Puerto Vallarta with Delta Vacations

by tia meno

I had the opportunity to attend the Puerto Vallarta FAM hosted by Delta Vacations. I had a wonderful time. August is their wet season, and it was very, very humid! There was a thunderstorm every night, which made the daytime humidity up to 90%.

Day 1: Arrived Puerto Vallarta in the afternoon. I found my Trafictours transfer and was off to the resort! If you have an arrival transfer booked, it is extremely important to go outside to find your transportation. The aggressive timeshare and transfer companies that are inside the airport wear the same color shirts as the Trafictours drivers. Trafictours is not allowed to operate or pick up travelers from inside the airport, you must go outside to meet your transportation. This can get very confusing.

The transfer from the airport to my host resort was about 40 minutes. The host resort was the Secrets Bahia Mita.

Secrets Bahia Mita is marketed as an adult only property. This resort shares the same complex as Dreams, a family friendly resort and is separated by the pools.

Even though you are on the adult only side, you can still see and hear kids. If you are looking for a kid-free vacation, then this resort might not be what you are looking for. This is a terrific property if you do not mind seeing and hearing kids!

All the FAM attendees were in a Preferred Club room. There are special benefits to booking a Preferred Club room such as -

Private Check-in and Check-out at the Preferred Club Tower
Status and Preferred amenities
Access to the Lounge Bar with premium liquors on the sixth floor from 7am – 11pm
Daily continental breakfast
Exquisite dessert & fine liquors
Access to the Sky Bar (adults only) on the eighth floor from 10am – 6pm
Newsletter upon request
Bathrobe & slippers in the room
10% off bottles of wine
15% off laundry service and ironing service
$40 USD off romantic dinner at the beach
Late check out under availability and request
Reading books and board games

My room had a private plunge pool on the balcony! (Not all rooms have this.)

We met later in the afternoon for a site inspection of Secrets and Dreams.

Beach is first come first serve for beach chairs and umbrella

Kids club with special events just for teens. NO adults allowed!

We wrapped up the day with dinner at the restaurant located on the sixth floor.

Day 2: This was another site inspection day. We visited the Marival Armony Luxury Resort, The W Punta Mita, St. Regis Punta Mita, and Conrad Punta Mita.

Marival Armony – If you are looking for a serene, quiet, relaxing, kid free experience, this is my first choice. I immediately got a sense of calm when I got here. The spa area at the resort is pretty standard; the individual treatment rooms are designed to look like other parts of the world - Japan, Mexico, Italy and Turkey – which was my favorite!

Marival Armony - one of the private pools

Marival Armony - the bar near the entrance

The W Punta Mita – This was HANDS DOWN MY FAVORITE resort that we visited. It felt like you were walking in the jungle. Some of the suites are built to look like they are part of the mountain. There is a very boho beachy feel to this property. Gorgeous beach and the BEST food in Mexico! This resort is extremely popular with surfers.

The W - The windows are the individual suites - these are the “Lake View” rooms with a man-made lake

The W - balcony and view from one of the Ocean View rooms

The St. Regis Punta Mita - This resort is beautiful but has a very retirement/condo feeling. Every building was the same cream-colored stucco with dark wood trim. This is the perfect resort if you want to golf as it is adjacent to the Punta de Mita Golf Club - a Jack Nicklaus Signature golf course. Families are welcome at this resort, however, there is not much for kids besides the perfect beach. This resort is spread out – 22 acres total. If you have mobility issues, this may not be the best resort.

The St. Regis - every suite is huge and beautiful and comes with butler service

Conrad Punta Mita – Honestly, this was my least favorite resort that we visited. The rooms were nice but nothing special. The one thing that did stand out was the spa. They are extremely focused on nature and becoming one with the elements. There is an on-site Shamen that does daily offerings to the Gods at sunset.

Conrad - the sweat lodge at the Spa – this is only available with the Shamen as a guide

Conrad - sunset view from one of the restaurants

We ended the day here with dinner on the beach. You can book dinner on the beach, and this can be a table of 2 or up to 20+!

Day 3: Sayulita and San Pancho Experience Tour and Riu Palace Pacifico site inspection.

Our tour started in San Pancho; our first stop was a roadside fruit stand where we sampled Jack Fruit and fruit candies.

The second stop was at a fourth-generation jewelry store specializing in opals and silver. Beautiful pieces handcrafted by local artists. A portion of the proceeds go towards the artist’s schooling. The more you buy, the more you help the community!

The next stop were the street vendors in San Pancho. This is a very relaxed town. Our tour guide described San Pancho as a “hippy, surf” town.

We were there for about 30 minutes, before heading over to Sayulita for a tequila tasting, lunch, and shopping!

View from The Dock, the restaurant where we had lunch.

Riu Palace Pacifico – This adult only resort feels like a 24-hour party! Total Las Vegas vibes - without gambling! The crowd at this property seemed young and full of energy! This property is perfect for anyone (ages 20’s – 50’s) who wants the party scene. Guests of the Riu Palace have access to the facilities, activities, and entertainment at the Riu Jalisco and the Riu Vallarta (guests must eat breakfast and dinner at the Palace).

Riu Palace Pacifico - lobby with a coffee stand and bar

Riu Palace Pacifico - lobby with a mule cart

Riu Palace Pacifico - balcony view from just outside of the lobby area

Riu Palace Pacifico - “Elite Room” comes with upgraded spirits, larger room and balcony

Riu Palace Pacifico - view of the pools and ocean from an Elite Room

Riu is famous for their Riu Party! The Riu Party is held at the Riu Jalisco, but there is a shuttle that will come and get you at the Palace. The theme for the party on this day, Thursday, was the White Party.

Riu Palace Pacifico - one of the dancers promoting the Riu Party at the Palace

Day 4 was a travel day. My transfer to the airport was at 11am, however, my flight wasn’t until 4pm.