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Villa del Palmar Flamingos: Puerto Vallarta. A detailed REVIEW!


My husband and 2 young children (8 and 4) visited Villa del Palmar Flamingos in June of 2019, we stayed 9 days (8 nights).
  We got the Groupon Deal w/All Inclusive.  My view from my 6th floor room. 
   But first- shout out to the employees were were the BEST in their class:   
Maru & Emma (kids club).   
  •  Juan Carlos & Betty (Entertainment).   
  • Hector and Marisol at the Patron Restaurant.   
  • Alejandro & Roman at the Italian Restaurant. 
  • Alex in the gym, always cleaning.
  • Spa: Marce, Cinthia, & Maria in hydrotherapy!
  • Alejandro and Isreal at check in- went over and beyond each time I talked to them in the lobby.  (The resort rewards the employees who are given SHOUT OUTS on TripAdvisor... its a really nice thing they get... I support companies who take care of their people!) 


I am going to give you the great, the good, and the bad…

THE ROOMS

·       1 Bedroom Villa:
·       Full kitchen
·       2 full bathrooms,
·       jetted tub separate from showers,
·       large balcony w/table chairs and lounge chairs
·       washer and dryer
·       View of Ocean & pool (every room has a good view- but the higher the better) 



This is the NICEST room we have ever stayed in!     You can add the next door connected Junior Villa to make the entire apartment a 2 bedroom!

Junior Villa Suite
  •  only has 2 beds and small kitchenette w/bathroom .  (Think good size hotel room).  
  • NO Washer Dryer, much smaller.  
  • The connecting door leads to the living room of the 1 bedroom Villa which means you can book the entire suite/villa.   I highly recommend the 1-2 bedroom Villa with kids—they get their own room (sofa is a pull out bed if you get the 1 bedroom).

So to recap:
  • Junior Villa Suite- 2 beds & bathroom (basic larger hotel room)
  • 1 bedroom:  Living room and master bedroom w/2 full bathrooms and kitchen (washer dryer)
  • 2 bedroom:  you get ALL The above!  (it’s all connected by a door) 

The bad:  
  • NO WIFI!  Even the paid internet does not work.   
  • Elevators can be painfully slow and super hot/stuffy




THE FOOD:
MEXICAN:
Everything authentic Mexican is phenomenal!    The more authentic, the better the food.    As you chose more “Americanized” items… you enter the land of “not quite right”.   Club Sandwich that included chicken breast, ham and bacon, steak sandwich that had flank steak folded over, and “French bread” (which was actually French Toast)- all not quite right.
The Mexican restaurant (largest place to eat) was the best.    The Mole, the Shrimp Tacos, Caldo, the Enchiladas… yum!    Breakfast there is a large buffet with cook to serve omelette bar.
  SUSHI BAR-Dinner Only:
The sushi bar is outside near the pool with only 15-18 tables, so if you get there too late you will have an hour wait.   The tuna roll, edamame, & Fried Rice are all GREAT!    They like to put fruit in the sushi, we are not fans of Mango rolls.  Lol  (not quite right)
During the Day- this is the TACO Bar-  the shrimp tacos and Asada- are the BEST! 

ITALIAN RESTAURANT- DINNER only
This is closer to the end of the pool near the beach and also has 15-20 tables.   Surprisingly EVERYTHING we tried was great, even the filet steak!     Anything SHRIMP on the property is yummy!
During the day this is the POOL Snack bar- but it has an extensive 2 page menu!    Great food and BEST view for dinner.  The romantic place to sit with your love!    Below: view from our table:
ROOM SERVICE
The burger and nachos are pretty good!  You can get beer as well delivered.    My kids lived off Fruit Loops and I would order 3-6 boxes per day…  #dontjudgeme   Having breakfast on the balcony was nice, but we decided the buffet was worth the walk down.

There are 2 other restaurants at the Estancia (condo’s next door).  We did not try them, they were not part of our all inclusive package.

The bad:
  •      Nothing... food is ALL good! 

Is the All Inclusive worth it? 
If you are going to venture out into the city and do tours- probably not.  When you do the painful time-share presentation you are given the DISCOUNT card where all services/food/drinks are a significantly discounted rate.  We ate at the Taco Bar after checkout at the bill for 4 was $45.   My friend has gone and sat at the pool all day and her bill was $11.   For us- we do not want to worry about anything and love to order a 3 course meal.. we always go all-inclusive.  


OVERALL FACILITY & SERVICE
The grounds are phenomenal!
  •        GREAT size gym (my husband was happy)
  •        The Pool takes up the entire middle of the resort- 2 levels of infinity pools- beach entry on both sides w/splash pad for kids.   Deepest is approx. 4ft.    You can take floaties & inflatables in (for sale at store on-site).   My kids loved the inflatable puppy dog my husband bought himself (couldn’t buy just one for both boys, so his hack is “it’s his” and kids can USE it).
  •      Hot tub- Overlooks the beach and there is a fire-pit in the middle of it.
  • ·       Lobby- bar, sofas, chairs, and…. Tripadvisor internet that  is spotty! 

BEST SERVICE I have ever had!   They do not tell you “no”, they wait on you… service with a smile.   Bring lots of $1 bills for tips!    **One evening dinner was taking too long and our boys were getting cranky.   Our waiter offered to bring up the food to the room (a 4 minute walk) when it was done. 

The bad:   Wifi…  really—the lobby has a wifi that is spotty.   Mornings are BEST if you need to use basic internet.  If you are coming here needing to do work- I suggest NOT booking this resort at all!


THE KIDS CLUB
Inside the gym is a very tiny kids club, which is included in the all-inclusive.   My 2 kids were the ONLY ones using the kids club the week we were there.     It is the size of a large master bedroom!  So they do spend time outside near the pool for activities. 

·       Hours: 10-2pm then 3:30-5pm (closed for lunch)
·       Inside and outside activities.
o   Face painting
o   Water balloon fights
o   Towel origami
o   Watercolors
o   Games
o   Fishing in the pool (fake)
o   And more.
·       The schedule is given to you at check in… but note: it can change daily.  
·       Maru and Emma were GREAT with my kiddos.. they loved her.

The bad:    
  • The scheduling… it can change daily!  On Friday the activities are ALL outside and for all kids FREE (so my kids were not supervised one-on-one and this was not posted anywhere); we had booked massages and realized this too late and were running back and forth to get the kids from Maru while she helped with a pool activity for all 20+ people who wanted to join in.     
  • Saturday- kids club is closed.    
  • Sunday- activities are outside again, but it is PRIVATE and she watched them the entire time.  
  • Some days she needed us to get them at 1:30, not 2pm because she needed to eat lunch early and set up for another activity.  

  In summary- they work 2 jobs… and have to juggle if they have littles to take care of.    We wish they had a FULL TIME person at the kids club in the gym, where we drop them off knowing they are secure.   Instead we found ourselves having to create a schedule for the day “what time do you need me to get them?”  “When are they not exclusively yours and you can’t watch them in the pool?” etc.   This broke up our vacation of relaxation… I felt like a soccer mom- back and forth (just like home).    The hours are also bad (10-2pm and 3:30-5pm), I was expecting the Kids Club to be open like other resorts until late night so my husband and I could enjoy a romantic dinner. 

THE SPA
Probably the BEST massage I have ever had- the Extreme Relaxation (90 min) with Marce!
The spa has hydrotherapy: sauna, steam room, hot tub (below) and cold water dip.  


Extra:
There is a family who brings clay/ceramic art to paint by the pool.   You paint it, and they fix lines and KILN it over night.   We all enjoyed this and they came out amazingly pretty!    I highly recommend! (cash only)   $20 for my vase



Overall: we will be back one day.  The Groupon deal was amazing, but not worth buying into (time share presentation). My husband walked to an AM Resort (Reflects) next door and the Kids Club was huge, even a kid splash area, indoor/outdoor, with programming 9am-10pm.  That is what we are looking for.    Another couple told me the Riu 2 doors down has WIFI in each room!   So the time-share guy Freddy straight up lied to me... that Mexico has crappy wifi everywhere.... I caught him in 2 other lies! 

Why you should stay here:
  • You want to relax
  • You want great food
  • You want the best service
  • You want an amazing room
  • You want the option of not doing the All-Inclusive. 

Why NOT to book this:
  •   If you need to work and need WIFI!
  • If you want a kids club open all day until late with endless possibilities for kids (and space for them)
I hope these details help you decide!  
Travel on,
Auggie

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