Grand Venetian Vallarta

The staff are amazing, and the place is close to a grocery store and activities. The boat launch is about a 30 minute taxi ride away. Rooms facing the river can be noisy some nights into the early morning, before the sun comes up. There’s a local named Karren who lives in tower two and is always complaining, but the river is much louder than the noise from two families. The elevators are always being serviced, which I’m not sure is a good thing.

I’d never return, even if it were free. I stayed in a very nice, spacious, well-appointed condo on an upper floor of Tower 3, with great security. But the disco below made the walls shake Friday through Sunday from 1PM to 7PM, even with the patio doors shut. There were also parking lot parties on Saturday night that went on until 8AM Sunday. Twice a year, they shut off the power, water, and elevators, with only two days’ notice.

I left after 10 days rather than put up with four more days of awful noise, forfeiting the remaining 20 days on my contract and losing over US$4,000. My peace of mind is worth far more. I rented a 20th floor condo in Tower 3000 through AirBnB, and although the reviews mentioned bar noise, they didn’t make clear how bad it was. Techno and recorded wave sounds from the beach bar below went on Thursday through Sunday, 2:00 pm to 9:00 pm, at over 120 decibels. Hearing can be lost above 80 decibels. In the US I could have sued the owner for not disclosing such an extreme nuisance. The condo itself was just OK. The elevator failed the day after I arrived, so I had to walk up 20 stories. It was fixed later that morning, but I understand this is a continuing problem. The kitchen looked like it came from a swap meet, with cheap, mismatched items. Hot water took more than two minutes to arrive, and I had to buy a shower mat because the one there was too small and the smooth tiles made it easy to slip. The place itself has nice amenities, but I don’t trust the Grand Venetian owners or building management to make a stay enjoyable. They don’t disclose these issues and won’t take effective steps to fix them. There are too many other choices in the area.

The view was beautiful and unobstructed. On a clear day, you could see almost the whole bay. Our balcony had a private hot tub, and the property felt safe and secure, with several well-kept infinity pools. I’d absolutely stay here again.