Mayan Palace Vallarta

Large Resort, beautiful grounds, hard beds & pillows

We stayed at the Mayan Palace, Nuevo Vallarta mid-Feb 07. We checked in on a Friday, to a 1-bedroom suite. I would have rated it above average/excellent except for the hard beds and our no-view room

What is good:
The staff are very courteous and friendly. The spa services, though expensive, were awesome. The pool and beach were very pretty and lots of chairs. The grounds are well maintained - lots of places to walk and get your exercise. Golf is decent; caddies are cool. Lots of restaurant choices within walking distance or a short taxi ride.
What is bad:
They gave us a room on the golf course side which would have been OK but we were on the 1st floor and could only see the branches of the palm trees. I checked everyone morning - through Wednesday - asking if there was a different room to move to and they always told us “no”, they were full. Interesting because when we walked in the evening, at least 1/2 of the beach-side rooms were dark. Oh well. The beds and the pillows were extremely hard and uncomfortable for us. My massage at the spa helped to lessen the stinger in my neck caused by the hard bed & the pillows. The entertainment at the Fiesta was great but I don’t think the food warranted the $45 per person fee.
What we learned:
We tried the bus and it worked out fine for trips to Walmart or downtown. Taxis are more expensive from NV but are easy & convenient. If you are buying some groceries note that the fridge is a dorm size. The Mayan store costs three to four times as much as Walmart or Sam’s club but it works in a pinch. We made our own breakfasts as we tried the Mayan buffet and it cost over $25 per person. Food at the pool seemed to be reasonably priced. We tried three restaurants in NV, La Laguna (good), Guidos (very good - especially the evening singer) and Estudio Café (at the Marina) which was excellent, peaceful and extremely affordable (Mahi Mahi dinner for 3 was $38 US). The Canopy zipline was very fun/great staff. We did El Eden last visit and it is great also (a bit faster). There is an orphanage in PV (Refugio Infantil Santa Esperanza) that you can visit and bring diapers, formula, milk and/or play with the kids - it was great. Bring your own pillow and maybe an eggshell for the bed We were asked about timeshares when we checked in and we said no thanks. She called twice after that, we said no and they left us alone. We had decided before we got on the plane that we didn’t want to spend our vacation in a time-share meeting, not matter what they offered. If you know what you want them to give you (discount golf, spa, free zipline, snorkeling, etc.) it’s not a bad way to get a free breakfast & some free goodies. All in all Puerto Vallarta / Nuevo Vallarta is beautiful, wonderful; the people are awesome and I can’t wait to go back again. I won’t stay at the Mayan - too many other places with better beds to try!