Review - Restaurants, Tours, Catering, etc.

I am posting this review I got from my PV Brides Yahoo Group

Hi everyone! Well, I survived the trip to Puerto Vallarta! I'm extremely exhausted, but we had a great time and all of my guests have told me over and over what a fabulous time they had and that it was the best wedding they have ever been too. So, I thought I should give you my feedback on the places we went while it is fresh in my mind.

RESTAURANTS

Barcelona Tapas- We had our welcome dinner here, with a group of about 32. If I had to rate the overall experience at Barcelona Tapas, I would give it a B. The food was really good and the sangria was awesome, but there were some issues. First of all, I had asked Bill (the owner) to make a couple of changes to the tasting menu he sent me. He said OK, but when we got there, no changes were made and we ended up getting his standard tasting menu. The other problem was that he told me that my group would have the lower level so that we would have room, etc. He ended up setting up two long tables on the top floor, which has a better view, but we were squished in there like sardines. Seriously, we had about 2 inches between the backs of

chairs. It was impossible for anyone to get out and go to the restroom or to go smoke, etc. My fiance banged his knees and twisted his ankle trying to contort his body to get into his seat without making everyone stand up. It was extremely uncomfortable so much so that it took away from the good parts of the restaurant. Also, the service was sooooooooo slow. I mean, SLOW. We waited 20 minutes to get drinks, and probably 30 minutes before the first course came out (soup). The other issue is that Bill told our group that we needed to be quiet because of the other guests sitting around us. (My group had given a toast to me and my fiance and everyone was cheering and clapping after we clinked glasses). That kinda killed the joyous moment. Bill felt bad about it and later apologized several times and gave me a gift ertificate to use at BT or at his other restaurant.

Boca Bento- The girls brought me here for my bachelorette party/night out. There were 16 of us. Stewart (the owner) was absolutely a riot! He was fun and fabulous to work with. The food was delicious, the drinks were fabulous, and the place is really trendy and modern. We loved it. They put us in a huge back room so we had semi-privacy. Stewart was such a great host, so much so that he personally walked all of us girls (after dinner) to a gay club a

couple blocks away and got us a discount on our cover charges. (My friends took me to the gay club to watch a drag queen show. It was hilarious!) Stewart also stayed and sat with us and watched the show. He treated us like VIPs and was a very nice guy. Everyone loved him.

Daquiri Dicks- If I had to rate this place, it was an A+++++!! I cannnot say enough good things about this place. It was everyone's favorite restaurant their entire stay in PV. The ambiance was absolutely magical. There were 40 of us, this was our rehearsal dinner. The food was absolutely delicious. The lobster tacos were fantastic, and the shrimp entree that we ordered was out of this world!! Everyone is still raving about them! They had four huge

tables set up for us, with candlelight, on the waterfront.. .the waves crashed against the sand, the sun was setting, there was a slight breeze and it was just the most beautiful dining experience I think I have ever had. They had a guitarist who came to our tables and sang several songs for us. It was just wonderful. Daquiri Dicks was more expensive than Barcelona Tapas, but it was worth every single penny. I could not have picked a better place for my rehearsal dinner. Every one of my guests thanked me for picking such an amazing restaurant.

the Pancake House- We went here for breakfast one morning...there were 15 of us. The food was very tasty and they have a huge selection of specialty pancakes, waffles, etc. Everyone enjoyed this place. (And the prices are very cheap!)

Carlos O Briens- About 15 of the guys went here to eat one night, on their way out to the clubs. They all said the food was not very good. I wouldn't recommend it.

TOURS

Canopy de los Veranos- 10 people went on the Canopy tour and they had the best time. Some of them told me it was their favorite part about their trip to PV (besides the wedding, of course). The single girls in the group said that the guys who work at the canopy tour place are very cute, too. haha...

Dolphin Adventure- 6 people went and did the Swim with the Dolphins tour- they all enjoyed it and said it was really something they will never forget.

Bay Cruise to Yelapa- 20 of us went on a day cruise to Las Animas and Yelapa. It was fun, we had beautiful weather and we pretty much had a blast. The only down side was the lunch they served was really not very good (dark meat chicken with rice and it was the smallest piece of chicken, too.) Most of our group ended up ordering some real food from the estaurants on the beach. The alcohol they serve on the cruise is fine, but they only serve it for half of the trip. All in all, though, it was a fun experience. It isn't really good for people that aren't physically fit, though, because they put you in little dinghy type boats and take you to the boat piers at each beach and the piers are not well maintained. They are wooden and there are seriously 12 inch gaps between some of the boards and the boards are all wobbly...it was kinda scary. We had to carry the small kids in

the group for fear they would fall through a huge gap. And getting in and out of the small boats are kinda strenuous. If I had to do it over, I think we may have rented a water taxi to take us straight to Yelapa and just spent the day there.

Deep Sea Fishing- 10 guys went deep sea fishing with Mr. Marlin. They had a good time- but half of them were seasick. They didn't catch anything, though, so they had the captain bring them back earlier than planned because they just got tired and bored....

CATERING

Our catering for the wedding was done by Paradise Bakery and Catering. The food was absolutely delicious. I got many compliments from guests who told me it was the best wedding food they had ever had. We had mahi mahi and prime rib as our main entrees. They also made our cake and it was delicious. Melted in your mouth. I would highly recommend them to anyone not getting married at an AI.

Thanks Ann. That's good to know about Barcelona Tapas.....I thought about hosting my WD there but they would not discuss anything via email, wanted me to call Mexico since my group was more than 8 people. I guess that's not totally unreasonable but it kind of turned me off since other places were open to email, so I never called them. The food and views are supposed to be good too . . . too bad Thanks for passing that on!

just to clarify - i've never been there!

no problem, it's not exactly that clear - i just wanted to point it out!