16 replies to this topic

[AZKimberly]

-Are there any nice but more affordable hotels near Dreams PV that you have stayed at and loved? (Dreams is WAY too expensive for my wedding guests... but I was thinking of getting married there and staying there with my friends and fam nearby? Has anyone done this??)
-Is Dreams PV close to anything fun?
-I went to PV like 8 years ago... and I remember there being a Cheeseburger in Paradise, Senor Something... etc... is that near Dreams?
-Is that the night life area? Is it safe/fun/worth going to?
-What are fun events I can coordinate?

I have so many questions and it is so hard for me wanting this beautiful wedding... but making it addordable for myself and my guests... and not knowing any answers since I do not live close by!
Any and all advice is greatly appreciated Thank you so much!!!

[jennster_04]

i stayed at dream nuevo vallarta, try there itll be cheaper as it farther away from the airport, more secluded

[mlabbe]

Hi! I also stayed at the Dreams Nuevo Vallarta but I didn't find it to be as nice as the Dreams PV and it was really far away from everything (read: expensive cab ride) if you needed or wanted to get out of the resort.

The Dreams PV is located really close to the old part of town (where you have all of the restaurants you listed + all of the pretty cobble streets and attractions). So from that aspect you are pretty much in the middle of the action.

I don't know really of other hotels on that street that are cheaper than the Dreams - it depends what you are looking for (AI or not) as well but I'm sure there is something. Is there a reason why you want to stay near the Dreams? There are cheaper hotels I think in town or between the town and marina.

I did my TTD shoot in Concas Chinas (really close to the Dream) and there were smaller hotels there that could be more affordable - you could look into it.

[starchild]

We got married at Las Caletas but stayed at Dreams PV. Most of our wedding party stayed there with us but all other guests stayed where they wanted.

We found that everyone had different budgets, some had timeshares in PV, some had their own TA's that suggested they stay elsewhere, etc. Pushing them to stay with us didn't feel right so we said stay where you want, we'll see you at the welcome dinner and wedding and meet up in between where we can.

In the end it didn't matter that they all weren't there. We were BUSY in the days leading up to the wedding and wouldn't have had much time to chill with them at the resort anyway. When we did have downtime it was nice to hang with a small group of people rather than all of the guests (that's just us...some people feel the exact opposite!).

A few things to consider:

- Dreams does not let outside guests in so your friends/family not staying there will never be able to meet you there, they won't get past the gate to even just wait outside

- Conchas Chinas is near to Dreams and has smaller hotels & condos that are more affordable, but again with outside guests not being allowed at Dreams it doesn't really matter if your guests are 5 minutes away or 20 minutes away. They may find better options and affordable resorts in the hotel zone.

- There is nothing in walking distance from Dreams, everything requires a cab...old town and the malecon where many clubs are is a short cab ride away (less than 10 minutes) It's not a problem, just something to consider if you think you'll be in the heart of the nightlife. It is very secluded.

- Nuevo Vallarta is far and the cab ride is costly by PV standards. You will find great resorts there at good prices and if it means a guest is either not coming or staying out there, staying out there would work...but it's pretty inconvenient.

- If you're talking organized tours/excursions I highly recommend Vallarta Adventures. I have always been pleased with everything they've done (including our wedding). Puerto Vallarta Tours, Activities, Excursions, Things to Do and Expeditions, Mexico

Other than that scour the PV section for ideas and reviews.

Good luck!

[KarenM]

We were married at Dreams Memorial Day weekend and had a perfect wedding and amazing vacation! If you decide to have it there you won't be disappointed.

Have you checked for quotes through a TA? Our rate for the Dreams regular rooms (deluxe) were actually pretty cheap considering it included all meals & drinks (a little over $100 per person per night, based on double occupancy). Much less than the prices quoted on the website or through expedia/travelocity. Of course it depends on the time of year you're getting married & May is in the low season so that helped.

Dreams is a $5 or 50 pesos cab ride to town (under 10 min) &, as stated above, it's not walking distance to anything. Still, it's not a deterrent to going into town & we did like 4 times while we were there. There's a lot to do in town. There are good restaurants & bars/clubs to go dancing along the Malecon, flea markets w/ tons of "Mexican crap", as many of the sellers call it, & it's just a beautiful town to walk around. It's safe, but like in any city you just have to be mindful & use common sense. We went dancing at Hilo & the Zoo for my bachelorette party and had a great time.

The benefit of being a little secluded is that Dreams has its own private beach. There are lots of hotels in town in the hotel district or marina, but they're lined up along the beach so there are tons of people walking up & down selling stuff or offering timeshares. We had one couple decide to stay in town b/c they were opposed to the idea of an all-inclusive and they actually really regretted not staying at Dreams. They said the timeshare & other people selling stuff on the beach were so obnoxious they couldn't even enjoy the beach at their hotel so they stuck to the pool. That may or may not be something to consider if your group prefers the beach vs pools.

If you get married at Dreams, but have guests stay off-site it costs extra to have them come to the wedding. For my package (ultimate) we had 20 guests included. For each guest over 20 staying at Dreams the reception (cocktail hr + dinner) cost $55 per person. For those not staying at Dreams it was $85 per person and they could arrive 45 min before the ceremony & leave the property 45 minutes after the reception ended.

Dreams offers day passes for non-guests, one for during the day and another for evenings and I think they were around $75 per person. You have the option of paying for those or having your guests pay for day passes if they decide to come visit, but it's another expense to consider.
We paid for one person staying elsewhere to come hang out for one day and the day pass was added to our bill. We also had a bonfire the night before the wedding and paid $55 per person for people staying off-site.

Hope this helps a little. Let me know if you have any questions & good luck deciding!

[AZKimberly]

Wow, this really helps a LOT!!! Thank you!

Who is your TA? I have never used one before... should I just google Travel Agents in Arizona?
A little over 100 bucks a person per night is much less than what I have been able to find so far on different sites.

Do you happen to know if May is the season for releasing turtles? How was the weather in May?

Thank you so much girls!

[AZKimberly]

Also, What is Las Caletas? How would you even begin to organize a wedding there? I see so much about it on this forum.

[KarenM]

ooh, Las Caletas is amazing!! It's a private islandy thing that you take about an hour-long boat to. They have day & night excursions and do beautiful weddings! We opted out for a couple of reasons, but initially thought of having our wedding there.

Here's the link to their website & there's a big thread on the forum about them. You can just contact them via email to find out about availability.
Puerto Vallarta Weddings, Beach Weddings, Destination Weddings in Mexico

our TA was Teresa Stauring at vacations4less.com. She's in LA and we're in NYC so we never met her, but she provided really good service & got us great rates! PM me if you'd like her email. I know hotel rates increase every year, so the rate I had (which was a 2009 rate) probably won't be available for a wedding next year, but it's worth finding out. Teresa works with Dreams PV a lot so was able to get really good rates. We booked our air through her as well, but there wasn't a discount for that so you could book airfare wherever you find it cheapest. We also got the transfer from/to the airport which was great!

May weather is perfect! It's just before the rainy season (which starts in June) and it's considered off-peak so travel & hotels are cheaper, plus it's less crowded which is always nice. Every day was around 85 and sunny, a few partly overcast days and then it rained a little the last night before we left.

The one bad thing about May is that it's not the baby turtle season! I was seriously bummed about that! I asked the entertainment staff and they said I was a few weeks too early; that they really start at the end of June/July. So later in summer or fall is the best time to go if you have your heart set on the turtles.

[jajajaja]

We stayed at Barcelo de la Joya Mismaloya (a freaking mouthful.) Pretty sure I did a review on here for it. We wanted to stay at Dreams but it was more expensive than most our guests could afford. It's more south than Dreams but it a beautiful location. We took cabs and mostly the bus into town and it wasn't bad. What I really liked about it was that it's a smaller resort so we were able to see a lot of our guests the whole time. We pretty much hung as a group and did everything together and we loved that.

Edit: Ok I didn't write a review- I swore I did. Anyways, I did find a mini review I gave another member: We stayed at Barcelo La Jolla De Mismaloya which is south of Dreams. I'm not sure if you are looking for a wedding to take place on the beach. If so, this is probably not a good resort for that. We were married at Las Caletas so we didn't get married at the resort. If you plan on having a wedding off resort grounds, this would be a good hotel. It is far from PV, but it is easy enough to ride the public bus into town for 6 pesos (roughly, 60 cents.) We did this for two weeks and it was easy and convenient (the pick up is across the street from the resort.) I liked how far we were from PV too since it seemed to keep the group together more. We did many group trips into town and we all enjoyed each others company.

The grounds at the hotel are AMAZING! It was so beautiful. The recently remodeled every room in the resort and they were fabulous. One of my guests received a room that was not quite up to par though (their door was cracked and wires hanging from the wall) and the front desk promptly relocated them to a beautiful room. All 22 guests stayed at the resort and all loved it.

The food is good, but it does get monotonous after awhile. We did dinner a few nights in town during our two week stay.

I plan on doing a full review of the resort and include some pictures soon. I'm still trying to catch up my laundry. If you have questions about the resort, just let me know.
** same goes for you- let me know if you have any questions. I'm not doing my laundry though.

I also did a review on a dune buggy excursion in PV. Hmm... let me try to dig up some of those threads. http://bestdestinati....cursion-19593/

[Naye84]

I stayed at Barcelo La Jolla de Mismaloya with my family. It is a really nice hotel and we did a group price around ($88/day per person double occupancy). The hotel is really nice and its all inclusive. Its south of Puerto Vallarta, around a $10 taxi ride to downtown; however the bus is only 7 pesos and its safe. Good Luck Planning =)