I did a separate review of the hotel but I wanted to provide a more detailed trip report. Hopefully I won’t bore anyone. I’m going to do it in a couple of parts as it would take forever to read all in one go.
Saturday, March 25th
The flight was smooth and uneventful, however, next time I think we’ll try another departure time. We left Vancouver on AirTransat at 1:00AM and landed in beautiful Puerto Vallarta the next morning at 7:30AM having had no sleep for over 24 hours! I’m afraid I just can’t sleep sitting up.
Arrival went fine, we were the first through customs and had no problem clearing the timeshare gauntlet without incident. (They actually make me laugh now). We were promptly met by our Nolitours Rep who arranged for our transport to the hotel via taxi.
Driving through the city early in the early morning sunshine I was amazed by the amount of construction underway, this city is expanding so rapidly I hope they don’t get so big that they lose the quaint atmosphere that makes the place so special.
Upon arrival at the Tropicana Hotel, our check-in took about 5 minutes, however, as expected, the room was not ready yet. The open-air lobby is clean, spacious and staffed with professional, friendly, helpful and extremely efficient staff. We changed our winter clothes for something more appropriate, stored our luggage and as we had to meet our tour rep at 11:30 we decided to have breakfast first then do a little exploring around the hotel area.
The best thing about this hotel is its location. What a spot! Located on the best part of the best beach in Puerto Vallarta, the Tropicana is located right on Los Muertos beach in the “Old Town” of Puerto Vallarta. It’s within walking distance to many great restaurants, bars and shopping.
This was the first time we’d been in this area of the Old Town and I was absolutely charmed with the locale. I loved the smell of freshly squeezed orange juice and baked goods emanating from the little coffee shops along the street. We located the closest ATM, the nearest store, the closest bar (most important!) and where we might like to have lunch first.
We met our tour guide back at the hotel and she provided much useful information about the area, answered all our questions, offered to make sure our room was adequate and then assisted us in booking two tours, Sierra Madre on Tuesday and Los Veranos Canopy tour on Friday.
We decided to take a walk along the beach to downtown and check out the rest of the area. I was impressed with the new bridge over the river, it’s almost finished and they have done a great job with it. It’s such a treat not to have to walk all the way around or climb over a bunch of rocks to get between “Downtown” and “Old Town”. Stopped at Pau Pau for lunch and bought a few little trinkets from the vendors there. The Shrimp were excellent as were the margaritas!
We made reservations at the Los Arcos Hotel for their Mexican Fiesta show & dinner for that night however, by the time we got into our room we needed a nap and as it turned out, it was a 12 hour nap!
I was very happy with the room they gave us, it was only on the 2nd floor of the hotel but the view was first rate! We looked directly out over the pool and to the right could see across the Bay to Nuevo Vallarta while to the left we could see all the way to Mismoloya & Los Arcos. The room didn’t have a T.V. but it did have a King size (very firm) bed.
Sunday, March 26th
This was a very quiet day. We woke early after a good 12-14 hour sleep, went exploring a little and then staked out our spot on the beach for the day.
For lunch, we walked down to Langostinos and I tried the captain’s platter; it was ok but a little overdone, hubby had grilled chicken, which he claimed was excellent. An “Elvis” impersonator serenaded us through lunch (awful!) then we headed back to the beach for the rest of the day.
Vendors are all over this beach but they don’t bother you too much, a simple “no thanks” and they will leave you alone. This can get a little tiresome as there are so many but it’s all part of the fun. If you really don’t want to be bothered, you can always escape to the pool area.
Burnt my head in the sun today, and I hate wearing hats but I don’t think I have a choice, the sun is very intense here.
Managed to finally have dinner at Los Arcos Hotel, the buffet was pretty good but I don’t think I’d do it twice.
Monday, March 27th
Spent most of the day on the beach in our usual spot. Did some shopping from the vendors, even ordered a specially painted plate & bowl from one. He will bring it on Wednesday. He had lots of excellent designs but I really wanted one with the sun/moon in orange & blue.
Lunch was cheese burgers & fries on the beach with a bucket of ice cold Pacifico – Yum!
For dinner we went to Piazzetta, a new Italian place just up the street. It was excellent, I highly recommend this place. Our waiter even gave hubby a week long grounds pass to go see the PGA Seniors Blue Agave Classic taking place this week out at Vista Vallarta Golf Club.
After dinner we strolled back to the hotel along the beach and stopped in a La Palapa for a few drinks and to enjoy the music.
To be continued..............
Saturday, March 25th
The flight was smooth and uneventful, however, next time I think we’ll try another departure time. We left Vancouver on AirTransat at 1:00AM and landed in beautiful Puerto Vallarta the next morning at 7:30AM having had no sleep for over 24 hours! I’m afraid I just can’t sleep sitting up.
Arrival went fine, we were the first through customs and had no problem clearing the timeshare gauntlet without incident. (They actually make me laugh now). We were promptly met by our Nolitours Rep who arranged for our transport to the hotel via taxi.
Driving through the city early in the early morning sunshine I was amazed by the amount of construction underway, this city is expanding so rapidly I hope they don’t get so big that they lose the quaint atmosphere that makes the place so special.
Upon arrival at the Tropicana Hotel, our check-in took about 5 minutes, however, as expected, the room was not ready yet. The open-air lobby is clean, spacious and staffed with professional, friendly, helpful and extremely efficient staff. We changed our winter clothes for something more appropriate, stored our luggage and as we had to meet our tour rep at 11:30 we decided to have breakfast first then do a little exploring around the hotel area.
The best thing about this hotel is its location. What a spot! Located on the best part of the best beach in Puerto Vallarta, the Tropicana is located right on Los Muertos beach in the “Old Town” of Puerto Vallarta. It’s within walking distance to many great restaurants, bars and shopping.
This was the first time we’d been in this area of the Old Town and I was absolutely charmed with the locale. I loved the smell of freshly squeezed orange juice and baked goods emanating from the little coffee shops along the street. We located the closest ATM, the nearest store, the closest bar (most important!) and where we might like to have lunch first.
We met our tour guide back at the hotel and she provided much useful information about the area, answered all our questions, offered to make sure our room was adequate and then assisted us in booking two tours, Sierra Madre on Tuesday and Los Veranos Canopy tour on Friday.
We decided to take a walk along the beach to downtown and check out the rest of the area. I was impressed with the new bridge over the river, it’s almost finished and they have done a great job with it. It’s such a treat not to have to walk all the way around or climb over a bunch of rocks to get between “Downtown” and “Old Town”. Stopped at Pau Pau for lunch and bought a few little trinkets from the vendors there. The Shrimp were excellent as were the margaritas!
We made reservations at the Los Arcos Hotel for their Mexican Fiesta show & dinner for that night however, by the time we got into our room we needed a nap and as it turned out, it was a 12 hour nap!
I was very happy with the room they gave us, it was only on the 2nd floor of the hotel but the view was first rate! We looked directly out over the pool and to the right could see across the Bay to Nuevo Vallarta while to the left we could see all the way to Mismoloya & Los Arcos. The room didn’t have a T.V. but it did have a King size (very firm) bed.
Sunday, March 26th
This was a very quiet day. We woke early after a good 12-14 hour sleep, went exploring a little and then staked out our spot on the beach for the day.
For lunch, we walked down to Langostinos and I tried the captain’s platter; it was ok but a little overdone, hubby had grilled chicken, which he claimed was excellent. An “Elvis” impersonator serenaded us through lunch (awful!) then we headed back to the beach for the rest of the day.
Vendors are all over this beach but they don’t bother you too much, a simple “no thanks” and they will leave you alone. This can get a little tiresome as there are so many but it’s all part of the fun. If you really don’t want to be bothered, you can always escape to the pool area.
Burnt my head in the sun today, and I hate wearing hats but I don’t think I have a choice, the sun is very intense here.
Managed to finally have dinner at Los Arcos Hotel, the buffet was pretty good but I don’t think I’d do it twice.
Monday, March 27th
Spent most of the day on the beach in our usual spot. Did some shopping from the vendors, even ordered a specially painted plate & bowl from one. He will bring it on Wednesday. He had lots of excellent designs but I really wanted one with the sun/moon in orange & blue.
Lunch was cheese burgers & fries on the beach with a bucket of ice cold Pacifico – Yum!
For dinner we went to Piazzetta, a new Italian place just up the street. It was excellent, I highly recommend this place. Our waiter even gave hubby a week long grounds pass to go see the PGA Seniors Blue Agave Classic taking place this week out at Vista Vallarta Golf Club.
After dinner we strolled back to the hotel along the beach and stopped in a La Palapa for a few drinks and to enjoy the music.
To be continued..............