david4455
Dec 8, 10, 8:01 am
Our favorite haunt in PV was the old Camino Real. Since our last visit 8 years ago, the hotel was bought and while left intact, was made into a Dreams ( a chain of AI)
For those that long for the old days of the Puerto Vallarta Camino Real and are interested if any of the grand dame ambiance of it former days carried over into its new incarnation as all-inclusive Dreams.....guess no longer.
It did not!
We are in PV and curious, we went on a site visit yetsterday to see if some day we would want to return to this lovely location south of old town.
It looks the same...in fact there have been no renovations in the old building and minor sprucing in the new. The grounds look tired and the gardens less lush. But worst of all....the atmosphere is ruined by blasting pounding music in the pool areas. In fact...what was one of its biggest attractions at the C.R., its beach, was virtually empty. Everyone was around the pools...no one was looking at the ocean. The median age looked like late 20's with a few kids thrown in....and as I toured the retaurant( s) all I saw was fried food....lots of it. There were a few plates of "mexican" food...beans and cheese and rice all running together... the kind of food you get at a local Mexican restaurant back home and say " never again".
I was so curious to visit because TripAdvisor has been getting glowing reviews on this place after their rocky transition a few years ago. I had high hopes. Not only did it scare me off from ever returning but it made me begin to question how biased or slanted Tripadvisor may be...... perhaps they need to identify the age the the reviewer....that would speak volumes.
For those that long for the old days of the Puerto Vallarta Camino Real and are interested if any of the grand dame ambiance of it former days carried over into its new incarnation as all-inclusive Dreams.....guess no longer.
It did not!
We are in PV and curious, we went on a site visit yetsterday to see if some day we would want to return to this lovely location south of old town.
It looks the same...in fact there have been no renovations in the old building and minor sprucing in the new. The grounds look tired and the gardens less lush. But worst of all....the atmosphere is ruined by blasting pounding music in the pool areas. In fact...what was one of its biggest attractions at the C.R., its beach, was virtually empty. Everyone was around the pools...no one was looking at the ocean. The median age looked like late 20's with a few kids thrown in....and as I toured the retaurant( s) all I saw was fried food....lots of it. There were a few plates of "mexican" food...beans and cheese and rice all running together... the kind of food you get at a local Mexican restaurant back home and say " never again".
I was so curious to visit because TripAdvisor has been getting glowing reviews on this place after their rocky transition a few years ago. I had high hopes. Not only did it scare me off from ever returning but it made me begin to question how biased or slanted Tripadvisor may be...... perhaps they need to identify the age the the reviewer....that would speak volumes.