Staying at the Vidanta Nuevo Vallarta
Alas, we finally made it back to our favourite Mexican mega-resort, Vidanta. When we thought that their Riviera Maya location was gigantic, their Nuevo Vallarta location blew it out of the water. I don’t even think the word “mega” can even describe it. It is its own town. Everything you need is right here. A marketplace, countless pools, a wide stretch of beach, golf courses, an authentic taco stand, over 25 other international food restaurants, long boardwalks through forested areas and over lakes… No wonder people live here two to three, even up to SIX months of the year!
The Nuevo Vallarta location is comprised of 4 different resorts: the Grand Mayan, the Mayan Palace, the Grand Bliss and the Grand Luxxe Residence Club; each one having their own pools and area on the property. The Grand Mayan and Grand Luxxe are so massive that they’re made up of multiple towers.
The Grand Luxxe offers their guests the most access across the property. They have multiple exclusive pools including two “sky” pools, situated on the rooftops of two of their towers.
The Grand Bliss has high notes of luxury and exclusivity. Though not as high tier as the Grand Luxxe, it’s granted access to its own pool as well as the Mayan Palace pool and Grand Mayan pools.
The Mayan Palace, albeit only having access to its own pool, is a haven for adults and particularly couples.
The Grand Mayan is where a lot of the fun is at! Appealing to mostly young adult groups and families with kids, it’s a highly entertaining area to be in. Its towers also sit right behind and envelop its grand cluster of pools, gorgeous lazy river, pyramid water slide and wave pool. We were here every afternoon and never in the slightest got bored of the lazy river.
We stayed at the Grand Mayan as the other resorts were fully booked by the time we wanted to reserve our week stay. Not only is it still pretty high season for us snowbirds, but Mexico residents were also observing a holiday at the time. Although the Grand Mayan isn’t as luxurious as the Grand Luxxe, there’s no way I was going to deny this view from our balcony! Bonus: it has a plunge pool too!
The Grand Mayan pools create a beautiful cluster with pool bars, water fountains and permanent in-water lounge chairs. It’s fun to jump from one pool to the other in the midst of coconut trees and bridges.
We walked for hours on the Vidanta property every morning and spotted these gorgeous seating areas at every building. It was refreshing to be able to sit in an outdoor lounge area with no one around, except for the odd passerby.
La Plaza is home to a grocery store, luxury shops, an outdoor taqueria with live music entertainment, and one of the fancier restaurants on the property, Azur. Trying their tacos at the taqueria is a must! They weren’t awfully expensive and it definitely gave more of an authentic Mexican vibe eating on this rooftop. Also, they have bottomless nachos for free with super delicious and spicy condiments so definitely worth spending money on a meal or two here!
If you’re fortunate enough to book a suite at Vidanta, make sure to take a cab to Walmart so you can cook most of your meals. It was about a $20 US taxi ride there and back (the driver waited for us while we shopped) and we managed to cook all but five meals for four people in the week with only $100 CAD spent at the store.
Vidanta has become our home away from home. I’ve been to a number of luxurious resorts and so far nothing has beaten the Vidanta experience!
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