Hilton Vallarta Riviera All-Inclusive Resort
Aug 24, 2021, 1:42 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Los Angeles
Programs: Hilton Diamond, IHG Silver
Posts: 471
Hilton Vallarta Riviera All-Inclusive Resort
Any reviews yet on this new Hilton conversion? This property used to be the Grand Fiesta Americana Puerto Vallarta (adults only resort). Looks like it converted to a Hilton on August 16 and is converting to all ages on November 22. Stayed there once in 2016 right after it opened and had a nice time. Considering one last stay while it is still adults only in late August or September but concerned about switch over pains. Looking for current reviews from anyone who has stayed there post switch over. Also, wondering how they are handling Diamond upgrades/amenities.
Sep 21, 2021, 1:46 pm
#3
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: IAH
Programs: DL DM, Hyatt Ist-iest, Stariott Platinum, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 12,790
What were you seeing? I'm going to be in PV next month and need a place to stay for a night, was hoping to stay at the Conrad but they appear to be playing games with availability.
Sep 21, 2021, 3:21 pm
#4
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Los Angeles
Programs: Hilton Diamond, IHG Silver
Posts: 471
Loved our stay in 2016, was perfect in almost every way other than some beach construction. That being said, there have been many reports of an ongoing Norovirus outbreak from 2018 to 2020 and then again in spring and early summer this year so I crossed that hotel off my list for the time being. Hopefully, Hilton can get a handle on it because it is otherwise a great property. If you search on "noro" or "food poisoning" in the TA reviews you'll see it. The Conrad is a long ways away so it wouldn't really be good for just one night anyway. Have you looked at the Hilton Puerto Vallarta?
Sep 21, 2021, 3:50 pm
#5
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: IAH
Programs: DL DM, Hyatt Ist-iest, Stariott Platinum, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 12,790
I have a 2 night stay at the W, and the Conrad is in the same area, so that's part of the reason. I've looked at the Hilton PV a number of times but I've never actually stayed there, though I've stayed at neighboring properties a couple times. Hopefully the Conrad comes back, as all the standard availability thru year end disappeared basically overnight. Marriott just opened a new AI property up near the W/Conrad, but oddly it isn't on the beach, so I'm not sure how I feel about that.
Jan 20, 2022, 6:48 pm
#7
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: CONUS
Programs: HHonors, United, Delta
Posts: 828
Bumping this thread up to see if any new reviews / recent situation?
I'm looking for someplace warm and pandemic-traveler-friendly, and Mexico is looking to be easier, fun, and less restrictive than many other destinations right now. I stayed at the other Hilton PV all-inclusive a bit north of this one a couple years ago, enjoyed it well enough, but figured I'd change it up and see what this newer one was like.
Found this couple's nice video review, btw. Not as dining focused as I was researching, but nice video work of the property and room.
I'm looking for someplace warm and pandemic-traveler-friendly, and Mexico is looking to be easier, fun, and less restrictive than many other destinations right now. I stayed at the other Hilton PV all-inclusive a bit north of this one a couple years ago, enjoyed it well enough, but figured I'd change it up and see what this newer one was like.
Found this couple's nice video review, btw. Not as dining focused as I was researching, but nice video work of the property and room.
Jan 31, 2022, 3:29 pm
#8
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: CONUS
Programs: HHonors, United, Delta
Posts: 828
Welp, sort of replying to my own reply. 
Does anyone have an email for this hotel? I'm trying to find out if they have kayaks and paddleboards and such... looks like they USED to, but some TA reviews said they don't right now. Can't be sure. I guess I could call, but figured I had a couple of things I'd like in writing before booking...
Does anyone have an email for this hotel? I'm trying to find out if they have kayaks and paddleboards and such... looks like they USED to, but some TA reviews said they don't right now. Can't be sure. I guess I could call, but figured I had a couple of things I'd like in writing before booking...
Feb 2, 2022, 2:28 am
#9
Join Date: Jan 2020
Programs: QF Platinum, HH Diamond
Posts: 389
https://www3.hilton.com/en/hotels/ja...VHF/index.html
there’s “Email us”, and when clicked shows: [email protected]
Feb 19, 2022, 3:24 pm
#10
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: CONUS
Programs: HHonors, United, Delta
Posts: 828
Abbreviated trip report from last week (early Feb).
Bottom line up front: This is a much better property than the older, Hilton All-Inclusive north of here. Better food, more choices, private/isolated area, everywhere you go on property there are great views.
I stayed one night at the old Hilton, then cheap-Uber'd south to the new Riviera property. I had planned on staying here two days, but liked it enough to extend to three, and in the end, wished I would have just Amex-pointed four with fifth night free and stayed here the whole time!
Overall: Clean. High service level. Lots of dining options both for dinner as well as throughout the day, food and beverages were relatively high quality for an all-inclusive.
Beach/Pools: Multiple pools with bars, a nice beach, rooftop bar with hot tubs and tanning chaises.
Entertainment: Nightly shows, not too well attended, small but fun fireworks some nights a'la Hilton Hawaiian Village size. Snorkeling is possible in the little beach protected areas, but there's not much to see, water colder. We saw some nuts night snorkeling, which I'm sure is exciting as it is terrifying. Paddleboard rentals used to be available, but there were some "insurance concerns" and they took them away, which is a bummer. I was looking forward to just using them kayak style to paddle around, but maybe they had a problem with guests falling off or something... Pool tables, ping pong, basketball games, etc. scattered around. Spa (we got some massages, which were fine but resort-overpriced... beach massages are available from locals by walking down the beach to the left of the hotel.) You're in a dead zone here: no walking out of the hotel to check out the neighboring area. There is none. Which is either good or bad, depending on how much you want privacy vs. exploring the area. Again, $5 in an Uber easily takes you north to the Malecon/Romantic Zone though if you want. Take an Uber *south* to the Arcos /Mismaloya Beach where little boats will take you for some real snorkeling or just a pretty tour.
Rooms: Everything has a great view. High floors obviously better, but it's all straight out into the bay, where we saw a lot of whales each day. North Tower is probably better, and the Superior room have big jetted tubs on the balcony that are a great benefit if you can get upgraded. You probably won't get upgraded to the Governor's Suites, which are the top floor corner rooms (there's only 8 of them, IIRC) but they've got a full rooftop deck and hot tub. Superior room was good enough for me with the jetted tub and great views. Good soaps, little beach bag you could borrow, robes, slippers, linens were nice. Large couch, decent-sized table/desk, minifridge with bottled water and beers, soda (all included). Bed was comfortable on the softer side. Plenty of USBs and USA plugs are available, TV has a reasonable amount of channels in multiple languages.
Restaurants: I don't mean to cast everything in comparison to the older Hilton down the road, but after staying there a day, this place seemed like a huge positive difference: all (or many) of the restaurants were open at the Riviera, whereas the were still in C19 throttled-back mode at the old Hilton. This one had at least four or five dinner choices each night, whereas the other had one specialized restaurant per night + buffet. The food was much better here: Maxal (Mexican) was really good filet and lamb dishes, creative desserts, excellent soups with presentation. Steakhouse Night at Seasalt was okay... (we just had an ill-cooked steak that ruined it a bit, and perhaps language problems with the server led to it not getting corrected, so that was disappointing) but... we just left and switched to another nicer dinner at the Asian place! (Sunan) We actually skipped dessert at one place's meal, and hopped over to another place just for their better dessert, and that was no problem. Italian place looked super pretty but a wedding party had taken it over and the dishes didn't look to my liking, so we didn't end up eating there. Lunches: Cocomar (the fish taco / cerviche place) was very good for a quick lunch, probably the best on property. The buffet that everyone does for breakfast was reasonably well appointed, lots of choices. I think they had a smoothie bar, but I didn't use that. Meant to hit the sushi bar, but I can only eat so much a day! For some weird reason, the Starbucks in the lobby isn't included in price, so if you want anything other than brewed coffee, you pay. I heard someone say you can ask for espresso and such at some of the restaurants, but I guess that's a secret thing if true.
Bars: 'm not much of a drinker, but the Mojito lounge was an every-day stop, great drinks as well as just a fun place to hang out on the swing-couches and pappasan chairs. The lobby bar was creative, quick, and good quality pours. We found the Martini Bar upstairs to be the "hoppin' late night" place that is pretty bleak and empty thoughout the day (other than a pool table, it's just a small room) but since that bar's open til 1am, the fun crowd finds there way there after 11pm until close. A couple wedding parties and it was packed. Pool bar was quick and efficient, runners brought them to your chaises super fast, but mixed drinks were weak. I guess if that bothers you, ask for stronger drinks: they don't have a problem with that request. There were probably a few more bars we didn't find, but like I said: I don't really drink much. This definitely would affect the value proposition in most stays - you're paying for someone else's booze if you're not a drinker, but in the end, the points/dollars proposition ended up being similar to what I'd pay at the Conrad up the coast, so I looked at it as a bonus/wash.
On that note: This property is more expensive than the north one, but if you're using points, it's between 67-80k per night, and I think worth it. That's a little high, but I was going to pay 80k for the Conrad in Punta Mita and that doesn't include any food or drinks other than Diamond benefits. I'm sure Conrad is a nicer property, but it's also "on its own" and even farther from anything to explore without a car ride. I got a small upgrade prior to check in, but the app didn't let me check in. I went to the Executive lounge, which is a little hard to find, and since the room wasn't ready yet (I was early) I had to go back downstairs to drop off bags at bell desk... not sure the Exec lounge means much at an all-inclusive, but it was nice anyway and the staff was helpful.
Here's a video showing A vs. B. of the two Hilton hotels in PV. No words or pretty Instagram talking heads, but gives a little "here's what's at each" as of last week:
Bottom line up front: This is a much better property than the older, Hilton All-Inclusive north of here. Better food, more choices, private/isolated area, everywhere you go on property there are great views.
I stayed one night at the old Hilton, then cheap-Uber'd south to the new Riviera property. I had planned on staying here two days, but liked it enough to extend to three, and in the end, wished I would have just Amex-pointed four with fifth night free and stayed here the whole time!
Overall: Clean. High service level. Lots of dining options both for dinner as well as throughout the day, food and beverages were relatively high quality for an all-inclusive.
Beach/Pools: Multiple pools with bars, a nice beach, rooftop bar with hot tubs and tanning chaises.
Entertainment: Nightly shows, not too well attended, small but fun fireworks some nights a'la Hilton Hawaiian Village size. Snorkeling is possible in the little beach protected areas, but there's not much to see, water colder. We saw some nuts night snorkeling, which I'm sure is exciting as it is terrifying.
Paddleboard rentals used to be available, but there were some "insurance concerns" and they took them away, which is a bummer. I was looking forward to just using them kayak style to paddle around, but maybe they had a problem with guests falling off or something... Pool tables, ping pong, basketball games, etc. scattered around. Spa (we got some massages, which were fine but resort-overpriced... beach massages are available from locals by walking down the beach to the left of the hotel.) You're in a dead zone here: no walking out of the hotel to check out the neighboring area. There is none. Which is either good or bad, depending on how much you want privacy vs. exploring the area. Again, $5 in an Uber easily takes you north to the Malecon/Romantic Zone though if you want. Take an Uber *south* to the Arcos /Mismaloya Beach where little boats will take you for some real snorkeling or just a pretty tour.Rooms: Everything has a great view. High floors obviously better, but it's all straight out into the bay, where we saw a lot of whales each day. North Tower is probably better, and the Superior room have big jetted tubs on the balcony that are a great benefit if you can get upgraded. You probably won't get upgraded to the Governor's Suites, which are the top floor corner rooms (there's only 8 of them, IIRC) but they've got a full rooftop deck and hot tub. Superior room was good enough for me with the jetted tub and great views. Good soaps, little beach bag you could borrow, robes, slippers, linens were nice. Large couch, decent-sized table/desk, minifridge with bottled water and beers, soda (all included). Bed was comfortable on the softer side. Plenty of USBs and USA plugs are available, TV has a reasonable amount of channels in multiple languages.
Restaurants: I don't mean to cast everything in comparison to the older Hilton down the road, but after staying there a day, this place seemed like a huge positive difference: all (or many) of the restaurants were open at the Riviera, whereas the were still in C19 throttled-back mode at the old Hilton. This one had at least four or five dinner choices each night, whereas the other had one specialized restaurant per night + buffet. The food was much better here: Maxal (Mexican) was really good filet and lamb dishes, creative desserts, excellent soups with presentation. Steakhouse Night at Seasalt was okay... (we just had an ill-cooked steak that ruined it a bit, and perhaps language problems with the server led to it not getting corrected, so that was disappointing) but... we just left and switched to another nicer dinner at the Asian place! (Sunan) We actually skipped dessert at one place's meal, and hopped over to another place just for their better dessert, and that was no problem. Italian place looked super pretty but a wedding party had taken it over and the dishes didn't look to my liking, so we didn't end up eating there. Lunches: Cocomar (the fish taco / cerviche place) was very good for a quick lunch, probably the best on property. The buffet that everyone does for breakfast was reasonably well appointed, lots of choices. I think they had a smoothie bar, but I didn't use that. Meant to hit the sushi bar, but I can only eat so much a day! For some weird reason, the Starbucks in the lobby isn't included in price, so if you want anything other than brewed coffee, you pay. I heard someone say you can ask for espresso and such at some of the restaurants, but I guess that's a secret thing if true.
Bars: 'm not much of a drinker, but the Mojito lounge was an every-day stop, great drinks as well as just a fun place to hang out on the swing-couches and pappasan chairs. The lobby bar was creative, quick, and good quality pours. We found the Martini Bar upstairs to be the "hoppin' late night" place that is pretty bleak and empty thoughout the day (other than a pool table, it's just a small room) but since that bar's open til 1am, the fun crowd finds there way there after 11pm until close. A couple wedding parties and it was packed. Pool bar was quick and efficient, runners brought them to your chaises super fast, but mixed drinks were weak. I guess if that bothers you, ask for stronger drinks: they don't have a problem with that request.
There were probably a few more bars we didn't find, but like I said: I don't really drink much. This definitely would affect the value proposition in most stays - you're paying for someone else's booze if you're not a drinker, but in the end, the points/dollars proposition ended up being similar to what I'd pay at the Conrad up the coast, so I looked at it as a bonus/wash.On that note: This property is more expensive than the north one, but if you're using points, it's between 67-80k per night, and I think worth it. That's a little high, but I was going to pay 80k for the Conrad in Punta Mita and that doesn't include any food or drinks other than Diamond benefits. I'm sure Conrad is a nicer property, but it's also "on its own" and even farther from anything to explore without a car ride. I got a small upgrade prior to check in, but the app didn't let me check in. I went to the Executive lounge, which is a little hard to find, and since the room wasn't ready yet (I was early) I had to go back downstairs to drop off bags at bell desk... not sure the Exec lounge means much at an all-inclusive, but it was nice anyway and the staff was helpful.
Here's a video showing A vs. B. of the two Hilton hotels in PV. No words or pretty Instagram talking heads, but gives a little "here's what's at each" as of last week:
Mar 1, 2022, 8:30 pm
#11
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: NYC
Programs: Amtrak Select Plus, Marriott Platinum, Marriott Lifetime Gold, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 3,123
Abbreviated trip report from last week (early Feb).
Here's a video showing A vs. B. of the two Hilton hotels in PV. No words or pretty Instagram talking heads, but gives a little "here's what's at each" as of last week:
https://youtu.be/C9WE_thf7Qw
Here's a video showing A vs. B. of the two Hilton hotels in PV. No words or pretty Instagram talking heads, but gives a little "here's what's at each" as of last week:
https://youtu.be/C9WE_thf7Qw
Jun 2, 2022, 11:58 am
#12
Join Date: Oct 2018
Posts: 303
Abbreviated trip report from last week (early Feb).
Bottom line up front: This is a much better property than the older, Hilton All-Inclusive north of here. Better food, more choices, private/isolated area, everywhere you go on property there are great views.
I stayed one night at the old Hilton, then cheap-Uber'd south to the new Riviera property. I had planned on staying here two days, but liked it enough to extend to three, and in the end, wished I would have just Amex-pointed four with fifth night free and stayed here the whole time!
Overall: Clean. High service level. Lots of dining options both for dinner as well as throughout the day, food and beverages were relatively high quality for an all-inclusive.
Beach/Pools: Multiple pools with bars, a nice beach, rooftop bar with hot tubs and tanning chaises.
Entertainment: Nightly shows, not too well attended, small but fun fireworks some nights a'la Hilton Hawaiian Village size. Snorkeling is possible in the little beach protected areas, but there's not much to see, water colder. We saw some nuts night snorkeling, which I'm sure is exciting as it is terrifying. Paddleboard rentals used to be available, but there were some "insurance concerns" and they took them away, which is a bummer. I was looking forward to just using them kayak style to paddle around, but maybe they had a problem with guests falling off or something... Pool tables, ping pong, basketball games, etc. scattered around. Spa (we got some massages, which were fine but resort-overpriced... beach massages are available from locals by walking down the beach to the left of the hotel.) You're in a dead zone here: no walking out of the hotel to check out the neighboring area. There is none. Which is either good or bad, depending on how much you want privacy vs. exploring the area. Again, $5 in an Uber easily takes you north to the Malecon/Romantic Zone though if you want. Take an Uber *south* to the Arcos /Mismaloya Beach where little boats will take you for some real snorkeling or just a pretty tour.
Rooms: Everything has a great view. High floors obviously better, but it's all straight out into the bay, where we saw a lot of whales each day. North Tower is probably better, and the Superior room have big jetted tubs on the balcony that are a great benefit if you can get upgraded. You probably won't get upgraded to the Governor's Suites, which are the top floor corner rooms (there's only 8 of them, IIRC) but they've got a full rooftop deck and hot tub. Superior room was good enough for me with the jetted tub and great views. Good soaps, little beach bag you could borrow, robes, slippers, linens were nice. Large couch, decent-sized table/desk, minifridge with bottled water and beers, soda (all included). Bed was comfortable on the softer side. Plenty of USBs and USA plugs are available, TV has a reasonable amount of channels in multiple languages.
Restaurants: I don't mean to cast everything in comparison to the older Hilton down the road, but after staying there a day, this place seemed like a huge positive difference: all (or many) of the restaurants were open at the Riviera, whereas the were still in C19 throttled-back mode at the old Hilton. This one had at least four or five dinner choices each night, whereas the other had one specialized restaurant per night + buffet. The food was much better here: Maxal (Mexican) was really good filet and lamb dishes, creative desserts, excellent soups with presentation. Steakhouse Night at Seasalt was okay... (we just had an ill-cooked steak that ruined it a bit, and perhaps language problems with the server led to it not getting corrected, so that was disappointing) but... we just left and switched to another nicer dinner at the Asian place! (Sunan) We actually skipped dessert at one place's meal, and hopped over to another place just for their better dessert, and that was no problem. Italian place looked super pretty but a wedding party had taken it over and the dishes didn't look to my liking, so we didn't end up eating there. Lunches: Cocomar (the fish taco / cerviche place) was very good for a quick lunch, probably the best on property. The buffet that everyone does for breakfast was reasonably well appointed, lots of choices. I think they had a smoothie bar, but I didn't use that. Meant to hit the sushi bar, but I can only eat so much a day! For some weird reason, the Starbucks in the lobby isn't included in price, so if you want anything other than brewed coffee, you pay. I heard someone say you can ask for espresso and such at some of the restaurants, but I guess that's a secret thing if true.
Bars: 'm not much of a drinker, but the Mojito lounge was an every-day stop, great drinks as well as just a fun place to hang out on the swing-couches and pappasan chairs. The lobby bar was creative, quick, and good quality pours. We found the Martini Bar upstairs to be the "hoppin' late night" place that is pretty bleak and empty thoughout the day (other than a pool table, it's just a small room) but since that bar's open til 1am, the fun crowd finds there way there after 11pm until close. A couple wedding parties and it was packed. Pool bar was quick and efficient, runners brought them to your chaises super fast, but mixed drinks were weak. I guess if that bothers you, ask for stronger drinks: they don't have a problem with that request. There were probably a few more bars we didn't find, but like I said: I don't really drink much. This definitely would affect the value proposition in most stays - you're paying for someone else's booze if you're not a drinker, but in the end, the points/dollars proposition ended up being similar to what I'd pay at the Conrad up the coast, so I looked at it as a bonus/wash.
On that note: This property is more expensive than the north one, but if you're using points, it's between 67-80k per night, and I think worth it. That's a little high, but I was going to pay 80k for the Conrad in Punta Mita and that doesn't include any food or drinks other than Diamond benefits. I'm sure Conrad is a nicer property, but it's also "on its own" and even farther from anything to explore without a car ride. I got a small upgrade prior to check in, but the app didn't let me check in. I went to the Executive lounge, which is a little hard to find, and since the room wasn't ready yet (I was early) I had to go back downstairs to drop off bags at bell desk... not sure the Exec lounge means much at an all-inclusive, but it was nice anyway and the staff was helpful.
Here's a video showing A vs. B. of the two Hilton hotels in PV. No words or pretty Instagram talking heads, but gives a little "here's what's at each" as of last week:
https://youtu.be/C9WE_thf7Qw
Bottom line up front: This is a much better property than the older, Hilton All-Inclusive north of here. Better food, more choices, private/isolated area, everywhere you go on property there are great views.
I stayed one night at the old Hilton, then cheap-Uber'd south to the new Riviera property. I had planned on staying here two days, but liked it enough to extend to three, and in the end, wished I would have just Amex-pointed four with fifth night free and stayed here the whole time!
Overall: Clean. High service level. Lots of dining options both for dinner as well as throughout the day, food and beverages were relatively high quality for an all-inclusive.
Beach/Pools: Multiple pools with bars, a nice beach, rooftop bar with hot tubs and tanning chaises.
Entertainment: Nightly shows, not too well attended, small but fun fireworks some nights a'la Hilton Hawaiian Village size. Snorkeling is possible in the little beach protected areas, but there's not much to see, water colder. We saw some nuts night snorkeling, which I'm sure is exciting as it is terrifying.
Paddleboard rentals used to be available, but there were some "insurance concerns" and they took them away, which is a bummer. I was looking forward to just using them kayak style to paddle around, but maybe they had a problem with guests falling off or something... Pool tables, ping pong, basketball games, etc. scattered around. Spa (we got some massages, which were fine but resort-overpriced... beach massages are available from locals by walking down the beach to the left of the hotel.) You're in a dead zone here: no walking out of the hotel to check out the neighboring area. There is none. Which is either good or bad, depending on how much you want privacy vs. exploring the area. Again, $5 in an Uber easily takes you north to the Malecon/Romantic Zone though if you want. Take an Uber *south* to the Arcos /Mismaloya Beach where little boats will take you for some real snorkeling or just a pretty tour.Rooms: Everything has a great view. High floors obviously better, but it's all straight out into the bay, where we saw a lot of whales each day. North Tower is probably better, and the Superior room have big jetted tubs on the balcony that are a great benefit if you can get upgraded. You probably won't get upgraded to the Governor's Suites, which are the top floor corner rooms (there's only 8 of them, IIRC) but they've got a full rooftop deck and hot tub. Superior room was good enough for me with the jetted tub and great views. Good soaps, little beach bag you could borrow, robes, slippers, linens were nice. Large couch, decent-sized table/desk, minifridge with bottled water and beers, soda (all included). Bed was comfortable on the softer side. Plenty of USBs and USA plugs are available, TV has a reasonable amount of channels in multiple languages.
Restaurants: I don't mean to cast everything in comparison to the older Hilton down the road, but after staying there a day, this place seemed like a huge positive difference: all (or many) of the restaurants were open at the Riviera, whereas the were still in C19 throttled-back mode at the old Hilton. This one had at least four or five dinner choices each night, whereas the other had one specialized restaurant per night + buffet. The food was much better here: Maxal (Mexican) was really good filet and lamb dishes, creative desserts, excellent soups with presentation. Steakhouse Night at Seasalt was okay... (we just had an ill-cooked steak that ruined it a bit, and perhaps language problems with the server led to it not getting corrected, so that was disappointing) but... we just left and switched to another nicer dinner at the Asian place! (Sunan) We actually skipped dessert at one place's meal, and hopped over to another place just for their better dessert, and that was no problem. Italian place looked super pretty but a wedding party had taken it over and the dishes didn't look to my liking, so we didn't end up eating there. Lunches: Cocomar (the fish taco / cerviche place) was very good for a quick lunch, probably the best on property. The buffet that everyone does for breakfast was reasonably well appointed, lots of choices. I think they had a smoothie bar, but I didn't use that. Meant to hit the sushi bar, but I can only eat so much a day! For some weird reason, the Starbucks in the lobby isn't included in price, so if you want anything other than brewed coffee, you pay. I heard someone say you can ask for espresso and such at some of the restaurants, but I guess that's a secret thing if true.
Bars: 'm not much of a drinker, but the Mojito lounge was an every-day stop, great drinks as well as just a fun place to hang out on the swing-couches and pappasan chairs. The lobby bar was creative, quick, and good quality pours. We found the Martini Bar upstairs to be the "hoppin' late night" place that is pretty bleak and empty thoughout the day (other than a pool table, it's just a small room) but since that bar's open til 1am, the fun crowd finds there way there after 11pm until close. A couple wedding parties and it was packed. Pool bar was quick and efficient, runners brought them to your chaises super fast, but mixed drinks were weak. I guess if that bothers you, ask for stronger drinks: they don't have a problem with that request.
There were probably a few more bars we didn't find, but like I said: I don't really drink much. This definitely would affect the value proposition in most stays - you're paying for someone else's booze if you're not a drinker, but in the end, the points/dollars proposition ended up being similar to what I'd pay at the Conrad up the coast, so I looked at it as a bonus/wash.On that note: This property is more expensive than the north one, but if you're using points, it's between 67-80k per night, and I think worth it. That's a little high, but I was going to pay 80k for the Conrad in Punta Mita and that doesn't include any food or drinks other than Diamond benefits. I'm sure Conrad is a nicer property, but it's also "on its own" and even farther from anything to explore without a car ride. I got a small upgrade prior to check in, but the app didn't let me check in. I went to the Executive lounge, which is a little hard to find, and since the room wasn't ready yet (I was early) I had to go back downstairs to drop off bags at bell desk... not sure the Exec lounge means much at an all-inclusive, but it was nice anyway and the staff was helpful.
Here's a video showing A vs. B. of the two Hilton hotels in PV. No words or pretty Instagram talking heads, but gives a little "here's what's at each" as of last week:
https://youtu.be/C9WE_thf7Qw
Has anyone else stayed here recently? I'm looking at this hotel for an end of summer family trip. Mostly considering the Governor's Suite hoping for potential upgrade (from Diamond) to the Presidential. Does anyone have experience with upgrade potential here? If no/low possibility to upgrade I'd probably just do the Oceanfront Master Suite. But end of August is low season in Mexico typically so the upgrade rooms may have more open availability.
Jun 6, 2022, 9:33 pm
#13
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: ORD
Programs: AA EXP >3 Million miles,HH Lifetime Diamond
Posts: 2,887
Thanks for the reviews on this property. We have a wedding in another hotel in PV n May of 2023 and trying to decide whether to stay here and get/use points or to stay at the wedding property. Is it easy to get from one property to another in PV?
Jun 7, 2022, 12:17 am
#14
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Phoenix, AZ, USA
Programs: DL, HH, Bonvoy
Posts: 204
Uber appears to be super inexpensive in the area. I’m heading to this property on Thursday and we expect to do a lot of local tourism so I can report back more specifically after that. But everything I’ve found researching in advance is that rideshares are plentiful, safe, and cheap.