We just returned from our stay here and there are definitely some postives and negatives I thought I would share.

Positives:

Location - great location, not right downtown but close enough that the $8 cab ride made a trip to town possible. Very expensive cab ride from the airport though ($18!) There are different fares depending on which zone you travel to but coming from the airport is the worst. And the hotel is only a mile away. The property is located right on the beach but I will have more on the beach to follow...

Food - the restaurants here are quite good. Good sized portions and the food tasted great. Las Casitas was a great place to have a sunset dinner and cocktails. The sushi restaurant was good as well. We watched a few basketball playoff games in Champions (their bar) but felt like we were in a sportsbar back home.

Negatives:

Prices - VERY expensive. The two of us didn't have a dinner where it cost less than $60 in the hotel. We ate in town which helped a bit but was still less than at the Marriott. Prices for spa services are ridiculous and they charge you if you want to attend yoga/spin and other fitness classes in the gym ($12). That should be offered free to guests.

Property - needs some work. The resort is a little older and can look dated in some areas. Most days I saw staff working to keep the grounds clean but on other days it seemed as if no one cared. Bits of garbage littered the breezway around the rooms, muck floating around the koi ponds, dirty dishes, glassware and towels were seen strewn about and the restrooms by the pool - foul and disgusting. Someone had clearly had an accident but no one was concerned about cleaning it up - an employee sat right outside the restroom on a cell phone.

Rooms - were just ok but nothing spectacular. I couldn't agree more with the PP about the beds. They were so bad my back still hurts. The mattresses were sloped to the middle and had seen better days. Sheets and blanket had stains, robes were wayyyyyy too small and they never replaced dirty ones with fresh robes. The cleaning crew could have done a better job cleaning the room - someone's old cigar was sitting on our balcony the entire time.

Poolside - my best advice - grab a lounge chair at the pool opposite the beach. Otherwise you will be hounded by vendors who can literally walk right up and push their goods on you. The towel game gets a little obnoxious but if you get there by 10 you should be fine. They do have chairs on the beach but the water isn't "exactly" swimmable. Ask around and you'll find out why.

Staff - most of the time they were freindly. Pool service was spotty - they would forget orders a lot. I also agree with the comments of intrusive staff. This happened ALL the time, every day. My husband forgot to sign the room charge slip (which has our room # and his name on it already) for a spa service and they kept calling our room asking him to come take care of it. Staff knocked on the door even when "DND" sign was up, 3 times the morning we checked out! I also witnessed a hotel supervisor asking a guest for her room and phone number to which she repeatedly declined at the pool. I thought this was rather inappropriate especially considering he was "management".

PS: An absolutely amazing restaurant in town in Si Senor, best Mexican food I've ever had and wonderful service!

Anything else you would like to know? Just ask!

My husband and I stayed at the CasaMagne Marriot for 5 days in late April 2008 for a relaxing vacation. The hotel was very busy during our stay but we still had an excellent time. We had a lovely room overlooking the patio/pool area which included a nice sitting area, flat screen tv and balcony. We went down to the pool almost every morning and while some of the poolside furniture had been staked out by early risers, there was always plenty to go around. We enjoyed cocktails served by attentive and curtious staff and lunched there on our first afternoon. The prices were what we expected for hotel services.
We found the marina area on our first night which is full of restaurants, tour groups and of course, fancy boats. Victor's was the place to go and we had lunch there often. Victor is a gracious host and the food was delicious! Plus, you can't beat a free shot of tequila with every drink.
We ventured downtown almost every night and did so by bus. The price (~ 50 cents one way) was cheap and the trip was adventurous! The return trip was easier by taxi because bus service to the marina becomes sparse after 10pm, but that wasn't very expensive either (~ $8-10 with tip). We walked the boardwalk every evening. There were many local artisans set up selling thier wares as well as snack vendors- try the fresh roasted corn on a stick on in a cup. We found a great place for pre-dinner drinks just past the busy downtown area: Los Burros! It's right on the water in the older section of downtown PV and had fantastic happy hour specials. We had dinner downtown at a variety of places and enjoyed every meal. The atmosphere was very relaxing, just what we needed on a vacation.
We decided on one activity and chose the Vallarta Adventures Sierra Madres tour (husband has a slight fear of heights so canopy tours were out!) We had an awesome tour group- Guide Cuey and driver JC. We drove up into the mountains and stopped at a few staged points. It was still super interesting, even thought it wasn't spontaneous. The tour ended with a great late lunch right along a selcuded beach.
Our trip to PV was nothing short of wonderful and we'll definitely return!

I visited the Marriott in April for a mother/daughter vacation. We really enjoyed our stay and most of the reviews sum up my experience. A few highlights and low points:

The Good
- An incredibly welcoming and friendly staff. Everyone speaks English but they were happy to entertain my bad attempts at Spanish.
- The pool scene is relaxing and was not as crowded as I expected. There are waiters ambling around to bring you drinks and lunch if you want.
- Compared to other resorts, there are very few vendors on the beach and they were good about not harassing us.
- The breakfast was delicious. They try to push the buffet but it's expensive ($22) and everything is offered a la carte on a regular menu.

The Bad
- The humidity in the room made it stuffy and a little smelly. Anything paper was damp and wrinkled and it took forever for our bathing suits to dry when he hung them up.
- The furniture in the room is very cheap and uncomfortable.
- The walls were a little dingy and could use a good scrub (squished bug stayed there the entire trip).
- Aside from breakfast, the food is mediocre. The drinks were very weak unless you requested a strong one.

As many other reviewers have warned, don't let the people in the airport bring you to any counters! They make it seem like they're from your hotel; they're not. Plow right through and get your own cab. Don't arrange for one at the taxi window because they are double the price they should be.

Overall, the hotel is nice. The rooms and food are very chain-hotel, but the location, pool, and staff were wonderful.

Wow, this trip was so much fun. We just returned from a 5 day trip to PV, 4/10 - 4/15. My wife booked this hotel for my 30th birthday and it was amazing. I can't thank her enough. The curb side check in right when you get out of the taxi was really nice. They give you your room keys and take your bags away. We were in our room within 5 min of getting out of the taxi.

Real quick about the taxis, make sure you leave the airport go out side the front doors, don't mind the people yelling out taxi or even the people with the yellow taxi signs. Go out the front doors over the walkway to get to the other side. It is about $6 to the hotel. If you take it from the airport it is about $18, you might as well have the hotel pick you up for that price. Oh and the taxis they bargain a little not much. About $6-8 downtown, $10 for old town, and about $14 for Nuevo Vallarta.

We had an ocean view room on the 6th floor, it was amazing. Very clean and very comfortable. The bathroom was a good size and very clean. The bed was very comfortable and big. The room was nicely stocked with a good mini bar, robes, slippers and a good size flat screen TV.

The service is what made it though. Anything we asked for was at the room within minutes. The pool service that I read about was not bad at all. We had excellent service every time, we ended up at the pool at all different times and always found great seating. The food by the pool was also very good, the shrimp and mixed ceviche was awesome. They are really refreshing and go great with a pacifico.

We ate at Las Casitas once went we got to the hotel. We shared ceviche and an order of fajitas. The food was really good and service was excellent. Other than that we went to the Marina a few times and also downtown to eat. Portobello was great, really good Italian food. My wife and I both got pasta dishes that were really tasty. Also I think it was El Fogon towards the end of the marina, they had a really good shrimp special. Most restaurants gave free chips and the best salsas you will ever eat. Along with free beers or margaritas and a shot of tequila. Downtown you have to go to La Palapa and request thru your concierge for beach seating. It was an amazing dining experience. I can't describe the service and food along with the setting was just perfect, a must if you are in PV.

We also went on 2 excursions with Vallarta adventures, first was the dolphin encounter which was really fun, you swim with the dolphins and interact with them for about an hour. The second was the Canopy adventure, this was really fun, I bit scary at times going around and crossing a walkway to other trees, but really fun. I would recommend both.

So all in all our stay was excellent, the hotel is lovely and you are on the beech it is just relaxing. Go to the pool hang out, make use of the swim up bar, the bartenders will always give you some kind of deal, get some drinks in the lobby bar before dinner and enjoy yourself. I promise you will not be disappointed.