Puerto Vallarta Oct 2020
I traveled to Puerto Vallarta in October of 2020 to visit a lot of different resorts. I will detail Secrets resort where I stayed in this post and give some general information about the trip.
I boarded my Delta flight in San Francisco for my flight to Puerto Vallarta. While on the plane, you will receive 2 different forms to fill out. One is a customs form and one form is for immigration. You can fill out the immigration form online before you leave and print it out. I prefer to do this so I don't have to find all the information while I am on the plane. The immigration officials also prefer this form since it is typed and easier for them to read.
https://www.mexicotouristcard.com
Once in Mexico, you will go through immigration, pick up your luggage and then exit customs. Here is the tricky part, no matter what anyone says, DO NOT STOP until you get outside. There will be time share people saying you must stop and talk to them about your transportation to the resort. This is not true. One person even told me that if I left the building before talking to them I would not be able to get to my resort as all transportation was handled with them. Many people fell for this and stopped to talk to them. Just keep walking and do not engage with them and you will be fine. Your travel agent (hopefully me) should have information on how to get picked up and to your resort if you have transfers scheduled. If you plan to take a taxi or Uber, you should also just keep walking past all of the time share workers.
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| Sign on the Malecon |
I stayed at Secrets Resort and was met just outside of the airport by a representative from AM Resorts and they paid a taxi to take me to the resort. This may be different depending on your party size. I was traveling alone and he had recently sent the van with another group so this was the quickest way for me to get to the resort.
Secrets and Now
Secrets is the adults only property and Now is family friendly. If you are staying at Secrets you can go to the Now side for free. You have to pay an additional fee if you want to come to Secrets from Now. There is an amazing spa that is available to both Secrets and Now guests that is on the Secrets side. You do not need to pay the day fee for Secrets to use the spa, just the regular spa service costs.
Secrets
Secrets is an adults only resort and where I stayed during this trip. Upon first glance, it appeared it would be easy to hear and see the family side of the resort, but that was not my experience. Unless I made an effort, I could not hear or see the family side, except from my balcony. When I arrive, the staff welcomed me with water or beverage of my choice and then showed me to check in. There were signs about COVID restrictions and people were following them for the most part.
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| View of Now from my room |
Check in was easy and the room was very clean. All rooms at this resort are Ocean view. My one big note about this room is that you do not have any way to block the view of the tub or shower from the rest of the room. The only thing that is behind a door is the toilet. I would only go to this resort if you are comfortable undressing and showering in view of others in the room. All rooms have a balcony or swim up. They had very nice soaps, shampoos, and other amenities in 4 oz bottles which is much larger than I am accustomed to. They did twice daily service in the room.
The food here was excellent in the speciality restaurants. Room service was acceptable and available with no fees. The buffet was great for a quick and delicious breakfast. Right now the specialty restaurants are not all open at the same time so check to make sure which days each is open. I went to try the Italian restaurant on the Now side but it was closed so we went to the French restaurant instead.
This hotel has several activities throughout the day like yoga, aerobics and karaoke.
The wedding amenities were great, the entertainment was fantastic and the food was so fresh and delicious. I would recommend for a wedding.
My last morning I went to the spa and did indoor hydrotherapy and got a massage. They limited the number of people in the dressing room due to COVID. The spa area is mixed gender. This was my favorite part of the trip. I was supposed to keep my mask on while not in the water and during the massage but the person during the massage told me I could take it off if I wanted. I think that will vary by therapist. I preferred to keep mine on in such a close setting.
You must check out of the room at the front desk and they will give you two forms. You hand one to the bell hop and one to the guard at the gate upon leaving. Please allow time for this process as I had to wait about 10 minutes for an agent to help. I was picked up by a van and taken to the airpot with Iots of time to spare. I easily checked in and found my gate. There are several food options both before and after security so you can eat on either side of security. Some of the nicer locations are before security but plenty of good options behind security.
Now is a family friendly resort. All rooms are Ocean View. The bathrooms have 2 vanities, a stand alone shower and a large garden tub. There is a closet and some drawer space. They are identical to the ones at Secrets except here, there is a way to close off the bathroom area from the bedroom area.
Preferred club was the way to go here. The extra benefits were great. The continental breakfast, the upgraded amenities and more made preferred club worth the extra money. There are 2 specialty restaurants here and lots of activities. The event space is shared with Secrets.
On our first night we had a banquet style dinner with entertainment. The show was very good and is who they typically use for weddings. They did some English and some Spanish songs. They were very good. The food was excellent. I even told them at the beginning I don’t like seafood or mustard and they accommodated me last minute by not serving me seafood dishes so some courses I did not have anything, or by subbing out if they could easily do so, like giving me a different type of dressing on my salad. They were very discrete and very attentive. I highly recommend this location for a banquet style event.
I visited several other resorts on this trip including:
Grand Palladium
Family Selection
RIU Palace Pacifica
Marival Emotions Resort
Villa Premier
Buenaventura Grand
Sunscape
Grand Velas
Dreams Villamagna Nuevo
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