This review is even worse, the hotel didnt even warn the other guests and when they spotted the unjiured girl on their flight assumed she must have stayed at a different hotel to them - review below
Prior to reading the 2 reviews below mine, I would have awarded this resort a 2-3 star review, but since zero isn't an option, they get one. I'll address the crocodile incident first and then move on to my experience with the resort. The young woman and her friend involved in this horrific attack were seated about 3 rows in front of me on my flight to SFO. She was not looking good on the flight, possibly a fever, and the flight attendant was putting cool compresses on her neck. I heard "you need an antibiotic," "crocodile attack," "Marriott," and a "night time." Her feet were wrapped in big bandages. I told my sister I think she was attacked by a crocodile, but there is no way it could have been at the Marriott. We had been staying there for a week and there were no notices put under our door to be careful, the beach was never closed, no additional warning signs, NOTHING. In fact the day we left, we had been at a cabana looking towards the beach watching people in the water. It's unfathomable to me that the Marriott took no action to warn their guests of this horrific event and try to protect their guests from another attack.
To the rest of the review......I'm a Platinum Elite member that had an ocean view booked. With my rate package, it included another upgrade to an even better ocean view. Being Platinum, I should also get another upgrade. We were placed about 3 doors down from the elevator with a spectacular view of the lobby area and a peak of the ocean. The room itself smelled of mildew and stinky cheese. We looked to get air freshener because it was making us gag. I realized once I got home that I needed to wash all my clothes, even if I didn't wear them, as they smelled of mildew.
The pool area was not appealing at all. People were packed in like sardines and service was mediocre. We spent 1 hour and left. Our room rate also came with 2 free cabana rentals. We got the ones that looked out over the beach and they made the experience much better. We usually went to town and hung out at El Dorada or La Palapa beach clubs. We also went to Mixto Club which was fun and had excellent beach food and drinks.
We never get massages at hotels because the ones on the street are so much better, but we thought we'd give it a chance. The spa is pretty dated and the pool inside with the brown tile don't have a clean feeling about them. I'm sure they are the OG tiles from when the resort was built. My massage at the Marriott was as expected....weak, lots of pushing on you through the blanket, tons of time spent lightly scratching my head and going to get lotion. Do yourself a favor, save your money and go to Carmen's Bliss Spa in the marina. I had Elaina, but everyone there is excellent. The spa is beautiful, clean and it was the best massage I have ever had in my life. I have had a lot of massages!!!! An hour and a half was 800 pesos and we visited multiple times.
We ate breakfast here because our rate came with it included. The waiters in the restaurant were always friendly and nice. The food was OK. We usually spent our time away from the resort, so I can't address any activities or other dining experiences. We ate one night at Hacienda de Angel which was excellent and took a cooking class with Cook'n Vallarta which was a lot of fun.
Our housekeeper Fatima was great. She'd clean as soon as she'd see us leave and always did a better job than expected. The valets in the front were always helpful and eager to get us taxis. Alexis at the front desk was very helpful and honored a late check out when no one else would even talk to us about it. As an added suggestion to the Marriott, make one line for the front desk. I was the first one up to be helped but because I had picked the wrong of the 3 lines, 4 other people who arrived after me were helped. I finally had to call someone off and say I was the next to be helped.
We first stayed at this hotel about 16 years ago, and then maybe another 12 ago. I knew they had undergone a remodel, but my first reaction when pulling up was....."looks a bit long in the tooth."
I would not recommend this Marriott to anyone. I hope this young woman involved in this incident recovers emotionally and physically from this attack. Knowing that I was there when it occurred and zero communication was provided to the guests is unimaginable. Marriott needs to be held accountable.