We take a trip to this area ever other year but was our first stay at GV. We had 13 people in our party - and spent between 6 and 8 nights. At the end of stay - it was hard to leave - but we all agreed that we would not return to the GV. It is on the expensive side - and I guess we expcected something special. The first thing to note is that we all felt the service especially the front desk area delived preferential treatment for Spanish speaking people. We often experienced longer waits/service when we used English. I had never experienced this before. The ocean side buffet restaurent was subpar - very underwhelming. The specility restaurants did have some excellent food choices - just make sure you reserve early after arriving. We did not receive any information upon arriving - again - spainsh would have helped- and this caused us to wait several hours trying to figure out what to do/go. I really did not feel welcome and had to go out of my way to talk to the staff. I have never experienced this before - usually upon arriving you are wisked away by someone and given information regarding your stay. I talked to several people at the hotel and found out that they were regular customers (all from Latin America or South America). To sum it up: beautiful views, very nice spa, nice beach (clean), unfriendly staff, very - very long waits, above average rooms.

Do you remember in the movie Pretty Woman where the dress shop employees pamper Julia Roberts with service, all the employees were solely focused on her? I think every husband wishes that someday he could provide a pampering experience similar to that for his wife. The three husbands in our group all agreed that our wish for our wives came true at the Grand Velas!

The resort was beautiful, the food was excellent, and the view was inspiring...(that could be said for almost any resort we've ever attended). Yet, Grand Velas remains second to none because of its staff. The moment we arrived, we were escorted out of the van to an arrangement of sofas in the middle of the lobby, greeted with refreshing damp towels, drinks, a calming head & neck massage from the spa staff, and the check-in staff came to us...no standing in lines! Every guest recognizes that they are special even during the check-in process! A bell boy will escort you to your room making sure the frig is stocked with beverages of your choosing, asking which side of the bed you prefer so your bed slippers are placed appropriately that evening, and noting their pillow menu listing the seven or eight different pillow types allowing you to seek the ultimate comfort. This level of service was unending...our wake up call was synchronized with room service so we could hang up the phone and open the door greeted by staff with fresh piping hot coffee accompanied by any breakfast entree of our choice. On the last day, the bell hops stood around our taxi and pretended to cry (at the request of our wives) while they snapped pictures to share with there girl friends back home. The photos will be proof that our wives were "special to the staff" at Grand Velas. For the guys...we don't need the photos, we still see the happiness of being pampered in the smiles from our wives.
"Mr Lance" - Iowa

I first went here about 5 or 6 years ago, and let me say awesome! They pick you up from the airport and from the minute you arrive you feel pampered. The rooms are gorgeous, and incredibly spacious compared to most resorts. The view of the beautiful resort with the ocean beyond is great. Everyone seems to know your name, and the staff is quite possibly the most friendly and eager to please of any place I've ever been. After lounging by the pool you can just walk down to the beach to rent jet skis!

TRULY all-inclusive with the highest quality food and alcohol (ONLY thing extra are spa treatments and high end bottles of wine). All the restaurants are delicious, room service was great and they have a huge breakfast buffet if you want to get out of your room and socialize. Everyday you can request a fresh bottle of the alcohol of your choice or their house wine be brought to your room. During the day at the pool there were multiple times we asked for things that weren't even specifically on the menu and they always said no problem. Often times a fresh drink appears without even a word when the ice in your current one starts to melt. The bartenders at the swim up bar were so fun and I eventually had to tell them to stop giving me drinks (their "bottom shelf" liquor being $70 bottles) to try or I was going to be in bed for the rest of the day. I've been back several times with my family, and food and alcohol costs are always a concern for us because I come from a family of much taller and generally larger than average people, but it never crossed our minds here. Whatever time or day or night, room service or restaurant, early morning or post-midday nap, whatever you want is just a question away. As returning customers they've even offered us special rates when we booked repeat trips.

I've seen some reviews commenting on the staff, but we've never experienced anything but the friendliest service, and the only issues we've ever had were, rarely, with language barriers. The pool chair situation has never really been an issue. We went once during peak season and as long as you just asked the staff to grab some chairs for you it was fine. And just to clear up one review I saw, gratuities for all the staff are included in your all-inclusive price, the even specifically tell you not try and tip the staff. Unfortunately I can't tell you about the surrounding entertainment in Puerta Vallarta, because every time we've been so relaxed and content we never even left the resort. Bottom line: Go! Try it out for yourselves and you won't regret it!

This was our 3rd trip in recent years to all-inclusives in Puerto Vallarta having previously stayed at Dreams PV and Velas Vallarta. Overall, the stay was very good and we wish we could have stayed longer.

Room - we had an ambassador penthouse on the 9th floor. Elavators go to 8th floor with private stairs to our 9th floor room and 10th floor deck. Room was adequate and comparable to Dreams and Velas Vallarta in quality. The views from the 10th floor were great with no obstructions. Bathroom was small, a 2nd toilet and sink are also on the 10th floor. Rooms are nice enough but don't mistake them for the Four Seasons. 9th floor rooms were very private and quiet.

Beach - we prefer the beach to the pool and the beach here was wonderful. The sand was soft, water fairly gentle, no rocks to be found. Plenty of beach cabana's to go around. The beach isn't private so there is a lot of traffic passing along the shoreline but it wasn't a problem. Waiter service was spotty on the beach. We sometimes would just venture to the pool bar for service.

Pool - 3 layared pools. The younger kids used the pool close the hotel lobby, did not get in this pool. The middle pool was not heated and was a little cool. Lower pool was heated to about 85, had a nice swim up bar which was never too crowded to get a seat. Nice view of the beach from the edge of the infinity pool. Pool attendants and bartendars were excellent! Folks would stake their claim to the best poolside locations before 9AM with their books and other belongings. We could still find chairs available in less desirable spots in mid-afternoon.

Dining - Breakfast Azul buffet was good, very comparable to previous experiences at Dreams and Velas Vallarta. Service attendants were plentiful and helpful. Enough choices to pick different items each day. Lunch - The Azul does a buffet which we did on day 1 and it was good. We choose to be served at the poolside snack bar the rest of the stay. Food was good, our waiter, Jesus, was very nice and attentive. Cleaned our sunglasses daily and would get us ice cream from the Azul. Dinner - we tried all 3 specialty restaurants and room service. All the restaurants were very good, none was truly memorable. The French restaurant was probably my favorite regarding ambience as young children were not permitted. Our experence at the Mexican restaurant included a screaming infant at the table next to us to which neither the family nor staff seemed concerned with.

Overall we had a wonderful time at the Grand Velas. It was right after New Years and occupancy was 58% according to one of the staff I spoke with and it seemed like we had much of the place to ourselves. Restaurants never approached even half full so it was hard to the place ever feeling crowded.