We just returned from two weeks at this all inclusive resort. Our first time there and our first time in Puerto Vallarta. All in all we had a great time. The food was plentiful and quite good. Service was great for the most part and the rooms were kept clean. We had a deluxe ocean front room on the sixth floor and could sit on our balcony in the morning and have our room service coffee and OJ and watch the dolphins in the bay. Because we are early risers we would call down for room service at about 7 am and have our coffee, toast and juice delivered to our room. It was delivered about ten minutes later always with a smile and a cheery 'Buenos Dias'. Then we would head down to the breakfast buffet about 9. Breakfast Buffets were pretty good although it did get a little repetitive by the end of the two weeks, but not bad enough to worry about. Lots of hot food, omelettes made to our specifications as well as fresh fruit, pastries and more. My only complaint would be that the hot food was not always kept hot enough.

We avoided the pool area as it was very noisy and not nearly enough shade. This is a major problem at this resort and our only serious complaint. The palapas have strips of cloth that do nothing to block out the sun and around the pool there are not even enough of those. Hopefully the resort will rectify this problem as it may have an influence on us returning. After a couple of days we headed down near the breeze bar and then figured out that if we got up early enough we could reserve an old style palapa (there are about 6 of them) that were completely covered. A sign at the pool says that reserving loungers is not allowed, but because everyone does it, you really don't have a choice. Service to the loungers on the beach can be a bit slow but we really don't have a problem getting up and getting our own drinks if it's busy. Kudos to Olefina. She is a top notch server and sometimes doubles as a bar tender. Her dirty monkeys were quite dirty thank you. We got to know her quite well and we will miss her. For both of us, people really do make our vacation.

Our room was compact but was kept clean and as I said before because we were on the top floor, ocean front, we had a great view of the Bay of Banderas. The beds were a bit of an issue. They were much too firm for our liking, but we found out too late that you can get a foamy to put on top. We'll do that next year. I would suggest to the resort though that they at least replace the pillows. They are pretty bad. It would also be nice to have a small fridge in the room and there is enough space for one. Our solution was to go the Soriana which is right across the street and buy a styro foam cooler which the bartender at the Breeze Bar was happy to fill with ice for us. We also purchased some excellent wines at the Soriana and kept them chilled in the cooler. The Soriana carries about anything you need and because my hubby forgot to bring his medications, we picked them up at the pharmacy in the store. As in all of Mexico, most meds do not require a prescription. It took away the stress of having forgotten them. Do be careful though, those pesky time share people cruise the isles in the store and we got suckered in by one. The pretense is making sure you found everything you need and once you respond they are off and running. What bothered us the most about this encounter was that he really ran down the GCP. When I finally caught on and said, "Oh, you're selling time shares!" he responded that 'no he as selling 'memberships'..... at $10,000 a pop no less. A new approach I guess. The resort he represented had been on our 'maybe' list of places to stay in PV, but not anymore. We managed to get away from him unscathed after a few minutes. Other than that no one bugged us in the hotel. The only other place we ran into Timeshare people was when we went for a walk on the Malecon. They are everywhere and quite relentless there. Kind of spoiled our enjoyment of the walk.

We have to give a very special thanks to 'Westjet'. These people are without a doubt the most organized, efficient, friendly and helpful people ever. From check in on the ground in Calgary to ease of transportation to our hotel when we arrived, it was effortless. The Westjet reps at the hotel were the best. They arranged our tours, explained everything in detail and were available to us whenever we might need them. My only complaint is that the cabin crew in flight have an attitude and they really should drop it. We've encountered this attitude on previous Westjet flights. There is positively no need to be condescending and snippy. At one point my jaw dropped I was so taken aback. Other than that it was all good! Thanks to the Reps Russ and Epi. We certainly enjoyed the tours you suggested for us.

We only tried one a la carte restaurant at the hotel which was the Paradise. It was ok, but nothing to write home about. We found the buffet on the Crown Paradise side to be pretty good if you don't mind lots of kids running around. The snacks at the Breeze bar, pool area and meals by the Pub bar were fine and we certainly didn't ever want for anything. If we wanted to eat something there were lots of options. We went out to dinner one night to the resort next door (South side). The resort is called 'Vallarta Torre' if I remember correctly. We had an awesome meal there just for a change of pace. We also went there for a Mexican Fiesta on our last night in PV and had a great time!

Wifi in the hotel is pretty expensive and apparently a little sketchy anyway, so we didn't bother. There is a little coffee house right next door to the hotel called 'El Patio' which is part of Vallarta Torre. For the price of a couple of cappuccinos we got caught up every day and got our internet fix through our IPads. We kind of looked forward to this quiet little oasis late afternoon every day when we'd had enough sun. Isabel makes great cappuccinos and is a sweetheart. We'll miss her too.

Beach Vendors. If you don't like them and they bother you, don't go to Mexico. These are hard working people trying to feed their families. A polite 'no gracias' will send them on their way, but you may even pick up a few nice things as we did. They pretty much expect you to haggle, so offer what you think is a fair price and pick up some bargains. I would stay away from the 'silver' though unless you just want a little trinket that you can expect to turn black when you get home. We picked up some nice 'monkey wood' pieces for gifts and great straw beach bag. Other than that even a simple shake of the head and a smile will keep them moving along.

We were without water for a day as they were fixing the hot water problem. It would have been nice if the resort had warned us a day ahead, but whatever. When it was fixed, we had lots of hot water and good water pressure. Elevators went out a couple of times. So, we took the stairs. No biggie.

Would we go back? Probably! We felt comfortable and safe at the resort. We are not people who like fancy dancy or hoity toity so their 'no problema', relaxed attitude was refreshing. If you are a 'white linen tablecloth', 'fancy waiter' kind of person this is not the place for you. The people who work here are for the most part kind and helpful and have a sense of humour but it's a busy place and they are kept hopping. Cut them a bit of slack and tip accordingly. I know they really appreciate it. We go on vacation to have nice couple of weeks in the sun to rest and get away from the cold so we really don't let too much bother us. If it's perfection you want, then don't go. Our experience has been that no place is ever perfect. Go with the flow and you'll have a great time.

Just a word on Tours. A city tour is included with your all inclusive vacation. It was fun and very informative. They DO stop for a couple of 'shopping opportunities'. One was a glass factory and as I collect Mexican glass we found this quite fun. I picked up some nice pieces for very reasonable prices. The other stop is surprise, surprise, a jewellery store. My husband picked up a beautiful silver chain there which they shortened to suit him. 'No problema'. Love that! The tour also took us up into the hills and we visited a Tequila factory. Well factory would be an over statement. This is a family run business and we learned a lot about the making of Tequila. We also had a nice lunch there. Just so you know, lunch is not included so expect to pay for it. The food was very delicious though.

Through our Westjet rep we also booked 3 tours. The first was 'Rhythms of the Night'. Great time, great show and great food. Well worth the money. The second was the 'Offroad Adventure to Sierra Madre South'. Most fun we had on the trip thanks to Mustafa and the driver Chano. Don't be afraid of the "Offroad" name. It was quite safe and not at all daunting. Coming back off the mountain we had a 'little bit' of Tequila in the back of the open air truck as we drove back into Puerto Vallarta. What a hoot! The third tour and my favourite was the 'Whale Watching tour'. This one we would want to do every year. So thrilling to see these beautiful Humpback Whales up close.

If you have any questions about this resort, please don't hesitate to contact me. I would be happy to help if I can.

It's my last night here on an all-inclusive week and I'm packing up now just in case I have too much fun tonight... again....
I was at the Sunset plaza last month and was totally disturbed by the bad service, attitude and food, so coming here this month rejuvenated my love for PV and all-inclusive hotels.
Yes, GCP has small dated rooms, but the beds are comfortable and everything is clean. The air conditioning worked well. I've heard that they sometimes have hot water and elevator issues, but I didn't experience any of that. Service from the moment we walked to the front desk has been exceptional. Everyone is friendly, accommodating and kind. I asked for and received 2 rooms next to each other on the fifth fl, ocean front. When I was here last year I went to all of the restaurants, but this time we stuck to the pool grill, ocean bar sushi and sandwiches and the sistering buffet. There was too much food available all the time to even think about making time for one of the restaurants. There's also free 24 hr room service, so hunger and variety are all well met.
The pool is warm and clean. There's a nice beach, room for volleyball and other games. They've roped off part of the beach so the vendors aren't as pesky as they were last year. No kids or screaming babies :-) They have a variety of entertainment during the day, which I've heard but haven't participated in. It sounds like fun tho :-)
There's no fridge in the room, but you really don't need one... cold drinks are always a step or a call away.
I guess what makes me happiest is the attitude of all the employees. They seem happy. They're sincere and easy-going, even the bar tenders :-) Happy employees make for happy guests, and my crew and I are all very content.
So salud to the old queen GCP! Hope to be back soon!
One other aside... if you need to choose between transat or sunwing, transat has superior service.

stayed at GCP and loved every munute of it. had an ocean front room on the 5th floor. ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!!! food was good, service was so-so --but who cares your on vacay--relax, have fun!!! dont let the little things bother you. beach was beautiful. drinks were good. the vendors actually came rite up to the pool area. we love the vendors and spend mucho dinero with them. within walking distance to the store if you needed something. you only get 2 free bottles of water a day. so that was the only thing that was kinda bad. enjoy!!!! AND THERE WERE NO KIDS THERE!!!! im not against kids (i got 2 of my own) but it was just nice not to hear all the screaming and crying kids

Every summer we take a vacation at G.C.P. and last summer we were shocked at how the resort has changed. There were many problems from air conditioning not working to toilets not flushing. They even moved us three times so that we finally had a room that was operativable. I think the biggest problem was service, or lack of service. When we encountered a problem, it just didn't seem to be a priority to take care of it. I also was not happy with the attitude at the front desk. We even wrote the marketing director after we arrived home. There was no response from her. After seven years of vacationing there, we have found another resort to vacation at. At one time, it was our absolute favorite vacation destination. But not any longer.