Eric B
TUG Member
- Joined
- Jun 10, 2017
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- Resorts Owned
- Vacation Village, Wyndham, WorldMark, Vistana, Vidanta, Flora Farms, HGVC Max, and some independents
Below is a photo of what I believe is the gate (escape route) that Eric refers to...maybe? This gate is located between the Grand Mayan (Copan building) and the beach. Of course the problem is that both the door and the turnstile are locked...can't go through in either direction. The gate is at the edge of Vindanta property. You can see the condominium building behind the gate. There is a wire fence (about 14 gage wire for those of you with wire cutters) on both sides of the gate that extends the length of the property.
My wife and I spent some time digging around in the undergrowth of tropical jungle vegetation looking for a way to sneak through the fence, but no luck. As we popped out of the jungle back onto the walkway, a couple passing by stopped and asked "Are you trying to escape?" When we answered yes, they said they had been looking for 3 days and could not find a way out.
It would be interesting to know more of the background about this gate. It would be easy to station a security guard at the gate to check wristbands if they are concerned about outsiders coming in.
Walking up the beach to the Sea Garden is the only way to get a bus to Mega or downtown PV. Go through the front lobby and around the corner to the left of the Sea Garden and there is a bus stop and taxi stand. Sure would be nice if Vindanta had even ONE location where you could get a bus. We walked up the beach several times to the bus stop, but it's kind of a pain in the neck.
That's actually the gate between the Grand Mayan and the adjacent Mayan Island condominiums that were developed by Vidanta. The folks that bought those directly from Mayan Island have access to use the Grand Mayan pools; there's another condo building over by GL Tower 5 where I've seen listings on VRBO saying that they have access to the Mayan Palace pools. I believe the "little gate" was near the golf course somewhere and I've heard rumors they may open it again. We'll be back down there at the end of May and check it out; will try to post the location if it is open.
BTW, Vidanta does have at least one property where you can catch a bus - the Mayan Palace at Puerto Vallarta, which is actually in the Marina Vallarta area. The bus to downtown Puerto Vallarta stops across the street from the front door (no gate) and is simple to go out and catch. Not as cushy as the Grand Luxxe, of course, or as well located as Buganvilias, but convenient to the Marina Vallarta Thursday market in the high season and actually a decent place to go.