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July 20-27, 2013 Dreams Puerto Vallarta
We arrived at Dreams PV with high anticipation after hearing so much about it, and waiting so long to check it out. There is a Mexican charm as you pull in with the cobblestone road. We were greeted at lobby entrance by the concierge and bell boys. Cold cloths to freshen up and a glass of champagne. Car unloaded, valet parking. and then off to check in to preferred tower.. some distance away but much less hectic then the regular tower check in desk, so that was good. There was only one girl to check you in so thus we did have a wait, but there are nice couches and seats available. After 30-45 minutes they were ready to check us in. We had done an RCI exchange so just had the AI to pay, that went smooth with a charge card. We were assigned room 1555, bellboys brought our luggage to room, gave descriptions of how AC worked, mini bar, snacks, etc. and off they went. No other direction were given, other then where the ice cube machine was, which I asked as whatever I drink I like cold, except coffee. There is an ice machine on every other floor at least but many were not functioning, so it frequently was an adventure to get ice. ( They send you numerous emails prior to arrival asking you to pay AI in advance for a 5% discount and resort coupons, more on those later. I told them we would pay upon arrival, not worth 5% to tie up our money.. they continued with incessant emails, even past the 30 days in advance for discount, I even told them well it is past the 30 days we arrive in a week so no discount, nope, but still get resort coupons. We paid upon arrival). Since we were there thru an exchange with RCI, our AI fees were $106.50 p/p/d. ( After our stay we felt this is surely way overpriced for this resort.) We did meet Bethy, the concierge. Very sweet and helpful, young lady.
The grounds are nice but older, not as manicured as many resorts we visit but fine. The property tends to sprawl horizontally. The elevators worked fine, and there is a special snack , drink area on first floor of preferred tower for those staying there. Breakfast items in morning, sandwiches in afternoon and drinks with or without alcohol. We rarely used this area unless it was to grab a soda on our way to wherever. We were asked if we wished to receive discount coupons for massages or what have you for sitting in on , not a timeshare presentation but vacation club. One and all the same as far as we are concerned and no interest as we did this at Sunscape in Ixtapa ( also a resort owned by this company) and the coupons are only percentage off ,nothing free. They can be used for spa, romantic dinner, way over priced since you are already on and paying for AI, bottle of wine, and again just amounts off like $10 USD, $40, $20, etc and you cannot combine them all to get anything free, always a charge. Our opinion, useless, we did not use, even one. Pretty much a farce. So they did not bother us again during our stay after a firm no thanks not interested. We did have free internet being in the preferred tower but ha, I used my hot spot as very slow internet provided.
Our room 1555, A Preferrred Tower Junior Suite. Enter from backside and goes straight thur to balcony. On left was a bathroom, with a trough for sink, unique, but the faucets, one on each end were very loose and really not very effective in spreading water in this style sink. The bathroom was a good size, seperate area for toilet, area for shower, and then a corner tub. Plenty of towels, hot water, and amenities were labeled by Gilcrist & Sommes for Dreams. They gave you shampoo, soap, shower gel, shaving cream, small toothpaste, one toothbrush, comb, body lotion and sunscreen #15 ( the sunscreen is a nice and different touch but we use a much higher number, but this was different). Beyond the bathroom to right was an armoire for clothes, the minibar with corona, coke, sprite, diet coke, 4 juices and 3 waters. Replenished daily though we had to call quite a few times for refilling. They also gave you nips of Chivas Regal, vodka and rum, pringles and M&M's, but again those were not replaced unless asked for. In this armoire was also a safe, and coffee maker which has a pull out shelf to fill, what a hassle, as the cord kept getting caught, so that was an issue and upon first fill, we had to pull the whole armoire out as cord was caught behind, something that should be checked before folks check in. They also supply coffee packets. There was an ironing board and iron in this armoire as well. Small amount of hanging space but there were draws in bathroom.
On opposite side was the king size bed, canopy like with fringe or tassle material half way down, different. The bed sits very high, so if short could be an issue, I am about 5 ft 4 inches and had to kind of hop up. Was a little dangerous getting off bed for me d/t the highness, and have bone and hip issue, but I managed. The bed was comfortable. Just beyond the bed was a L shaped sofa and coffee table and one upholstered chair and a flat screen Tv with DVD player. Opposite that, a table and two chairs, high back equipales, which did not fit the decor at all, along with being awkward and uncomfortable. We had to have someone come to help with the TV and even they had hard time and also the DVD player they let you borrow movies with an open charge card for free, one at a time, you pick them out at front desk, sign for and return so not charged. Sliding glass doors led to a balcony longer than wide with two plastic chairs and a tiny side table but a great ocean view.
The room was nice, but small and wonder, if this was the upgraded room, what the other rooms were like. Plugs were at a premium. The room was like a very small studio without a kitchen or oversized hotel room with sitting area. The decor was a mix of old and new per say.. nothing spectacular or unique. Served its purpose but I do prefer much more space and I had traded quite a large unit thru RCI for this so was just fair in comparison. The room was clean, but the bathroom did have some areas needing repairs, the faucets which I mentioned and also between shower and toilet area leaked. Other than that we were fine, and settled in to our week stay.
We unpacked and then went to the Seaside Grill for lunch, the service was very slow, but the staff were pleasant. I had a philly sandwich and hubby had a shrimp and crab sandwich. This restaurant overlooks the ocean, but is small for size of resort. The food was just so so, no raves...but it was just lunch and we were hungry so we were happy. We then walked the grounds..
We arrived at Dreams PV with high anticipation after hearing so much about it, and waiting so long to check it out. There is a Mexican charm as you pull in with the cobblestone road. We were greeted at lobby entrance by the concierge and bell boys. Cold cloths to freshen up and a glass of champagne. Car unloaded, valet parking. and then off to check in to preferred tower.. some distance away but much less hectic then the regular tower check in desk, so that was good. There was only one girl to check you in so thus we did have a wait, but there are nice couches and seats available. After 30-45 minutes they were ready to check us in. We had done an RCI exchange so just had the AI to pay, that went smooth with a charge card. We were assigned room 1555, bellboys brought our luggage to room, gave descriptions of how AC worked, mini bar, snacks, etc. and off they went. No other direction were given, other then where the ice cube machine was, which I asked as whatever I drink I like cold, except coffee. There is an ice machine on every other floor at least but many were not functioning, so it frequently was an adventure to get ice. ( They send you numerous emails prior to arrival asking you to pay AI in advance for a 5% discount and resort coupons, more on those later. I told them we would pay upon arrival, not worth 5% to tie up our money.. they continued with incessant emails, even past the 30 days in advance for discount, I even told them well it is past the 30 days we arrive in a week so no discount, nope, but still get resort coupons. We paid upon arrival). Since we were there thru an exchange with RCI, our AI fees were $106.50 p/p/d. ( After our stay we felt this is surely way overpriced for this resort.) We did meet Bethy, the concierge. Very sweet and helpful, young lady.
The grounds are nice but older, not as manicured as many resorts we visit but fine. The property tends to sprawl horizontally. The elevators worked fine, and there is a special snack , drink area on first floor of preferred tower for those staying there. Breakfast items in morning, sandwiches in afternoon and drinks with or without alcohol. We rarely used this area unless it was to grab a soda on our way to wherever. We were asked if we wished to receive discount coupons for massages or what have you for sitting in on , not a timeshare presentation but vacation club. One and all the same as far as we are concerned and no interest as we did this at Sunscape in Ixtapa ( also a resort owned by this company) and the coupons are only percentage off ,nothing free. They can be used for spa, romantic dinner, way over priced since you are already on and paying for AI, bottle of wine, and again just amounts off like $10 USD, $40, $20, etc and you cannot combine them all to get anything free, always a charge. Our opinion, useless, we did not use, even one. Pretty much a farce. So they did not bother us again during our stay after a firm no thanks not interested. We did have free internet being in the preferred tower but ha, I used my hot spot as very slow internet provided.
Our room 1555, A Preferrred Tower Junior Suite. Enter from backside and goes straight thur to balcony. On left was a bathroom, with a trough for sink, unique, but the faucets, one on each end were very loose and really not very effective in spreading water in this style sink. The bathroom was a good size, seperate area for toilet, area for shower, and then a corner tub. Plenty of towels, hot water, and amenities were labeled by Gilcrist & Sommes for Dreams. They gave you shampoo, soap, shower gel, shaving cream, small toothpaste, one toothbrush, comb, body lotion and sunscreen #15 ( the sunscreen is a nice and different touch but we use a much higher number, but this was different). Beyond the bathroom to right was an armoire for clothes, the minibar with corona, coke, sprite, diet coke, 4 juices and 3 waters. Replenished daily though we had to call quite a few times for refilling. They also gave you nips of Chivas Regal, vodka and rum, pringles and M&M's, but again those were not replaced unless asked for. In this armoire was also a safe, and coffee maker which has a pull out shelf to fill, what a hassle, as the cord kept getting caught, so that was an issue and upon first fill, we had to pull the whole armoire out as cord was caught behind, something that should be checked before folks check in. They also supply coffee packets. There was an ironing board and iron in this armoire as well. Small amount of hanging space but there were draws in bathroom.
On opposite side was the king size bed, canopy like with fringe or tassle material half way down, different. The bed sits very high, so if short could be an issue, I am about 5 ft 4 inches and had to kind of hop up. Was a little dangerous getting off bed for me d/t the highness, and have bone and hip issue, but I managed. The bed was comfortable. Just beyond the bed was a L shaped sofa and coffee table and one upholstered chair and a flat screen Tv with DVD player. Opposite that, a table and two chairs, high back equipales, which did not fit the decor at all, along with being awkward and uncomfortable. We had to have someone come to help with the TV and even they had hard time and also the DVD player they let you borrow movies with an open charge card for free, one at a time, you pick them out at front desk, sign for and return so not charged. Sliding glass doors led to a balcony longer than wide with two plastic chairs and a tiny side table but a great ocean view.
The room was nice, but small and wonder, if this was the upgraded room, what the other rooms were like. Plugs were at a premium. The room was like a very small studio without a kitchen or oversized hotel room with sitting area. The decor was a mix of old and new per say.. nothing spectacular or unique. Served its purpose but I do prefer much more space and I had traded quite a large unit thru RCI for this so was just fair in comparison. The room was clean, but the bathroom did have some areas needing repairs, the faucets which I mentioned and also between shower and toilet area leaked. Other than that we were fine, and settled in to our week stay.
We unpacked and then went to the Seaside Grill for lunch, the service was very slow, but the staff were pleasant. I had a philly sandwich and hubby had a shrimp and crab sandwich. This restaurant overlooks the ocean, but is small for size of resort. The food was just so so, no raves...but it was just lunch and we were hungry so we were happy. We then walked the grounds..
Much better can be found for your dollar.
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