Velas Vallarta

Velas Vallarta – A Spring Break Surprise We just spent a week at Velas Vallarta for spring break, me, my family, and the extended crew (grandparents included). Our kids’ school break landed unusually late this year, the week after Easter, which had me worried. I pictured a resort at capacity: crowds everywhere, lounge chair skirmishes, long waits, chaos. Thankfully, that couldn’t have been further from the truth. To our pleasant surprise, the resort felt maybe half full, if that. There were plenty of lounge chairs, no early morning towel warfare, and a great staff-to-guest ratio. Everything was calm, pleasant, and easy — just how vacation should be. The crowd was a good mix of North American and Mexican guests, and the vibe was relaxed all around. We stayed in a "One Bedroom Deluxe" with a lock off studio attached. It was huge and perfect for our family of four. Grandparents stayed in a regular One Bedroom and had a much more sweeping view as they were in the central building. They were also very happy with their room. The grounds were beautiful, the beach was wide and the ocean swimmable while having enough waves to be fun and warm enough to make you forget about the pool (though we used both) while cool enough to provide welcome relief from the hot sun . We played a lot of beach volleyball; I even had a Dad moment of glory spiking a ball against my teenage daughter who plays on a club beach volleyball team! Food and Drink: We opted for the All-Inclusive package, and it was nice to be completely stress-free about extra costs. Liquor quality was what I’d call mid-shelf — think Don Julio Blanco, Bacardi, and Johnny Walker Black. Not bad at all. And honestly, does anyone really notice the difference after their third margarita? The food? Generally good and always plentiful though it had its highs and lows. Let’s just say consistency wasn’t the resort’s strong suit. One night, my father-in-law ordered a steak that came out practically mooing. It was so rare, the steak knife might have doubled as a defibrillator. He sent it back, and instead of re-firing a new one, they brought the same piece of meat back, just a bit more charred. Thankfully, later in the week during “North American Night,” many of us ordered the rib eye with a healthy dose of skepticism… and it was fantastic! Lesson learned: at an all-inclusive, you can order for two, eat for one, and roll with the punches. Andrea, the more upscale restaurant, was also a bit hit-or-miss. “French Night” turned out to be underwhelming though, weirdly enough, the carving station served up a Beef Wellington (not French!) that was so good, most of us ditched our plated entrees and made repeat runs for it instead. Sicilian Night at Andrea was much better, lots of bold flavors, no confusion. Mexican Fiesta Night in the main hall was an all-out feast. That was our first night, and it set a fantastic tone. I ate so much that evening I thought my wife would have to roll me out of there! Entertainment We were lucky to be entertained on two separate nights at dinner by the resident magician known simply as Spider. Let me just say, this guy is phenomenal. Hands down some of the most impressive close-up magic I’ve ever seen. He pulled off tricks that are still bouncing around in my head days later, the kind that make you blurt out, “How in the world did he do that?” If you get the chance to catch his act, don’t miss it. The nightly shows in the main lobby, in general, had a bit of a “budget cruise ship” vibe, fun but nothing to write home about. Casino Night was fun: a lighthearted setup with blackjack, Texas Hold ’Em, and roulette using fake money that translated into raffle tickets for gift shop vouchers. It wasn’t Vegas, but it was a good time and added a little spark to the evening. We also ventured off-property for the Rhythms of the Night excursion, and we highly recommend it. Great production value, excellent food, and a beautiful setting. Well worth leaving the resort for a night. Tip: Get the early dinner then show and catch the sunset! A few things I wish I’d known before arriving: • Dress code at Andrea: The website talks about “resort elegant, men in pants, etc”but in reality, it’s more like “please just don’t show up in your swimsuit.” Flip-flops, shorts, and t-shirts were common. • Tips: Not included. You’ll see a tip line on most receipts or tip jars at the bars. It became clear (through a few polite stares) that tipping was expected. Once I started tipping around 10%, service noticeably leveled up. Pro tip: for the beach and pool staff, slipping a bit of cash with your first and last drink order of the day goes a long way. Our loungers were kept well-supplied, and I daresay we achieved professional lounge lizard status by day three. All in all, Velas Vallarta was a fantastic, low-stress escape — perfect for families, especially if you like mixing beach time, decent food, and volleyball showdowns with your in-laws. Would definitely go back…

We loved coming "home" to Velas and seeing all of our friends. It was an amazing time with great food and lots of time floating in the pool. Ricardo, Antonio, Carlos and the entire staff were fabulous. It's always great to listen to ocean waves and watch beautiful sunsets. See you again in November!

We spent a week at Velas Vallarta and it was fantastic. To preface my review we have been to this hotel many times before but this trip we had some changes in diet restrictions. We are from the east coast and travel regularly. We have gone to other all inclusives so we do have a basis for comparison. Velas hits it out of the park everytime. From the minute we arrived, we were welcomed and taken care of. The motto of Velas is everything is possible. If you need something it is imperative to ask! The why is because they will make it happen. Checkin was a breeze and Abygal made it happen quickly. Velas has switched to bracelet room key combo! This made things very easy for access and not having to worry about key your room key. Our rooms were ready on arrival and we arrived at 10:45am. We had two one bedroom villa plus suites which were beyond clean and wonderfully appointed. The new rain head shower in the bathroom is nice but I still think a shower head on the wall is needed. Regardless it was perfectly fine. Our room everyday was made up perfectly and EVERY night we received turn down service and a refresh on towels and cleanliness. This is forgotten at most hotels! We needed items for the room etc and they arrived in less than twenty mins. The property is Prestine! It is manicured daily! Bathrooms at the pool have attendants and there is always someone picking up or cleaning something! Poolside service was amazing! The staff go above and beyond to ensure you have a great time. We had Carlos, Roger and Ivan who were fantastic. We also got to see Marcelino, Jacinto and Eric! There are no levels of service like other hotels. Everyone gets the top shelf alcohol and service and this is why we love this property! Christian is the man behind the activities at the pool and at night. He ensures everyone is having a good time and works the crowd liked a professional. My family had know him for almost 15 years. Even though my kids are too old for the kids club, Erika made sure they participated at the cooking class because that was their thing for many years. Erika saw my girls and immediately gave them a hug. This is the velas way! Every night we dined at Andrea. Yes the hotel only has two restaurants but the menu rotates every night to a different cuisine! We believed the food this year was way better than previous. It was good before but this year was better. We did have a dietary change this year as one of our travelers had a gluten and dairy diet restriction. Velas has a menu that indicates which items can be free of what products and a healthy menu which indicates diet friendly options. The staff and chefs are well trained to accommodate your dietary restrictions. Please ask and they will accommodate! Almost every night we had Ernesto who has become like a member of our family. Ernesto ensured we had a great meal and provided amazing customer service. When Ernesto was off we had Julio and Julio who were fantastic. Julio junior is a great asset. Many of these employees have over 15-20 years and that says a lot about that and the hotel. Omar the captain was great to see and made sure we were taken care of. In the morning for breakfast we ate at Andrea and were greeted daily by Mildred! Millie is like a family friend. She runs a great ship and ensures customer satisfaction! We were taken care of by Angel and Angel and Saul. These guys were awesome. We ordered gluten free bread for avocado toast and eggs with hashbrowns they made sure the hasbrowns came from a fryer with new oil to avoid cross contamination. Amazing service and food! For lunch we often went to La riberia and Cristina and staff made us welcome. You could literally order anything! If they didn’t have it they made it! Burger with gluten free bread no problem! Service was very good! It was also nice to see Enrique Roberto and Ricardo from the night group during shift change! The desert counter also now serves all natural sorbet which was great for those that could not have milk or lactose! At night Spyder the magician was at the restaurant to provide some table side magic! Spyder is next level think America’s got talent stuff! During the week Juan Carlos and Angel(manager of waiters) checked on us to make sure our week was amazing! All in all a fantastic trip! There isn’t anything we could ask for other than more time! I wouldn’t hesitate to tell anyone to book their trip! The biggest issue we noticed was people not asking for something yet complaining. Ask and you shall receive! Guaranteed!

Jorge M Guti is the resident mobile bartender. He has the coolest cart loaded with all of the latest and greatest ingredients to prepare the most delicious cocktails! He will come to you so you won’t lose your favorite place by the pool. Enjoy

Excellent hotel, amazing service, varied food, facilities such as pool and rooms, excellent... Very comfortable and clean room... All the staff is very friendly, even though there is a large population, there is no distinction or preference of any. All the food and drink very tasty. The pool is very large and very agardable and perfect. It is a 100 percent affordable hotel. The beach is very beautiful and suitable to get in to enjoy.