All You Need to Know About the Swimup Bar
at Hotel Riu Jalisco
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Swimup Bar review highlights
... where inflatables are permitted, and an adult pool with a swimup bar and no floaties allowed. Both areas had plenty of padded...
... advertised, that the kids pool was to be for kids and the swimup bar and pool was for adults! Wrong. Children continually...
... to swim in and rarely got used. The other pool with the swimup bar was constantly dirty with bugs and other things floating...
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How hard is it to get a drink at the pool/beach? Is the bar open at the steakhouse during the day or is the swimup bar the only option?
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Mar 2023 |
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We stayed at the all-inclusive Riu Jalisco ClubHotel resort in Nuevo Vallarta for one week, May 24-31 of 2006. This was our seventh all-inclusive resort vacation, and our fourth in Mexico. We had just visited Puerto Vallarta in January, but we enjoyed the area so much, that when we found a great package deal with non-stop flights, we couldn’t resist going back! We chose the Nuevo Vallarta area this time for its beaches and its location close to several good golf courses.
Our photo album from the trip is at
http://community.webshots.com/album/550997003thLAia . It includes pictures of the Riu Jalisco, Bucerias, Mezcales & Laguna de Quelele, Las Islas Marietas, and the golf courses at Four Seasons Punta Mita and El Tigre.
RIU JALISCO REVIEW
Service, Room, and Grounds
The Riu Jalisco is the least expensive all-inclusive we’ve ever stayed at ($750 per person for 7 nights, including nonstop airfare on Frontier). Knowing that the Riu Jalisco is a ClubHotel, not Riu’s more expensive Palace line of resorts, we did not expect 5-star luxury. However, we did expect the hotel to live up to the Riu chain’s reputation for excellent service and value. In this, we were not disappointed. In fact, for the money we paid, our expectations were far exceeded! We enjoyed the experience very much, felt that we definitely got our money’s worth, and would happily book with Riu again.
We had a comfortable flight on Frontier, with free satellite TV until the U.S. signal cut out shortly before landing. 10 minutes for Immigration, 5 minutes for bag claim. For Customs, we got a green light and passed right through, but first we had to wait for 5 minutes while the couple in front of us had their bags cursorily searched (they got the red light, first time I’ve seen that!). Went directly to the taxi stand, paid $25, and were at the Riu within 45 minutes of touchdown. (The cab back to the airport from the resort was only $16, but taxis leaving the airport cost more because of a special tax. A cab from the Riu to downtown was $21, or you can take the ATM bus for 1.50, but only as far as the marina area of Puerto Vallarta.)
When we arrived at the Riu just after noon, the lobby was a zoo! It’s an elegant lobby, but it was a mob scene that day with people trying to check out. There are men’s and women’s courtesy rooms off the lobby-- each equipped with three showers, shampoo, bath gel, and one toilet—which can be used by guests wanting to clean up before leaving the property, but after checking out of their rooms. There are also tour signup desks, an Internet room, a jewelry shop, and a gift/sundry shop located in the lobby area. (Internet access was U.S. $8 for an hour, which could be split into as many sessions as you wished. Shorter periods were also available, I think $3 per 15 minutes. There were lots of computers available, some with American keyboards.) We saw a storeroom on each floor equipped with wheelchairs, cribs, and rollaway cots, as well as some other equipment. So if you need anything of the sort, be sure to ask for it. Motor scooters and ATVs are kept in a corner of the parking lot and can be rented onsite.
In spite of the lobby crowds, we only had to wait a couple of minutes for a clerk, who greeted us with glasses of a very sweet sangria soda. I had signed up online for a Riu Class Card, which took about 6 weeks to arrive. A week before our trip, I e-mailed the front desk a room request, quoting our Class Card number. The Class Card made it very easy for them to pull up our reservation and room request upon check-in. We had e-tickets through Frontier Flyaways (underwritten by Orbitz). They copied our e-ticket and told us the room wasn’t ready yet—which I expected, since so many people were checking out, and check-in is officially 3:00. They wristbanded us, stored our bags behind the desk, and invited us to enjoy lunch and return at 1:00.
When we came back at 1:00, many rooms were available already. They had picked out a room with a courtyard view for us. (The resort is shaped like a U, and apparently most people prefer courtyard views.) The room number started with 3, but it was actually on the second floor. Oddly, the room numbers starting with 2 and 3 are both on the second floor, where the lobby is also located. Room numbers on the third floor start with 4, on the fourth start with 5, and on the fifth start with 6. There are elevators, but we preferred the stairs, since the elevators were rather small and we needed the exercise after hitting the buffets.
We prefer to be on the top floor (no footsteps overhead), in a location that is quiet at night. The front desk was very accommodating about helping us find such a room. We ended up in a king-bedded room, 6113, which was perfect for us. They were worried that we might not like the outward-facing view, but we were happy that we wouldn’t hear the shows at night from our room. The view was actually very pretty—we could see the ocean and mountains. (As well as a cleared construction site, but you can’t have everything!) I’ve never seen front desk staff work so hard to accommodate room preferences. They were perfectly willing for us to come back and choose another room if we wanted. The front desk staff were always helpful. They handed out 1.5 liter bottles of water on request, made change, had bus schedules, and did anything we asked—always with a smile. They all spoke perfect English—unfortunately, as they gave me no opportunity to improve my Spanish! I was very impressed with their desire to please their guests.
The room was clean and comfortable, and larger than I had expected from pictures. The standard room had tons of storage space! In addition to the 8-drawer dresser, there were two 2-drawer bedside tables, and a large closet with plenty of hangers. There was a safe in the closet, about 6” x 6” x 12” inside. It was down on the floor and operated with a key lock, which wasn’t super-convenient (I prefer a user-defined code so I don’t have to carry the key). The bed was firm—very, very firm. More so than any other Mexican resort I’ve visited. We slept just fine, but people who are used to a soft bed might want to ask the front desk for a mattress topper. We had three of the flattest pillows I’ve ever seen. It took at least two Riu Jalisco pillows to equal one normal pillow! We did ask for more pillows, and they arrived within 10 minutes. We didn’t have a bedspread, which was fine because I find hotel bedspreads pretty disgusting anyway.
The room setup was unusual. The toilet is in its own little closet, with a door. The shower is next to the toilet, screened from the sink/closet/minibar area by a shower curtain. Then that multipurpose area is separated from the bedroom only by a pair of curtains, that didn’t quite close. So, while the toilet is extremely private, the shower, sink, and dressing area are not very private at all. The floor plan was fine for an old married couple like us, but might be a little weird for new couples, friends, or families.
Water pressure in the shower was good, the shower head could be adjusted in height or even hand held, and there was always hot water. Occasionally the sink taps ran hot and hotter water, rather than hot and cold, but they usually behaved like they were supposed to. The sink area was equipped with a hairdryer, shampoo and bath gel packets, and soap. No lotion, no shower cap. We got different numbers of towels on different days, but usually 3 or 4 bath towels, 1 or 2 hand towels, and 0 or 1 bath mat. We got face cloths only once. The housekeeper was very prompt about working on the room as soon as we put out the card requesting room cleaning. We really appreciated this, as well as her hard work to keep the room nice, and we tipped her daily.
There was no coffeemaker, which was my only real regret about this room. There was a liquor cabinet above the fridge, dispensing gin, vodka, tequila, and rum. Ice buckets are provided, and there are ice machines on every wing of every floor. The minifridge came stocked with Pepsi, Pepsi Light, soda water, bottled water, Corona, 7-Up, and orange soda. The fridge was only stocked every other day, even though we left tips. But the stocker (a different person, not the housekeeper) was very accommodating about giving us mainly Pepsi Light and bottled water, as requested in our note. We also picked up a few extra bottles of water from the front desk daily. The bottles they give you are 1.5 liters, so they’re not convenient to take on excursions, but they are great for the room. We did brush our teeth with the tap water and used it to take pills, with no ill effects.
There is a small sitting area in the room, with a table and two wicker chairs with floral seat pillows. Satellite TV operated by remote and showed mostly international news channels, movies, and sitcom reruns in English, some with Spanish subtitles. Also a couple of Spanish channels. All rooms had a balcony or patio, with both sheer curtains and blackout curtains in front of it. The balconies are visually shielded from the adjoining ones, but it would be possible for an agile person to climb over the barrier. The sliding glass balcony door does lock, but the lock is hard to find—not on the handle, but at the top of the slider, near where it adjoins the stationary pane. The balcony was a nice size, was equipped with a screen door, and came with two plastic chairs, a plastic table, and a drying rack. A word of warning about the chairs— my husband was leaning on the back two legs of a chair on the balcony, when the chair legs began gradually to flex and slide out from under his 180 pounds. Fortunately, the chair collapsed to the ground just slowly enough for him to avoid banging his head. As soon as he got off it, the chair legs sprang back into shape and it looked normal. My chair legs wobbled under me a few times, too. (I’m not going to tell you my weight, but it’s much, much less than 180.) I guess the Riu is able to offer such good rates because they save money by buying Gumby’s old chairs for the balconies. Anyway, be careful with them!
The room smelled a little musty when we arrived, and for the first time, I used the incense I always bring on trips. The air-conditioning was barely cooling the room even at its maximum setting for the first day and a half of our stay, but we were comfortable with the ceiling fan on. On Friday, the A/C suddenly kicked in and the room became a meat locker until we turned it down. It worked very efficiently for the rest of our stay, and the musty smell went away. The A/C does shut off when the balcony door is open.
The Riu Jalisco does not have extensive grounds, but the central courtyard is beautifully landscaped and very attractive. There is a lovely reflecting pool with fountains and an overwater gazebo in the courtyard. The filigree crown atop the gazebo is modeled after the much-photographed one on the Puerto Vallarta cathedral. Vendors set up shop in the courtyard some nights, not every night. Further down the courtyard, there are patio seating areas and open-air bars near the theater. There were flowers everywhere, and constant work keeps the property in pristine condition. A strong sea breeze blew to the furthest points of the property during our May stay, and made the open-air seating areas fairly comfortable except in direct sun. A few more public restrooms would have been convenient, especially in the main block of the resort near the buffets. I got a couple of mosquito bites outside on our first night. None during the day, and none at night after I started putting on DEET.
There is an open-air theater between the fountains and the beach, with shows every night. We watched the Wednesday “Tropical” show, a dance revue that was pretty sophisticated compared to what we’ve seen at other AIs and on cruise ships. The male and female dancers were talented, scantily clad, and fit. I often see AI reviews that say, “If you want a Vegas-style show, go to Vegas.” Well, in this case, I say, “If you want a Vegas-style show, go to the Riu Jalisco.” It was comparable in quality to the show at Bally’s Las Vegas. I tried to note which shows were which days at the Riu, but it was difficult because the entertainment notice board was updated erratically. Some of them were: Saturday - Variety, Sunday - Grease or Cats vs. Dogs (?), Wednesday - Tropical, Thursday - Mexican Folkloric.
There is a spa with a sauna, and a fitness center adjoining it. In the gym, there were no free weights, but approximately 10 weight stations in good condition, as well as a water cooler, Pilates balls, and yoga mats. Handtowels were usually available but sometimes ran out. Aerobic machines included two treadmills, an elliptical, a bike, a stairclimber, and a rowing machine. Although the number of machines was not excessive for such a large resort, during our visit most of the clientele appeared to prefer working out by lifting drinks to their mouths. We never had to wait more than 10 minutes for a treadmill. The treadmill display is metric only, so American guests, remember that 1 km. is 0.62 miles, or 1 mile = 1.6 km. The gym is not air-conditioned, but there are many ceiling fans kept on high. Some of the windows can be propped open to catch the strong sea breeze. There were two TVs with VCR, which didn’t work during our visit. And there was a music system, which staff kept cranking up to high volume—even when every guest in the gym was using a personal audio device. That was a little annoying.
There are two large freeform pools: a family pool with waterslides, where inflatables are permitted, and an adult pool with a swimup bar and no floaties allowed. Both areas had plenty of padded loungers, some in the sun and some shaded by palapas. During our stay in late May, the shallow pools got quite warm in the sun, so we didn’t find them too refreshing, but they were pretty to look at. There was a towel hut by the family pool where you could trade your towel cards for beach towels. We only found the one towel hut. Additional locations at the beach and adult pool would have been convenient. They always seemed to have plenty of fresh towels.
During our stay, construction was taking place on two projects immediately south of the hotel: some condos which look about 75% complete, and a larger project that we were told was a new Riu resort. There was also a small project to the north of the hotel that we could see from our room, but it wasn't being worked on much, and was quite a bit further from the hotel. Some of the condos are only about 150 feet from the family pool, 100 feet from the gym. When they jackhammer, you can hear it from the family pool and gym. However, they were not jackhammering all day every day. In fact, we only heard it for an hour or two, here and there. It was no louder than the animation staff's microphone coming from the adult pool. It could be annoying if you let it get on your nerves, but we had no trouble ignoring it. It didn't keep us from talking or hearing the music. We didn't notice any construction noise other than the occasional jackhammering.
From the adult pool, you could hear the jackhammer (muted) if there was no animation staff activity. When they talked on their microphone, you'd have to try pretty hard to make out the jackhammer. From the beach, we could not hear any construction noise at all.
Ahhh, the beach. What can I say? You’ll love it! The sand is soft, with no rocks and only occasional small bits of seaweed or rough patches. It’s pale gold, with flecks that glint metallic gold in the surf or when the sun catches them. The beach is yards and yards wide, and you can walk for miles in either direction. At this location, the water is shallow a good way out. Not Caribbean blue, but attractive. Waves were not too rough, but high enough to be good for boogie boards (which the Riu supplies, as well as kayaks and Hobie cats). This is simply one of the prettiest beaches anywhere!
The Riu section of beach is equipped with plenty of loungers. No palapas, but lots of palm tree shade (however, you have to keep moving your lounger to stay in shade). There are beach games, a dive shop, and souvenir shops at both ends of the Riu beach. Vendors of jewelry, hammocks, hair braiding, and the like are permitted to approach guests, but are not pushy. Jet ski and parasail operators are always available. There is a beach massage hut operated by the Riu’s spa from 10-5. We did not see any frontal topless sunbathing at this resort, just some back tanning while lying prone. There were a lot of Mexican families with small children, so I don’t think toplessness would be well tolerated.
On a walk down the beach, we saw a snake-shaped creature in the surf about 100 yards south of the Riu, diving head-first into the sand and wriggling around, as if it was hunting something in the sand. There was another one about 150 yards north of the Riu that same day. They were about 18-24 inches long. They had brown spots on the top, and their bellies were pale. The bodies were round and cream-colored. We were a little apprehensive of the water after that (fortunately it was our last day!), but upon returning home, we were able to identify the creatures as Pacific Spotted Snake-Eels, which are harmless to humans. So don’t be freaked out if you see these critters!
Riu Jalisco Food
We were a little wary about the food after reading some reviews, but for the price we paid (7 nights for $750 per person, including airfare), we figured we were ahead if we just got breakfast (no hotel can screw up breakfast!) and a few drinks. We actually planned to go into town 3-4 times to enjoy Puerto Vallarta’s wonderful dining options. As it turned out, the Riu’s food far surpassed our expectations. We ended up dining in town only once! Even though the other all-inclusives we’ve visited were all more expensive than the Riu Jalisco, only one had better buffets.
The Riu Jalisco has two main buffet restaurants, Don Emiliano and Doña Adelita. Both were open for breakfast and dinner, and both offered terrace seating or indoor air-conditioned seating. Both had plenty of options, always including several fresh-cooked show stations. During the day, the seaside restaurant, La Botana, offered a lunch buffet and snack bar, with several fresh-cooked or show dishes. A restaurant in the courtyard, Nayarit, also offered a lunch buffet with a couple of fresh-cooked stations.
At night, Nayarit becomes a reservation-only Brazilian restaurant. Since you have to get up early in the morning and stand in line to secure reservations that night, and since we’ve already experienced all-inclusive Brazilian restaurants, we didn’t bother getting a reservation. Besides, every evening La Botana had grilled meats and a nice buffet-- which is what you get with Brazilian, only the “Brazilian” meats are presented on a skewer. La Botana served delicious freshly grilled meat and seafood, at least 4 choices nightly. People who live in Mexico know a thing or two about grilling, and the Riu was smart enough to let them do their thing. We’re still trying to duplicate their wonderful carne asada here at home! Grill selections differed nightly, but included kebabs, arranchera, sausage, mahi-mahi, ribs, pork chops, and chicken. La Botana also had excellent roast beef on the buffet on several nights during our stay, including Saturday, Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday. You simply must try this roast beef. Not only is it surprisingly flavorful for Mexican beef, it’s also only a butcher’s inch away from prime rib. Delicious! So we were happy to eat at the main buffets or La Botana in the evenings, or go out.
We had read that the buffets were the same every day. We did not find this to be the case. Some basic items did stay the same; for example, there was usually broccoli, fajitas, pasta and pizza (different flavors, though) on the lunch and dinner buffets. Breakfasts were pretty similar every day, featuring items like cold cuts and cheese, 5-6 types of baked goods including chocolate muffins, omelets made to order, dry cereal, fruit, poached and scrambled eggs, chilaquiles, refried beans, French toast, and pancakes. At lunch and dinner, there were always freshly prepared meats and carving stations, often featuring wonderful fresh seafood. Also many salad dishes, and a variety of vegetable side dishes. The desserts were beautifully decorated, but not very sweet by American standards (except for our last night, when they were perfect). However, there was always delicious ice cream available (soft serve in the day, regular at night-- with sauces and flambéed fruit topping).
Here are a few examples of daily variation in the buffets:
- Fantastic ceviche at La Botana our first lunch. Never saw it again.
- Smoked salmon pizza at lunch three days—sounds weird, tasted great!
- Fresh ripe mango on all the buffets our last two days – it came into season.
- Stuffed avocados on the salad bar Sunday, fantastic.
- Whole steamed crabs and bacon-wrapped plaintains our last night, along with freshly-made fried fish tacos outside the entrance to Don Emiliano.
- Carving stations: Wednesday - pork roast with apple gravy, fish baked in salt. Friday – roast leg of lamb. Tuesday – dorado.
- Theme nights: Friday – Italian night with prosciutto, bruschetta, extra pizzas and pastas, tiramisu. Tuesday and Thursday - Mexican Fiesta at Doña Adelita. Saturday and Tuesday– Caribbean night at Don Emiliano with gratinated mussels, tender sautéed calamari, salmon in cream sauce, snapper filet, mushrooms with spinach. Thursday – Asian night at Don Emiliano.
There were a few minor food problems. One morning, the normally delicious yogurt tasted rancid. On another occasion, the self-serve soft ice cream at the beach restaurant tasted spoiled. Cooked oatmeal was only available two mornings, and one of those times it was cold and had obviously been sitting out a long time. I normally try to include some healthy fiber in my diet, but I only got oatmeal once, never bran muffins, and prunes only a couple of mornings. (Yikes, I sound like a grown-up! When did that happen?) However, despite these minor problems, for the most part the food was very good for an all-inclusive. It tasted fresh, and they used high quality ingredients, not just cheap stuff. The seafood was always fresh and delicious. And the ice cream was simply fantastic! We were very happy with the buffets.
The dress code was basic: guests were requested not to wear wet swimwear in the restaurants, and men were asked to wear long pants for the Brazilian. The brochure in the room said no short-sleeved shirts for men at dinner. I’ve never seen that before at an AI, but I checked all the language sections and that’s what it said in every language. That rule was absolutely not enforced; in fact, I don’t think I saw a single man wearing a long-sleeved shirt! Aside from the Brazilian long pants, you could pretty much wear anything at this resort—shorts at the dinner buffet, flip flops, whatever. No one was turned away. About half the guests dressed fairly nicely for dinner (sundresses, khakis, etc.), and most at least changed out of beachwear. There was a wide age range of guests.
Drinks were self-serve for the most part, other than at dinner. There was supposedly water service at the breakfast buffets, but we learned to take a bottle of water from our fridge, because the glasses were small and the refills infrequent. If you wanted coffee, they left a whole pot on the table, which I appreciated! There were also self-serve espresso/cappuchino machines. We also took bottled water to lunch. There were self-serve soda and juice fountains, but again the glasses were quite small. We’re talking no more than a single cup in volume. I usually don’t bother to bring my own mug to resorts, but this is one resort where I’d recommend it due to the small glasses. Iced tea was only served pre-sugared.
Alcoholic beverages had to be fetched yourself from the bars, other than wine at dinner. The house wines (one red, one white, one sparkling) were decent. Corona was the beer on tap. Drinks were poured generously, and there was a wide selection of liquors and cocktails on the menu. They used Mexican brands unless you asked for name brands (e.g. Smirnoff, Bacardi, Gordon’s—decent but not expensive stuff, fine for a budget resort). You can get a great Spanish coffee prepared tableside after dinner if you ask politely and wait patiently.
EXCURSIONS
Bucerias
The nearest good shopping and dining from Riu Jalisco is to the north, in the town of Bucerias, a U.S. $7 cab ride or U.S. $1.50 on the ATM bus that stops at the northeast corner of the Riu property. I hear you can also walk there, 5-6 miles along the beach. The main commercial strip by the highway in Bucerias is kind of junky-looking, but this is where you’ll find the HSBC ATM (one of the closest ATMs to the Riu) and the delicious baked goods of Pie in the Sky bakery. A few blocks to the west (oceanwards), you’ll find a town square with a pretty church, a market with vendors selling the usual tourist souvenirs, and a gorgeous beach lined with seafood restaurants. Exploring Bucerias made a pleasant, inexpensive half-day excursion for us.
Marietas Islands snorkel trip
The Marietas Islands are a protected wildlife sanctuary, offshore near Punta de Mita, a few miles north of Nuevo Vallarta. They offer some of the best snorkeling in the Bay of Banderas, as well as the opportunity to see blue-footed and brown-footed boobies and other seabirds nesting. We had pre-booked a snorkel trip with Écotours de México for $75 each, including transportation and lunch. It’s wise to book in advance, since they only run the trip when they can get enough people. We chose their excursion partly because of previous good experiences with them, and partly because every other Marietas excursion is mainly a bay cruise with maybe 30 minutes of snorkel time. Écotours de México takes you by land as far as Playa Anclote, just south of Punta de Mita-- as opposed to boating all the way from Marina Vallarta like the other tours. So you spend less time cruising. If you want a party boat, this is not the tour for you. If you want to snorkel and see wildlife, it’s perfect.
We enjoyed the short van ride north to Playa Anclote. Having previously spent time to the south of Puerto Vallarta, it was interesting to see the differences in beaches and seascapes. Up north of Nuevo Vallarta, the sand is much whiter, and the water much bluer, compared to the southern parts of the Bay of Banderas. At Playa Anclote, we preordered our lunches and embarked, in a large semi-shaded motorboat. The water was smooth as glass. We saw quite a few bottlenosed dolphins as we cruised, and the captain tried to follow them as much as possible. It was a thrill to see these fascinating and intelligent creatures free in the wild, where they belong.
About 20 minutes of boating brought us to the two arid, craggy Islas Marietas. (According to our guide, the proper names of the two individual islands are “The Round One” and “The Long One”.) We cruised around for a while looking at the birds and the interesting rock formations, including a large natural bridge. The first good snorkel spot we checked had quite a few jellyfish, so we cruised to another spot where the Vallarta Adventures and Geronimo boats were already anchored for snorkeling. The underwater seascape was stunning! The water temperature was comfortable, the water was clear, and the depth was perfect for snorkeling—10-30 feet in most places. There was a fair bit of coral, and many colorful fish, especially large blue damselfish. I saw a 6-foot moray eel on the hunt along the seafloor. Very enjoyable snorkeling!
After a while, I noticed that some of our party were heading for the boat. Not wanting to be the last one in, I followed them… and found out why they were going in. I felt little pinpricks on my arms and legs, and realized that we were being stung by jellyfish larvae (“sea lice”). I was wearing Sea Safe sunblock with jellyfish repellent, but it obviously didn’t protect me, since I was stung at least as much as those in the same area who weren’t wearing it. Once in the boat, the captain gave us vinegar to put on the stings, which made them stop hurting.
As we cruised back to the beach, I started to feel nauseated. (I have never gotten seasick, even in a tiny boat tossed around in very rough seas.) I felt enough better to enjoy a delicious fresh seafood lunch at the beachfront palapa restaurant, but my jellyfish stings started to form red welts, and then I broke out in a mottled rash all over my body, developed hives, my face flushed bright red, and I started to feel shaky and disoriented. The others who were stung were all just fine, so apparently I am unlucky in having a systemic allergic reaction to jellyfish larvae stings. It took three Benadryl to quell the rash and hives, and my stings itched badly for several days. We counted 230 separate welts, which a week later are still not quite faded away. Fortunately I was wearing a rashguard shirt over my bikini, and thus avoided getting stung on my torso. I love ocean snorkeling and will not give it up, but from now on I will wear protective clothing, carry Benadryl, and not count on Safe Sea for any protection.
I can recommend this excursion for anyone who is not allergic to sea lice—and even with what happened, I’m glad I did it! The Marietas were beautiful, unique, and teeming with interesting wildlife.
Laguna de Quelele birdwatching
From reading Blake Maybank’s online birding reports, we knew that there was excellent birding near Nuevo Vallarta. So one day we packed up our binoculars, DEET, and Mr. Maybank’s directions and map, and set off for the Laguna de Quelele. The easiest entrance to the Laguna is located a little east of the town of Mezcales. (Another lagoon entrance is by the crocodile sign, 1 block south of the Flamingos Golf Course entrance off the highway.) We had a cab driver take us to Mezcales, for U.S. $6 from the Riu. Having lived in Mezcales for several years, he couldn’t understand why we wanted to go there (although it’s actually an interesting little town). He kept trying to take us to the Rancho Quelele, where apparently there used to be some animal exhibits that he thought we might be interested in. We finally convinced him to drop us at the Rancho de la Laguna, the entrance in Mr. Maybank’s directions, although I think he felt badly about leaving us there. He’s probably still shaking his head over the loco gringos who wanted to be dropped off in the middle of nowhere!
According to Mr. Maybank, the property owner will collect a $5 donation for trail maintenance if he’s home, but we missed him. Instead, the trail rangers that day were three large but polite dogs. They were fine watchdogs, but a trifle deficient in short-term memory. Every time they saw us they started barking again and had to be reminded that we were friendly. Land is being cleared at the Rancho, but it’s still easy to find the lagoon, and the trails under the mangroves can be located with a little sleuthing (walk as far north as you can, turn east along the lagoon edge, and look closely at the vegetation). The birding did not disappoint. Practically the first thing we saw when we reached the lagoon was a tree filled with hundreds of roosting cattle egrets and snowy egrets, with great blue herons standing below. We enjoyed rambling around this swampy ecosystem. It’s particularly amazing that such an untouched wildlife reservoir exists amidst all the surrounding towns and tourist developments. When we got back to the Riu Jalisco, we realized that we could see the lagoon from the top floor of the resort, only about a mile from all the resorts and golf courses.
After exploring the lagoon area, we hiked back into Mezcales (only about half a mile from the Rancho). We walked around el centro for a while, saw the school and tequila distillery. Then walked the block out to the highway where there is a large cab stand next to the police station, as well as an ATM bus stop that can take you back to resort row. This was an enjoyable and inexpensive excursion for hikers, birders, and wildlife enthusiasts.
Nuevo Vallarta – Paradise Village
Another day we got our hiking fix by walking south from the Riu, past all the resorts, to the Paradise Village development and shopping mall, about 3.5 miles each way. Immediately south of the Riu, there is little major development for approximately 1.5 miles, when you come to the Marival resort. After that, resorts and condos are chockablock. There is an ATM near the entrance to the Vallarta Palace, which is the closest ATM we saw to the Riu (about 2 miles south of the Riu). Look for a glass booth on the side of the street nearest the ocean, with a red “Cajero” (Cashier) sign. Along the way, we also saw an ostrich farm, the Marina development, and some small stores where you can buy drinks and snacks. At the end of the road, about 3-3.5 miles from the Riu, is the Paradise Village shopping mall, which has another ATM, some touristy gift shops, beach clothing stores, chain restaurants, and a small grocery store. Prices in the grocery stores were quite reasonable considering the captive audience of tourists (ex. 5 pesos for a bottle of water). The store also sells beach toys and supplies, pharmaceuticals, and alcohol.
Golf
My husband was keen to play the Jack Nicklaus golf course at Four Seasons Punta Mita, which boasts the only natural island hole in the world. (Can only be putted at low tide; they use a semi-submersible Duck vehicle to ferry players out to the green.) It’s semi-private, so you must make arrangements in advance. He said the course was incredibly beautiful and the service was fantastic. There was practically no one out on the course. The best course he’s ever played.
He also played El Tigre, just a couple of miles from the Riu Jalisco. This was a pretty Von Hagge course, very similar to Von Hagge’s Playacar course on the east coast of Mexico. Tough to play, with lots of forced carries over water. No ocean holes.
If we had stayed another day, he would have played the Flamingos golf course, which is basically across the street from the Riu Jalisco. It’s the least expensive of the nearby courses, but looked very nice. A Mayan Palace course is also near the Riu. Nuevo Vallarta is a great golf destination, because in addition to these courses, you can easily get to the Nicklaus and Weiskopf courses at Vista Vallarta, as well as the Marina course.
Conclusion
We found the Riu Jalisco to be an attractive all-inclusive, with comfortable clean rooms, surprisingly good food, and great service. Don’t expect all the amenities of a 5-star resort (no poolside drink service, coffeemakers in the rooms, à la carte dining). But for the price, this resort delivered incredible value! Nuevo Vallarta is a beautiful, safe (if somewhat touristy) beach destination, as long as you don’t mind being almost half an hour from Puerto Vallarta. Happy travels!
Our photo album from the trip is at
http://community.webshots.com/album/550997003thLAia . It includes pictures of the Riu Jalisco, Bucerias, Mezcales & Laguna de Quelele, Las Islas Marietas, and the golf courses at Four Seasons Punta Mita and El Tigre.
RIU JALISCO REVIEW
Service, Room, and Grounds
The Riu Jalisco is the least expensive all-inclusive we’ve ever stayed at ($750 per person for 7 nights, including nonstop airfare on Frontier). Knowing that the Riu Jalisco is a ClubHotel, not Riu’s more expensive Palace line of resorts, we did not expect 5-star luxury. However, we did expect the hotel to live up to the Riu chain’s reputation for excellent service and value. In this, we were not disappointed. In fact, for the money we paid, our expectations were far exceeded! We enjoyed the experience very much, felt that we definitely got our money’s worth, and would happily book with Riu again.
We had a comfortable flight on Frontier, with free satellite TV until the U.S. signal cut out shortly before landing. 10 minutes for Immigration, 5 minutes for bag claim. For Customs, we got a green light and passed right through, but first we had to wait for 5 minutes while the couple in front of us had their bags cursorily searched (they got the red light, first time I’ve seen that!). Went directly to the taxi stand, paid $25, and were at the Riu within 45 minutes of touchdown. (The cab back to the airport from the resort was only $16, but taxis leaving the airport cost more because of a special tax. A cab from the Riu to downtown was $21, or you can take the ATM bus for 1.50, but only as far as the marina area of Puerto Vallarta.)
When we arrived at the Riu just after noon, the lobby was a zoo! It’s an elegant lobby, but it was a mob scene that day with people trying to check out. There are men’s and women’s courtesy rooms off the lobby-- each equipped with three showers, shampoo, bath gel, and one toilet—which can be used by guests wanting to clean up before leaving the property, but after checking out of their rooms. There are also tour signup desks, an Internet room, a jewelry shop, and a gift/sundry shop located in the lobby area. (Internet access was U.S. $8 for an hour, which could be split into as many sessions as you wished. Shorter periods were also available, I think $3 per 15 minutes. There were lots of computers available, some with American keyboards.) We saw a storeroom on each floor equipped with wheelchairs, cribs, and rollaway cots, as well as some other equipment. So if you need anything of the sort, be sure to ask for it. Motor scooters and ATVs are kept in a corner of the parking lot and can be rented onsite.
In spite of the lobby crowds, we only had to wait a couple of minutes for a clerk, who greeted us with glasses of a very sweet sangria soda. I had signed up online for a Riu Class Card, which took about 6 weeks to arrive. A week before our trip, I e-mailed the front desk a room request, quoting our Class Card number. The Class Card made it very easy for them to pull up our reservation and room request upon check-in. We had e-tickets through Frontier Flyaways (underwritten by Orbitz). They copied our e-ticket and told us the room wasn’t ready yet—which I expected, since so many people were checking out, and check-in is officially 3:00. They wristbanded us, stored our bags behind the desk, and invited us to enjoy lunch and return at 1:00.
When we came back at 1:00, many rooms were available already. They had picked out a room with a courtyard view for us. (The resort is shaped like a U, and apparently most people prefer courtyard views.) The room number started with 3, but it was actually on the second floor. Oddly, the room numbers starting with 2 and 3 are both on the second floor, where the lobby is also located. Room numbers on the third floor start with 4, on the fourth start with 5, and on the fifth start with 6. There are elevators, but we preferred the stairs, since the elevators were rather small and we needed the exercise after hitting the buffets.
We prefer to be on the top floor (no footsteps overhead), in a location that is quiet at night. The front desk was very accommodating about helping us find such a room. We ended up in a king-bedded room, 6113, which was perfect for us. They were worried that we might not like the outward-facing view, but we were happy that we wouldn’t hear the shows at night from our room. The view was actually very pretty—we could see the ocean and mountains. (As well as a cleared construction site, but you can’t have everything!) I’ve never seen front desk staff work so hard to accommodate room preferences. They were perfectly willing for us to come back and choose another room if we wanted. The front desk staff were always helpful. They handed out 1.5 liter bottles of water on request, made change, had bus schedules, and did anything we asked—always with a smile. They all spoke perfect English—unfortunately, as they gave me no opportunity to improve my Spanish! I was very impressed with their desire to please their guests.
The room was clean and comfortable, and larger than I had expected from pictures. The standard room had tons of storage space! In addition to the 8-drawer dresser, there were two 2-drawer bedside tables, and a large closet with plenty of hangers. There was a safe in the closet, about 6” x 6” x 12” inside. It was down on the floor and operated with a key lock, which wasn’t super-convenient (I prefer a user-defined code so I don’t have to carry the key). The bed was firm—very, very firm. More so than any other Mexican resort I’ve visited. We slept just fine, but people who are used to a soft bed might want to ask the front desk for a mattress topper. We had three of the flattest pillows I’ve ever seen. It took at least two Riu Jalisco pillows to equal one normal pillow! We did ask for more pillows, and they arrived within 10 minutes. We didn’t have a bedspread, which was fine because I find hotel bedspreads pretty disgusting anyway.
The room setup was unusual. The toilet is in its own little closet, with a door. The shower is next to the toilet, screened from the sink/closet/minibar area by a shower curtain. Then that multipurpose area is separated from the bedroom only by a pair of curtains, that didn’t quite close. So, while the toilet is extremely private, the shower, sink, and dressing area are not very private at all. The floor plan was fine for an old married couple like us, but might be a little weird for new couples, friends, or families.
Water pressure in the shower was good, the shower head could be adjusted in height or even hand held, and there was always hot water. Occasionally the sink taps ran hot and hotter water, rather than hot and cold, but they usually behaved like they were supposed to. The sink area was equipped with a hairdryer, shampoo and bath gel packets, and soap. No lotion, no shower cap. We got different numbers of towels on different days, but usually 3 or 4 bath towels, 1 or 2 hand towels, and 0 or 1 bath mat. We got face cloths only once. The housekeeper was very prompt about working on the room as soon as we put out the card requesting room cleaning. We really appreciated this, as well as her hard work to keep the room nice, and we tipped her daily.
There was no coffeemaker, which was my only real regret about this room. There was a liquor cabinet above the fridge, dispensing gin, vodka, tequila, and rum. Ice buckets are provided, and there are ice machines on every wing of every floor. The minifridge came stocked with Pepsi, Pepsi Light, soda water, bottled water, Corona, 7-Up, and orange soda. The fridge was only stocked every other day, even though we left tips. But the stocker (a different person, not the housekeeper) was very accommodating about giving us mainly Pepsi Light and bottled water, as requested in our note. We also picked up a few extra bottles of water from the front desk daily. The bottles they give you are 1.5 liters, so they’re not convenient to take on excursions, but they are great for the room. We did brush our teeth with the tap water and used it to take pills, with no ill effects.
There is a small sitting area in the room, with a table and two wicker chairs with floral seat pillows. Satellite TV operated by remote and showed mostly international news channels, movies, and sitcom reruns in English, some with Spanish subtitles. Also a couple of Spanish channels. All rooms had a balcony or patio, with both sheer curtains and blackout curtains in front of it. The balconies are visually shielded from the adjoining ones, but it would be possible for an agile person to climb over the barrier. The sliding glass balcony door does lock, but the lock is hard to find—not on the handle, but at the top of the slider, near where it adjoins the stationary pane. The balcony was a nice size, was equipped with a screen door, and came with two plastic chairs, a plastic table, and a drying rack. A word of warning about the chairs— my husband was leaning on the back two legs of a chair on the balcony, when the chair legs began gradually to flex and slide out from under his 180 pounds. Fortunately, the chair collapsed to the ground just slowly enough for him to avoid banging his head. As soon as he got off it, the chair legs sprang back into shape and it looked normal. My chair legs wobbled under me a few times, too. (I’m not going to tell you my weight, but it’s much, much less than 180.) I guess the Riu is able to offer such good rates because they save money by buying Gumby’s old chairs for the balconies. Anyway, be careful with them!
The room smelled a little musty when we arrived, and for the first time, I used the incense I always bring on trips. The air-conditioning was barely cooling the room even at its maximum setting for the first day and a half of our stay, but we were comfortable with the ceiling fan on. On Friday, the A/C suddenly kicked in and the room became a meat locker until we turned it down. It worked very efficiently for the rest of our stay, and the musty smell went away. The A/C does shut off when the balcony door is open.
The Riu Jalisco does not have extensive grounds, but the central courtyard is beautifully landscaped and very attractive. There is a lovely reflecting pool with fountains and an overwater gazebo in the courtyard. The filigree crown atop the gazebo is modeled after the much-photographed one on the Puerto Vallarta cathedral. Vendors set up shop in the courtyard some nights, not every night. Further down the courtyard, there are patio seating areas and open-air bars near the theater. There were flowers everywhere, and constant work keeps the property in pristine condition. A strong sea breeze blew to the furthest points of the property during our May stay, and made the open-air seating areas fairly comfortable except in direct sun. A few more public restrooms would have been convenient, especially in the main block of the resort near the buffets. I got a couple of mosquito bites outside on our first night. None during the day, and none at night after I started putting on DEET.
There is an open-air theater between the fountains and the beach, with shows every night. We watched the Wednesday “Tropical” show, a dance revue that was pretty sophisticated compared to what we’ve seen at other AIs and on cruise ships. The male and female dancers were talented, scantily clad, and fit. I often see AI reviews that say, “If you want a Vegas-style show, go to Vegas.” Well, in this case, I say, “If you want a Vegas-style show, go to the Riu Jalisco.” It was comparable in quality to the show at Bally’s Las Vegas. I tried to note which shows were which days at the Riu, but it was difficult because the entertainment notice board was updated erratically. Some of them were: Saturday - Variety, Sunday - Grease or Cats vs. Dogs (?), Wednesday - Tropical, Thursday - Mexican Folkloric.
There is a spa with a sauna, and a fitness center adjoining it. In the gym, there were no free weights, but approximately 10 weight stations in good condition, as well as a water cooler, Pilates balls, and yoga mats. Handtowels were usually available but sometimes ran out. Aerobic machines included two treadmills, an elliptical, a bike, a stairclimber, and a rowing machine. Although the number of machines was not excessive for such a large resort, during our visit most of the clientele appeared to prefer working out by lifting drinks to their mouths. We never had to wait more than 10 minutes for a treadmill. The treadmill display is metric only, so American guests, remember that 1 km. is 0.62 miles, or 1 mile = 1.6 km. The gym is not air-conditioned, but there are many ceiling fans kept on high. Some of the windows can be propped open to catch the strong sea breeze. There were two TVs with VCR, which didn’t work during our visit. And there was a music system, which staff kept cranking up to high volume—even when every guest in the gym was using a personal audio device. That was a little annoying.
There are two large freeform pools: a family pool with waterslides, where inflatables are permitted, and an adult pool with a swimup bar and no floaties allowed. Both areas had plenty of padded loungers, some in the sun and some shaded by palapas. During our stay in late May, the shallow pools got quite warm in the sun, so we didn’t find them too refreshing, but they were pretty to look at. There was a towel hut by the family pool where you could trade your towel cards for beach towels. We only found the one towel hut. Additional locations at the beach and adult pool would have been convenient. They always seemed to have plenty of fresh towels.
During our stay, construction was taking place on two projects immediately south of the hotel: some condos which look about 75% complete, and a larger project that we were told was a new Riu resort. There was also a small project to the north of the hotel that we could see from our room, but it wasn't being worked on much, and was quite a bit further from the hotel. Some of the condos are only about 150 feet from the family pool, 100 feet from the gym. When they jackhammer, you can hear it from the family pool and gym. However, they were not jackhammering all day every day. In fact, we only heard it for an hour or two, here and there. It was no louder than the animation staff's microphone coming from the adult pool. It could be annoying if you let it get on your nerves, but we had no trouble ignoring it. It didn't keep us from talking or hearing the music. We didn't notice any construction noise other than the occasional jackhammering.
From the adult pool, you could hear the jackhammer (muted) if there was no animation staff activity. When they talked on their microphone, you'd have to try pretty hard to make out the jackhammer. From the beach, we could not hear any construction noise at all.
Ahhh, the beach. What can I say? You’ll love it! The sand is soft, with no rocks and only occasional small bits of seaweed or rough patches. It’s pale gold, with flecks that glint metallic gold in the surf or when the sun catches them. The beach is yards and yards wide, and you can walk for miles in either direction. At this location, the water is shallow a good way out. Not Caribbean blue, but attractive. Waves were not too rough, but high enough to be good for boogie boards (which the Riu supplies, as well as kayaks and Hobie cats). This is simply one of the prettiest beaches anywhere!
The Riu section of beach is equipped with plenty of loungers. No palapas, but lots of palm tree shade (however, you have to keep moving your lounger to stay in shade). There are beach games, a dive shop, and souvenir shops at both ends of the Riu beach. Vendors of jewelry, hammocks, hair braiding, and the like are permitted to approach guests, but are not pushy. Jet ski and parasail operators are always available. There is a beach massage hut operated by the Riu’s spa from 10-5. We did not see any frontal topless sunbathing at this resort, just some back tanning while lying prone. There were a lot of Mexican families with small children, so I don’t think toplessness would be well tolerated.
On a walk down the beach, we saw a snake-shaped creature in the surf about 100 yards south of the Riu, diving head-first into the sand and wriggling around, as if it was hunting something in the sand. There was another one about 150 yards north of the Riu that same day. They were about 18-24 inches long. They had brown spots on the top, and their bellies were pale. The bodies were round and cream-colored. We were a little apprehensive of the water after that (fortunately it was our last day!), but upon returning home, we were able to identify the creatures as Pacific Spotted Snake-Eels, which are harmless to humans. So don’t be freaked out if you see these critters!
Riu Jalisco Food
We were a little wary about the food after reading some reviews, but for the price we paid (7 nights for $750 per person, including airfare), we figured we were ahead if we just got breakfast (no hotel can screw up breakfast!) and a few drinks. We actually planned to go into town 3-4 times to enjoy Puerto Vallarta’s wonderful dining options. As it turned out, the Riu’s food far surpassed our expectations. We ended up dining in town only once! Even though the other all-inclusives we’ve visited were all more expensive than the Riu Jalisco, only one had better buffets.
The Riu Jalisco has two main buffet restaurants, Don Emiliano and Doña Adelita. Both were open for breakfast and dinner, and both offered terrace seating or indoor air-conditioned seating. Both had plenty of options, always including several fresh-cooked show stations. During the day, the seaside restaurant, La Botana, offered a lunch buffet and snack bar, with several fresh-cooked or show dishes. A restaurant in the courtyard, Nayarit, also offered a lunch buffet with a couple of fresh-cooked stations.
At night, Nayarit becomes a reservation-only Brazilian restaurant. Since you have to get up early in the morning and stand in line to secure reservations that night, and since we’ve already experienced all-inclusive Brazilian restaurants, we didn’t bother getting a reservation. Besides, every evening La Botana had grilled meats and a nice buffet-- which is what you get with Brazilian, only the “Brazilian” meats are presented on a skewer. La Botana served delicious freshly grilled meat and seafood, at least 4 choices nightly. People who live in Mexico know a thing or two about grilling, and the Riu was smart enough to let them do their thing. We’re still trying to duplicate their wonderful carne asada here at home! Grill selections differed nightly, but included kebabs, arranchera, sausage, mahi-mahi, ribs, pork chops, and chicken. La Botana also had excellent roast beef on the buffet on several nights during our stay, including Saturday, Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday. You simply must try this roast beef. Not only is it surprisingly flavorful for Mexican beef, it’s also only a butcher’s inch away from prime rib. Delicious! So we were happy to eat at the main buffets or La Botana in the evenings, or go out.
We had read that the buffets were the same every day. We did not find this to be the case. Some basic items did stay the same; for example, there was usually broccoli, fajitas, pasta and pizza (different flavors, though) on the lunch and dinner buffets. Breakfasts were pretty similar every day, featuring items like cold cuts and cheese, 5-6 types of baked goods including chocolate muffins, omelets made to order, dry cereal, fruit, poached and scrambled eggs, chilaquiles, refried beans, French toast, and pancakes. At lunch and dinner, there were always freshly prepared meats and carving stations, often featuring wonderful fresh seafood. Also many salad dishes, and a variety of vegetable side dishes. The desserts were beautifully decorated, but not very sweet by American standards (except for our last night, when they were perfect). However, there was always delicious ice cream available (soft serve in the day, regular at night-- with sauces and flambéed fruit topping).
Here are a few examples of daily variation in the buffets:
- Fantastic ceviche at La Botana our first lunch. Never saw it again.
- Smoked salmon pizza at lunch three days—sounds weird, tasted great!
- Fresh ripe mango on all the buffets our last two days – it came into season.
- Stuffed avocados on the salad bar Sunday, fantastic.
- Whole steamed crabs and bacon-wrapped plaintains our last night, along with freshly-made fried fish tacos outside the entrance to Don Emiliano.
- Carving stations: Wednesday - pork roast with apple gravy, fish baked in salt. Friday – roast leg of lamb. Tuesday – dorado.
- Theme nights: Friday – Italian night with prosciutto, bruschetta, extra pizzas and pastas, tiramisu. Tuesday and Thursday - Mexican Fiesta at Doña Adelita. Saturday and Tuesday– Caribbean night at Don Emiliano with gratinated mussels, tender sautéed calamari, salmon in cream sauce, snapper filet, mushrooms with spinach. Thursday – Asian night at Don Emiliano.
There were a few minor food problems. One morning, the normally delicious yogurt tasted rancid. On another occasion, the self-serve soft ice cream at the beach restaurant tasted spoiled. Cooked oatmeal was only available two mornings, and one of those times it was cold and had obviously been sitting out a long time. I normally try to include some healthy fiber in my diet, but I only got oatmeal once, never bran muffins, and prunes only a couple of mornings. (Yikes, I sound like a grown-up! When did that happen?) However, despite these minor problems, for the most part the food was very good for an all-inclusive. It tasted fresh, and they used high quality ingredients, not just cheap stuff. The seafood was always fresh and delicious. And the ice cream was simply fantastic! We were very happy with the buffets.
The dress code was basic: guests were requested not to wear wet swimwear in the restaurants, and men were asked to wear long pants for the Brazilian. The brochure in the room said no short-sleeved shirts for men at dinner. I’ve never seen that before at an AI, but I checked all the language sections and that’s what it said in every language. That rule was absolutely not enforced; in fact, I don’t think I saw a single man wearing a long-sleeved shirt! Aside from the Brazilian long pants, you could pretty much wear anything at this resort—shorts at the dinner buffet, flip flops, whatever. No one was turned away. About half the guests dressed fairly nicely for dinner (sundresses, khakis, etc.), and most at least changed out of beachwear. There was a wide age range of guests.
Drinks were self-serve for the most part, other than at dinner. There was supposedly water service at the breakfast buffets, but we learned to take a bottle of water from our fridge, because the glasses were small and the refills infrequent. If you wanted coffee, they left a whole pot on the table, which I appreciated! There were also self-serve espresso/cappuchino machines. We also took bottled water to lunch. There were self-serve soda and juice fountains, but again the glasses were quite small. We’re talking no more than a single cup in volume. I usually don’t bother to bring my own mug to resorts, but this is one resort where I’d recommend it due to the small glasses. Iced tea was only served pre-sugared.
Alcoholic beverages had to be fetched yourself from the bars, other than wine at dinner. The house wines (one red, one white, one sparkling) were decent. Corona was the beer on tap. Drinks were poured generously, and there was a wide selection of liquors and cocktails on the menu. They used Mexican brands unless you asked for name brands (e.g. Smirnoff, Bacardi, Gordon’s—decent but not expensive stuff, fine for a budget resort). You can get a great Spanish coffee prepared tableside after dinner if you ask politely and wait patiently.
EXCURSIONS
Bucerias
The nearest good shopping and dining from Riu Jalisco is to the north, in the town of Bucerias, a U.S. $7 cab ride or U.S. $1.50 on the ATM bus that stops at the northeast corner of the Riu property. I hear you can also walk there, 5-6 miles along the beach. The main commercial strip by the highway in Bucerias is kind of junky-looking, but this is where you’ll find the HSBC ATM (one of the closest ATMs to the Riu) and the delicious baked goods of Pie in the Sky bakery. A few blocks to the west (oceanwards), you’ll find a town square with a pretty church, a market with vendors selling the usual tourist souvenirs, and a gorgeous beach lined with seafood restaurants. Exploring Bucerias made a pleasant, inexpensive half-day excursion for us.
Marietas Islands snorkel trip
The Marietas Islands are a protected wildlife sanctuary, offshore near Punta de Mita, a few miles north of Nuevo Vallarta. They offer some of the best snorkeling in the Bay of Banderas, as well as the opportunity to see blue-footed and brown-footed boobies and other seabirds nesting. We had pre-booked a snorkel trip with Écotours de México for $75 each, including transportation and lunch. It’s wise to book in advance, since they only run the trip when they can get enough people. We chose their excursion partly because of previous good experiences with them, and partly because every other Marietas excursion is mainly a bay cruise with maybe 30 minutes of snorkel time. Écotours de México takes you by land as far as Playa Anclote, just south of Punta de Mita-- as opposed to boating all the way from Marina Vallarta like the other tours. So you spend less time cruising. If you want a party boat, this is not the tour for you. If you want to snorkel and see wildlife, it’s perfect.
We enjoyed the short van ride north to Playa Anclote. Having previously spent time to the south of Puerto Vallarta, it was interesting to see the differences in beaches and seascapes. Up north of Nuevo Vallarta, the sand is much whiter, and the water much bluer, compared to the southern parts of the Bay of Banderas. At Playa Anclote, we preordered our lunches and embarked, in a large semi-shaded motorboat. The water was smooth as glass. We saw quite a few bottlenosed dolphins as we cruised, and the captain tried to follow them as much as possible. It was a thrill to see these fascinating and intelligent creatures free in the wild, where they belong.
About 20 minutes of boating brought us to the two arid, craggy Islas Marietas. (According to our guide, the proper names of the two individual islands are “The Round One” and “The Long One”.) We cruised around for a while looking at the birds and the interesting rock formations, including a large natural bridge. The first good snorkel spot we checked had quite a few jellyfish, so we cruised to another spot where the Vallarta Adventures and Geronimo boats were already anchored for snorkeling. The underwater seascape was stunning! The water temperature was comfortable, the water was clear, and the depth was perfect for snorkeling—10-30 feet in most places. There was a fair bit of coral, and many colorful fish, especially large blue damselfish. I saw a 6-foot moray eel on the hunt along the seafloor. Very enjoyable snorkeling!
After a while, I noticed that some of our party were heading for the boat. Not wanting to be the last one in, I followed them… and found out why they were going in. I felt little pinpricks on my arms and legs, and realized that we were being stung by jellyfish larvae (“sea lice”). I was wearing Sea Safe sunblock with jellyfish repellent, but it obviously didn’t protect me, since I was stung at least as much as those in the same area who weren’t wearing it. Once in the boat, the captain gave us vinegar to put on the stings, which made them stop hurting.
As we cruised back to the beach, I started to feel nauseated. (I have never gotten seasick, even in a tiny boat tossed around in very rough seas.) I felt enough better to enjoy a delicious fresh seafood lunch at the beachfront palapa restaurant, but my jellyfish stings started to form red welts, and then I broke out in a mottled rash all over my body, developed hives, my face flushed bright red, and I started to feel shaky and disoriented. The others who were stung were all just fine, so apparently I am unlucky in having a systemic allergic reaction to jellyfish larvae stings. It took three Benadryl to quell the rash and hives, and my stings itched badly for several days. We counted 230 separate welts, which a week later are still not quite faded away. Fortunately I was wearing a rashguard shirt over my bikini, and thus avoided getting stung on my torso. I love ocean snorkeling and will not give it up, but from now on I will wear protective clothing, carry Benadryl, and not count on Safe Sea for any protection.
I can recommend this excursion for anyone who is not allergic to sea lice—and even with what happened, I’m glad I did it! The Marietas were beautiful, unique, and teeming with interesting wildlife.
Laguna de Quelele birdwatching
From reading Blake Maybank’s online birding reports, we knew that there was excellent birding near Nuevo Vallarta. So one day we packed up our binoculars, DEET, and Mr. Maybank’s directions and map, and set off for the Laguna de Quelele. The easiest entrance to the Laguna is located a little east of the town of Mezcales. (Another lagoon entrance is by the crocodile sign, 1 block south of the Flamingos Golf Course entrance off the highway.) We had a cab driver take us to Mezcales, for U.S. $6 from the Riu. Having lived in Mezcales for several years, he couldn’t understand why we wanted to go there (although it’s actually an interesting little town). He kept trying to take us to the Rancho Quelele, where apparently there used to be some animal exhibits that he thought we might be interested in. We finally convinced him to drop us at the Rancho de la Laguna, the entrance in Mr. Maybank’s directions, although I think he felt badly about leaving us there. He’s probably still shaking his head over the loco gringos who wanted to be dropped off in the middle of nowhere!
According to Mr. Maybank, the property owner will collect a $5 donation for trail maintenance if he’s home, but we missed him. Instead, the trail rangers that day were three large but polite dogs. They were fine watchdogs, but a trifle deficient in short-term memory. Every time they saw us they started barking again and had to be reminded that we were friendly. Land is being cleared at the Rancho, but it’s still easy to find the lagoon, and the trails under the mangroves can be located with a little sleuthing (walk as far north as you can, turn east along the lagoon edge, and look closely at the vegetation). The birding did not disappoint. Practically the first thing we saw when we reached the lagoon was a tree filled with hundreds of roosting cattle egrets and snowy egrets, with great blue herons standing below. We enjoyed rambling around this swampy ecosystem. It’s particularly amazing that such an untouched wildlife reservoir exists amidst all the surrounding towns and tourist developments. When we got back to the Riu Jalisco, we realized that we could see the lagoon from the top floor of the resort, only about a mile from all the resorts and golf courses.
After exploring the lagoon area, we hiked back into Mezcales (only about half a mile from the Rancho). We walked around el centro for a while, saw the school and tequila distillery. Then walked the block out to the highway where there is a large cab stand next to the police station, as well as an ATM bus stop that can take you back to resort row. This was an enjoyable and inexpensive excursion for hikers, birders, and wildlife enthusiasts.
Nuevo Vallarta – Paradise Village
Another day we got our hiking fix by walking south from the Riu, past all the resorts, to the Paradise Village development and shopping mall, about 3.5 miles each way. Immediately south of the Riu, there is little major development for approximately 1.5 miles, when you come to the Marival resort. After that, resorts and condos are chockablock. There is an ATM near the entrance to the Vallarta Palace, which is the closest ATM we saw to the Riu (about 2 miles south of the Riu). Look for a glass booth on the side of the street nearest the ocean, with a red “Cajero” (Cashier) sign. Along the way, we also saw an ostrich farm, the Marina development, and some small stores where you can buy drinks and snacks. At the end of the road, about 3-3.5 miles from the Riu, is the Paradise Village shopping mall, which has another ATM, some touristy gift shops, beach clothing stores, chain restaurants, and a small grocery store. Prices in the grocery stores were quite reasonable considering the captive audience of tourists (ex. 5 pesos for a bottle of water). The store also sells beach toys and supplies, pharmaceuticals, and alcohol.
Golf
My husband was keen to play the Jack Nicklaus golf course at Four Seasons Punta Mita, which boasts the only natural island hole in the world. (Can only be putted at low tide; they use a semi-submersible Duck vehicle to ferry players out to the green.) It’s semi-private, so you must make arrangements in advance. He said the course was incredibly beautiful and the service was fantastic. There was practically no one out on the course. The best course he’s ever played.
He also played El Tigre, just a couple of miles from the Riu Jalisco. This was a pretty Von Hagge course, very similar to Von Hagge’s Playacar course on the east coast of Mexico. Tough to play, with lots of forced carries over water. No ocean holes.
If we had stayed another day, he would have played the Flamingos golf course, which is basically across the street from the Riu Jalisco. It’s the least expensive of the nearby courses, but looked very nice. A Mayan Palace course is also near the Riu. Nuevo Vallarta is a great golf destination, because in addition to these courses, you can easily get to the Nicklaus and Weiskopf courses at Vista Vallarta, as well as the Marina course.
Conclusion
We found the Riu Jalisco to be an attractive all-inclusive, with comfortable clean rooms, surprisingly good food, and great service. Don’t expect all the amenities of a 5-star resort (no poolside drink service, coffeemakers in the rooms, à la carte dining). But for the price, this resort delivered incredible value! Nuevo Vallarta is a beautiful, safe (if somewhat touristy) beach destination, as long as you don’t mind being almost half an hour from Puerto Vallarta. Happy travels!
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Helpful
Husband and I just returned after a week at the Riu. (Nov 15 - 22).
We are used to all-inclusives in Mexico and usually frequent 5 star categories. This hotel does NOT fall into this category.
Rooms, lobbies, restuarants and grounds are clean and comfortable. Staff are excellent, efficient and go the extra mile.
Beds are comfortable.
There is the usual line up at 0800 hrs to get an a la carte. Despite the fact the hotel was only 40% full, we only managed one night. The Dragon was asian. Very good food, but basically another buffet!
Beach was good. Nice sand to walk on. 30-40 mins to Bucerias.
Only 2 pools. We assumed as was advertised, that the kids pool was to be for kids and the swimup bar and pool was for adults! Wrong. Children continually splashed and screamed and even took up the seats at the swim up bar.
Problem #2 was NOISE. We have experienced happy go lucky people drinking and getting a tad rambuctious. This hotel has a disco and as with other resorts you assume after it closes at 3 am, the n oise will subside. Wrong! There is a 24 hr Bar and so the noise, singing and idiotic behaviour continues.
Security seemed never to be in place for either the adult pool or keeping the noise down. Even the 2 bars close to the evening entertainment get so loud the poor staff get drowned out with the noise.
Get it together Riu..............most people going to these type of hotels are looking for a little rest and relaxation.
On another note: SUNWING yet again screwed up our Mexican flights resulting in another day's delay. Chose another airline folks.
We are used to all-inclusives in Mexico and usually frequent 5 star categories. This hotel does NOT fall into this category.
Rooms, lobbies, restuarants and grounds are clean and comfortable. Staff are excellent, efficient and go the extra mile.
Beds are comfortable.
There is the usual line up at 0800 hrs to get an a la carte. Despite the fact the hotel was only 40% full, we only managed one night. The Dragon was asian. Very good food, but basically another buffet!
Beach was good. Nice sand to walk on. 30-40 mins to Bucerias.
Only 2 pools. We assumed as was advertised, that the kids pool was to be for kids and the swimup bar and pool was for adults! Wrong. Children continually splashed and screamed and even took up the seats at the swim up bar.
Problem #2 was NOISE. We have experienced happy go lucky people drinking and getting a tad rambuctious. This hotel has a disco and as with other resorts you assume after it closes at 3 am, the n oise will subside. Wrong! There is a 24 hr Bar and so the noise, singing and idiotic behaviour continues.
Security seemed never to be in place for either the adult pool or keeping the noise down. Even the 2 bars close to the evening entertainment get so loud the poor staff get drowned out with the noise.
Get it together Riu..............most people going to these type of hotels are looking for a little rest and relaxation.
On another note: SUNWING yet again screwed up our Mexican flights resulting in another day's delay. Chose another airline folks.
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
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I’ve been on multiple trips to similar resorts and the Jalisco does nothing to make your trip special. We went to celebrate a 30th birthday and we couldn’t book so that our group (30 people) could eat a meal together- we couldn’t ever get tables that fit more than 4 people at once at any time or restaurant. My daughter (6 years old) sat on my husband or I for most meals so that our family of 5 could even get a table. Half the time we were sitting at a table that was still dirty just to get a place and many times the dirty plates were never removed in the 20+ minutes we sat at the table. Most meals we never had a wait staff member at all come to our table for drinks. Almost all restaurants were buffet style but super overcrowded so lines were huge especially at breakfast. They don’t deal well with food allergies. We had 2 people in our group with allergies and no one seemed to be able to help our celiac family member and almost all food was cross contaminated so she could only eat at the steakhouse and a few things out of the main buffet and even then we worried. There were no bathrooms near most of the restaurants, we asked at the Asian and they said the closest one was upstairs in the lobby or way down by the main stage so really not practical for people with mobility issues or small kids.
The kid spray park/slides were super fun, no complaints there. The pool near them was too cold to swim in and rarely got used. The other pool with the swimup bar was constantly dirty with bugs and other things floating in it. The pool bar was constantly surrounded by bees! I’ve never been to a resort with a bee problem before. Thank god I brought my kid’s epipen since they were all over the place at the pool and in some of the hallways. My kid is allergic but thankfully we were able to mostly avoid them. They dumped the chemicals in at all times during the day which stunk up the pool, there were so many tiles missing and the repairs they did do to missing tiles were lumpy. Caught my toe on them many times while walking around. Pool bartenders were awesome! The bartenders everywhere at the resort were the best! There was 1 bathroom close to the pool/beach with only 2 stalls and was constantly dirty, they definitely need more bathroom stalls for the 700 rooms they have there. Maybe have less people peeing in the pool if bathroom breaks didn’t take 30 minutes of waiting in lines. There’s no waiters for poolside, you have to go up and get your own drinks which is really rare at all inclusive. They did have someone come pick up cups occasionally.
Beach was nice, ocean you can actually swim in unlike some others farther up the coast. They did have a rental place for boogie boards which was great.
The rooms were awful for a family of 5! We had 2 double beds pushed together into one huge, awkward bed for 4 of us to share then a foldout couch for the last. It was really impractical. For the amount of money we paid our room should have been much nicer. We also requested adjoining rooms with my parents and we didn’t even end up in the same hallways or floor as them. Another family requested the bunk beds for their two kids and ended up getting 1 bed and 1 couch which wasn’t great for their family either since their kids didn’t want to share a foldout couch. Bedrooms only had 1 small shower so no bathing small kids, and 3 out of 7 days we had ice cold showers. Room cleaners did a great job of cleaning but we put our sign out for cleaning at 8:30/9am when we left the room and half the time we had to wait to get ready for supper because they weren’t done cleaning at 4:30pm when we wanted to get cleaned up and relax before supper. What’s the point of the signs if they aren’t using them?
The shows were ok, the Michael Jackson dancing was great but very hard to hear the music. The disco only played Spanish songs so wasn’t much fun for tourist who didn’t know the music. The white party was overwhelming. There were too many people and hard to get drinks, etc. I wasn’t a fan of having all the other resorts come over for the night taking up all the limited resources like chairs, bartenders, the giant lines for face painting blocking the elevators, etc. Ended up drinking at the lobby bar to avoid the crowds.
We had someone not feeling good one night and didn’t want them potentially getting anyone else sick and was told we couldn’t bring food out of the restaurant or the sports bar to feed them and there’s no room service. We ended up taking a hamburger from the sports bar anyway because that policy is ridiculous. Either provide room service or let people take food to their rooms.
The hotel is shaped like a huge, long U and the pools are at the far end, past the really long pointless fountain so everyone has a bit of a walk to get back to their room. The elevators are only in the main lobby so it’s a lot of walking for those with mobility issues.
I had to deal with the front desk staff 3 times: once at check in when they had our entire group reservations messed up- my kids were listed as staying with my cousin, some people didn’t have their reservation at all, many had the wrong room type which they never got sorted out, etc. they couldn’t care less that they made all these mistakes. My cousin booked an ocean front room which they then denied stating they don’t have ocean front rooms even though even here on this website it says they do. They paid for an upgrade, got told they didn’t even have a reservation, finally got a room and didn’t get what they paid extra for and were told to suck it up that’s all they were getting. We were given 3 towel cards for our family of 5 so I went to the desk and was told that I must have been given them the night before or I would have said something then so I wasn’t allowed more and would have to pay for them since I “lost them”. Sorry after a full day of travelling we checked in at 7pm with 3 hungry, grumpy, Tavel tired children and were too busy trying to get them food to count our towel cards. Ended up finding a couple towels laying around at 7:30 one night that no one turned in so we took them so we wouldn’t be screwed over by the hotel. Sorry, not sorry. Checkout was stupid, they had 1 guy at the desk with a 20+ minute lineup and 4 people at the checkin desk sitting there doing nothing. They then said we could leave our bags in the courtesy room which is basically a room anyone can walk into and steal whatever they want since it’s unsupervised. I’ve never seen such lack of security over peoples belongings.
No matter what time of day it was there was always someone yelling in the hallways. All the different floors are open to each other and there was always loud talking/yelling going on 24/7. Loudest hotel I’ve stayed at with no security saying anything like at some resorts. The free wifi also sucked. Super slow and didn’t work in our room which was the only place I was going to use my phone.
I know this is super long and ranty and I know I’ve already forgotten other minor things but I’ve never had an all inclusive vacation that I’ve found so irritating and I know the rest of my group feels the same. We actually all wrote messages to Sunwing about this trip. Will not be going back.
The kid spray park/slides were super fun, no complaints there. The pool near them was too cold to swim in and rarely got used. The other pool with the swimup bar was constantly dirty with bugs and other things floating in it. The pool bar was constantly surrounded by bees! I’ve never been to a resort with a bee problem before. Thank god I brought my kid’s epipen since they were all over the place at the pool and in some of the hallways. My kid is allergic but thankfully we were able to mostly avoid them. They dumped the chemicals in at all times during the day which stunk up the pool, there were so many tiles missing and the repairs they did do to missing tiles were lumpy. Caught my toe on them many times while walking around. Pool bartenders were awesome! The bartenders everywhere at the resort were the best! There was 1 bathroom close to the pool/beach with only 2 stalls and was constantly dirty, they definitely need more bathroom stalls for the 700 rooms they have there. Maybe have less people peeing in the pool if bathroom breaks didn’t take 30 minutes of waiting in lines. There’s no waiters for poolside, you have to go up and get your own drinks which is really rare at all inclusive. They did have someone come pick up cups occasionally.
Beach was nice, ocean you can actually swim in unlike some others farther up the coast. They did have a rental place for boogie boards which was great.
The rooms were awful for a family of 5! We had 2 double beds pushed together into one huge, awkward bed for 4 of us to share then a foldout couch for the last. It was really impractical. For the amount of money we paid our room should have been much nicer. We also requested adjoining rooms with my parents and we didn’t even end up in the same hallways or floor as them. Another family requested the bunk beds for their two kids and ended up getting 1 bed and 1 couch which wasn’t great for their family either since their kids didn’t want to share a foldout couch. Bedrooms only had 1 small shower so no bathing small kids, and 3 out of 7 days we had ice cold showers. Room cleaners did a great job of cleaning but we put our sign out for cleaning at 8:30/9am when we left the room and half the time we had to wait to get ready for supper because they weren’t done cleaning at 4:30pm when we wanted to get cleaned up and relax before supper. What’s the point of the signs if they aren’t using them?
The shows were ok, the Michael Jackson dancing was great but very hard to hear the music. The disco only played Spanish songs so wasn’t much fun for tourist who didn’t know the music. The white party was overwhelming. There were too many people and hard to get drinks, etc. I wasn’t a fan of having all the other resorts come over for the night taking up all the limited resources like chairs, bartenders, the giant lines for face painting blocking the elevators, etc. Ended up drinking at the lobby bar to avoid the crowds.
We had someone not feeling good one night and didn’t want them potentially getting anyone else sick and was told we couldn’t bring food out of the restaurant or the sports bar to feed them and there’s no room service. We ended up taking a hamburger from the sports bar anyway because that policy is ridiculous. Either provide room service or let people take food to their rooms.
The hotel is shaped like a huge, long U and the pools are at the far end, past the really long pointless fountain so everyone has a bit of a walk to get back to their room. The elevators are only in the main lobby so it’s a lot of walking for those with mobility issues.
I had to deal with the front desk staff 3 times: once at check in when they had our entire group reservations messed up- my kids were listed as staying with my cousin, some people didn’t have their reservation at all, many had the wrong room type which they never got sorted out, etc. they couldn’t care less that they made all these mistakes. My cousin booked an ocean front room which they then denied stating they don’t have ocean front rooms even though even here on this website it says they do. They paid for an upgrade, got told they didn’t even have a reservation, finally got a room and didn’t get what they paid extra for and were told to suck it up that’s all they were getting. We were given 3 towel cards for our family of 5 so I went to the desk and was told that I must have been given them the night before or I would have said something then so I wasn’t allowed more and would have to pay for them since I “lost them”. Sorry after a full day of travelling we checked in at 7pm with 3 hungry, grumpy, Tavel tired children and were too busy trying to get them food to count our towel cards. Ended up finding a couple towels laying around at 7:30 one night that no one turned in so we took them so we wouldn’t be screwed over by the hotel. Sorry, not sorry. Checkout was stupid, they had 1 guy at the desk with a 20+ minute lineup and 4 people at the checkin desk sitting there doing nothing. They then said we could leave our bags in the courtesy room which is basically a room anyone can walk into and steal whatever they want since it’s unsupervised. I’ve never seen such lack of security over peoples belongings.
No matter what time of day it was there was always someone yelling in the hallways. All the different floors are open to each other and there was always loud talking/yelling going on 24/7. Loudest hotel I’ve stayed at with no security saying anything like at some resorts. The free wifi also sucked. Super slow and didn’t work in our room which was the only place I was going to use my phone.
I know this is super long and ranty and I know I’ve already forgotten other minor things but I’ve never had an all inclusive vacation that I’ve found so irritating and I know the rest of my group feels the same. We actually all wrote messages to Sunwing about this trip. Will not be going back.
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
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Helpful
Response from RIU Hotels and Resorts, Owner at Hotel Riu Jalisco
Responded Dec 22, 2022
Dear C8494CVtiffanyh, We strive to make all of our guests feel welcome and relaxed during their time with us. We are really sorry to read you left thinking otherwise. Please let us explain that when guests have a special diet with specific characteristics or require meals with some kind of restriction: gluten free, lactose free, vegan… we always kindly recommend guests to contact our Call Centre when booking, to ensure that there is a service available that meets their needs and inform the hotel reception beforehand so that, on the day of your arrival, we have food with the right characteristics, since not all destinations have easy access to products appropriate for these diets. Please do not hesitate to ask for this service. If you go on riu.com, to the ‘Contact us’ section, you will find the contact phone number for your country. Thank you very much for staying with us. We will forward your concerns to the management department. Best wishes, Hotel Riu Jalisco Online Reputation Management
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Our stay at the Riu Jalisco was from Jan 21 - 28th. Let me say that my husband and I will definitely go back to this great Property. Yes, there were a few problems, but we have stayed at many other all-inclusives and none of them were problem free.
A warning, if you are handed the key to room 1175 hand it back immediately and ask for another as this room is very damp, and noisy. We were the unfortunate recipients of this room and the first night was pretty nasty. The next day we were given a room with an ocean view on the fifth floor. We found that a lot of people we spoke to were given the first floor but they all managed to move up to a higher floor. The staff on the whole is great. We found that you will have to tip a little extra to get extra service. One instance involves the wine they serve at the table. Really Bad.... If you would like a nice wine all you have to do is ask one of the waiters for a better wine and give him a tip. It will suddenly appear as will your towels in your room once you give the maid a few dollars.
The Riu Jalisco is a very busy place and if you don't like a lot of noise this all-inclusive is not for you. The music continues until 11 p.m and then the disco takes over until 2 a.m.
The Don Emilian and Dona Adelita restaurants are my favorite. The Nayarit was okay, but once is enough. The La Botana beach restaurant was good at night, but during the day was infested with bees.
The beach was great, and there was always a lounge to be had. The adult pool and swimup bar was a favorite with everyone.
There is always something to do at the Riu Jalisco and if one gets tired of that there is a great katamaran tour, the Cielito Lindo, can be booked and taken or you can take a walk along the beach to a little Mexican town for a change of pace.
The ocean was warm, but we noticed that there were a fair amount of eels, blow fish and sea type snakes that that been beached by the waves. Made us a little wary about wandering out into the surf. We did see a few creatures that looked like snakes swimming in the shallows so we kept close attention to where we walked.
Make sure and take some snacks with you as the restaurants close down by 10:30 p.m and there is no room service.
Mexican Pesos worked very well for all our purchases. You do need to bargain...Start with at least half of what they want..
Have a great vacation.
A warning, if you are handed the key to room 1175 hand it back immediately and ask for another as this room is very damp, and noisy. We were the unfortunate recipients of this room and the first night was pretty nasty. The next day we were given a room with an ocean view on the fifth floor. We found that a lot of people we spoke to were given the first floor but they all managed to move up to a higher floor. The staff on the whole is great. We found that you will have to tip a little extra to get extra service. One instance involves the wine they serve at the table. Really Bad.... If you would like a nice wine all you have to do is ask one of the waiters for a better wine and give him a tip. It will suddenly appear as will your towels in your room once you give the maid a few dollars.
The Riu Jalisco is a very busy place and if you don't like a lot of noise this all-inclusive is not for you. The music continues until 11 p.m and then the disco takes over until 2 a.m.
The Don Emilian and Dona Adelita restaurants are my favorite. The Nayarit was okay, but once is enough. The La Botana beach restaurant was good at night, but during the day was infested with bees.
The beach was great, and there was always a lounge to be had. The adult pool and swimup bar was a favorite with everyone.
There is always something to do at the Riu Jalisco and if one gets tired of that there is a great katamaran tour, the Cielito Lindo, can be booked and taken or you can take a walk along the beach to a little Mexican town for a change of pace.
The ocean was warm, but we noticed that there were a fair amount of eels, blow fish and sea type snakes that that been beached by the waves. Made us a little wary about wandering out into the surf. We did see a few creatures that looked like snakes swimming in the shallows so we kept close attention to where we walked.
Make sure and take some snacks with you as the restaurants close down by 10:30 p.m and there is no room service.
Mexican Pesos worked very well for all our purchases. You do need to bargain...Start with at least half of what they want..
Have a great vacation.
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First off, I must say that the people who have complained in past reviews about the staff, entertainment, rooms, or whatever else would probably have found something to complain about regardless of their experience, it's Mexico people! The RIU is a wonderful vacation for party people and for families. There were 8 of us total in our group and had the best time. The bartenders are the friendliest and most fun around! Hola- Leo, Pulga, Tomas, and Tony! They remembered our names after just the first day and we made friends w/ others at the resort right away. I must say that the pool can get warm on a muggy day, but it wasn't that crowded, just drink another corona if it bothers you! For food, we ate at the beachfront restaurant just about every lunch and dinner. I recommend the taco stand inside there- try the carnitas and the chicken...delicious! Also- at the swimup bar ask for a 'Pulga Special' and Leo makes the best mojitos! We went into PV every night...the Zoo and Hilo were awesome for dancing and we went with the staff on the last night to a foam party- so much fun! We were on the 4th floor in a jr. suite and I highly recommend upgradingn to this if you can...the balcony alone is worth every penny! I had read many reviews on this site and was a little nervous since they seemed mixed. But believe me- if you're wanting to have a good time and party with your friends, you'll have a blast. Make friends with the staff and other guests, let loose and it'll be fun! If you are prudish or picky or a complainer by nature, this might not be the place for you. All 8 of us are going back next year and we can't wait! The RIU rocks!
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
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Questions & answers about the swimup bar
Answer from Joylee
Mar 2023 |
Some days ghere can be a line up on the beach side of the swim up bar pool.
Yes bar at Steak house bar
Bar at other pool
Plus they a portable bar between the two pools sometimes when full occupancy.
Therm mug, glass with own straws good to take.
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