1/2 of Pondering Perks went to Puerto Vallarta for Spring Break- their first time there!
We stayed at 2 hotels- Dreams Villamagna and Now Amber.
Flights-
Non stop United out of Chicago (ORD) -35K points per ticket
A little delayed getting out of Chicago but they allowed passengers to come up and take a picture with the pilot!
Our First Stop
Dreams Villamagna is located in the Riveria Nayarit area of Puerto Vallarta.
Beautiful views in the Banderas Bay.
We were upgraded to the preferred section of the resort on arrival. This was a nice upgrade as it gave us a private check in and a lounge area that always had snacks and drinks available as well as an upgraded mini bar in our room and wifi in our room (2 devices).
This was a great hotel with a lot of big pools- beautiful infinity pool but even better shallow pool that ended up being perfect for our son to meet friends and toss around a football.
Dining- our favorite was the rooftop sushi bar- great sushi and even better sunset views!
The sea is a little rough- but great for boogie boarding (complimentary rentals available at the hotel)
They had a great kids club-our son meet friends right away at the pool and then they made plans to go to the kids club every night.
Next Stop
Instead of taking a taxi from Dreams to Now- we decided to rent car from the hotel- we rented from Avis and could return to Avis at Now. We wanted to check out a little town called Sauylita (about 30 minutes from Dreams).
Sauylita
this was a great little stop- sleepy little surfing town with cute shops/restaurants. No hotels- just bed and breakfast, inn's and house rentals. And a lot of surf camps!
On a friends recommendation we also stopped at
Le Kliff for lunch- what an incredible drive to the restaurant and a spectacular view!
Now Amber
We arrived to Now Amber and were greeted with a beautiful view from the lobby
This hotel was a Wow hotel- from the lobby, to the rooms, to the kids club, to the restaurants. We were very happy with everything!
Now shares its space with the adults only property next door- Secrets. You are able to go over there for dinner as long as you made a reservation with your concierge (reservations were not needed at Now for dinner). We never made it over there for dinner as the dining at Now was amazing. Our favorite was Castaways- very fresh tuna!
The Spa- located over at Secrets -it is a spa with a full wellness circuit (hot/cold plunge pools, pools with different water jets, saunas, steam rooms). Included with any treatment-you can use the spa pools- or else purchase a spa pass.
The Kids Club here was one of the nicest ones I have seen and our son
loved going there! The first night we checked him in they gave him a
little backpack with a t shirt and coloring materials.
Great activities for the kids- soccer, rock climbing, campfires, big screen movies and a great playground. He went to dinner nightly with the kids club and couldn't wait to go back every day.
There was also a teens club that I didn't get a chance to check out but heard they had a great set up for the teens. Pool Tables, Air Hockey, Video Games, Archery and basketball court. They also had their own bon fires and nights out.
My son enjoyed the pool with the slide during the day but also enjoyed all the activities around the pool- giant Connect 4, Foosball tables, Giant Chess and the daily water balloon contest (2nd place!)
Both Resorts were very enjoyable and I wouldn't hesitate to go to back to either one! I can be picky with all inclusive resorts and these both checked off items that are important to me. Kids Clubs, Food and Atmosphere!
I did not use points for the all inclusive so I do recommend using a travel agent, especially one with knowledge in those areas. Using an Ensemble Agent will also allow you to get additional perks at their preferred hotels (early check in/late check out, resort credits and possibly room upgrades).
Until next Spring Break! Already starting to think about it and plan!
