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Palladium Vallarta
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Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico |
Other
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Decor |
Service |
Value |
Location |
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6 |
7 |
6 |
5 |
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Hotel Photos
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High-Speed Internet Access |
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Available: Unknown
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Hotel Comments |
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- On Mar. 10, 2005, Anonymous posted:
We have just returned from a week at the Palladium Vallarta Resort and Spa north of Puerto Vallarta. Although I had a great time, there are a few tips I wish I had beforehand. 1. The hotel was recently rennovated, however there was not a lot of construction going on. There were some peole working at the adult pool, but it wasn't too bad.
2. The washrooms leave a bit to be desired by the pools, but they were constantly cleaning at least. Also some doors in the ladies washrooms don't lock.
3. The food at the buffet was good, but it tended to be the same ol' stuff. The waitstaff are very selective about who they attend to. We were talking to one waiter and he asked us if we were from Canada, we told him no we are from United States. He explained that now that he knew that, we should make sure we sit in his section. He said that the staff that are Mexican natives like people from U.S. because apparently the Canadians don't tip. I asked for water one morning and the waiter totally ignored me because he thought I was Canadian. Now I know that they need to make money too and I kind of wrote it off as a difference in the culture. The Mexican locals are pretty blatant about that.
4. The A La Carte Restaurants, make your reservations right when you check in. We called the desk and they said we had to physically come down there, not over the phone. We waited a long time and the availability is limited. We literally hung up and walked down there, so it was a matter of minutes and the guy was like "oh we're closed". After arguing w/ him about calling and saying we'd be right down he did it w/ duress. They only take reservations until 2 and they take forever. They also give you odd times and act like they only have either 8:30 or 9:45 for example. So we go to dinner and we're like the only people in the restaurant. I do understand if staff is limited and I do have to say the service was attentive, however they do rush you in and out. You also can only eat at each restaurant once, however the food is pretty descent. The buffet will get old even though they have "theme nights"
5. Nobody seemed to be able to give the same information as anyone else. You get the run around a lot and I think this again is a culture thing and possibly a language barrier. However I have worked in restaurants and I think they get a little kick out of sending you on these wild goose chases.
6. One couple I met in the adult pool stated that they had reserved ocean front and they did not get that. They had to move from bldg. 1 to 2. The rooms were very sparse and I would have liked more information to read in the room. You really have to ask around about information. No hanging space in the closet, but bathrooms were good and housekeeping was good.
6. The entertainment staff by the main pool was a riot! They were a lot of fun, very courteous and friendly. We met one girl at the pool who works there (sorry I can't rememeber her name) but she was very informative and she got us up to speed on the drill. The main guy at the pool, Jose was also very helpful and this guy never stops. He takes his job very seriously and will go out of his way to get people involved and have fun. Usually around 10:45 he announces the activity schedule and also throughout the day to get people involved. Carlos was also really fun and a really nice guy, also very talented dancer. They also put on a show around 9:30-ish in the theatre and they are very comical and also extremely talented dancers. These shows are themed as well. They have an Icebreaker before and also additional activity after the show. Get there a little early to make sure you get a seat. The beach party is also really fun. I really do have to give this staff "mad props!" They work really long days and not much time off.
7. We did one tour, which was sailing w/ whales. This day was a little rocky at first. We booked it thru the hotel and the company is Vallarta Adventures. Be prepared for a long morning. Since the hotel is so secluded it takes a long time to get anywhere, you will be in transit for what seems like an eternity. Then you go to one place and they take you to the marina via truck. Then after that the instruction is not very clear. We ended up herded into the wrong group and missed our boat! There was so much commotion we didn't hear them tell the sailing trip group was further down the pier. The signs marking where to go are not posted high enough. They are at about waist high, and I'm only 5'4", with all of the crowd we didn't see the signs. I do have to say they did remedy the situation, but it was very upsetting. The main guy there took us in the office and was speaking to the girl in spanish and by the tone of his voice and his expression I gathered it was bad news. They were able to get a smaller boat to transport us to the sailboat. This is where things got better and we had a lot of fun. We were greeted promptly and served fruit and drinks. This tour rocked! We were waited on hand and foot and saw 2 whales. Pedro and Pancho are on this boat and they were awesome. Very knowledgeable and they made my day turn around quickly. I would highly recommend this tour and space is limited to only about 15 people so it is a much more intimate setting than the catamaran trip.
Let's see what else: (I know it's long but I think it's helpful). The bartenders all pour differently and they rotate to the 3 different bars. Once I found one I liked I sought him out. We did see an improvement also when we tipped on occasion.
A lot of people brought insulated mugs, which I wish I had. The cups at the hotel are small and your drink will melt rapidly. There is a lot of walking and stairs. I actually lost some weight from all of it and I was very exhausted in the AM. You will need comfy shoes, but if you want to dress up ladies, be careful with higher heels. There are also a lot of grates along the sidewalks and the openings are approx. 1" and they will trip you up every time. There are also a lot of them at the tops of stairways.
Building 1 is by the adult pool, 2 is by the main and 3 is the furthest out. We asked for a first floor room, but come to find out it's actually not on the main level w/ all the activities. You have to take 2 flights of stairs down to get to them and it is poorly lit. You actually want to be on floor 1, we were on what is called floor 0. Duh...who would have known? We had a nice patio but could not leave the door open at night while sleeping, which would have been nice. The floor 1 rooms actually are up higher w/ a balcony, but are on the main floor. Confusing, but I think it's due to the hotel being situated on a cliff.
The disco is way too loud and it's very smoky. The hotel policy stated no spring breakers, but I spotted quite a few.
The main pool is very cold, but fun. The adult pool is like a warm bath, but if you are going in the afternoon make sure your towel is handy. You only get one towel so if you can get to the pool you can mark your chair and leave to come back. I recommend doing that before breakfast. Also take your water out of the fridge weather you are consuming it or not. That way you can stock up otherwise they don't replenish it. We found ourselves rationing the first day. You can also refill w/ purified water at the snack bar and the gym. The beach is rocky and I actually hurt myself boogey boarding so be careful.
There are vendors on the beach as well as a flea market at night in the courtyard.
The gym is not impressive, we only went once and ended up really sore the next day because all the weights were in kilograms.
I think that's about it. I did have a good time, but these are things you will want to know. I found the culture to be much different from the U.S., it's slow and laid back and there is no sense of urgency on anyone's part. I tried to embrace the change in culture but that was hard for me. Also the convenient "attention defecit disorder" on the part of waitstaff in the buffet. This could explain the great service at the a la carte restaurants since they only have 2-3 tables at a time. Who knows!
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