Here is a VERY long road trip report / review of 3 Starwood properties in the Puerto Vallarta area. This isn’t for someone with a short attention span. There isn’t much posted here on El Careyes or El Tamarindo … but these properties are so outstanding that more Flyertalk users really need to put these properties on their radar.

- Sheraton Buganvilias

We arrived at dusk and planned a quick night at this property before driving down the coast in the morning. I had booked a Towers level room and that is what I received (I asked for an upgrade and was advised no better room was available). Neither clerk at the front desk knew what a Platinum amenity was. Occupancy at the hotel didn’t look to be too high.

The Tower level room is as basic of a room as I’ve seen at any Sheraton (this is a Category 3 property). There are no patios on the Tower levels; there was no clock in our room. We had problems with the A/C but lived with the heat since it was only for one night.

The Tower lounge is open from 7 am to 12 noon for continental breakfast (cereals, bagels, juice, coffee) and 5 to 6 pm for hors d’oeuvres (one hot item, chips & guacamole and a dessert item) and complimentary wine or champagne. The lounge is not air conditioned.

The two big pools are very nice and open from 8 am to 10 pm (towels available from 10 am to 6 pm.) The beach is rocky and didn’t look to appealing (you need to work your way past the vendors trying to sell you stuff). The hotel is conveniently located near town.

At checkout, I thought I’d try again for my 500 points but the morning staff had also never heard of a Platinum amenity.

Now, off on our road trip …


Drive from Puerto Vallarta to El Careyes

We ran into several other guests at El Careyes who also made the drive down from PVR to get to both the El Careyes as well as El Tamarindo. Here are some notes for anyone contemplating that drive:

To go from PVR to El Careyes, simply get on Mexico Rt. 200 and keep going straight until you get to the entrance of the resort. It is that easy. Now, it will take you 2.5 hours on a small two lane, unlit “highway”, but as long as you make the drive while there is sunlight, you’ll easily speed along putting the cattle-crossing warning signs out of mind (we came upon a couple of mules in the roadway during our drive). There is only 1 gas station between PVR and El Careyes (somewhere around mileage marker 150 km, didn’t keep track of that). The worst part of the drive comes early on (mileage markers 198 to 195) where it is a winding mountain road; lots of gravel on the roadway. El Careyes is at mileage marker 53.5 km. As long as you have the time, this is a very do-able drive. You will drive through some run down little towns, but you won’t be bothered.

El Careyes quoted a fee of 1800 pesos for a taxi one-way to or from PVR so we decided to drive. By comparison, the one-way taxi fare to the Manzanillo airport was 660 pesos (1.5 hours away). A one-way taxi from El Careyes to El Tamarindo (60 minutes) was posted at 450 pesos.

- El Careyes

Welcome / Check-In / Platinum Recognition

Once you arrive at the 53.5 km mileage marker, you can’t help but notice the large El Careyes / Luxury Collection sign on the roadway. You’ll need to drive down a small road for about 5 minutes and pass a security checkpoint. On arrival, a bellman was standing at the lobby entrance waiting to get our bags; we then walked to the open air lobby / check-in desk while our car was parked. We were offered cold towels, a cold drink and a very friendly reception. My Platinum status was commented on and I was informed that they had upgraded us. We were then provided with a short tour of the property while our bags were brought up to the room. The rooms and suites are built in a pueblo-style horseshoe around an immense infinity pool, but I thought it had a very Mediterranean look (brightly colored buildings clustered in a semi-circle that were reminiscent of small Greek towns).

Room Quality

We were upgraded to a “master suite” (Room 211): two bedrooms, each with a king size bed, two full bathrooms, a kitchen, dining area, living room (two people could have slept on the couches) and a small patio with a view overlooking the pool. Very nice. (I had originally booked a room with one bedroom/queen size bed and a separate living room with a sofa bed). A/C worked great in all rooms (ceiling fans also in each room). Room came with a room safe (need to get lock & key from front desk), a can of Raid, bug repellant, a flashlight, hairdryer, robes/slippers, two clocks, showers with good water pressure, etc. A personalized welcome letter from the GM was in the room (letter advised that each evening after 6:30 pm we could receive a free margarita at the front of the main restaurant) along with a fruit basket. The room is serviced twice a day.

Dining / Public Spaces

There is a full service restaurant, La Lantana (very good food / service at a reasonable price), and a deli (open 10 am – 7 pm, good sandwiches for a cheap price – 40 to 50 pesos): everything is made fresh when you order it. Loved the local style chicken soup! (They bring a bowl to the table that looks like a salad, and then bring over a tea pot filled with chicken broth and pour it into your bowl.) (Room service also available.) I liked everything they served.

There are really only 3 other dining choices off property. You can walk to the Playa Rosa Restaurant (excellent food, specializing in seafood) by walking along the beach for 5 minutes; you can also drive there. Several of the Careyes staff recommended we have a meal there. There are also 2 other restaurants about 15 minutes away, one in each direction back on the “highway”. We met a bunch of the Careyes staff having dinner at La Loma restaurant (they are just as friendly away from work). I’m sure this was popular since it is so cheap (entire steak meal for 60 pesos), but I’d recommend eating either on the property or at Playa Rosa.

There is a gift shop, a “library” (borrow books or videos to play in your room), and a great spa (the workout room faces the beach) with a separate indoor Jacuzzi, plunge pool, sauna, steam room and treatment rooms. There is a PC in a small room right behind the reception desk that provides free internet access. The winding infinity pool is fantastic (staff comes around with water and fruit during the day) and surrounded by great lounge chairs; big fluffy beach towels are provided. The private beach here is MUCH better than any of the beaches in PVR. One of my favorite features is an outdoor lounge area facing the beach (5 big “couch” areas providing 5 distinct conversation pits). We had our drinks under the stars here at night. There is also a separate fire pit for “camp fires” during cooler weather. All of the facilities are very well maintained.

There are tennis courts, a nearby Polo field with horseback riding, mountain bikes available, boat cruises from the property; for golf, they shuttle you over to El Tamarindo.

The staff is very friendly throughout the property. I can’t think of another hotel I’ve stayed at where the staff was as consistently friendly from check-in to check-out. You’re made to feel like family.

The hotel advised that they host quite a few weddings each Fall and I could understand why. This property would make a GREAT place to have a wedding. (It is part of Starwood’s new Honeymoon Collection).

To give you some reference on pricing on the property, kayaks are $10 US an hour, massages are 900 pesos an hour, wash/press a shirt is 24 pesos.

Other Room Types

When we were there, occupancy at the hotel was reportedly at 25% since early June is off-season (we saw many more working staff than guests). I’m sure this is also due to the remote location of the resort. If I could get here quicker, I’d gladly frequent this property.

I was taken on a tour of other vacant rooms. About one-third of the rooms on the property have private Jacuzzi pools on the patio. The Jr. Oceanfront rooms (Room 20, 21, etc.) have king size beds, with Jacuzzi’s and unobstructed, private views over the beach. The Oceanview rooms (I saw Room 129) are at the back of the property, overlooking the pool and then the beach: king size beds, a huge bathroom, with a private Jacuzzi on a much bigger patio. The regular rooms all come with either a pool or ocean view. There are also 3 casitas (I saw a three-story one, with 3 bedrooms & bathrooms, 2 Jacuzzi’s, a huge kitchen, dining room and living room, just steps from the beach).

Check-Out / SPG Stay Credit

We checked out at 1 pm. I would have stayed longer but we had reservations at El Tamarindo to get to. At check-out, I was offered the Platinum amenity (they advised that they forgot to offer it when I checked in) of either 500 points, a bottle of wine or some other local gift (took the points). Their computer system was down at the time so they advised they would email me a final copy of my bill (not received yet; we checked out over two weeks ago). The stay / points haven’t made it to my Starwood account either (but my credit card has been charged). I guess I’ll have to follow-up with SPG for assistance.

El Careyes - Overall Impression

This is an outstanding property in every category: the rooms, facilities, staff, service and overall quality of this resort is top notch. It is worth making the trek!

Drive from El Careyes to El Tamarindo

The drive from lobby to lobby will take you one hour. Turn right on Rt. 200 and go straight until you get to mileage marker 8 km (40 minutes). Along the way, you’ll pass by a police station at 47.5 km (don’t speed!), La Loma Restaurant at 41.5 km, and a Mexican military check-point at 28 km (I was advised they only stop cars, for drug searches, going in the direction towards El Careyes). (We were waived through both times we drove by).

You’ll come to a yellow wall marked El Tamarindo at about the 8 km marker. Turn in and you’ve got (at least) a 20 minute drive down to the resort (with a resort security check-point 1/3rd of the way down). You’ll pass signs pointing you towards the golf course, the two other beaches (we never made it to them) and other resort sights along the way.

It’s an easy drive between the two properties and we met several guests at Tamarindo who went to Careyes for meals, horseback riding, etc.

The drive from the Manzanillo airport to the Tamarindo entrance on Rt. 200 takes 45 minutes.

- El Tamarindo

Welcome / Check-In / Platinum Recognition

On arrival, a bellman greeted us at the open air lobby (very impressive), took our luggage and then parked our car while we checked in. We were offered cold towels, a cold drink (a Tamarindo Margarita) and a nice reception. They advised that occupancy was at 50% (14 of 29 bungalows occupied) and we have been provided with an upgrade. I asked if the property offered a Platinum amenity and they didn’t know what I was talking about. We were then provided with a short tour of the property (driven around in a golf cart) while our bags were brought to the bungalow.

Bungalow Quality

As far as I could see, there are really four bungalow types: 1 bedroom beachfront (expansive views of the beach), 1 bedroom garden (no view), a 2 bedroom garden (no view) and 1 bedroom forest (at the back of the property). Garden bungalows are right behind the beachfront ones (we had this type). Except for the oceanfront bungalows, your thatched bungalow/pool/yard is completely surrounded by bushes to provide privacy. From what I saw, all bungalows have private Jacuzzi’s, pools and outdoor “living areas” (dining table, couches, hammock, lounge chairs).

Bungalows come with one king size bed (but a rollaway bed can be set up for no additional charge), hardwood floors, good A/C with a ceiling fan, and a large bathroom (no A/C in the bathroom) with a shower for two people (good water pressure). Lots of closet space. There are no TV’s or clocks in the bungalows (if you want to see TV, there is a TV/internet room under the lobby), but there is a CD player. There is also a room safe, a can of Raid, bug repellant, a flashlight, an umbrella, a hairdryer, robes/slippers, etc. There is also a small room outside that contains a mini-bar (to protect the food from animals; you need to open 3 doors to get inside the mini-bar). There is no lock (at all) on your bungalow – I’ve never stayed at a hotel where they don’t give you a key! I got used to it pretty quickly. The two front walls of the bungalow can slide back to completely open up your bungalow – or they can close up to keep the A/C in (and the animals out). All of the bungalows looked very well maintained (someone came by to clean out pool everyday) and they receive maid service twice a day (at night, the maids left 5 lit candles in our outdoor area). These bungalows are excellent places to stay!

My only suggestion would be to upgrade the hammocks since they are rather flimsy (and curl up like a rope when not in use). Keeping your doors closed when not nearby is highly recommended since raccoons, lemurs, wild pigs, etc. do like to snoop around inside for food (guests were sharing stories by the main pool): you are staying in the “jungle” after all. You’ll also likely see small (3 – 4 inch) crabs in your pool and the main pool each day.

More to come ....