Hasty Decisions Are Not Always Bad Decisions...
Written: Jun 13 '06
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Beach, Rooms, Amenities
Cons: Can get crowded, restaurants are nothing special
The Bottom Line: Paradise Village is a very good place to stay.
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| tch7's Full Review: Paradise Village Beach Resort |
When I arrived in Puerto Vallarta, I just couldn’t figure out what to think of the place, and it remained that way for the first two or three days. My initial lodging, Villas Loma Linda, was showing to not be particularly enjoyable, but being seduced into a timeshare presentation at another resort wasn’t all that appealing either. Nevertheless, sleep-deprived and not very happy, my family and I went to the timeshare presentation with the sole purpose of eating their food, using their facilities, and milking all of the freebies out of them that we possibly could. However, it wasn’t long after we were into the timeshare spiel that our minds had shifted toward thinking this resort – Paradise Village – was pretty darn nice.
It didn’t help that we were assigned the resort’s top salesman, who also saw to it that we had a great week enjoying Puerto Vallarta. Yada, yada, yada, breakfast turned into lunch, papers were signed, and we were moving into Paradise Village for the rest of the week, free of charge.
Location
Paradise Village is huge and ever growing, covering a large part of Nuevo Vallarta. The towers where you stay arguably have the best location in all of Nuevo Vallarta, located at the tip of a peninsula with a protected marina on the one side and the open Pacific on the other. Oceanfront villas, a mall, a small fitness center/spa, and a semi-zoo are also located on the peninsula. A massive fitness center, the wonderful El Tigre golf course, and the Vallarta Adventure Center are only a short drive away, with complimentary shuttles to them every 30 minutes. The only negative part of all this is that Nuevo Vallarta is a 30-45 minute drive from downtown Puerto Vallarta, where things are far more authentic and not a bunch of new multi-million dollar all-inclusive resorts.
On the Outside
On the drive to Paradise Village, you’ll pass by the El Tigre golf course and the fitness center, and then pass by a series of other resorts until you hit a gate at the end of the public road. Passing through the gate takes you down a shaded palm-tree lined lane that will take you past the numerous landscaped, well-kept buildings that make up Paradise Village. You’ll see cages housing tigers, panthers, spider monkeys, and a few parrots. I believe they are building a real zoo with enclosures that are more befitting of such large animals, as the current cages are somewhat depressing to see. Roaming around freely is an ostrich and a peacock.
Rooms
Paradise Village offers rooms varying from your typical hotel-like 2 bedroom studio, all the way up to a spacious 3-bedroom penthouse. Every unit has a airy balcony, with either a marina or ocean view, the latter of the two being more expensive. We were given two 1-bedroom units, which were quite nice. They had a separate bedroom with a private bathroom, air conditioning, television, and balcony access. The main room has a fold-out couch that is also comfortable as a bed, a second bathroom, separate air conditioning, a kitchen with new appliances, dining table, television, closet with a safe, and balcony access.
Rooms have recently been renovated, with most things appearing new but lightly used. Tip-based daily maid service kept the rooms nice and clean. The rooms don’t really have any Mexican character to them, but they were comfortable and a nice place to retreat at the end of the day. The tap water is safe to drink here.
"Oh my! Look at that poor beached whale..."
"That's no whale... although it looks like she eats like one..."
The Beach
Unlike most of Puerto Vallarta, the beaches in Nuevo Vallarta, and Paradise Village in specific, are quite nice. The sand beach was artificially created, allowing you to walk out into the water one hundred meters or so and still have the water only waist-deep. The water was pretty decent, but nowhere near as warm or as clear as the Caribbean. However, the trade-off was that the waves were larger and a lot more fun to play in, sometimes flipping you head over heel, yet with almost no undertow. Only one day did the water get so crowded that you really had to keep track of who was around you, but most of the time there was plenty of space to move around.
Back on dry land, there are hundreds of palapa huts with beach chairs set up on Paradise Village property, with waiters that can come around. A shack lets guests borrow beach towels, boogie boards, kayaks, and other non-motorized items for free. Approved vendors walk along the beach in white clothes, but they weren’t bothersome, as a simple shake of the head would keep them moving on. On the southern end of the beach (the end of the peninsula) is the marina breakwater with a tiny wedding chapel at its end.
As for the most important part of any beach, this isn't the best place to scope out some hot bodies. Most of the bodies are the sort you'd expect to find on a European nude beach, only here they are fortunately semi-clothed.
The Pools
Paradise Village only has two pools, and they would get absolutely packed with people during the daytime. The main pool had all sorts of programs going on during the day aimed towards younger kids. It doesn’t get very deep, but it did have a big water slide and an underwater cave that struck me as being a little unsafe, especially for younger/less talented swimmers. The second pool is the “quiet pool” that’s meant for the older crowd and has a waterfall, and it didn’t appear get quite as busy. I only went to the pools at night, at which time there would only be one or two other people in the entire thing.
Restaurants
The 5 onsite credit-based restaurants are nothing to get excited about. They’re expensive and the food is good but not great, and I feel sorry for anybody that buys the all-inclusive meal plan and only eats at Paradise Village. Paradise Plaza has a few non-hotel operated restaurants, which includes chains like McDonalds and Dominos, as well as a few local spots like Brasil, but they’re still a little pricey and quite Americanized. They’re ok for one or two light meals, but if you really want to find out why people praise Puerto Vallarta’s food, you need to get away from Nuevo Vallarta altogether.
Amenities
Paradise Village isn’t an all-inclusive resort, but offers everything that an all-inclusive resort would, including internet facilities, spas, fitness centers, a PGA-quality golf course, and a full-blown mall. Members (owners) have free access or get discounted rates at everything, so I looked at just about everything. The spas looked wonderful, although I’m not the sort of guy that pays good money to be slathered with oil and then rubbed. The El Tigre golf course had water traps all over the place, leading to my brother and I losing countless golf balls as we played the 18 holes (we ran out of them on the 18th hole), but it was a fun course all the same. There is a small fitness center in the heart of Paradise Village, but if you take the free shuttle for a 5 minute ride you can go to the newer, larger, and almost deserted fitness center that has an endless supply of equipment for working out, racquetball and squash courts, tennis courts, a large empty pool, another spa, a dance studio, child daycare, a bar, and convention facilities if I recall correctly.
Price
Given the wide range of accommodations available, the prices have a huge range, but a rough estimate for the average family is $500 (US) per night. However, by buying points at Paradise Vacation Club, we got the two rooms for the week for free, and also got all sorts of perks that include more free weeks for later use. However, that did come at the cost of $26 000, but since that essentially amounts to a week a year for a minimum of 40 years, it’s not all that bad of a deal, especially since you can easily transfer the weeks so you can go somewhere else in the world. You will notice that most of the guests at Paradise Village are timeshare owners.
Final Thoughts
Paradise Village is a high quality resort that I am looking forward to seeing again. It may have been a little crowded at times, and the restaurants were no screaming hell, but it was an enjoyable stay that didn’t just cater to one particular crowd of people. The rooms were comfortable and clean, the staff was pleasant, and the amenities bountiful. The beach is one of the best in the Bay of Banderas, and the location is peaceful if only a little out of the way. There are certainly classier and higher quality resorts in the area, but that doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with Paradise Village. I wouldn’t hesitate recommending it to anybody.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
tch7
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