My husband and I (early 40's) are looking to go to Puerto Vallarta in January 2008. We own a restaurant in Victoria, BC, Canada and will be in need of a good break. We've never been to PV and would love your advice on a good place to stay. We will be there 2 weeks so don't want to be too far from the city but also would like to rest and relax (best of both worlds really). As we're restaurateurs we're looking for good food experiences while we're there and are shying away from All Inclusive because we don't want to eat in the same place every night. Paradise Village and Sheraton Buginvillias (SP?) have been recommended by travel agent but don't like the distance to Puerto Vallarta from Paradise Village and not sure about the size of the Sheraton (very large=lots of kids and timeshare salespeople?).
Any help you can give us would be greatly appreciated, we need to book by the end of October. Thanks in advance for your help and advice. Cheers!
First Time to Puerto Vallarta-HELP!
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Oh gosh, maybe an expert will reply. The Sheraton is located as what I refer to as the end of the hotel zone, very close to the malecon and a short walk from there to what is considered "soutside" or the romantica zone. I think you are looking for something in the "hotel zone", might look up the fiesta American, Los tules, or Villa Del Palmer, check each reviews on trip Advisor. Paradise Village is located in Nuevo Vallarta, which is a somewhat a lenghty bus ride away from Puerto Vallarta or a somewhat expensive cab ride back and forth. Adults only available with a non all inclusive option is Villa Premier, Golden Crown Paradsie (ourfavorite) is mandatory all inclusive.
which one
mhahn - thanks for the suggestions, we'll look into the places you've suggested and see what we can learn.
femme - we have Carden Street Cafe West in Brentwood Bay. If you're not familiar with it, it's been here for over 12 years and has a great reputation. My husband and I took it over at the end of June this year and are carrying on with the tradition of great food in a funky, relaxed atmosphere. You can find the menu at www.cardenstreet.com
Thanks for asking.
femme - we have Carden Street Cafe West in Brentwood Bay. If you're not familiar with it, it's been here for over 12 years and has a great reputation. My husband and I took it over at the end of June this year and are carrying on with the tradition of great food in a funky, relaxed atmosphere. You can find the menu at www.cardenstreet.com
Thanks for asking.
Last edited by carden on Fri Dec 28, 2007 9:37 am, edited 1 time in total.
Hotel Suggestion
While I've been to Puerto Vallarta several times, it has been about 10 years since my last visit. We are planning a trip for 2008 and are considering Casa Isabel. It is in the Romantic Zone - which puts you within walking distance from all of the downtown area -the real Puerto Vallarta. While I've not stayed there, it has good reviews and is owed by Canadians who also are in the restaurant business in Canada. See link below. Might be something you would like.
-http://www.madisonavenuepub.com/casaisabel/index.html
-http://www.madisonavenuepub.com/casaisabel/index.html
My recommendation would be to try for a condo rental in old town, or stay at a place like the Tropicana... breakfast included... it's not fancy, but is in the heart of PV restaurants and shops. Whatever you do, have fun!
However... the previous poster recommends Casa Isabel, which is a place I've been looking to try... it comes with great reviews!
However... the previous poster recommends Casa Isabel, which is a place I've been looking to try... it comes with great reviews!
Casa Isabel
Trip Advisor has lots of reviews on Casa Isabel...with pictures.
I would vote on Los Tules, having owned a time-share there for almost 20 years.
The grounds are very nice and it doesn't have the feeling of a large resort (although it is). None of the buildings are over 3 storys and they all have a nice Mexican feel to them.
You're right across the street from the Gigante grocery store so if you rent a condo, you can keep beer, coke, snacks, etc in your room.
Los Tules is about a $5 USD cab ride from the Malecon and the South Side but a local bus stops out front and costs only $0.50 USD per person.
Los Tules will have a few kids at that time of year but not many. It is a very quiet place overall.
The grounds are very nice and it doesn't have the feeling of a large resort (although it is). None of the buildings are over 3 storys and they all have a nice Mexican feel to them.
You're right across the street from the Gigante grocery store so if you rent a condo, you can keep beer, coke, snacks, etc in your room.
Los Tules is about a $5 USD cab ride from the Malecon and the South Side but a local bus stops out front and costs only $0.50 USD per person.
Los Tules will have a few kids at that time of year but not many. It is a very quiet place overall.
We have stayed at the Sheraton Buginvillias several times. It is really sn easy walk to the Malecon and many nice places to eat. It is also an inexpensive ride in a cab or bus if you don't want to walk. One night a week ( wed. or thur. ) they have a mexican fiesta which is very nice and well worth the cost. They have a very nice resturant there also and it is a very nice place to stay. 
I'm staying at Sea River Tower (Holiday Inn) the week of February 23 - March 1st. I rented a condo on line and it looks awesome! PV has so many good places to eat that its kind of a shame to have all inclusive. With the condo I can have a few groceries, drinks on the balcony with a view of the ocean and go downtown every night for a great meal and drinks.
Good luck in finding a place. It is tough to make a decision with all the choices. I was going to get something downtown at first but opted for a little better beach area. I've heard the Tropicana is nice but it is fairly old.
![[sun]](./images/smilies/sun.gif "sunshine")
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Good luck in finding a place. It is tough to make a decision with all the choices. I was going to get something downtown at first but opted for a little better beach area. I've heard the Tropicana is nice but it is fairly old.
[/list]Hotel Choices
Okay, we've narrowed it down to Canto Del Sol, Holiday Inn and Golden Crown....I'd appreciate any advice on which of these might be our best choice. TripAdvisor seems to rate them all pretty closely so I need the expert opinion of experienced PV travellers.
We're also contemplating the Villa Premier, but it is quite a bit more money so we want to be sure that it's worth it; possibly one week at one of the above and one week at Villa Premier?
Thanks for your help so far... looking forward to your feedback on this. Cheers!
We're also contemplating the Villa Premier, but it is quite a bit more money so we want to be sure that it's worth it; possibly one week at one of the above and one week at Villa Premier?
Thanks for your help so far... looking forward to your feedback on this. Cheers!
If you do rent a condo at Sea Towers you can buy the all inclusive for 45.00/day or get 15% off any resturant/bar purchased at the hotel which is the option I'm going for. Apparently the beach is really nice by the Holiday Inn. Sorry, can't speak from personal experience yet but can't wait till I can!!
we have stayed at the canto 3 times and love it - we didn't really like the international or mexican restaurants - but we're very picky...we walked out of the international one because the food loooked gross...but I've also heard rave reviews on the restaurants...so maybe we're just picky. 
the rooms are decent - not very much dresser space though..but how much time do you really spend in your room?
waiters are awesome - not very often we had empty drinks...
hope this helps..
the rooms are decent - not very much dresser space though..but how much time do you really spend in your room?
waiters are awesome - not very often we had empty drinks...
hope this helps..
Thank you
Thank you all
For the tremendous advice and help with selecting a Hotel and Pkg.
We have made our decision and are eagerly waiting for our flight in Jan 2008.
Golden Crown
Extremely excited my 2nd trip to Mexico and my Wifes 1st.
Thanks again
Carden.
For the tremendous advice and help with selecting a Hotel and Pkg.
We have made our decision and are eagerly waiting for our flight in Jan 2008.
Golden Crown
Extremely excited my 2nd trip to Mexico and my Wifes 1st.
Thanks again
Carden.
Carden: Great choice on the Golden Crown. Tom and I will be there Nov. 17th - 24th and again Feb. 9 - 23, 2008 for our 12th & 13th trip to the resort! We absolutely love the resort and the staff and they will take very good care of you! You can do as much or as little as you want. Enjoy! PVR is a great place!!!
oneistwo wrote:Now you have three months to study the restaurants threads on this BB.
Thats been the problem really there is so much to choose from in Accommodation's and activities. Sort of like to large of a menu and you are really hungry...
Oh well, appreciate all the help. We will check things out this year and hopefully go back again with more knowledge.
Just got my FODORs 2008 Puerto Vallarta will now have to do some reading.
Cheers to all
Second thought about my suggestion you begin to do the homework on the restaurants. I went through that myself a couple of times by downloading a list somewhere and eliminating the ones that sounded touristy. I was still left with a hundred or two.
So here's my recommendations, assuming that if you're in the restaurant biz you'll appreciate the variety, as well as the quality:
--Cafe des Artistes - exquisite gourmet. When you make reservations, ask for the roof. Don't read the menu on their web site; spoils the drama, I think.
-- The Red Cabbage - one of a kind. Make reservations and write down the address for the cab driver, who might or might not know where it is but he'll know the street address.
-- Mariscos Polo, Hector's Sunset - Seafood, in two completely different settings. Hector's is a medium walk from Canto, not a hole in the wall but rather a hole in the fence. You'll see. Polo is in the eastern side of the south part of town, across from a local movie house. It used to be a hole in the wall, but they expanded, and I don't think success has spoiled them.
-- Los Caprichos - tapas, esp. lunch. Not the novelty it was when it first opened. We thought it wouldn't survive because the prices were too low. But they seem to be thriving, deservedly, and the prices haven't changed much.
-- Barcelona - tapas, for dinner and sunset.
-- Las Alcatraces - across from the Mega in southern end of the hotel zone (not far from Canto). We go there for breakfast, and it's mostly locals.
Also, the owner of Barcelona has taken over the House of (Casa del) Tequila, and we had a great meal there. The restaurant itself goes by the name of Agave Grill, but as far as we know the Tequila sign is still outside.
If you can't find them on a map, let me know. Feel free to PM me. All but Los Caprichos should be easy to find, and some have their own web sites.
So here's my recommendations, assuming that if you're in the restaurant biz you'll appreciate the variety, as well as the quality:
--Cafe des Artistes - exquisite gourmet. When you make reservations, ask for the roof. Don't read the menu on their web site; spoils the drama, I think.
-- The Red Cabbage - one of a kind. Make reservations and write down the address for the cab driver, who might or might not know where it is but he'll know the street address.
-- Mariscos Polo, Hector's Sunset - Seafood, in two completely different settings. Hector's is a medium walk from Canto, not a hole in the wall but rather a hole in the fence. You'll see. Polo is in the eastern side of the south part of town, across from a local movie house. It used to be a hole in the wall, but they expanded, and I don't think success has spoiled them.
-- Los Caprichos - tapas, esp. lunch. Not the novelty it was when it first opened. We thought it wouldn't survive because the prices were too low. But they seem to be thriving, deservedly, and the prices haven't changed much.
-- Barcelona - tapas, for dinner and sunset.
-- Las Alcatraces - across from the Mega in southern end of the hotel zone (not far from Canto). We go there for breakfast, and it's mostly locals.
Also, the owner of Barcelona has taken over the House of (Casa del) Tequila, and we had a great meal there. The restaurant itself goes by the name of Agave Grill, but as far as we know the Tequila sign is still outside.
If you can't find them on a map, let me know. Feel free to PM me. All but Los Caprichos should be easy to find, and some have their own web sites.
