Meal plans at Nuevo-GrandMayan,Bliss or Luxxe

Will do thanks for the tip!

ada903 said:

I emailed the Grand Luxxe Riviera Maya concierge and they said they have no meal plans available.

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My guess is the reasoning is that the RM location is more isolated; therefore they don't need to offer any discounts.

NV has bunches of good easy access dining options, so the meal plan makes more business sense in order to keep you on the resort.

Mike

We've never been able to get a meal plan at Riviera Maya, but will be at Nuevo Vallarta, and I think it was available in Acapulco when we were there last.

VickiS said:

We've never been able to get a meal plan at Riviera Maya, but will be at Nuevo Vallarta, and I think it was available in Acapulco when we were there last.

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We're at NV Grand Luxxe now. We bought the 6 breakfast and 6 lunch/dinner vouchers and it has worked out great so far.

Hi,

For the shuttle back to the airport, do you guys just use the resort's service or do you book private transportation? What is the cost by the way?

Thanks!

We were quoted 185 pesos for the trip back to the airport by private taxi. My sister-in-law flew home today and took a taxi. It was quick and easy. Everything is so controlled here, I wonder how/if you could arrange private transportation?

Thanks PamMo for the info.

How's your stay going? We are heading out there in a few days and can't wait!

Did you do any tours or anything outside the resort that you can recommend?

We're having a great time! We traded in through Interval, and even though our II confirmation said 3BR spa suite, we knew we could get assigned just about anything. (We know some people who got a 2BR, even though their trade stated 3BR.) We were stunned to get a top floor 3BR spa suite! By far, the most wonderful timeshare or hotel suite we've ever stayed in! (And we've been lucky to stay in some beautiful places.) I could easily live in this unit, with a little adjustment to the kitchen - add a dishwasher and double ovens. The ginormous balcony - with daybeds, lounge chairs, dining table and chairs which add up to "sit down" dining for 16 in this suite(!), and 8X8 dipping pool, is such a great place to begin and end every day. When we checked out of our suite after our first week was up, the staff got together behind the desk and talked, smiled, and asked if we would like to stay in our unit for another week. Seriously???? We giggled, high-fived, and did a thank you dance all the way back to our room! The 2BR Grand Mayan unit we reserved would have been fine, I'm sure, but this unit is SO wonderful!

The staff here is extremely kind and helpful. We love our floor concierge. We were invited to do a timeshare presentation at check-in, but declined. They asked if they could check with us later in the week, and we said yes, but we were going to be busy. We did get ONE call, and that's it. EVERYONE has been lovely.

The Vidanta resort is huge. We've used the spa, gym, pools, eaten in several of the restaurants, and walked everywhere. One of our guests has limited mobility, so we didn't venture too far off the resort. We did spend a day shopping and cooking with Mavi Graf - a local chef. We had a blast! Mavi takes you all over Puerto Vallarta to collect the freshest ingredients for the meal you will cook together. She is a tiny little bundle of immense energy, humor, intelligence, and graciousness. I highly recommend taking a cooking class from her if you want to learn about modern (or traditional) Mexican cuisine.

Have a great vacation, Blackjack! All the guests we've spoken with around the resort seem to be just as happy with their stay as we are. We actually prefer to be closer to town, so are a bit surprised by how much we are enjoying our time here!

Thanks for your reply!

Sounds like you don't need me to tell you to enjoy your vacation but I am going to say it anyways, Enjoy your vacation!!!

But I am kind of scared that we could be put into a 2BR. We will need the room. I keep my fingers crossed that doesn't happen to us.

Hurricane Patricia

Hi PamMo,

Just reading there will be a hurricane hitting the area tomorrow. How's the situation?

Stay safe out there!

Wow! We haven't heard anything about an incoming hurricane - thanks for the heads up! We're leaving at noon tomorrow, so I hope we get out in front of it. Now I understand why we didn't get our flight upgraded out of PVR - I bet a LOT of people are trying to get out before the storm hits. I'm surprised we've had no warning about a Cat 4 hurricane off the coast. My prayers go out to the locals - it looks like they will have to deal with major flooding.

We did notice the weather was unusually still and muggy this morning, but didn't consider it ominous. Maybe I should check weather reports more often when I'm on vacation...

Sorry, didn't mean to throw out bad news without doing the proper research. According to the resort, they said they should be pretty sheltered away from the storm which is hitting landfall farther south. They don't seem to be worried.

Stay safe and hope it doesn't hit too hard but does look bad for the folks down farther south. Hope it ends up not being as bad as they think.

PamMo - It looks like it will hit tomorrow night so you should be able to make it out okay.

Blackjack - When are you scheduled to arrive?

We will be arriving 10/31.

Part of our party is suppose to arrive tomorrow afternoon, the expected landfall. So they are reconsidering.

Then we have parties arriving saturday and sunday. So we will be right in the middle of it. I received a reply from the resort that they are making preparations but aren't worried.

I figure if Southwest is willing to fly there then it probably didn't hit too hard at PVR. At least I am keeping my fingers crossed.

Alaska and United have already issued travel advisories, and will reschedule or refund flights in/out of Puerto Vallarta this weekend. Best to check with your airline for information on your flights. The marinas have issued storm warnings, and everyone is battening down the hatches. We've started packing, so haven't been down to the pool to see if all the chairs and umbrellas have been put away. I know Cabo resorts throw everything in the pools for safekeeping when a big storm makes landfall there.

We've had some spectacular bursts of lightning and thunder, and I can see bands of rain, but no drops here yet. The wind has picked up, blissfully cooling things down a bit. No one would guess a Cat 4 storm is lurking off the coast. There are still some foursomes playing out on the golf course.

Latest reports are that Patricia has turned westward and will get here tomorrow afternoon/evening. It was most impressive that she went from a tropical storm to a Cat 4 hurricane in 27 hours.

For more information on Patricia, follow her here: http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/refresh/graphics_ep5+shtml/203329.shtml?tswindloop?#contents

If it sounds too good to be true...

We are checking in at the Grand Mayan in Nuevo Vallarta tomorrow. While walking in old downtown Puerto Vallarta today we were offered the following to attend a sales presentation there tomorrow.
1. Massage for 2
2. Breakfast for 2
3. (Here's the too good to be true part). They offered in the form of a VISA gift card the amount of our existing timeshares that we presently own. That would be over $4,000. (American dollars not pesos). Has anyone come across this?

There is another post where Vida offers to buy back your timeshare when you buy retail. But not a straight out offer of a visa card of that magnitude. I would assume that once you get there, the actual deal will be if you buy.

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Meals

Have been visiting there for over 15+ years. Just the 2 of us but we stop at the Walmart on the way to the resort and pickup groceries for breakfast and lunch and a couple dinners. If I had kids and wanted to keep the expense down, and given kids can be picky eaters, I would think about the Walmart idea. They have everything I see in the States so may save you some decent change.

The plan is a bargain for being on the resort. The buffet at Del Lago is usually $25 per person and is AMAZING. Not to mention it is open until noon so you could technically have breakfast in your room and use it for lunch since the buffet is really a brunch.

The dinner part is a bargain if you go big. Clearly you don't want to use the coupon at the burger joint. But if you go to the Cuban restaurant and order the Filet with an appetizer and dessert you are going to spend over $50.

And yes you can go off resort and get a great meal for a reasonable price but that't the thing... you have to go off resort. That might be a bit of a hike or a taxi ride into PV. So the convenience factor has to be considered as well. The food at the Vidanta properties is very good as well. I have never had a meal I didn't like.

In Riviera Maya you are a captive audience. It's a 20 minute shuttle ride to Playa Del Carmen (not including the wait for the shuttle) so many stick at the resort. My wife and I love going into Playa for the food choices. But the prices are not that much lower than the resort food prices.

The food is one reason we love the Vidanta resorts. We've done the all-inclusive resorts. They seem like a deal until you learn that the food is mediocre and the drinks are watered down. At Vidanta you can go to the Mega or Walmart and by your own alcohol and food cheap. Mix your own drinks and make your own food. Then pamper yourself with some meals out. It saves money and you are not trapped on a resort all-inclusive plan. One resort we went to in St Maarten had such bad food we actually gave our wrist bands back and asked for a refund. We also had a bad all-inclusive experience in Cancun once.

We bought the meal coupons in Acapulco years ago and they worked well for us. We do tend to eat in our unit, but 1 coupon book gave us several meals in our favorite restaurant at the time.

In NV, we really like Chiringuito - the Spanish place near the GB pool that serves Tapas and Blue Fish by the GL pool was great. Freshco by the GL building 5 & pool is also good. We liked Taco Break but I hear there is a new place in the Plaza area with reasonably price tacos - we will check it out in November. Actually, all are pretty good . Room Service is often the best option! :whoopie: