Summary:
We booked our trip though Costco because we were offered a better rate than AAA. Our transportation was through Tucan Tours who were there waiting on us at the airpirt when we arrived. We were celebrating our anniversary and upon arrival to our room, the bellman suggested we order a bottle of tequilla from the menu which is included with the stay. Shortly after receiving the Tequilla, the resort sent a delicious chocolate dessert with Happy Anniversary and a bottle of champagne! Also they have a daily newspaper that included a Happy Anniversay Congratulations with our names. Upon arrival you sit in the lobby and they bring refreshing towels to wash your hands and Hibiscus juice. You never once have to get up and go to the front desk, the front desk comes to you with the paperwork.

Room: We had a Master Suite on the 8th floor with a beautiful view!

Restaurants:

1. Piaf (French) - Best restaurant out of the 4. We visited twice. Almond Souflee is awesome. The mussels sauteed in white wine and shallots and the tomato and goat cheese tart appetizers are delicious! The crust was absolutely scrumptious. The service was great the second time. We ordered coffee with baileys on the side and the coffee was so great I asked the waiter where we could buy it. He didn't know of a place so he gave us 1/2 of the large bag remaining for the restaurant!! Needless to say great service!

2. Lucca (Italian) - I requested the Mexican coffee for dessert and the show was spectacular! Fried prawns, zucchini and calamari appetizer is delicious. We ate here our 1rst night and they surprised us with another Happy Anniversary chocolate dessert.

3. Frida (Mexican) - We ate here our last night. The service was great and the food was good as well.

4. Azul - We ate lunch here shortly after arriving on our 1rst day . The staff was very attentive, at the end of our lunch the staff presented us with a colorful platter that said 'Happy Anniversary with our names'. A nice touch! We also ate breakfast here a few times and the buffet is great, you really don't need to order from the menu.

Spa:
1 free Grand Velas Ritual spa treatment was included with our stay. We visited the spa our 2nd day and the ritual was awesome. I was 1rst taken to a sauna, then a different sauna that smelled like eucalyptus, then I was taken to a rain shower with cool h20, then to a warm pool, then a cool pool, then a whirl pool, then another whirl pool. It was so relaxing. I was there for 1 hour or a little more.

Pool: Great service! Sit in the chairs at the Infinity pool near the Azul restaurant, you'll get better service and more often. The pool guys would grab umbrella's and tables and carry your towels wherever you wanted to sit and bring you lunch. We did the h20 aerobics in the pool one day and it was fun! Try the Nacho's with cheese and the fish and shrimp burger - delicious! If you want a light lunch, try the french fries...really yummy! Also sit over buy the jacuzzi's for a quieter area and the h20 is just right... not too hot and not too cold.

Activities: They have a Bike Tour every morning at 10AM although we never made it. The have activities every day (e.g. Salsa Lessons, Meranga, Yoga Class, etc.) They will put a newlsetter in your door the night before.

24/7 Room Service - Great Service! We ordered late one night and the food was delicious! Try the Grand Velas Club - yummy :)
We also ordered breakfast a couple of times and the omelettes are delicious.

Entertainment: The Lobby Bar also had great drink service! The waitresses were always attentive. Make sure to go upstairs where they have flat screen TV's. There's a guy outside the Lobby Bar making cigars every night from 6:30p.m. - 11:00 p.m. The band starts playing around 9PM. Also at the amphitheater they had Mariachi band that plays there on Wednesday evenings.

House Cleaning and Turn Down Service: Great!

Area: Puerta Vallarta is a 30 minute cab ride exactly. The cost is 160 pesos or $16 US dollars everytime. Returning to the resort in Nuevo Vallarta from Puerto Vallarta will cost between 180 - 221 pesos or $18 - 21 US dollars. There are always hotel staff waiting to get you a taxi and will tell the driver where your going.


Closing: Beautiful and Clean and with Great Service!

I stayed at Grand Velas in May 2006 with a friend and then went again solo in May 2007. Both times it was the same, wonderful experience. The place is clean, the staff is friendly and helpful. I cannot find anything wrong with the place.

It's small and not the place to go for wild nightlife, but both times I just needed to relax and get away from the stresses of real life. The food is wonderful, the a la carte restaurants are a treat.

The pool is beautiful and the staff is always there when you need them. Tip them because they work hard. They are there in the morning with cool towels, bottled water and grapes. They serve you drinks and food all day long at your pool chair. There wasn't the pressure to go save a chair early, never had a problem finding one.

What I particularly liked is that - while they have activities - they aren't all over you about it. You participate if you want, but you almost don't even know they are happening if you don't. There weren't a bunch of kids screaming and running around, if they were there they were busy elsewhere.

I can't wait to go back! The rooms are very nice and roomy. The balcony's all have ocean view. They are a time share, but we said no once and were not bothered again. It was not a hard sell. The beds are comfy and the 'pillow menu' is heaven. The bathrooms are huge and nice, everything is clean.

The spa is great, do take advantage if you can.

We spent an absolutely wonderful week in Puerto Vallarta. We were first booked at the Velas Vallarta, however during the week we were asked if we would like to move over to the Grand Velas because two conventions were coming in and rooms were needed. It was the best thing we ever did. While the Velas Vallarta was a really nice resort, it could not compare with the Grand Velas. The restaurants were outstanding as well as the service, room and overall quality of this beautiful resort. Both my husband and I were celebrating our 50th birthday and I have to say it was one of, if not,the nicest vacation we ever had. The staff could not have been more accommodating and we enjoyed relaxing at the pool. My husband liked the beach volleyball everyday and we both enjoyed long walks on the beach. I would defintely recommend this hotel and we look forward to another week in Puerto Vallarta.

My only negative comment would be the beach. We have gone to Cancun a couple of times and the beach there was so much nicer. If only Puerto Vallarta had their beaches it would be perfect.

This hotel has to be the most amazing place I have been to, it was just myself and my husband, it felt like a second honeymoon amazing the service was second to none, the attention, help, service, politness, the fact that the waiters remebered our names was fantastic , the suite was beautiful we were on the corner so nothing but sea views which was fantastic to wake upto each day, the food in all the restaurants was beautiful, we prepayed all our tips which was great no hassle but for any exceptional service we tipped a bit more, we chose to have breakfast on a verander each morning the waiter beautifully and professionally set up the table outside for us double checked everything and was very chatty and polite which we loved the entertainment was great in the ampitheatre really good fun, there was even a kareoke night which was novel but loud, the pools were fabulous with un spoilt views, I really cant fault this 5 diamond resort it lived up to all we read and we are very picky with accomodation I would recomend this hotel to anyone with healthy wallets especially when traveling from the UK it isnt cheap by any means but worth every penny you spend.