to get. Fees should be known before driving off and tips are Not expected. Driving is fast and at times chaotic. I personally would not recommend renting a car. City buses are plentiful and cheap (with many stops), but unless you want the cultural experience, I would opt for a taxi. One mistake my wife and I made was trying to walk to Walmart (!-2 miles) from the Marina. Sidewalks on the main boulevard are non existant in this area and I thought my wife would kill me if we ever got there, assuming we didn’t get hit by a vehicle first. Bad idea, take a taxi or bus. The Mayan Palace itself is very nice, well kept up, clean, very nicely landscaped. Checkin was easy, and of course they then had us go to a desk to get a red wrist band (RCI exchange) and try and get us to sign up for a timeshare tour. You can certainly wear this plastic band for your week there, but once you leave that desk it has absolutely no purpose except perhaps to let staff know your guest status (I think RCI guest that don’t do tours are on the bottom rung). The rooms are very large and well furnished. Large bedroom bath with separate dining-living area. The kitchen is small and not really functional, but better than none. Two old burners that will not hold two pots or pans at the same time, and a microwave that you have to take down from its built in area so you can plug it in. The frig is fine. They have sliding doors that open to a deck(?) that is about 18 inches deep, no room for chairs or anything, but you can stand. Not sure what the architect had in mind here. The maids are wonderful and keep everything super. Anything you need they will try and get. Pools are very nice with easy to get chairs, plentiful drinks and food, friendly staff. Expensive but hey you are on vacation. Small but nice beach with chairs down there also. A couple small minimarts across the street can get you a few essentials, otherwise a trip to ole Walmart. No specific recommendations on restaurants since we never had a bad meal all 10 days, although we never had a meal at he Mayan restarants that looked very nice. The marina restaraunts were great and the downtown and romantica districts are unlimited in choises, prices, and views. We are on diets still to try and get back in fighting weight. If you are physically able please walk the old city as much as you can. Walking up the streets from the water into the true non tourist areas is a delight. We felt totally safe and for the most part the locals didn’t even pay attention to us. Great places for pictures. A totally different world from down by the water where the crowds are. I am going to recommend 1 restaurant now that I think of it. When in the downtown area and want a quiet, secluded lunch, go to the east portion of the Isla Rio Cuale where you will find an outdoor oasis on the river, the BOLERO. It is completely by itself outdoors with the sounds and sights of the river and large overhanging tree branching cooling you off. Food and service is good also. I could go on about too many other things, but for those wondering if staying in the Marina area is too far away from the old town portion of Puerta Vallarta, I would say no not at all. With a 10-15 minute taxi drive away, I think we would stay up there again. Quieter, less crowded, and somewhat larger beaches. Have a great time.