TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

The resort is top class! Service is amazing! Food is incredible. Facilities are clean and well taken care of. As soon as we checked in our family was treated like royalty. Our concierge, Mario, went above and beyond and assisted us with every random request and question we had. Always with a smile and the Grand Velas “it’s a pleasure” attitude. Restaurant staff is incredible. Very knowledgeable and proud of their offerings! Pool staff is very attentive and knows you by name almost immediately. Special shout out to Diego at the pool bar! Carlos treats you like you’ve known him all your life. Always with a smile and positive attitude and made our time at the beach truly memorable. Whether it’s beach volleyball or kayaking or boogie boards. Thank you, Carlos! For a family trip, this resort is on top of our list. Great food (not just for an all inclusive but in general) is great! Pool area is fun, clean and full of activities. Beach access is a major plus with a very nice set up and ocean water that you and your kids can enjoy. We’ll be back!

Let me start by saying this our 5th visit to Grand Velas Riviera Nayarit (GV RN) and our 6th trip to the Grand Velas properties overall (did a trip last year to Cabo). I am comparing Grand Velas against itself at the best of our trips overall. Since COVID, something has certainly been lost. We traveled this time without our children and we did not mind the other children as we have two of our own. This review is based on the service, attention to detail, and the property overall. Finally, I would like to talk about value. Our first trip to GV RN was in June 2018. The trip came out to $600/night INCLUDING flights. This trip was $1000/night not including flights. Was this of significantly MORE value? I think not. The property is definitely kept up. The grounds are beautiful. The restaurants are gorgeous. But the rooms are showing their age. Bathrooms are old, showers don't drain well, and the wood work is chipped. The pool also needs lots of repair with cracked tiles in many areas. In 2023 there was a problem with racoons in the ceiling and we had to move rooms in the middle of the night with our two kids. Glad that issue has been resolved. But seriously the resort could use a big investment to upgrade the rooms and the pool. It has this old world charm from the 50s/60s, but its really showing its age. Finally, we were placed in a really poor room location not even facing the pool or ocean, we were over the kids club (which actually didn't pose any noise issues). The hotel was at 30% occupancy so not sure why we couldn't be moved to a better location. We didn't bother asking because it wasn't a big issue but seems like an obvious mistake. Overall, the service was fine. Our concierge took a while to respond to us with confirmations on meals times. I'm sure he was super busy with lots of guests, but that is a problem with how the hotel staffs the concierge position. Everyone was friendly and eager to help, but this is the first time I have had to ask for help. Every other visit someone was there to offer help whenever I was carrying something or looking around. I had to approach staff members multiple times when they were standing around chatting with each other. Most obvious was when getting to Azul for a seat or the front desk. Never experienced that before. Food was outstanding as always. However, two times at different specialty restaurants entire dishes were forgotten. Now of course we ordered way too much so it wasn't a hunger issue, but it was odd. This had NEVER happened in the past years. I noticed there was a number of new staff in the restaurants who were training up and there was definitely a language barrier when we asked to remove an ingredient (olives) or swap a dressing (rosemary vinaigrette for raspberry vinaigrette). I know there is a training timeline, but this should be junior staff shadowing experienced staff instead of junior staff missing stuff with no supervision. And finally the standout was Leonel at the pool. He has been there since our first visit in 2018 and every time he's amazing and engaging and always kind. He proactively moves our umbrellas so we are always in the shade, and is quick with drinks and food. He made our trip. The other standout was Carlos working on the beach. He made it a ton of fun with beach volleyball and water sports and I had a blast getting off my butt and playing some sports. So overall, this was 3/5 when in 2018 and 2019 we were at 5/5. I don't think the price increase reflects an increase in value or experience since 2018. I noticed that the staff age has gotten younger since COVID. Not sure if this is me getting older, the age of hospitality workers has decreased in PV, the hotel finding younger and cheaper workers, or a combination of the above. For the price paid there should be EXTREMELY experienced workers side by side the younger employees. The final thing to say is that we have come 5 times to this resort and NEVER has anyone said WELCOME BACK. It's a bit sad that loyalty is not proactively recognized. If this was a Hyatt or Marriott or Hilton they would thank me for my loyalty, and GV costs WAY more. We keep coming back to GV PV because of the food quality and the speed of service at the pool. But (to the dismay of my wife) I am finally open to looking for an alternative all inclusive in Mexico. Before this trip, it was always a no-brainer to spend the money to get the perfect trip at GV PV, but now I'm interested in shopping around.... My wife also wanted me to mention that room service now takes forever. In the past they were fast and it was a treat. Now its not worth the hassle.

This resort is incredible in so many ways… it’s gorgeous and clean, the food and drinks are great, the spa is relaxing and the staff is friendly at all times! We went on a family trip of 15 and all had an amazing time. The activities for kids were also well planned and organized. We would highly recommend this resort and if you do go, make sure to visit Carlos on the beach and Daniel at the pool bar!! Carlos was friendly and ensured our kids had the best days surfing, boogie boarding and playing sand volleyball and Daniel served all drinks with a smile. This is a fantastic resort all around!!

Amazing family vacation! The hotel is beautiful, the location is perfect, the food is delicious, the rooms are spacious and clean! But the best part if the incredible staff and their service! Chepe, our concierge took care of all of our requests with a huge smile! Carlos - water sports - made our Teen's week keeping her occupied and learning new water adventures! The buffet was wonderful - though I wish it was also open for dinner - and Ricardo gave us the best service at Azul! Francisco and Freddy were super attentive by the pool. And Daniel and his crew at the swim up bar made us amazing cocktails and mocktails for the kiddos! At Lucca - our fav restaurant - Octavio, Julio, and Carlos took care of us! And at Piaf, Francisco and Julio spoiled us! We had a chance to relax while my teen enjoyed the water sports and the Teen club! We found there was something for everyone! We will definitely be back!!! Just one constructive point - my mom found the many stairs by the pool and buffet challenging, especially since they don't have railing or support. She was not able to go to the beach, since you don't have any railing to assist with the many steps. I think this could be helpful to many of your guests! Thank you team for a wonderful experience and we look forward to our next visit!

We had an excellent stay at the Grand Velas this week with our family. There were 15 of us, including 7 kids. The kids loved boogie boarding and surfing in the ocean with Carlos, who was friendly, helpful in teaching the boys how to surf and always had a smile on his face. We loved seeing him each day! Daniel, at the swim up bar, was also very friendly and nice. The workers went out of their way to accommodate any of our requests and make our stay more memorable. The kids loved the teen club and activities at Summer Camp and the food was outstanding at every restaurant. We hope to come back again next year or sometime in the future!