Riu Vallarta

Well the 12 hour flight was worth it . We arrived at the hotel and was greeted by the staff who gave us our envelope with the room key and towel cards and the stickers for the cases . Very quick and very easy check in. The lobby area is huge and plenty of seating . The wind blows through the lobby to give you a soft breeze which is refreshing . The reception staff are very helpful and very polite . The bellboys so an amazing job too . We stayed in room 6068 and what an amazing view . It does get a bit windy up on the 6th floor though and we did get a few things blow off the balcony. Nothing important though just suntan lotion and cigarettes. The main restaurant does have too much choice for breakfast , lunch and dinner and we found ourselves wondering around with an empty plate trying to decide what to chose . The waiters and waitress keep your glasses filled at all times and nothing is too much trouble . The lobby bar and the sports bar are great places to grab and drink and converse with other guest . Theresa and Maria were my 2 favourite in the lobby and sports bar but all staff are amazing . The pools ..... Well what an amazing pool / pools the hotel have . Only problem we had was the sunbed reserving . This was bad but not really the hotels fault . Everyone and I mean everyone including me got up early 6am to get a sunbed . But I find this is the norm in every hotel these days . The guys who brings the drinks round the pools doing an amazing job too . Jaime and Diego . Claudia and I can’t remember his name make delicious cocktails . The beach is well kept but the beach vendors do pester you to buy things . On 2 of the afternoons the hotel got a band in . Wow .... The were brilliant . The main pool was up singing and dancing . The evening entertainment was fine but sometimes it was difficult to get a drink . This is my only moan about the hotel , One waiter only wanted to serve people who tipped . I was very sad to leave the Riu Vallarta and one day I will return . Until then all staff keep up the good work and Thank you for a fabulous Holiday xxx

I loved the style of the place. It had an old feel that they styled it with and built it with. I loved the style. As I've read, not everyone is a fan. Every staff member we came into contact with was sooooo helpful and nice and made us feel so welcome and accommodated. Except one bartender who seemed sick of making so many daquires and such. Which I don't blame him. It gets old very fast. Drinks were pretty good. Nothing really to complain about that there. Food started off great the first 2 days and then became old very fast. We ate out the rest of our nights. First all the food options were amazing, day 3 the thought of it made me sick. Also, heads up, if you are at outside of your room, at one of the restaurants, the bar, and ask for a water, they give you tap even though they highly recommend NOT drinking their tap water, for it will make you sick. Which it did to me. I don't have any complaints to the room. Except for the TV and the choices they have on the TV, which only had one channel that was okay while I was sick in bed for an entire day after drinking the water. But the beach was great. Except all the people walking up to you every 2 minutes to sell something, which has nothing to do with the resort, that's how it is everywhere you go in the city. There were people who walked around bringing drinks. And the pool was fine. But the frustrating part was large groups putting their towels down and claiming 5+ chairs and not using them once, except to have their towel sit on a chair and bask in the sun too while they sat in the pool. The nightime shows were great. Something different every night. It starts off with a game and show on the stage for kids. Then usually breaks to a band in the courtyard for a little bit. And then back to the stage for a show for the adults. There was one night they had a group performing Michael Jackson covers and it was great. But they should line up the chairs and tables better for there weren't enough seats for a good view of the show. They also had theme nights. Taco night. With games and a tequila station. I do recommend the resort having more games. Like the large yard games that are in trend. I would like to come back. Maybe stay at another of the riu resorts.

My husband and I just returned from spending two amazing weeks at Riu Vallarta. We only stay at Riu Resorts because we know what the expectations are and the quality that we will get from the Riu chain. It has a very Mexican feel to the resort which we enjoy. The food at the resort is great! We ate at all the a la carte restaurants but prefer the buffet. There is so much variety and everything tasted good. The bartending was good as well. We have had better tasting drinks at other resorts but the free flowing champagne made up for that. The nightly entertainment was good, the bands and activities in the courtyard gave the guests something to do between dinner and the show. We REALLY enjoyed this part of the evening and wish that other Riu's did the same thing. My only complaint about Riu Vallarta is that they do not keep on top of the rule that there are no children allowed in the swim up bar area. My suggestion would be to put a rope with floaties on it between the two jacuzzi's so it marks a clear line of where the children can and can not go. We witnessed parents being told to take the children out of that area but the parents ignored the request and the resort workers did nothing to enforce it. As a parent who left their children behind, and wanted an escape from kids, it would have been nice to have a space that was free of children for a few hours during the day. Other than that, I have no other complaints and would strongly recommend the Riu Vallarta.