Class A hotel and service. Staff was very friendly and helpful. Premise was always clean and there were always staff members around for anything we needed. Our ocean view room was the best we've ever been to. We WILL be visiting Dreams again. I recommend this hotel to everyone. You will NOT be disappointed.

My husband and I honeymooned at Dreams from Sept. 4-11. This was my first time at an all-inclusive and my second time in Mexico. (The first was at the Fiesta Americana in Cabo San Lucas.)
Check-in: We checked in around 3pm and were greeted with cold towels and champagne. check in was pretty easy. The key cards worked fine (except the last day.) The bell boy came a few minutes later.
Food: I thought the food was pretty good. We ate at all the restaurants except El Patio, the mexican restaurant. I will say that I did feel sick a lot. I don't know if I ate too much or at the wrong stuff. Anyway, Oceana (seafood) and Portofino (Italian) were our favorites. The portions were smaller than American sized portions, but you can order whatever you want. The seafood Grille seems to have bigger portions. The first day we ate lunch there and I was sweating buckets. The buffet has a lot of options, but be mindful that bugs like to land on some of the uncovered food. Also, from 1-5 everyday there is a grill set up by the main pool with hamburgers, hotdogs, etc. good quick option.
Drinks: The drinks were plentiful. They started with the beach service around 10am. Beach service was hit or miss--they either came by a lot or not at all. You can get whatever you want, pretty much. I would recommend you bring your own cup because it didn't seem like the bartenders washed the glasses so well. Bartenders work hard and usually pretty eager to get you a refill. It seemed servers were less enthused to fill Cokes, which my husband drank a lot.
Excursions: We did 3 tours, all with Vallarta Adventures. The swim with the dolphins was pretty cool. We did the swim, $128 per person. I thought it was worth it. Bring your camera to the swim because you can take pictures before and after. Then we did the canopy tour in the jungle. I think you go on more zip lines on another tour, but I do feel we were very safe, with harnesses, helmets, gloves. Then our third excursion was snorkeling at snorkeling at Marietas Island then swimming at the Majuijitas private beach. The brochure said we could possible see sea turtles, dolphins or mantas snorkeling. We saw a few fish, and people kept bumping into each other. It wasn't the best snorkeling. The beach was nice and the time on the boats. The crew made sure we had a good time.
We had a balcony room with a jucuzzi tub in the new tower. I recommend the new tower, but the jacuzzi is probably not worth it unless you use it alot. We liked the adults only pool, but people grabbed chairs quickly. We liked the beach a lot. You could usually find an open palapa to sit under. The ocean water was a good temperature. Waves a little rough sometimes, but still fun. We saw one lady who stepped on a sting ray the first day, but we never saw any.
Entertainment: The entertainment team tries to do stuff for guests, like a band for dancing in the Desires sports bar, also there was a Latin Night and a Mexican fiesta. They arranged for trips to some of the bars in town every night. (We went to the Zoo bar on our own one night. It was fun, except my husband won't dance so it was kinda pointless for us to be there.) We did afternoon beach volleyball and used the kayaks. I think we just forgot about the snorkel gear, or else we could have used it.
Wildlife: Yes, I have to devote a whole section to nature's "guests." and I will admit I am prissy when it comes to bugs. There are plenty of butterflies and geckoes. The bad part our time of year was the bees. They swarmed the bartenders and the garbage cans. Once, my husband saw bees fly into a rum and coke a bartender was making, and the bartender just pulled them out of the glass and poured in the coke. I think that's gross. Also there are flying insects that land on any uncovered food, including the fruit garnish they put on the tropical drinks in the outside bars.
Overall, I think Dreams does a good job to satisfy guests. It is a not a 5-star hotel, but close. I wish there were more open areas with air conditioning because it is quite humid. We vacationed with mostly honeymooners, very few kids. If you are on your honeymoon, you have to ask for your extra perks, like the romantic dinner--they won't offer! But we did experience a sea turtle lay eggs while we were eating our romantic dinner on the beach at Oceana. That was the neatest experience! I say go to Dreams, but don't go in September!

The shuttle bus wound its way through Puerto Vallarta, past little shops, restaurants and souvenir stands. We headed up a lush mountain road, past beautifully aged homes and inns and then swooped around into the Dreams entrance. Our first reaction? "Ohmygod, it's beautiful!" Lush, green tropical plants, beautiful flowers, walkways and a fab view of the ocean greeted us. We were handed a glass of champagne as we waited to check-in, and someone was on hand immediately to take our bags.

Before I go any further, I have to say a couple of things. Our stay at Dreams was our second trip to Puerto Vallarta... and each time I became aware of an American tourist issue: roughly a quarter of the people we encountered were downright snotty. The main complaints were that the staff and locals spoke mainly Spanish (what a shocker) and that the accommodations weren't like home. So, to those thinking of visiting Dreams -- or PV in general -- and expecting it to be just like the U.S., I'd like to offer the following:

1. You are not in the States. I thought that maybe all of the airport security, the international flight, the signs in Spanish, etc., would have clued you into that, but apparently some people expect the rest of the world to recognize an American citizen from 20 paces and then miraculously begin speaking in perfect English. Yes, a lot of the people in PV make an effort to learn some English, but obviously it's not the native language there and it will be heavily accented. Get over it. Enjoy the hospitality and the friendliness and take the initiative, learn a little Spanish. It's not that difficult, I promise.

2. If you are truly want an American-like 5 star resort, stay at one of the more familiar chains. Duh. Don't look for the cheapest deal, then go and spend your week complaining about how sub-par it all is. You're ruining it for the rest of us (the Americans without the attitude).

Okay, sorry, that's all on that. Back to Dreams. We truly enjoyed our best vacation ever at this resort. We still talk about it and 'Dream' of going back...

The room: this was our only issue. The first room we were taken to did have a musty, mildew smell. We called down to the front desk after about 15 minutes and were quickly moved to another room, this time with a balcony. No smells there. The rooms are bright and clean, the beds were large and firm, but great, and we had a table as well as a small sitting area. The bathrooms were spacious and clean with lots of counter space for our things. There was a large closet with an electronic safe. Basically it was perfect for the two of us. The view from our balcony was lovely, see the photos.

The food: as an all-inclusive, this was the best experience we've had by far. There are five restaurants, and we ate at each. Our favorite (for dinner) was Oceana. Great seafood, yummy deserts and the tequila selection is wonderful. Make friends with the waiters at every spot and don't forget to tip (yes, it's all inclusive but if you want the best service -- well, waiters are the same no matter what country you visit -- so do it, trust me). Our biggest regret is that we only visited El Patio (Mexican food) once during our whole vacation... it's gorgeous inside, just like a real fiesta, and the food is excellent! Portofino is beautiful as well, and the food is very good. We had breakfast at the World Cafe (buffet style) every day, and lunch at Seaside Grill. By far our best overall experience was at the Grill which overlooks the ocean and has the funniest waiters (say Hi to Ramon for me, he's great!!).

The beach is long, beautiful, clean and private. There are a few venders but they carry beautiful jewelry and accessories for reasonable prices (don't forget to bargain) so take a look.

We stayed in early fall, so while the weather was beautiful, there was a rainy day and quite a bit of humidity. The peak time to go is from November through January.

I truly can't think of a single negative thing to say about this place (other than the above-mentioned first room). The staff are friendly, the bars are fun (visit the Sports bar to play some pool and escape the mid-day heat!) and there are plenty of activities for families and kids, too. So enjoy your stay, explore Puerto Vallarta... oh, and check out these excursions: Rhythm of the Night and Wild ATV adventures!

We just got back from Dreams last night. I went with my husband, and two boys (4 and 5 years old). We had a wonderful family vacation. I was a little nervous reading the reviews that it was full of honeymooners and it might be tough having children with us. There were definitely more honeymooners than families, but there was plenty to do as a family.

The explorer's club was fantastic. The staff was very friendly and kept the kids very busy. They didn't seem to follow the time of the activity schedule posted, but they eventually did what was on the schedule. We would put them in the Explorer's Club for a few hours each night while we enjoyed a leisurely adult dinner. One night, the staff didn't show up and the Explorer's Club was closed. That was dissapointing, but did not ruin the vacation.

They also had plenty of activities for adults. My husband loved the twice a day games of volleyball.

The food and drinks were very good. We were dissapointed with the waiter serving pool side drinks. Didn't get his name, but he was not friendly and forgot to bring drinks. We had planned on tipping him on our last day. But never did. I noticed the people tipping him after each drink got better service. They say tips are included, but definitely noticed better service if you tipped.

If you expect less, you will pleasantly surprised. If you expect 5 star Ritz Carlton type of service, you will be dissapointed.