Marival.....so much fun!

[nana4ou]

We just got back from the Marival last night and it was great! We were a family of 7, celebrating my husband and my 40th wedding anniversary, and stayed in an ocean front 3 bed 4 bath suite. As soon as Lamar in reservations, found out my husband was partially disabled he immediately offered us a 1 bedroom suite connecting with 2 single resort rooms, all ocean front. We opted to go with the suite so we could all be more together and we knew it was going to be up 3 flight of stairs.....oh my....it was tough! The suite was nice and what it lacked in new furniture, made up for in cleanliness, big rooms and a very well stocked fridge. But next year, we will get the 3 rooms or a 2 bed suite and 1 bed suite. We spent practically no time in it.......just to shower, change clothes and sleep. The maids were there every day at noon to clean, so no early wake ups in that department.
The service was great. We barely requested water and colas and it was at our door. We ordered room service when we got there and didn't receive some of it, but there WERE 7 of us so it was no big deal. The rest of the time we spent at the pools, beach and wherever the food was.

Our grandchildren are picky eaters and they found something to eat everywhere we went. The buffet was good with lots of fresh fruits and veggies. Breakfasts were probably the best with a great assortments of cereals, eggs and meats. The juices are not the best, but you're in Mexico, so things are going to be different. The restaurant we liked the best was Bella Vista, an Italian rest. with delicious food and wonderful wait-staff. The worst one was Las Palomas Mexican rest. It was extremely slow and noisy! The waiters acted like they could care less if we ate and it took an hour and a half to get our food after we finally got to order. Not worth the time! ALWAYS take your reservation confirmation with you as none of the restaurants had our reservations, but seated us because we had the confirmation.

We only were there 4 days so we didn't get to do a lot of the tours and things, but the on-property activities were great. The kids loved boogie-boarding in the ocean, and the pools. The beach was as clean as I've ever seen a beach be. Great waves for the boogie-boards and lots of chairs and tables. We never had a problem getting chairs on the beach OR at the pools. I had read you have to be at the pools at 6 to put your towels out to reserve a chair, but not the case while we were there. Lots of activities to do if you want (dance lessons, cooking classes, drink mixing classes, etc.) or just lying in the pool having a wonderful drink. Much better than the bars at the hotel we stayed in in Cancun last year.

There are a lot of beach vendors who stroll down the beach, selling their products....silver, dresses, shirts, hats, bags, wooden carvings, and it's fun to bargain with them and get a good price. We also spent a day at Paradise Mall (about 5 minute taxi ride (6 bucks) away, and we had great fun shopping there. It is A/C and has a Subway, McDonalds , ice cream places and lots of souvenirs to buy. They will also bargain with you, even though it is a mall.

We went with MLT Charters and they were great. Their people gave us a little tour and a lot of information on the way from the airport to the hotel, and their buses were very nice and air conditioned. We were warned about the time share people, but we really were not even approached by them. We will absolutely fly with them again next year.

Overall, we had a great time and can't wait to go again next year.

Puerto Vallarta over Cancun any day!!!! Barbi