Originally Posted by
London_traveller
I just came across this 'ole thread, that I must admit I forgot about after we booked our trip. A very belated thanks to everyone who posted!
We went to Puerto Vallarta in the end. Stayed at the Almar. We had a good time, but all-in-all, not a massive fan of PV. Not a very attractive resort, the beach was okay but not great, and getting decent food was more of a challenge than we thought it would be. The gay life was fun overall - some places great, some others patchy.
We enjoyed using the Mantamar beach club - and the standard of food there was consistently good. That said, the constant offers from beach hawkers trying to sell all manner of things was tiresome. Around the pool, we realised the best way to deal with the attitude of some of the other guests is to sit back, order another cocktail and watch the show
.
We had a great time on the day trip cruise (the one run by Diana - not the other one
) and met some great people.
Overall, glad we went, but not on our list of favourites.
Glad you had a good time overall. I am really surprised at your comment about the food. No idea what kind of food you are used to, but I have found Puerto Vallarta has some of the best food of anyplace I travel, including here in Seattle. The one exception would be beef. Not a fan of steak in Mexico, but love some of their Italian, Swedish, and especially seafood. I do understand people not liking the beach. It is not flat, sugar white sand, crystal clear turquoise water. It is Pacific Ocean beach. Beach hawkers can be tiresome, but depending on how long you stay, how many times you return, it gets to where you do not notice them. They remember people, and will stop bothering you after a few polite "No Gracias". I have more of an issue with taxi drivers yelling at me if I stop walking rather than beach vendors.
PV is not a sophisticated Miami style beach town. From your comments it makes me think maybe that is more of what you were looking for. PDC probably would have been better in that aspect, but you would not have had the gay nightlife. Like None. At all. Nothing like Diana's cruise there. No rainbow flags.
That said, come back sometime and try PDC, then compare the 2. I know people that swear by both. Neither are wrong. I am much more of a PV person.