Hi all, have just returned from a fantastic 9 nights in Vallarta, arrived at home a bit before 8 last night. Our first night was in old town, at the Eloisa. We brought our teenagers for the first time, and tho we wanted to spend most of our nights south of town, our first night was to be in town, within walking distance of everything.
Our room at the Eloisa was Tortuga, on the 4th floor, a one bedroom suite, unfortunately directly facing what’s left of Cardenas park on the northeast corner. My impression of the room is pretty much overshadowed by the effects of the construction, i.e. nonstop noise including generators and jackhammering, until 9:20pm on Friday, and starting up again at 8am Sat. The construction lights are on all night, flooding the room with light. The rooftop pool, however, was a genuine oasis, really magical at night with the city lights, and we had it all to ourselves. After dark, this is a don’t miss. We didn’t eat at the restaurant.
The room itself was about what you’d expect for the pesos, comfortable and clean, tho we did pay for 4 adults, and the second 2 are expected to sleep on the cushions in the living area, which are smaller than twin bed size, and pretty thin. The a/c worked well, tho the timer was hard to figure out, and our bedroom unit kept wanting to switch off at night. Minimal kitchen utensils, etc, but with restaurants so close at hand, who wants to cook? Interestingly, they inventory the kitchen before and after your stay, guess a lot of stuff walks out the door.
Verdict: until the worst of the construction is over, I’d pass, unless you’re homesick for big-city noise and chaos. Otherwise an enjoyable, if rather basic, place, with a great location.
The next 8 nights were at the Los Palmares condos on Punta Negra, a new (’99) oceanfront property. We had #502, which is actually on the lobby level, there are no stairs or elevators to deal with. It’s high enough for complete privacy inside, tho not so high that you can’t see the beach without looking over the railing. 502 is over and beside Villa Karaway, a “villa” contained in the complex, actually the largest condo in the building, with its own small pool and outdoor living areas.
This is quite a nice property, all units sit “sideways” facing the ocean, so both bedrooms and the living areas all have their own, private oceanfront terraces. Our kitchen was complete, very well equipped, and there’s an in-unit washer/dryer. 3 TV’s, dvd/cd, ceiling fans in all rooms, central a/c, halogen lights in the kitchen/living, indoor and outdoor eating areas, outside grill. The master bath was large, with a 2 person Jacuzzi with an ocean view, and even a bidet.
There are no onsite services, other than a palapa restaurant, for guests only, which we didn’t try, and a small exercise room. The nearest stores or restaurants are a couple of miles back towards town. There’s a large infinity pool, and a small but nice beach, though it is public, which you access thru a security gate. The waters are a local hotspot, we saw fishing charters, and locals, fishing offshore and from the beach every morning.
My only concern is parking is limited, if you’re driving, and staying in-season, you may have a problem. If anyone’s interested, I should have some images posted in a few days. We really ate our way thru town this time, I hope to have some comments posted soon.
Ross
Eloisa and Los Palmares
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Hotel Eloisa
Thank you for the report. I have been guiding people away from Eloisa lately for precisely this reason. I really like that hotel and hope they can survive the unfortunate distruction of the park, in favor of a parking garage. Even once construction is complete, I'm worried it will hurt them.
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Last edited by susan p on Sat Feb 19, 2011 7:25 am, edited 1 time in total.
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