Cat 5: Puerto Vallarta [Hurricane Patricia]

[PerryKing]

FYI _ Update from one of the Hotel Groups in PVR

FYI Via Perry.

From AMR Resorts:

10/24/2015

Dear Valued Travel Partner, (That's Me- A travel Agent) Perry


We are happy to report that all guests are safe and have returned to their resort. Secrets Vallarta Bay Puerto Vallarta, Dreams Villamagna Nuevo Vallarta and Now Amber Puerto Vallarta experienced no damage and are operating normally.

We are also happy to share, the Puerto Vallarta International Airport (PVR) has reopened and will be receiving flights this afternoon. Therefore, our inclement weather policy is no longer in effect.

We want to thank our resort staff, partners and all local authorities for keeping our guests well informed, protected and calm during this time.

As always, thank you for your continued support and dedication in serving our mutual clients. We will keep you informed of any further developments.



Sincerely,
Colette Baruth
AMResorts
Vice President Sales, Marketing & Revenue Management








Please add notifications@amresorts.com to your contacts

 

[Karen G]

Here is a good article about why there was no damage in Puerto Vallarta.

 

[VegasBella]

I'm just amazed that there were no deaths. Good job, Mexico for evacuating people in time.

 

[PamMo]

Thanks for update. In retrospect, do you feel that the Vidanta Management and staff were working to a well thought out plan during the storm or planning as they went. How did they communicate?

Mike

Sorry it's taken so long to answer your question, Mike. We got home three days after schedule and I'm playing catch up!

We are very impressed with how Vidanta dealt with the hurricane. Patricia blew up so fast that it was an unusually small window for preparation. It was obvious the staff had trained and practiced for such an event. Our experience in the Grand Luxxe, Tower 4, 9th floor was this:

Thursday afternoon - A flyer was delivered to our door that a tropical storm in the Pacific had grown into a hurricane and was headed our way. Our floor concierge told us there is a possibility we may have to evacuate to a storm shelter on the property. All resort activities were cancelled for the evening, and we were asked to stay in our rooms. They would give us updates as more information was known. Many guests rushed to La Plaza to pick up water and other supplies at the convenience store. They were already pulling beer from the shelves and stopping sales of alcohol. From our past hurricane experiences, this is a common and prudent decision. When we came back from La Plaza, there were bulletin boards in the lobby and on each floor by the elevator (concierge desk) detailing the storm track. It was a very quiet night as we waited for news on where Patricia would make landfall.

Friday before the evacuation - Two more bulletins were delivered to our room. Everyone was watching the news on TV and the internet. Some guests were getting a little hysterical in the lobby, demanding to be flown out immediately. The staff was very professional, calm, and reassuring. Our wonderful floor concierge, Bernardo, told us to be ready for evacuation to the storm shelter by 11:30am. The flyers and Bernardo stated that we should pack a small bag with essentials, and leave the rest of our belongings in our room. That did not stop people from bringing suitcases, coolers, blankets, pillows, 6 liter bottles of water, coolers of beer, etc., to the lobby for evacuation by shuttles to the hurricane shelter. Staff explained that seats on the shuttle were for people not luggage, and they could not take all their "stuff". Guests were scared, and the staff handled it well. They had obviously been schooled and had practiced an emergency evacuation.

Friday at the shelter - The parking garage/laundry/training/maintenance building seemed like an unlikely storm shelter at first, but it made sense after looking around. Before we got there, they had already boarded up the windows on the two floors guests were in, and continued to board up the parking garage with plywood braced with doubled up 2X4's. Vidanta staff was everywhere, guiding, reassuring, and offering assistance. They worked nonstop to get people settled in and comfortable. There were blankets, pillows, beds, chairs of every kind lining the walls of every room and hallway. Staff walked from room to room offering water, fruit, candy, and information on the storm. They laid electric cables and wired outlets so everyone had access to the internet and outside world. They opened up countless boxes of fans (they must have bought out Costco, Sam's Club, and Walmart) and set them up every 20-30' to give relief to guests camped out in the hallways without air-conditioning. By no later than 1pm, we were told the staff cafeteria was open for lunch. It stayed open throughout our stay in the shelter. Staff regularly came through the shelter, giving us updates on what was happening outside. Around 3pm, we were told that the city was planning to shut off the power, and the building would be powered by generator to provide lighting only. That was the scariest part of the day - wondering if Patricia was really going to hit us. We were all reading internet reports from the National Hurricane Center about this being the most dangerous storm in recorded history. Again, the staff was very calm and reassuring. It was a relief to hear Patricia made landfall well south of us in Caixmala, and Puerto Vallarta was safe. They evacuated guests in the same order that they were brought to the shelter.

So, to answer your question, "Did they have a plan and communicate well?" Yes, throughout the day it became very obvious they had a plan and had trained well to execute it. The biggest glitches were nervous guests at the beginning, and anxious-to-get-back-to-their-room guests at the end of the evacuation - which the staff dealt with effectively, but it would be so much better if people could simply follow directions.

 

[beach.bar.bob]

Nice post Pam.
Very reassuring that they created, practiced and implemented a sound plan.
One would hope that all the major resorts have acted in a similarly professional manner.

Glad everything worked out for all.

bbb

 

[mikenk]

Thanks Pam for the excellent summary of events; I am thinking the staff really appreciated people with your attitude.

We all know the bad press Vidanta gets on this board for the sales antics. I have always appreciated how well trained the staff were for normal operations; it is reassuring to hear that they also seemed well trained for emergency situations.

Mike

 

[rpennisi]

Great report!
An "A" to Vidanta and a "D" to some guests who can't follow directions in an emergency.

 

[mikenk]

Great report!
An "A" to Vidanta and a "D" to some guests who can't follow directions in an emergency.

I would give them an "E" for feeling "Entitled" to special treatment. You see the best and worse of people in those types of situations.

 

[MuranoJo]

It's amazing the staff handled this so well; they were also probably worried about their friends and family on the outside. Their training might have also helped prepare others in the community.

Kudos to Vidanta and thanks for the report, Pam.

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

I would give them an "E" for feeling "Entitled" to special treatment. ...

Not surprising, considering that "Entitled" is essentially what Vidanta pitches in their sales presentations.

 

[PamMo]

The vast majority of the guests were great, and it was amazing how well the whole evacuation process worked. Thankfully, we did not have to test it out all the way through a direct hit by a hurricane.

I'll post a full review, but in short, we really enjoyed our 2+ week stay at the resort. We own Westin, Marriott, and Hilton timeshares, and thought the GL 3BR spa unit blew past all of them in comfort, quality, and amenities. Our Tower 4, top floor corner unit was light, incredibly spacious, and beautifully appointed. (I could easily live there if it had a dishwasher and double ovens.) We loved the huge balcony. The service throughout the resort was consistently excellent. We declined an invitation to a timeshare presentation at check in. A few days later, we received another invitation, and we again declined. That was it. We never heard from sales again. We prefer staying closer to downtown Puerto Vallarta, but we would love to get another unit at Grand Luxxe for a future family get together.

 

[VickiS]

We were also at the GL during Patricia and I second everything Pam said about the staff, their preparations, actions, etc. So many of them stayed on site to take care of all of us when their own families were in just as much danger as we were. I was so impressed with the way that things were handled.

We now call it our "Hurricanniversary".