I'm at Grand Bliss in Nuevo

I will be here for the next week. Any burning questions I can help answer? I will be doing the update Tuesday.

A few initial observations:

- Internet speed is much improved (Free version). Consistent 4.5mbps up and down.

- The La Plaza seems pretty much complete with a new French restaurant on top floor, Tried it last night: excellent view and ambience. Food quality ranged from outstanding to just OK for our party of 6.

- We bought the meal plan. Used 3 of the dinner coupons for the 6 of us. Worked well as we all shared the appetizers and the desserts.

Mike

How's the beach? I'm currently booked in PV, but keep looking for Nuevo because I heard the beaches are better. Thanks!

I will be interested in your reports. They are really proud of the new units and the price will reflect it.

I guess the reason I complain about the internet is that here at home, my download speed is 36 mbps and upload is 12 mbps. We do not even have the highest level available from Cox. But, when we were there in November, it was not consistent. It was either off or around 1mbps several times each day.

pittle said:

I will be interested in your reports. They are really proud of the new units and the price will reflect it.

I guess the reason I complain about the internet is that here at home, my download speed is 36 mbps and upload is 12 mbps. We do not even have the highest level available from Cox. But, when we were there in November, it was not consistent. It was either off or around 1mbps several times each day.

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Phyllis,

You're spoiled!!

I live 50 miles North of Dallas- mostly country; we finally got basic DSL service at 4.7 down,.4 up - so this is great.

Mike

Lucky you being there.....with a move to Fla we did not plan for Mexico in 2014.
It is good to know that they are still offering a meal plan. We tried it in 2013 and felt it worked for us.
I hope you will update here after your presentation. I appreciate info about general changes to the program and postive/neg perceptions. Now to plan 2015 and beyond!!

How are you doing today

We'll be at Grand Mayan in a couple weeks. Can you explain the "meal plan"? We've been there before and didn't know they had a "meal plan". How did you use 3 tickets for 6 people? Did you all split each meal? How is the food? Which restaurant do you like best? When we were there last year they did have "early bird" 7:00 to 8:00 am or late bird??" 11:00 to 12:00am special at their fabulous breakfast buffet restaurant for a very good price. Hope they still do that? Can't wait to get there on Feb 6th!

Went to Puerto Vallarta today - We enjoy Sunday evenings on the Malecon with all the Mexican families enjoying the day. Ate at Pipi's - really good- largest Margaritas I have ever seen.

Zib, there are two meal plans, One is 6 breakfast buffets and one is 6 breakfast buffets and 6 dinners. The dinner coupons are basically any entree, any appetizer, and any dessert. Realistically, there is just too much food so we each pick the entree we want and split the appetizers and desserts. The waiters then apply the coupons to the most expensive entrees.

Lisa, you asked about the beach. I hate to comment much as the quality of the beach has so much to do with the expectations of the person asking. The beach is wide and has good sand with no rocks - excellent for walking. The water is not as nice as on the Atlantic side; there were people in the ocean - not me though: too many creatures out there with big teeth.

All the Luxxe construction that was such an issue last year seems to be basically over. The new pool complex is operational in Luxxe 4. Construction has started across the river - looks like a golf course.

Service seems as friendly and impeccable as always.

Mike

Is the lazy river operational at the grand luxxe? How much is the meal plan for breakfast/dinner? Does everyone need to buy the meal plan or can we just buy one and share at time? Thanks.

mikenk said:

Went to Puerto Vallarta today - We enjoy Sunday evenings on the Malecon with all the Mexican families enjoying the day. Ate at Pipi's - really good- largest Margaritas I have ever seen.

Zib, there are two meal plans, One is 6 breakfast buffets and one is 6 breakfast buffets and 6 dinners. The dinner coupons are basically any entree, any appetizer, and any dessert. Realistically, there is just too much food so we each pick the entree we want and split the appetizers and desserts. The waiters then apply the coupons to the most expensive entrees.

Lisa, you asked about the beach. I hate to comment much as the quality of the beach has so much to do with the expectations of the person asking. The beach is wide and has good sand with no rocks - excellent for walking. The water is not as nice as on the Atlantic side; there were people in the ocean - not me though: too many creatures out there with big teeth.

All the Luxxe construction that was such an issue last year seems to be basically over. The new pool complex is operational in Luxxe 4. Construction has started across the river - looks like a golf course.

Service seems as friendly and impeccable as always.

Mike

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I don't recommend the Meal Plans. When you arrive into PVR.... stop at the 1st desk on your right(after Immigration & Customs) and ask for the Mgr. Mario. He will offer you a 90 minute Timeshare Presentation to include..... 1. CITY & TEQUILA TOUR(2Tix) http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUser...05-r155112062-Tani_Tours-Puerto_Vallarta.html 2. RHYTHM OF THE NIGHTS(2Tix) http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attracti...t_by_Vallarta_Adventures-Puerto_Vallarta.html 3. Hotel to PVR Taxi. 4. Bottle of Tequila. 5. Excellent Breakfast Buffet. Upon your Hotel arrival, signup for the Mayan Hotel 90 minute presentation to receive another Buffet plus $3,000pesos credit on you Hotel bill. Breakfast buffet @ Grand Mayan's Samba is 265pesos with 30% discount between 7:00-8:00am..... http://www.xe.com/currencyconverter/convert/?Amount=265&From=MXN&To=USD .........Happy Traveling, gvic

Zib said:

We'll be at Grand Mayan in a couple weeks. Can you explain the "meal plan"? We've been there before and didn't know they had a "meal plan". How did you use 3 tickets for 6 people? Did you all split each meal? How is the food? Which restaurant do you like best? When we were there last year they did have "early bird" 7:00 to 8:00 am or late bird??" 11:00 to 12:00am special at their fabulous breakfast buffet restaurant for a very good price. Hope they still do that? Can't wait to get there on Feb 6th!

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Currently... Grand Mayan's Sambas is only offering "30% discount" Buffet from 7:00am. to 8:00am.

lily28 said:

Is the lazy river operational at the grand luxxe? How much is the meal plan for breakfast/dinner? Does everyone need to buy the meal plan or can we just buy one and share at time? Thanks.

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There is no lazy river at the Grand Luxxe - only at the Grand Mayan which you can use. The new pool complex by Luxxe 4 does not have a Lazy river although it had been rumored as such.

The meal plan for breakfasts are 1380 pesos for 6 coupons which is 230p each vs 270p at Del Lago (260p at Samba with less selection) - a savings of 40 or 30 pesos. Of course, it only works if you use them all. Remember these buffets are really large brunches with breakfast things but also carving stations and desserts. Of course, there is no sharing for these.

The dinner coupons are basically 394 pesos each. They include basically any entree, any appetizer, and any dessert. If they are worth it depends on what you want to order. Entrees alone run from say 170p to 460P; appetizers and desserts from say 80 to 200. If you want a light dinner - not worth it. If you want a three course meal - well worth it. Basically a three course meal with anything on the menu for 27 bucks.

Since the portions are generally fairly large, two people sharing a dinner coupon is a good option.

An important point is you have to use them - no carry overs. For our current group of 6, it was easy to decide. When just the two of us, we generally don't get as we go off resort most evenings.

Mike

Do you know what exchange rate is the hotel giving for US dollars now? Is it worth going to ATM or are they pretty close to the going exchange rate? It's so much easier to just get our money exchanged at the desk but we do have the opportunity to get into town or an ATM, if it's worth the trouble.

Zib said:

Do you know what exchange rate is the hotel giving for US dollars now? Is it worth going to ATM or are they pretty close to the going exchange rate? It's so much easier to just get our money exchanged at the desk but we do have the opportunity to get into town or an ATM, if it's worth the trouble.

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I never ask as I know it is higher. There is a bank ATM at the resort lobbies that I either use or at Walmart - whatever is convenient.

Zib said:

Do you know what exchange rate is the hotel giving for US dollars now? Is it worth going to ATM or are they pretty close to the going exchange rate? It's so much easier to just get our money exchanged at the desk but we do have the opportunity to get into town or an ATM, if it's worth the trouble.

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When we left on 1/16/15 it was 13:1
The going rate was 14.7 or so on the markets.

Money Exchange

We were at Grand Luxxe a few weeks ago. The exchange rate in the lobby was about 12 Pesos to the dollar. The Santander bank machine was giving 14.5 Pesos to the dollar. If you have a Bank of America debit card, there are no ATM fees as B of A has a reciprocal agreement with Santander where each charges no fees to the other. The machines are a snap to use so use the ATM.

Also, use credit cards that charge no foreign transaction fees while you are in Mexico. Foreign transaction fees are as high as 3%.

Thanks! Looks like Santander is the place for us to go with our B of A card. I know there is one in Nuevo, I think, by Walmart or the other grocery store on the highway because we used it last year. Do you know if the ATM at Grand Mayan is Santander? We didn't think to look last year but when we went in to Mayan Marina last year they had one there. We just went through that doorway behind the desk where you get your bracelets, so maybe Grand Mayan is Santander, too?
I appreciate everyone's advise! Thanks! Can't wait to get there on Feb 6th!!!

The Bank Machines in Grand Mayan, Grand Bliss and Grand Luxxe are all Santander Machines. They are in stairwells next to the elevators. If you can't locate one, talk to the front desk or concierge and they will point you in the right direction. I know you will have a graet time at the resort.

My WalMart charge on 1/26/2015 was converted @ 14.45pesos to One Dollar.

A word about the meal plans. If you haven't really been to the resort, then I do recommend them, but ONLY if you like huge breakfasts. The plan works best if you're a family with kids under 12. What we always did was use the dinner coupons (never use for lunch), and the two boys would have the appetizers and dessert, and my wife and I had the entrees. Now we don't really bother as much because we are not the types to have an app, entree and dessert, which is what is included. However, I love the breakfasts at the resort. So I buy a week's worth of breakfast, and one breakfast/dinner for every two people. Most dinners we just eat in another place, but when at the resort we use the coupons.

have a few minutes before heading to Bucerias, so thought I would update while fresh on my mind.

We did the update this morning; breakfast buffet was poolside at Fresca by Luxxe 4. It is more extensive than buffet at Samba. Some highlights / comments from Update:

- It was probably the most informative I have had. Of course, they wanted to sell me more but never got high pressure. BTW, I am always interested in what they are offering and willing to negotiate - so I don't mind the process and I know the game.

- This is the first time that I felt convinced that the entire Vidanta, Cirque du Soleil, Goddard joint venture theme park was going to actually happen. They had a very nice 6 minute joint video to explain. It will be quite sensational when it finally happens. It appears that there will be another line of resorts aligned specifically to the theme park.

- Cabo is still closed and being updated as they rebuild; should open by next high season.

- Eight holes of the the Greg Norman course is basically complete across the river.

- Not sure if anything else I learned is worthwhile.

All for now.
Mike