Grand and Club Marival Report- PART 1

[stebanmj27]

Hi everyone, I just got back from the Grand and Club Marival on Friday, the 28th, and I said I would post a report:

Check In: I thought that the check-in for us was a big pain, we arrived to the resort at about 11 A.M, check-in is not until 3, so we figured that they would atleast give us a hospitality room, but they just told us we could change in the public bathrooms, and they left our luggage laying outside of the resort, it was very careless, but we got a room at about 1 P.M, so we didn't wait too long, but we just wanted to not have so many worries right when we got there. Also, the woman at the front desk spoke little English, so she couldn't answer the questions I had, she would just smile and nod.

My Room: I stayed in the Club Side, which was fine by me. The room was really nice, and we had a nice view of the ocean, we were on the first floor, so didn't have to worry about walking up the stairs (there was no elevator on the club side) but there is on the Grand Side. Our room was really nice, there were a few problems with it though. The telephone did not work, we could not dial out, we could receive calls, but not call anyone else. We told the front desk, but they didn't do anything about it, but it was really not a huge problem. Also, the air conditioning in the room was pretty weak, but it was fine. I don't think the maids did a very job at sweeping because there would always be sand on the ground, it made it uncomfortbale to walk on, and it was also inside my covers. All in all, though the room was very nice (and personally I didn't spend a lot of time in it, so it was ok to me) We had a nice view, and there was plenty of room.

The Grounds: The Marival is absolutley beautiful. Everything there was always kept in tip-top shape. The plants were trimmed, the beach was cleaned and it was just amazing. The whole resort was beautiful, and I had no descrepencies about the grounds. It was a beautiful place, and the views were spectacular.

The Food: In general, the food at the Marival was not extremely impressive. I will go through the restaurants:
-La Pergola: this was probably the worst restaurant in my opinion, especially for dinner, I got a steak, and it smelt like I don't know what (not like a steak) I could not eat it. For breakfast and lunch, the food was alright though.
-Snack Bars (Portofino and La Bamba): These places were really good. Especially the pizza, from a brick oven. The food at these places were really good.
-Casa Bella: (buffet): The food here was pretty good, nothing spectacular. The breakfast was really good, they had a man making omelettes, that you picked the contents of. Lunch was also good, sandwiches and that, but enjoyable. Dinner was good too, changed around every night. I enjoyed the food at this place, and it was never very crowded.
-Las Palomas: (mexican) This place was good, but it was closed until the last 2 nights of our trip. The atmosphere was nice, the food was good, but the service was not too good. We asked our waiter about 10 times to get us nachos, but he never did. Also, they never came back to offer us dessert or that. But the food was pretty good.
-Bellavista (italian) This place was excellent. The atmosphere was great. The food was really good and the service was good too. This was our favorite restaurant.

All in all, the food was good, but not top-notch. I expected it to be better. As for making reservations you could not book the same restaurant 2 nights in a row, but you could book restaurants a few days in advance. There was always a place to eat and never too crowded.

Drinks: The drinks here were really good, never had a problem waiting for one. They are served in small, plastic cups, but you can ask for multiple drinks. Our favorite bartender was Crystalbal. He was really fun and a good bartender. You can pretty much ask for anything you want and they will make it. The last bar closes at 12 A.M.

Tipping: Totally optional, we did on the occasion, but only if we got great service. Such as at the Bellavista. They don't push it at all.

Entertainment: There was always something going on, the animation team was always getting people involved in games, and they put on some funny shows on at night. I enjoyed playing water polo during the day, it was a lot of fun.

Pools: There are plenty of pools, and they are never really crowded. They have a games pool, an adults pool, and a kids pool in the club side. Then they have a big pool, a childrens pool, a children's water park, and a hot tub on the grand side. They were always kept clean, and you could swim until 10 P.M.