Sandy

My FI visited Dreams VM today, which is where we and our guests will be staying. We had booked sight unseen. He said the resort is spotless, the pools are beautiful and the beach is great. He also said there seemed to be a lot of staff around so the service looked to be very good. The spa is lovely, the rooms are great. His only complaints were that (i) there is no shade..although it is July and extremely hot there, he said that in general, they really need to plant a lot more palm trees or put some more umbrellas up; and (ii) there are no flowers...there is a maguay here and there (a tequila plant) but no foliage so it is more desert like than tropical like. If anyone talks to management at Dreams, please encourage them to plant more trees/flowers like at the other dreams resorts All in all, it was a positive review. I have some pics..if anyone wants to see them, please PM me. Thanks.

Sad news! I've heard Franc Gole Salon is pretty good?

I'm still looking into pricing and deciding on whether I'm going to have a welcome dinner vs rehearsal dinner but my favourite restaurant in vallarta which I haven't seen on this thread is Le Bistro ..it's on the river cuale and has great jazz and food. It is outdoors along the river and the setting is beautiful. I don't know the pricing for groups but I highly recommend it.

HI Jess, did you decide on a place for your rehearsal/welcome dinner? I'm currently looking into places and was curious! thanks

I'm starting to plan out my wedding itinerary... is anyone doing a welcome toast or something when they get to Dreams VM? I'm thinking the rooftop sushi bar..just curious what other brides are doing? Also, for those of you doing welcome bags, are you handling them out directly to guests when you get there or having them put in their rooms? Anyone talked to the hotel about welcome events?

It's about 20 minutes from Nuevo...my FI is going to vallarta tomorrow and is going to take lots of pics of the villa..I can't wait to see them as I booked sight unseen. Yes, I am using DD..they are awesome..when is your wedding? If you go on the DD website or on KLK photography's website, they have some pics of weddings at Casa Salamandra..which are so beautiful! You must be so excited! There are restrictions at china blanca too - no more noise at all after midnight..so the party has to end early. Just make sure they don't charge you extra for a generator..that was an additional "hidden" cost when I was considering salamandra... but it is sooooo pretty!

Sorry for so many posts - but on a more positive note, here is my travel agent's take (and I quote): "Sandra don't worry every resort even 6 stars will always get some people complaining about the smallest things, Dreams is getting mostly excellent reviews.Trip advisor is not the best place to read reviews, some of the people posting are fake, there was a write-up on many newspapers about trip advisor about other hotels doing bad and good reviews. Dreams is an excellent resort."

VEHR0016: unfortunately, there's another terrible review up on trip advisor .. I don't know what is up with this hotel...some reviews are wonderful but the last few are awful... my guests are booked so there's no going back now..i'm so surprised at the reviews given this is a Dreams property... I will let you know what my FI says once he checks things out over the next couple weeks. Do you want me to get him to find out anything specific for you when he is there? Some of the inconsistencies that I have recently heard about is the food, service, showers leaking, tubs actually rolling over, little entertainment, watersports that were advertised but weren't there... this is all hearsay though.. but it seems to be a pretty consistent complaint. It is rated in the Sunquest brochure as a 5+ star.

I actually booked it sight unseen for my guests/me to stay at. I'm having my wedding at Casa China Blanca. Susana is the one that had her wedding and stayed there in May. Susana - can you explain some of the inconsistencies? Thanks!

Thanks TAM1118. I had seen Villa Del Palmar Flamingo on Trip Advisor and it looked really pretty..but I didn't realize it had an AI option, which is why I didn't really consider it. Most of my guests have booked already though..so Dreams VM it is... I'm crossing my fingers things will get better and the kinks will be worked out If not, there's always drinking extra tequila down there to not even notice

Ok so now I'm a little worried...most of our guests are there for the week (in canada, charters run for 1 week)... Susana - I know we talked about some of the inconsistencies..and I am hoping they will all clear up by January... HOWEVER..OMG the last couple reviews on Trip Advisor are absolutely awful... they said mold in rooms? The resort is new so that is kinda questionable to me? Hopefully they will bring new management in given it is supposed to be under the Preferred Hotels umbrella (fingers crossed). Sucks 'cause the only other really good resorts in Nuevo are Grand Velas (too expensive for my guests) and Riu Palace Pacifico (which in Canada Sunquest has the monopoly over so it is over $2000 (again too expensive for my guests). For other brides whose guests are staying there, my FI is going to be in vallarta in a couple weeks and I'm going to get him to take lots of pics and scope out the place and see what is going on with management/entertainment/water sports etc. He is from there and knows a ton of people who work in the hotel industry there and can get lots of info on it. Stay tuned 'til the end of July... For brides who are actually getting married there..when i started the planning process, my WC Dazzling Details recommended that if you go with an outside coordinator, you should only use your outside coordinator and not the hotel coordinator to avoid any confusion regarding costs etc... As for me..I recommend a villa or las caletas or something on those lines for your actual wedding if it is feisible.

If you are flying out of Toronto, Signature vacations is good, but there are better rates with Sunwing, depending on where you are staying. I've done a ton of research on the tour companies so if you let me know what resort you are thinking of, I could help you out. Signature is a reputable tour operator though.

Apparently..but depending on the size of your wedding/budget, you could just book passenger vans the whole way...

My FI is going to be in Vallarta for the last two weeks of July and he's going to see if he can visit China Blanca and take a bunch of pics for me. I will post them all so you can see!

Reviews of Dreams VM on Trip Advisor seem to be getting a lot better! Makes me smile!

I am also using J. Cogliandro. I think his work is awesome and the coverage you get is great.

Hi Ladies - I have a question regarding booking. Some of my guests have already booked but others probably won't book for a little while in order to figure out where they are flying from, if they can get the time off work etc. Does anyone know when guests should typically be booked by? I am a little worried that my guests won't book in time and the resort or flights will be full... My wedding is in January...what do you think? Thanks!

One question ladies - how late do you think guests can leave it to book? I'm a little concerned of a few guests booking too late and then the resort or flight being full..any thoughts?

Hi Katiegirl, my wedding is in January 2010 too... am staying at Dreams VM but i think the prices will be similar at Dreams PVR. Our guests are in the process of booking - we got a rate flying out of Toronto for one week all inclusive / hotel/flight/transporation etc included for $1288 plus tax. Given you are from BC, you should be able to get it for cheaper because the flight is way closer than from TO (ie. not being on the west coast). If you want me to refer you to any TAs, let me know, I'd be happy to.

I have heard that Promovision is really good and their price is around $700. I just booked my photographer today! Woohoo! He is awesome (check out klila's wedding in Puerto Vallarta in May on his blog - so pretty!!!). I debated between a number of photographers, but his coverage throughout his stay was the best and the quality of his pics are great: Houston Wedding Photographer J Cogliandro Photography. Wedding and Portrait Photographer Houston, Miami, Katy, Texas, United States, Mexico, Costa Rica, Caribbean locations and Europe KLK photography also does amazing work for anyone who has a bigger budget - and Kristi Clemens from KLK is super sweet, professional and a true artist!

Tam 118: Casa Salamandra is so beautiful. I was thinking of getting married there but it ended up being out of my budget..so I am getting married at Casa China Blanca in Punta Mita. Are you using Dazzling details?

Welcome Roovian! I am from Toronto too and getting married only 3 days after you in Puerto Vallarta on January 26th! Getting away too from the cold eh? I checked out a ton of villas before chosing one ... I decided on Casa China Blanca in Punta Mita..it's all white, with a pretty gazebo to get married in, with water running thru the marble floors, its pretty modern..but I intend to do my post wedding photo session (Trash the dress) in older vallarta to get a mix of both. Our guests are going to stay at Dreams Villamagna in Nuevo Vallarta. Some other great villas are Villa Medeterreano in Conchas Chinas (as Klila suggested), Casa Guillermo, Casa Kalista, Casa Salamandra (but that one is crazy expensive) and there are a few others depending on the size of your wedding. Your options are broader if you decide to stay at one for a few days instead of doing an event only. I am using Dazzling Details as my WC and they are fabulous...i have also heard good things about EM Vallarta. Happy planning!

I'm a DD bride too! They have been fabulous so far!

Thanks Trisha! We decided to book to stay with our guests there for the week!

I am getting married in Puerto Vallarta in January 2010. Can't wait!!