Mexico 2019 vacation at Dreams

Excellent resort. All the staff were wonderful and best pool we have ever swam in. Lots of activities for everyone to enjoy. Lack of privacy in the unit, but we knew this beforehand so not a big deal. Nightly entertainment was wonderful!

Nice Resort

Nice clean smaller resort with exceptional staff. The rooms were clean and the beds were comfortable, the patio has a jacuzzi which was fun. Great beach, lots of chairs/loungers. They have a rule about not saving chairs and we found that to be one of the best parts of this resort because you didn't have to wake up and worry whether or not you were going to get a spot on the beach or by the pool if you didn't get up by 6 am and reserve a spot. We were always able to get a spot by the pool or  [... read more]beach even if we didn't get down there until 11 or 12 (and there were 6 of us). The infinity pool closest to the beach is the coldest pool that I have ever been in, it is refreshing to say the least. Another advantage to this resort is that you don't have to wear wrist bands and you don't have to reserve the a la carte restaurants but unfortunately during our stay they were renovating 2 of the 5 a la carte restaurants which was very disappointing because it limited our selection and we didn't get any advance warning that they were closing them. We did however get to go to them because we were there for 9 nights but 5-6 of those nights they were closed, had we known we would have planned some of the dinners differently. There is not much to do at night and it is not located close to anything that you can really walk to so you have to take a bus or taxi to get to anything in the evening so if you are looking for nightlife you won't find it here. The staff are very friendly and eager to please, I would definitely recommend this resort.

Good, but older

The hotel a little disappointing in quality, standards, size. It’s largely private residents. Mostly gone to Secrets so this Dreams was a bit of a let down. Porto fino restaurant was 12/10 excellent. We were upgraded to premium level and staff there excellent. Generally everything else, lobby, other restaurants, pool, pool service ok.

Fantastic beach

Dreams is a beautiful property situated on one of the nicest beaches on Banderasa Bay and Julio, our beach waiter, is one of the best waiters ever. Check in was smooth, but there were a couple of anomalies with our stay. We were in the Ocean View tower, but only one elevator was working, which meant long waits, luckily we were on the 3rd floor so we could use the stairs. We had really good food for the most part, but one day the Barefoot Grill and Oceana were both closed at lunch (somethng wron [... read more]g in the kitchen) so we went to the buffet. But the buffet was almost completely lacking in food - no taco station, no fresh veggies for the pasta station, no bread, no cold cuts - basically you could have a lettuce salad and pasta with plain sauce. Luckily the issue in the kitchen was resolved and we were able to get a hamburger form the Barefoot Grill. But, overall our vacation was fabulous and the food at Portofino was divine. Our room was good, but I think its time they got rid of the jacuzzi tub on the deck and the giant bathtub in the room. Air conditioning worked great - which is always a plus. The staff we dealt with were all very helpful. All of the beach waiters were really good, never had to wait very long for a drink but our checkout was a bit of a trainwreck - only one clerk to check out way too many guests. But yes I would go back - mainly because the beach is so beautiful - soft golden sand, no rocks, gentle slope into the water so the waves weren't too powerful. Spent all our time on the beach and could always get a lounge chair under a palapa - rest, relax, read - take a dip in the ocean then into the pool to wash off the salt and back to the lounger. Doesn't get much better than that.

Nice little resort

Very quaint and well designed with space limitations. Overall a pleasant experience but not worth the money. Having been to a couple of other Dreams resorts found this one to be much lesser in overall value.

A Lovely Resort

This was a lovely hotel, the rooms were extra special and well maintained and always clean. Very pleased . The grounds were very well maintained as well.. The staff were always pleasant and willing to please the clients. The food service was great and provided food to please everyone’s palette.pasta could have had spices like oregano. The entertainment committee needs to look at doing their activities for the young group differently. The would put away the game tables which left no activities  [... read more]for the this age group after 5:00 p.m. plenty of activities during the day, beach voyellball , soccer and water sports, not enough beach boards, next time will take our own for grandchildren.

Dreams Puerto Vallarta

The hotel was very clean and very accomadating. The staff was excellent especially Circio,and Angel,Paco,Marcos and Emmanuel at front desk and Iseral was also very helpful. The pool was very clean and not crowded and the wait staff was very attentive. The evening shows were very good and the Italian Restaurant was amazing.

Good

Grounds were beautiful, sand is so soft, I loved the food and atmosphere of the Italian restaurant (Portofino (live music 2 nights/week)), the buffet was mediocre. I loved that none of the workers were pushy and the poolside waiters had precision timing with drinks. I disliked all the screaming and splashing children in the pools. Most of the children stayed in the main (warmer) pool, so I was furthest away at the infinity (coldest) pool and I still had to move several times every day to avoid t [... read more]he screaming and splashing. Very frustrating when the parents don't care about their children disturbing the vacation of others. My tropical view from my room was still beautiful but my bed smelt incredibly mildewey. My mother had an ocean view room, with no mildew smell. Maybe it had something to do with how much sun she had streaming into her room. Every time I showered, water would leak into my toilet room, and my shower water never got warm, so I just showered every evening, opposed to morning. I don't believe my mother had these issues in the other building with the ocean views. The elevators broke down in both buildings a couple times and I had to climb the stairs to my 7th level room. I enjoyed watching the Falcon (with his handler) scare all the scavenger birds away at meal times. Honestly, I thought this resort would be a tad more on the conservative side beside there is no swim up bar and no drinks are allowed in the pools, so it was hard for me to get past the screaming and splashing children in the pools.

Really nice vacation but Air Transit really sucks

Dreams Villamagna in Nuevo Vallarta was a great resort. While getting on in age the food was extremely good and the staff awesome. The service and atmosphere was positive and friendly. The rooms were clean and very comfortable. Sunquest did a great job too however Air Transit has proven once again their ability to ruin your vacation. Last time we fly via Air Transit we swore we would never use them as our flight carrier. Well being a family vacation with people coming from different location [... read more]s we ended on Air Transit. what a mistake! First off they sub out the flight to a second class carrier called Flair Air. We paid for a direct flight 5 hours to our destination however after getting on board we are told that they have to go to Vancouver to get fuel. Really? We are at an international airport with other planes leaving direct on 4 hour flights so now why do we end up on a 7.5 hour flight having a stop over in Vancouver. Cause fuel must be cheaper there and what does Flair Air care or Air Transit. Horrible air line and never again.

I've had better Dreams......

I stayed at Dreams Villamagna Dec 15-22 with my husband and our 5 year old son. This is our 7th visit to a Dreams/Now property since our son was born. We are drawn to the family friendly nature the chain provides, and initially, that they are gated properties. Needless to say we are big fans thus repeat clients. However, we were disappointed with this stay. Property and Pools - Dreams has made us become accustomed to a grand lobby entrance. This was missing so the first impression was u [... read more]nderwhelming. Not a big deal but it got worse. The land is narrow and deep and the property itself is made up of 3 large buildings, 8 or 9 stories each. The building closest to the beach is a condo building of individually owned condo units. This building is perpendicular to the ocean, with a slight curvature to maximize the view. Running it's entire perpendicular length is 2 ajoining pools. The one fronting the ocean was not heated (my son coined in "the Canadian pool") thus very quiet. Huge disappointment. The attached or middle pool was warmer thus busier and kid friendly. The main pool was heated and the busiest. The activities led by the entertainment team occurred in this pool. The enteraiment team did a great job. Despite being called the "adult pool" it was filled with children. My son, learning to swim, could not touch the bottom in some areas but enjoyed the ledge than ran the length of the pool. We brought our own boogie boards though they are available from the activity/towel bar. This main pool was set farthest away from the beach and directly in front of the main 'ocean facing' hotel building. We stayed in this building and did have an ocean view but being set so far back on the property from the beach we could not hear the waves and while we could see the ocean, a pair of binoculars would have helped. We also could not hear the ocean. A big disappointment and unlike the other properties we have stayed at. The third building was behind ours and I believe only had views of the community. The Explorers Kids Club - despite its raving TripAdvisor reviews was not like the other Dreams/Now properties we have been to. It too was disappointing. The kids club was well secured and the caretakers seemed friendly. Our son only attended one day for just a few hours. He was content to play in the pool or on the beach for the majority of our stay. It is centrally located on the ground level corner unit of the condo building. Other properties had an expansive outdoor play area with play structure and sportcourt. Despite lacking those, the menu of activities was engaging. The Food - hmmm. Apart from the omelet station at breakfast, the buffet (World Cafe) was almost inedible. I am by no means a picky eater, in fact, I'll eat anything. I've been to over 30 countries and some of my favorite food is Asian street food so by no means do I have a trained, delicate palette. I expected far, far more/better. This was not a representation of the Dreams I know. The a la carte restaurants were very good. We did El Patio (Mexican) twice, Oceanu for lunch was nice. The attraction of the Barefoot Grill was in fact bare feet, and a wet bikini. It is attached to Oceanu and share the same kitchen. If you run into a nice server they will allow you to order off the Oceanu menu while sitting at the Barefoot Grill. This was a win. The rooftop lounge also serves sushi. Not so much a meal but a good appetizer. Sushi is definitely my thing (my son's too) and it's by far the best sushi we've had in Mexico. Mexican style containing cream cheese yet still good. We did not try the adult only Portofino. We also found the room service very good, and hot. The Coco Cafe was estetically unappealing in comparison to ones at other properties but served the same decent latte. The lime tarts are a must try. The Gym - next to Coco Cafe. Tiny for sure but had all the necessary barbells for girls who lift. There were some cardio machines too; all the usual I believe but not positive as I don't use them. The Towel Game - beach chairs on the beach need to be secured early. The chairs around the pool decks did not. This was a huge plus for this resort. It was never too busy that you couldn't find a good spot. The Beach - excellent, expansive. My son played for hours. A long walk on both directions is must. Don't get me wrong, we enjoyed our time away from the minus 20 degree weather we left behind in Calgary. You really can’t go wrong with a week of fun in the sun. But if there are certain expectations you are hoping to have fulfilled that were present at other Dreams resorts, I'm afraid you will be disappointed. We will not be returning to Dreams Villamagna but will continue to book other properties in the chain as perhaps this was a one-off.

Dreams Villamagna is a great resort.

The hotel was wonderful. There was 3 pools to choose from and a hot tube, plenty of restaurants to choose from, daily activities printed out and left in our room, all the amenities you could dream of were there, the hotel rooms where spacious and clean, and all the staff members were very hospitable.

Good resort

We stayed at the Villamagna Resort from Dec 8-15. The resort itself is very clean with beautiful grounds. Room: We upgrade to the preferred floor which are floors 7 & 8 ocean view. The upgrade was only $35 extra per night. We thought it was worth it because you had your own personal bar with top shelf liquor and daily snacks that no one else gets to have. The room was very spacious with a gorgeous view. We stayed in room 1812. The only downside of the room was the sheets! They are polyester so b [... read more]e prepared to sweat as soon as you lie down in them. Quite gross in my opinion. After a couple nights, we layed on top of the top sheet as it seemed better this way. I believe they put a plastic liner below the sheets too which doesn't help. For a dreams resort, I feel this should have been better. Another downside is that the housekeeping only brought wash cloths ONCE. That was it. They actually forgot to give us bath towels another time and I had to call down. We were sure to leave the maid a tip daily too so not sure why she was was so frugal. Otherwise, the room was perfect. Grounds: Very clean and beautiful. This is something they pride themselves in. It is extremely well kept. There are three pools to choose from and two bars. There are hammocks to relax on too. The beach area is very nice but does have the peddlers out there trying to sell you stuff. The beach is a swimmable beach. The waves can get huge so you need to be careful but we enjoyed swimming in the ocean very much in front of the resort. Service: Unbelievable! They have excellent service. Always someone coming by asking you for a drink or if you need anything. Food: Very good. Our favourite was Portofino and Seaside Grill. Seaside Grill has an amazing filet mignon. Again, excellent service at all restaurants. We personally don't like buffet so we only had buffet at breakfast. It was decent. Drinks: Top shelf liquor if you ask for it. A lot of assortment. Very good choices. The only downside is they never give you a straw unless you ask for it. Perhaps this is an eco friendly thing.... Overall: we would go back!

Dreams Vallarta

Great staff, great food, awesome pools and beach. I loved the pool and the lounge chairs around the pool. It was nice to have the option to have shade or sun. I have a nine month old baby and it was definitely stroller and baby friendly place.

Great resort

Resort overall - the resort overall was great. Always clean, staff was always friendly and ready/willing to help out. It is just a smaller resort than what I am used to compared to Dominican. The beach space was much smaller but was big enough, we never had an issue with not finding seating. I liked that there was a server that came directly to your seats to get your drink order. That was fantastic and the server was very attentive. A few cons- it got pretty quiet at night - we were 45 mins away [... read more] from downtown and it seems like the resort kind of shut down after 10. They always had some sort of show or something going on but it never lasted long or late into the night. No disco or anything like that. So definitely a nice, peaceful resort if that's what you're looking for. My boyfriend and I are in our late twenties and we would have liked a little more activity at night. Another con - they always say they include non motorized sports in your package but we only saw a few kayaks and some boogie boards. Aside from that, I don't think they had anything and they were never laid out on the beach like I've seen it done at other resorts. I think they need to make people better aware of the equipment. I only realized on the last day that they had boogie boards that I could use in the ocean. Would have loved to use them more often. Lastly, what really ticked me off big time is that we got charged for a movie we never watched! My boyfriend looked through the movies you could order but never selected any of them. Then when we checked out, their "system" had a record of us watching a movie from 1145 to 115 am one night. First of all, I don't think we stayed up past 1115 or 1130 any night. Second, that was our second day of outdoor trips. We were exhausted and went to sleep by 1030. So I don't know how the TV magically went on and ordered this movie but we were forced to pay because the manager conveniently didn't come in until later and by then we would have missed our transportstion to the airport. I know it's not the end of the world, but it's the principle of the matter and the fact that they wouldn't just take our word for it that really bugged me. I have no problem paying for services used, but I have a huge problem with being charged for something I never used. Rooms - big, spacious, beautiful. We had a jacuzzi on the balcony which was wonderful. We were very comfortable in our room and the maid did a great job of cleaning up every day. However, our clothes felt humid and wet after a few days in the room which was a bit gross. And on the 6th day of our trip I realized the sheets hadn't been changed. Now, I don't know if our maid hadn't changed them at all or just hadn't changed them for a few days. Regardless, the pillows smelled weird at that point and I could feel a bit of sand in our bed. Obviously this is very unpleasant and disappointing for what we paid for our trip. We expected more so that was definitely a disappointment. Service - great, people were friendly and social and made us feel welcome.

Good Resort, certainly a 4 star

We stayed 11 days in Feb 2015 at Dreams Villamagna in Puerto Vallarta. On the plus side: All the staff were fabulous, no issues at all. Everyone working there was always friendly and attentive to what we needed. The rooms were clean and kept clean, food at the buffet and restaurants was excellent and the restaurants were always easy to get into i.e. no waiting. Negative side: There are 250 condo's attached to the resort and the condo people seem to take up all the beach chairs by leaving towels  [... read more]on them early in the morning. You know it's people from the condo's because it's not hotel issued towels that they leave. Also even though the hotel is listed as on the beach, the 250 condo's stand between the hotel and the beach, so it's a bit of a trek to the beach from the hotel. End result is the people in the condo can run out of their condo at 6am and secure a beach chair and then go back to bed while this is not an option for the people in the hotel. We over came this by not going to the beach until 2:30 in the afternoon which was when beach chairs started to become available. Also we booked a junior suite with jacuzzi not really knowing what this will look like. The jacuzzi is outside and takes up about 1/2 the balcony. We never used it and could have settled for a junior suite without the jacuzzi and saved a few dollars and got more balcony space.

After 10 yrs we finally found it!

We traveled to Dreams Villamagna from Feb 14-21st. After spending a week there we have to say we do not have 1 complaint. The up most amazing service everywhere we went. Staff would walk up to you and ask if everything was OK was there anything they could do for you. Check in and check out was quick and efficient we asked for an up grade and they were able to accommodate us with out a problem. Food was amazing! You could eat at any of the restaurants anytime with out a reservation. Only once di [... read more]d we have to wait to be seated and we were offered anther place to sit and a drink while we waited. Food presentation was fabulous. Bars, bartenders and waiting staff were out of this world. Very quick and efficient never had to wait long anywhere. We sat up by the beach bar and they were determined that they served us at our chairs no need to get up and walk the 50 ft to the bar. Julio and Junior were the best they never stopped! One thing that I noticed I have not seen anywhere else is at the bars there are dishwashers. The cups just don't get a shake and a rinse. They actually do get washed! Our room was more than we expected! Beds and pillows were comfy. Rooms were kept immaculate. Fridge was stocked daily! Turn down service every night with you mail and chocolates on your pillow. You would receive a memo on the next day activities, restaurant hrs, weather and the drink of the day!!! Jacuzzi on your deck was a nice treat as well! We also ordered room service a cple times and it was lovely. When you called down it was hello Ms Roy how can I help you. We asked for Spanish Coffee once and at first they said they were unable to bring it. They will call before they deliver to see if there was anything else they could get for us and to tell us by the way we were able to get your Spanish coffee for you! Again the staff always goes out of their way to please!!!! As I said in the beginning we could not find one complaint with this resort. Cant wait to return and also visit other Dreams and its sister resorts! Hats of to all of the staff that work at Dreams Villamagna as you really know how to make a person really feel like they are at home!

Great getaway

This hotel is in a great location. Nice Sandy beach with a few different pools. Staff are attentive and very nice. Food is good and varied. Restaurants are easy to get into with no reservations required.

First dream

This was my first time to a Dreams Resort. It was ok but not what I would call 5 star. I've stayed at Sandals and that was much better. The noise level at the resort was way to loud late at night. We asked to have our room changed further away from the night club and were accommodated. With a room change the noise was better, but not quiet. The resort has a quiet time policy that was not adhered to nor enforced during our stay. The staff were very friendly and the food was good, and the Italian  [... read more]restaurant was excellent. Grounds were clean and tidy however our rooms were in need of repair/maintenance. The first one had a water leak. Not as clean as I would expect from a high end Resort. All said I had a good time and am happy with what we got for the price. If it wasn't for the noise, I would say I'd definitely go back. Right now it's a maybe.