# Help us choose - Mayan Palace Puerta Vallarta or Nueva Vallarta??



## Fletcher921 (Jan 29, 2009)

We have friends who are booking in a few days and they said we can pick - they don't care which on we go to.  What are the differences - which one would you stay at and why??

Three of the four of us are golfers - love spa stuff as well.  Nice pretty beach with palapa's and cocktail service is a plus.

We have only been in Puerto Vallarta as a cruise stop for the day a few times.

Thank you!


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## pittle (Jan 29, 2009)

Well, since you mentioned golf, spa, palapas on the beach with cocktail service, I would choose the Nuevo MP.  It has all of those.  The PV resort is smaller and very convenient to the Marina area and local bus service.  We like that especially, but, the beach is very small there and there are not too many palapas.  It is not on the MP golf course.  There is one not too far away though.  

The spa in NV is really nice, as is the huge beach - I think it is nearly a mile long.

I like them both and try my best to get consecutive weeks in PV & NV whenever I can so that we can enjoy both.


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## MuranoJo (Jan 29, 2009)

Babs,

They are both nice for different reasons.  The beach at NV is nicer, but don't expect them to be like the ones on the Caribbean side...the sand is not as soft.  I've never used the NV spa, so can't speak to that.

The advantage to PV is the proximity to town and the Marina across the street--go across the street and hop on an inexpensive bus ride to get downtown.  (Just don't use the ATM machine across the street from the MP--3 of us had huge withdrawals from our accounts a whole 6 mos. later.  But it could happen anywhere.)


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## pammex (Jan 29, 2009)

Really depends what you want to do....spend a lot of time at resort and just go into PV a day or two, then Mayan in NV, but if want to be closer to PV and such then Mayan in PV.  

The Mayan in PV is maller than the one in NV and the one in NV is quite impressive......the other posters hit the nail on the head so good luck with your decision!!!  Have fun!


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## easyrider (Jan 29, 2009)

We were in Nariyat at the Villa del Palmar Flamigos last week. This is about 4 miles from the Grand Mayan in Nuevo Vallarta where we are now and I would rather be back at Flamigos. The rooms at the Grand Mayan are nice but the resort is too big.
You can Golf anywhere no matter where you stay. Just show up at the course. Puerto Vallarta sucks. Its ok for a visit but its just a big city with a dirty beach.


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## Fletcher921 (Jan 30, 2009)

Is the Grand Mayan property you are speaking of right near the Mayan Palace in Puerto Vallarta or Nuevo Vallarta?  I guess I am not sure where the Villa del Palmar Flamigos property is in relation to the city.

We stayed at a Grand Mayan in Acapulco in September and it was very nice.  But - it is Mexico - standards are a bit different...


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## aliikai2 (Jan 30, 2009)

*The GM is in Nuevo*

the property connects with the MP grounds. Flamingos is in Nuevo.

The location of the Marina MP is great to explore the city, I disagree with the previous poster , PV is a real city in Mexico, with history and the charm of the Mexican people. 

Some prefer the sterile areas like Cabo. Nuevo and Cancun that were built just for tourists, and if that is what your prefer, then please pick Nuevo.

We own at the Mp and the GM, we prefer the Marina location so we will be in the MP this year.
 We are hopeful that the Grupo Mayan will build a GM in the area across the street where the old Sea Garden was removed.

Enjoy yourselves,

Greg





Fletcher921 said:


> Is the Grand Mayan property you are speaking of right near the Mayan Palace in Puerto Vallarta or Nuevo Vallarta?  I guess I am not sure where the Villa del Palmar Flamigos property is in relation to the city.
> 
> We stayed at a Grand Mayan in Acapulco in September and it was very nice.  But - it is Mexico - standards are a bit different...


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## easyrider (Jan 30, 2009)

Flamingos is 4 miles down the road from the Grand Mayan in Nuevo Vallarta. Flamingos has newer type buildings and swiming pools. Flamingos also has a nice hot tub by the beach. 
The Grand Mayan has older type pools with tile and exposed agragate concrete. There is no outdoor hot tub at the GM. Should you end up in a unit in the 3rd or 4th building at the GM you will be walking forever to get to your room as the GM is huge. The GM would be a great place for families with kids who enjoy swiming pools and kid activities.
Nuevo Vallarta is clean. Puerto Vallarta is dirty. If you want to see a nice town thats old Mexico the places we like are Saluita and San Francisco on the Pacific Ocean 25 miles away from PV.


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## MuranoJo (Jan 30, 2009)

aliikai2 said:


> The location of the Marina MP is great to explore the city, I disagree with the previous poster , PV is a real city in Mexico, with history and the charm of the Mexican people.
> 
> Some prefer the sterile areas like Cabo. Nuevo and Cancun that were built just for tourists, and if that is what your prefer, then please pick Nuevo.


Agree with Greg.  After being at both places, we prefer the PV location because of its proximity to downtown PV (and we often use the Marina area across the street).  If we want to venture to outlying areas which also have 'charm,' we either take a bus or drive, or get a special driver if we have a few couples.

NV is nice, but I agree it is awfully spread out.  Neither of these resorts is going to give you the beach experience you would have in Cancun or other areas of the Caribbean.  I don't go for the beach, but for the culture and variety of scenery and experiences.


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## easyrider (Jan 30, 2009)

There are golf course very close to the GM in Nuevo. Our wives had a massage yesterday that they really enjoyed. We all like the pool and beach service. Our room is very nice with a great view of the bay and swiming pools. This is a nice resort. Its kind of big. The bellboys do all the luggage and groceries. From the entrance of the GM in Nuevo they will pick you up in a golf cart as the course is just across the street.


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## Fletcher921 (Jan 31, 2009)

Easyrider - I get it that you are not fond of Puerto Vallarta!!  My fave of all towns in Mexico is San Felipe in Baja.  We used to love Cabo long before all the development began down there.

The pools and grounds that you are describing are at the Grand Mayan, yes??  I was only asking for comparative differences between the two Mayan Palace resorts in the area.  My understanding is that Mayan Palace owners may not use the pools at the Grand Mayan in Nuevo.

My companions are golf lovers - they will probably golf 5 of our 7 days...  I am hoping for two things; a nice clean resort to lull around in by myself (read, sun, eat, work out) while my husband and our friends golf, and somewhere that we can still 'get to' the hustle and bustle of town when they are not golfing.  

If staying at Nuevo - can we rent a car for a couple days - picking up nearby the property?  How costly is a driver for a day there if we opt for that route?

How far is the airport from Nuevo; from PV?

How long a drive is in to town from Nuevo?


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## easyrider (Jan 31, 2009)

We rented a full size car at the airport, Pontiac G6 at Avis so were able to get away to some cool places.
The first week was in Flamingos and the second at the Grand Mayan.  There is a pool for adults only on the south end of the resort with beach Palapas and plenty of shade. There is also pool service here. This is the area we like the most. The beach has alot of gravel in this area at the wave line so its harder to get in with bare feet. 
The pools at the Grand Mayan are for kids, so your not misssing anything if you cant use them. The lazy river, wave pool and water slide are what my kids and grand kids would like.

Construction has picked up next to the Mayan Palace this morning. You really didnt notice any noise at the south pools. I dont think they start making noise until 9 am and there done working by 4 pm. This building is scheduled to be completed by October 2009.


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## tofdel1 (Feb 1, 2009)

Fletcher921 said:


> Easyrider - I get it that you are not fond of Puerto Vallarta!!  My fave of all towns in Mexico is San Felipe in Baja.  We used to love Cabo long before all the development began down there.
> 
> The pools and grounds that you are describing are at the Grand Mayan, yes??  I was only asking for comparative differences between the two Mayan Palace resorts in the area.  My understanding is that Mayan Palace owners may not use the pools at the Grand Mayan in Nuevo.
> 
> ...




If you will be golfing that much-there are at least 3 courses very close by.  The Mayan Golf course is being updated right now.  There are only 9 holes open.  There is also El Tigre, and Flamingos courses not far away.

I think easyrider is describing the "Grand" not "Mayan Palace". 
"My understanding is that Mayan Palace owners may not use the pools at the Grand Mayan in Nuevo." ---- I think you are correct.  Grand owners/renters can use the other resorts facilities, but Palace renters can only use Palace and Sea Garden(down the road).

There is some construction by the Palace resort, but it doesn't seem like it interfears, as far as I know.  

I would ask which would you be driving more to Puerto Vallarta or to go golfing?  The Mayans have a rental agency also.

The photo is mostly showing the Grand section.  The Palace section is the red and yellow structures and that area.  Hard to see much from that photo.


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## easyrider (Feb 2, 2009)

Yes, we were at the Grand Mayan but did check out the Mayan Palace and the Sea Garden. The Mayan Palace is next to the steel structure being built called the Luxxe. The building in front of the Luxxe will be torn down to build the Bliss. The Luxxe should be done by Oct 2009. 

It seems it takes about 20 minutes to get to the airport by car and maybe 30 minutes to the malecon parking garage. The only wrecks we saw were taxis. One taxi was under a bus and all in the taxi were injured. Another taxi hit a taxi. This was in PV central. If you rent a car, rent from Avis. awd k444404 will cut the price by 30-40 %. Use a visa that has rental car coverage and Avis has allready included liability with their rate.


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## Fletcher921 (Feb 3, 2009)

Thank you - we may rent a car this time.  We stayed in Acapulco in September and just hired a driver.


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