Easter week-Grand Mayan or Paradise Village

vallarta13 · Post by **vallarta13** » Wed Jan 02, 2008 7:21 am

Forced to vacation Easter week as that is the only week kids are on break ugh! Anyway we will be paying far too much to stay at either Grand Mayan or Paradise Village (Playa Royale) and I can't decide between the two. Will one likely be any less crowded than the other? My kids enjoy finding new friends to hang out with on vacations, are both resorts likely to have lots of teens (boys are 16 and 18) and my guess is that there will be many more nationals vacationing this week, would this be equally true at either property-the boys' spanish is weak, language barrier could be a problem. Also, I'm sure the pools will be oh so crowded, but how about the beaches, might one property have a less crowded beach area? If you have any experience at either of these locations Easter week, please let me know what I am in store for!

kgs · Post by **kgs** » Fri Jan 04, 2008 4:14 pm

I don't know about the GCP but I guarantee that the beach at Paradise Village is much better than at the GCP. Also are you aware that the two locations you mention are in completely different areas. Paradise Village is in Nuevo Vallarta, a gated community. There is a great deal of action, so it is not sedate there, but it is much different than the hotels in Puerto Vallarta. The distance from PV to downtown is about 30 minutes by cab or bus. Not a problem unless you plan on spending time downtown every day. Also isn't GCP AI? PV is not AI but offers an AI option.

vallarta13 · Post by **vallarta13** » Fri Jan 04, 2008 6:34 pm

I'm not referring to GCP but rather Grand Mayan in Nuevo Vallarta as well as Paradise Village in Nuevo, but thanks for trying to help.

kgs · Post by **kgs** » Fri Jan 18, 2008 4:41 pm

Oh now I understand Vallarta 13. I have not stayed at the Mayan so I don't know which is preferable. I have heard good things about it. One of the differences is that the Mayan is on the other side of the Marina, so not walable to the Paradise Village Mall. This is probably not a huge issue either way, but the beach north of Paradise Village runs for 10 miles at least and would not be available to you from the Mayan unless you crossed over the Marina to go the that beach. Again it's not a huge issue, but perhaps another item in the plus column for the PV over the mayan.

Sheri32 · Post by **Sheri32** » Fri Jan 18, 2008 4:46 pm

I am wondering the same? We are staying at Mayan Palace in jan 09...any reviews of the place?

kgs · Post by **kgs** » Mon Jan 21, 2008 2:29 pm

Try the Trip Advisor forum.

Plus4 · Post by **Plus4** » Mon Jan 21, 2008 4:59 pm

kgs wrote:Try the Trip Advisor forum.

Can one really believe most of the reviews there...

I don't..
I would have missed out on a wonderful resort if I would have believed the reviews on TA... Just my humble

I do like the photos of Resorts that are posted on TA by the members...

Jennybean · Post by **Jennybean** » Mon Jan 21, 2008 6:00 pm

Whether or not they are believable is not for us to say...they are individual perceptions of one's individual vacation, and their opinion only.

That said, TA is still the best available source for real reviews from real travelers on any given day, and they do have the most available reviews for the widest variety of properties all over the world. What we as discerning traveling individuals are responsible for is separating the wheat from the chaff to find out if where we are looking to stay is indeed viable.

I've used them now to find and review hotels in 4 different cities and using that method I've yet to be surprised and/or disappointed.

Plus4 · Post by **Plus4** » Mon Jan 21, 2008 6:15 pm

Quote:

What we as discerning traveling individuals are responsible for is separating the wheat from the chaff to find out if where we are looking to stay is indeed viable.
....
I agree
Before our trip to Playa I did go to TA..I picked out of the Reports what I thought were the wheat posters and pm'd a few ... I asked questions and believe I received good responses...

kgs · Post by **kgs** » Mon Jan 21, 2008 9:36 pm

I think its pretty easy to discern those posters who could be labled "chronic complainers" from those who have legitemate gripes. Also I read them and average them, at least mentally. And some of the legit complaints can lead one to ask for certain sections, floors or stay away at certain times of the year. This info combined with the pictures is the best source of info I have found about hotels.

poppy · Post by **poppy** » Sat Feb 02, 2008 1:52 pm

You've probably made your reservation by now, but I live in Paradise, two doors down from Playa Royale. If you like the beach, the beach is much better on this side. The beach at Mayan is very rocky, but they have nice amenities at Mayan that you do not have at PR (Playa Royale). Mayan is all inclusive? The grounds are expansive. Paradise has a pool with a great aligator water slide, the zoo, the ostriches, the restaurants. Make sure the owner at PR has a social membership. For $75.00 it gives you access to all of the Village, which does not take cash.
Have a great trip.

Arizona Karen · Post by **Arizona Karen** » Fri Feb 08, 2008 8:47 pm

Have you made your decision yet? If not, hope this helps:

We toured the Mayan and although the fancy, active pool is definitely a draw (especially for teens) the beach isn't that great.

We've stayed at Playa Royale and not only loved the beach but discovered that we had a choice of the pools at Playa Royale and those at Paradise Village Resort. We bounced between them with the free shuttle depending on whether we wanted huge packs of people (Paradise Village Resort) or less people (Playa Royale). You can also participate at the Paradise Village Resort activities such as tequila volleyball, beach volleyball, the theme-night dinners and then return to a quieter Playa Royale when necessary.

If you cook in frequently to save money, Mayan kitchens are partial but the ones at Playa Royale are not only full but huge but home-like.

There's not much around the Mayan (although the public bus or taxi can take you to Paradise Village or anywhere else) but the Paradise Village area is bustling with things to do.

I'd vote for Playa Royale. We're going back in June.

jasperhobbs · Post by **jasperhobbs** » Sat Feb 09, 2008 3:05 am

Paradise Village is very nice. We went there for time share sales presentation <gag>

The resort is beautiful but it is too far out of PV downtown for my taste. I think you are better off getting a resort right downtown where everything is going on. However if you are looking to hang out on beach and stay in nice place and not interested in downtown activities and you can stay for a decent price then Paradise Village is the place.

jasper

Randy in MN · Post by **Randy in MN** » Mon Feb 18, 2008 8:23 pm

We've stayed at the Paradise Village twice and loved it both times. My kids were in their early teens and had a great time. We rented a 2 bedroom and had plenty of room. Since we had a corner unit we had balconies off the living room and master bedroom. There was two very large pools with slides and hot tubs. The Paradise Village also had a very good Mexican Fiesta that was held around the pool. All the non-motorized beach toys were free to use. My boys liked checking out the boogie boards. Beach is great, you can walk for miles to the north, but no access south ( Marina in the way). The mall connected to the property is very handy with a small grocery store and some restaurants.
Only down side is the distance to downtown PV. The bus stops on the edge of the property, but takes about 45 minutes to downtown.
Randy