We were at this resort in November and found the resort to be absolutely lovely. I found the food to be excellent. The rooms were lovely, but not the best I have been to. The service was somewhat slow, due to understaffing (in my opinion). The staff had to work very hard and we often found ourselves without a pre-or post- dinner drink, coffee, etc. the hotel and grounds were very clean and housekeeping did a great job. The view was amazing, we could hear the waves, and the lights and lobby were soretty at night!

The spa was expensive, but no more expensive than spas at other resorts. However, it was by far the most incredibly beautiful spa I have seen to date! And the Swedish Massage I received as a result of attending the 90 minute (actually 3hour) presentation for the travel club was fabulous!

The swim up bar, however, had a terrible odor! We could not stay at the bar, as it was just terrible smelling. For the who.e week, the odor was there, so it could not have been an anomaly.

The location of the resort was great. Just a few minutes in a cab and we were in the heart of the Malecon. Puerto Vallarta is a pretty city full of character and charm.

For the women out there, be wary of the taxi drivers that seem to be connected to the resort (they have the resort name on the taxi and their business cards). While most were fine, the minute I was in a taxi alone, the driver proceeded to try and 'pick me up'. And he was not at all subtle about it. It was a shocking, and somewhat scary, experience. Just my luck that the driver fancied himself as a desirable man!

I have to say, though, that Dreams Tulum had a much better garden area.

My husband and I stayed at Now Amber from Nov 7-18. Overall we had an amazing stay.

The best part of this trip was how STRESS FREE it was... we slept in every day, not needing to get up and save seats by the pools or make reservations for dinner. We showed up poolside anytime from 9am - 3pm and always found space. The only dinner reservation we made was for the teppanyaki restaurant, which was easily done the same day. We waited a max 5 minutes at any restaurant, and the resort was full.

The room: by far the nicest all inclusive room we've had. Very pretty, with unbelievably comfortable beds. The rooms need a couple more hooks for hanging wet towels and robes, but that's an easy fix. We had a great view from the 9th floor. We deliberately didn't book anything special, to see what a standard room was like - good call. The free local and long distance calls was a great bonus.

The location: Ideal for us, as we really enjoyed walking/running into PV and its beautiful Malecon. Not to mention the ridiculously cheap and wonderful massages (Healing Hands) right outside the resort, and the supermarket around the corner. There's about 400m of beach to wander before you hit a breakwater - longer if the tide's out.

The Service: Excellent, especially Manuel at the pool bar - except one inconsiderate 24hrs (see below).

The grounds/pools: Beautiful lobby with great view and drinks. A tremendous pool selection. Loved relaxing in the beachside infinity pool, especially at sunset. The Now Amber side got very busy over the weekends, but when we couldn't find a place to relax poolside, we went to Secrets, which was rarely busy. Secrets also has these amazing floaty pool mats, and a lovely shallow pool with built in reclining chairs. It was great having that choice, and hopefully that continues. That being said, the activity on the NA side was alot of fun most of the time. I did notice the NA pool bar smelled like it needed a good cleaning at times.

The food: We ate at the buffet for all breakfasts and lunches and never got tired of the food - excellent quality and selection. We tried every ala carte, and had terrific meals at all. We were expecting slower service, and were surprised by how attentive our servers were. We are seafood lovers, so our meals at both Oceana and Castaways were our favourites. The seafood selection everywhere was top notch, surprising considering other PV vacationers said other resorts were cutting back. The house wine was also much better than expected. The only small glitch is their minimal selection at the barefoot grill by the pool.

My only major complaint - There were 2 large conferences and 2 weddings during our stay. The weddings and 1st conference were handled very well. The conference had separate rooms for eating and celebrating, and the weddings were minimally intrusive, held for 2-3hrs in the evening. However, the 2nd conference was a bit ridiculous - 300+ people partying outside on the Secrets side until 1am - including loudspeaker speeches and music - with no apologies to other guests. Then the next day everyone woke to a massive 200x50ft canopy erected on the beach for that same group completely obstructing the ocean view. We eventually spoke with mgt and they provided a free late checkout ($50 value) without problem.

All in all, a real treat of a trip for a great price.

I read the reviews prior to going to this resort. some reviews was nitpicked over such small issues. Have to remember it is Mexico.
We have stayed at many resorts in PV and the Mayan and I have to say this resort was excellent. We had a awesome time.
There was 6 of us and we asked at the desk if we all can be together on a floor higher than the 6th floor and they gladly accomodatated us. We were on the 10th floor amazing view, beautiful rooms, comfortable bed and our room was very quite. I would recommend the 10th floor or higher.
We liked the idea... no bracelets. you can go as many times as you like to the ala cartes. The food was very good. Tues and Friday they had a beach party they put so much work into it, buffet, show etc and great service.
The pools are very clean and pool bar service was great. The beach waiters were awesome especially Cezar and Gustavio they were excellent waiters, don't forget to tip them.
The beach: not good for swimming and we wished you could walk further as they have it blocked with rocks you have to climb over them if you want to want along the beach.

I would recommend this hotel to anyone and would go back.

no Champaign like other guests on arrival. Vacation Club - We agreed to a 90 minute presentation and it ended up being about 3 hours. When we discussed that at the exit interview and the club hostess we were told that their presentation was 90 minutes all the rest of the time was our talking - that's a rip off . My wife and I work hard and our vacation time is premium. When I suggested further free spas etc for the extra time, it was denied. It put a bad taste in our mouths for the rest of the stay. Japanese and Italian restaurants we poor. Elevators slow. Lobby music depressing and repetitive.bar service slow at times every where. Swim up bar smells. Some staff were excellent others still developing given new hotel. At times I felt it was all about the money where at dreams tulum the service was real.