Marriott's Slice of Paradise in Puerto Vallarta
Written: Jul 17 '02 (Updated Jul 17 '02)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Great resort with top-notch service and amenities
Cons: Nothing important...
The Bottom Line: Casamagna is an excellent choice for anyone who wants a reliable, comfortable, safe resort on the Mexican Riviera.
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| mrkstvns's Full Review: Marriott CasaMagna Resort Puerto Vallarta |
I just got back from a couple weeks of beach bumming in what the travel industry often calls "the Mexican Riviera". Although I didn't care for its beaches, one of the best hotels I stayed in during this trip was the Marriott Casamagna Resort in Puerto Vallarta.
Marriott's Casamagna Resort is in the Marina area, considered one of the more upscale and the most modern areas of Puerto Vallarta. With a bit over 400 rooms, the hotel is large and is similar in quality and amenities to most of its neighboring resort hotels. Here's my take on the place...
Service with a Sonrisa
I gotta tell ya, I'm very happy with the level of service provided at Marriott's Casamagna Resort.
I knew I was in for good service right from the moment I first arrived. The doorman asked my name as I got out of the taxi. He checked a list, saw that I had reservations, and in no time at all, a bellman had whisked my luggage away, with me right behind him.
No need to even stop at the front desk for checkin!
The bellman already had my paperwork and room keys in hand and get this -- he even had a credit card machine to get an imprint. No standing in lines, no problems, no hassles or delays. Hey! I gotta be happy!
One of things that really separates the 4-star from the 5-star resorts is 24-hour room service. I really appreciate hotels that never say never. I get irritated when I'm in a supposedly upscale hotel, only to pick up the phone to order a late night snack and a brewski and be told, "I'm sorry, the kitchen is already closed for the night." In my opinion, it's okay to have services "close" if the hotel is a budget hotel, or if it makes no pretense about being a top-flight luxury hotel. Yep -- Marriott offers 24-hour room service...
Every hotel employee that I encountered was courteous and professional, and when I needed to visit the front desk, or to ask for help from a bellman, there seemed to be adequate staff available so that I didn't need to wait around to be helped. Promptness matters quite a bit to me at better hotels, and I was pleased with the staff's quick attention.
The only area I saw for improvement was in the limited hours of poolside table service.
I'd like to be able to order a snack and brewski after 7pm. At this time of year, there's well over an hour of sunshine left in the day at 7, and I was far from the only person enjoying the pool at 7pm. I think a more rational approach would be to offer table service until 30 minutes after sunset. Let nature run the clock since most folks at a resort aren't using a daytimer to plan when to have their next margarita!
A Room with a View
Modern, attractive, clean, and spacious. That's my impression of the room I got at Casamagna.
Although I was on a lower level, I still had a good view of the ocean from my balcony.
I liked the modern style furnishings and the marble floors throughout the room (not just in the bathroom), and I liked that the bathroom had a regular bathtub, not just a shower stall (my youngest daughter prefers tub baths to showers). A basket of complimentary toiletries featured Neutrogena products...
The hotel claims that all water in the hotel is purified and is safe to drink, but I don't care to tempt fate. I still used bottle water to drink, but I did brush teeth and make coffee with the tap water and had no ill effects.
The room was well equipped with everything you expect to find in an upscale hotel, including cable TV, an ironing board, hair dryer, mini-bar, and the all-important Mr.Coffee.
I like that every room includes a simple-to-use programmable wall safe, free of charge.
My only real complain with the room was being asked to pay $3 for the pouch of coffee to use in the Mr.Coffee that is thoughtfully included in every room. I have a feeling that complimentary shampoos actually cost hotels more than complimentary coffee pouches, but I digress...
Extra, Extra!
Casamagna is a resort that really does offer a ton of recreational opportunities and lots of ways for guests to pamper themselves as they exercise their wallet along with the rest of their bodies.
If the beach and pool weren't enough reason to call the Marriott a "resort", there is also the full range of amenities available to everyone in the marina community, including the marina itself for all the yachters and fishermen in the crowd, plus the Marina Vallarta Golf Club is right across the street, with an 18-hole course designed by Joe Finger. You won't catch me near any of the water traps though -- I was told that several alligators (some as long as 3 meters) -- lurk in those picturesque coves and lagoons!
I like a game of tennis every now and then, but I thought the courts at the Casamagna were kind of weird. What the heck is up with that fake green carpet? Is it supposed to be a simulated "grass"court? If real grass doesn't work here, why not just go for the concrete courts, like the Embarcadero Pacifico across the way, or maybe even a clay court, like at the Mayan Palace a couple doors down?? But you want me to play on a rug? I don't think so...
The hotel has a well-equipped gym with treadmills, free weights, and lots more, plus they do some scheduled classes for guests. There are also changing rooms and showers in the gym, and they have a spa facility offering massages, facials, etc.
Although clearly a vacation destination, the Casamagna is also a very business-oriented hotel. It has a wide range of meeting rooms and conference rooms on the main level, plus they have a wonderful business center, which feels like a corporate home office away from the corportae home office -- it's quiet and comfortable with PCs, internet connections, printers, copiers, fax machines, etc.
Fun in the Sun
I love a beach, and the reason I like bumming around on the Pacific coast is to find good beaches. While the Marriott Casamagna Resort can definitely claim to be a beachfront property, it isn't really what I'd call a nice beach. Most of the beaches around the Marina area hotels are dinky and uninspiring, and this is no exception. There are good beaches on the Bahia Banderas, just not in the Marina area (except perhaps in the overeager eyes of hotel marketing mavens).
There's not a lot to do on the beach itself since it's short, and you can't even easily walk along the beach between neighboring hotels. In fact, I think you could safely say that the beaches in the marina area suck. Yes, "suck" is probably the most accurate description of the beaches here...
But the Marriott is still a good "resort".
It has a nice, well landscaped pool area with an "endless" pool that seems to end at the ocean, not to mention the "extras" that I mentioned earlier.
Good Food, Good Drink
The crown jewel of Marriott's restaurants is their Japanese restaurant, Mikado. This is definitely an upscale dining experience, with suitably upscale pricetags. You can get sushi, teriyaki, or various combination dinners and the chefs prepare food at the tables. When I'm traveling with kids in tow, I don't do restaurants like this -- too bad because the place looked pretty cool. Perhaps next trip...
We did enjoy the lower key La Estancia restaurant for breakfast. La Estancia is comfortably informal with a bright airy atmosphere and large windows looking out into the gardens. The menu included several traditional Mexican dishes, and I thought the chiliquiles were excellent with just the right amount of cheese and salsa.
I liked the Mango snack bar near the lobby. With a couple of smallish bar tables outside and its super-casual low-key environment, I found it to be the perfect place to grab a good cup of coffee. My daughter liked the ice cream and I was surprised to see that they were serving Blue Bell -- the favorite brand of most Texans. I had no idea that Blue Bell made its way outside the Lone Star State...
The hotel also offers plenty of watering holes to suit your tastes. Besides the swim-up bar in the pool and another top-side, there is a lobby bar with an extensive list of tequilas and a range of different cigars including several genuine Cuban cigars, and there is a sports bar that's typical of the too noisy, mediocre quality, and too cluttered with TVs style of bars that you find catering to the uncultured masses everywhere in the U.S. (Can you tell I don't like sports bars??)
Marina Location
The Marriott Casamagna is located in the Marina area of Puerto Vallarta. This area is about 10 km north of downtown, which makes it somewhat inconvenient for many visitors. I've stayed in the marina area before, but I've never been a huge fan of the place. Sure the resorts are big and the marina is a bit quieter than the hustle and bustle of downtown, but I don't really like being miles away from all the good restaurants, night life, shops, and other things that make Puerto Vallarta special.
A lot of people like the marina. It is relatively clean, modern, safe, and upscale. There is the marina, which is a natural draw for the yachting crowd, plus an expansive golf course that caters to the duffer in the family. But, except for hotel restaurants, there's no real dining or shopping opportunites. It's an antiseptic part of town that I would stay away from except for the fact that it is a mecca for hotel,condos, and timeshare developers -- good quality rooms abound in the Marina area...
Getting a Good Rate...
Here's a tip for you if you're thinking of staying at the Casamagna: shop the Marriott.com web site before you reserve through any other means.
Before I made my reservation, I checked around for good rates in the marina area. I found some competitive (under $100 per night) specials on Expedia, and some on the 1800usahotels.com web site, but the real bargains came direct from Marriott only on their web site. $69 for garden view or $89 for ocean view !!! That is an incredible steal for a hotel of this caliber, but it was only available through Marriott.com and only if you paid in full in advance with no cancellations or changes allowed. When I called the 800 number, the "best rate" I could get was $119. Still not bad considering that this is a hotel that is easily worth spending $200 a night to stay in.
This is exactly the kind of bargain I'm looking for when I travel, and you can get that kind of bargain too (though I doubt it will be around by the time the high season rolls around come cold weather...)
How Does the Marriott Casamagna Compare to Other Local Hotels?
The Marriott Casamagna is one of the best resort hotels in Puerto Vallarta. Although I find the Marina area somewhat remote, I appreciate its upscale feel when I'm traveling with kids, so I prefer this part of town to the "hotel zone" or anything downtown. The Marriott is very new and modern with a huge range of amenities. The beach isn't that great -- but then, that's true of every hotel in the Marina area. The pool is less elaborate than the one at Velas Vallarta, and the landscaping isn't as lush, but I like the "endless" feature and I like the location of the swim-up bar. The Marriott has better amenities than its neighbors, and I believe it is the largest hotel in the marina. I know that the Marriott is a step up in quality from either Velas or the Embaracadero Pacifico, and I know for certain that it is several steps up in terms of service from the neighboring Mayan Palace.
There are a ton of great hotels in Puerto Vallarta, and no one property is the best choice for everyone, but in my opinion, the Marriott Casamagna is an outstanding choice for many travelers, including most families and most business travelers to the area. Couples can find more personalized, cozier, or luxurious digs, and backpackers and beach bums can easily find cheaper digs, but for the typical traveler, the Casamagna is a tough act to beat.
I hope this helps, and if you have any questions about the place, or about recommendations for other hotels in the area, send me an email. I love to chat... Until next time, see you on the road. As always, I'll be the guy looking for the cheapest room in the hotel.
Related Reviews:
Velas Vallarta
http://www.epinions.com/trvl-review-3923-27C3A511-3990BC65-prod5
"Must See and Do" in Puerto Vallarta
http://www.epinions.com/trvl-review-5413-6246645-385F02EF-prod2
Recommended:
Yes
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