Dreams Vallarta Bay Resort And Spa

It was my first time travelling to Puerto Vallarta, and as a solo traveler, I was a bit anxious. However, from the moment I stepped foot into Dreams Vallarta Resort, my experience surpassed all expectations, leaving me utterly impressed so I felt compelled to share a thorough review:

1)Room: While I booked a Preferred Club Room with an Ocean View, my view encompassed only partial ocean view and resort pools but nonetheless, it was enchanting, and I was delighted with my accommodation. The room itself was clean, spacious, bed was comfy, and mini bar and amenities were refilled immediately upon request. However, the true highlight of the Preferred Club experience was the dedicated butler service. Assigned to my room was the invaluable Jose Becerra, whose unwavering commitment to ensuring my comfort elevated my stay immeasurably. From daily check-ins to thoughtful gestures, Jose's exemplary service exemplified hospitality at its finest. The entire Preferred Club staff, including Isabel, Hector and Erika, contributed to the overall experience of my stay. For those considering the Preferred Club, I wholeheartedly recommend requested Jose as your butler.

2)Staff: Without exception, the resort staff exhibited unparalleled friendliness, professionalism, and dedication. Their concerted efforts to ensure guest satisfaction were palpable, underscoring the importance of acknowledging their exemplary service through gratuities so make sure you tip them because they truly deserve it.

3)Pool/Beach: The pools and beach areas were meticulously maintained, with ample seating and towels. Service was prompt and courteous, with Hugo standing out for his exceptional attentiveness The beach itself was great with smooth sands, further enhancing the resort's allure.

4)Restaurants: From breakfast and lunch buffets to themed dinners, the culinary offerings were diverse and delicious. Each restaurant, whether Italian, Japanese, Mexican or International buffet-style, surpassed expectations. Notably, the Mexican restaurant, Tamarindo, stood out for its impeccable service (especially Abraham and Maria), vibrant ambiance, and mouthwatering cuisine, including the captivating spectacle of fresh guacamole preparation tableside.

5)Entertainment: The resort's entertainment team, led by the dynamic trio of Sarai, Alberto and Octavio, ensured a lively atmosphere throughout the day. Evening activities in the main lobby ranging from live music, karaoke and bingo nights were great and entertaining. Additionally, guests could groove the night away at the on-site nightclub with a DJ spinning tunes from 10:30 pm until 1:00 am daily.

6)Location: The resort's location is ideal, situated centrally and within close proximity to numerous attractions, notably the Malecon which is an ideal destination for first-time visitors to Puerto Vallarta. A mere 10-minute cab ride transports you to this bustling locale. Throughout my stay, I found the locals to be exceptionally friendly, and the overall environment exuded a sense of safety and security, contributing to a thoroughly enjoyable experience.

While there's much more I could praise about, my overall experience at Dream Vallarta was nothing short of exceptional. I eagerly anticipate my next visit and extend heartfelt thanks to the entire Dream Vallarta team for creating such unforgettable memories during my stay. [Details]

The resort was splendid, great food and friendly service and atmosphere. [Details]

This resort is very beautiful and clean. The staff are amazing and very friendly. I have severe food allergies and they catered to me like crazy. Great service and make you feel very welcome. Rooms are great size and very clean. In general the people that stayed at the resort were also very warm and kind. We definitely will go back next year! [Details]

The hotel was clean and the lobby was beautiful. Rooms were dated and needed some upgrades (we had a cracked sink, lots of dents and damage to furniture and walls), but they wee still beautiful. The ocean views were amazing. Service was outstanding, but they were starting to get busy at the end of our stay as it was nearing Spring Break. Overall a good stay. Beach was VERY rocky and was the most disappointing part. [Details]

We were repeat visitors, drawn by the location within easy reach of PV, immediately adjacent to Secrets with the availability of some Secrets facilities, excellent food, flawless service. [Details]

I would rate the Hotel Now Amber a 9 out of 10. [Details]

Our stay at this hotel was awesome! We were treated like VIPs from the moment we arrived. Until we left for the airport. We were given great room on 14 th floor with all our requests, non smoking, two beds, facing ocean. We enjoyed the buffet for breakfast and lunch and the a la carts for dinner. So nice not to have to make reservations! All of the staff we encountered were amazing. Treated up very well. [Details]

Now Amber is a great place to stay!!! [Details]

Staff was great,food excellent. [Details]

We love the Now Amber in Puerto Vallarta; beautiful hotel in an awesome location. The staff is friendly, rooms are beautiful and food is delicious. [Details]

We traveled in March with another couple and arrived at about 10:00pm. There were no time share people in airport or hotel to bother us. At check in we had a very helpful young man who upgraded us with a Secrets access card. Thank you so much Brian. You made this the best vacation we had ever had. He also gave us rooms on the 15th floor that were amazing and had a view to die for. Because we had a late flight home, we were given a room to use for most of the last day and access to all the facilities.
This resort had the best service we have ever had. A big thank you to all the staff for making this such a memorable vacation. Excellent food, top shelf drinks, beautiful grounds, massages in the cute serenity huts, entertainment in the lobby and on the beach were all fantastic. All the staff went above and beyond. Thank you Now Amber and all your staff they make your resort fantastic. [Details]

we had a fabulous time
we came home & said we do NOT have a bad thing to say about the resort.....the resort is beautiful, "ALL" the staff were fantastic, the food & service was great, the beach/pool area was wonderful, watching the sunset every evening from
the lobby was amazing
we most certainly would go again [Details]

The Now Amber Puerto Vallarta was a fantastic place to spend our Christmas vacation. Friendly staff, clean accommodations, wonderful pools and beautiful beaches! [Details]

Stayed at this Amazing resort for 1 week to celebrate our Daughter's graduation from University. As a Mother-Daughter trip...the entire resort experience was amazing. Would return in a heartbeat. [Details]

This was our first time to Now Amber, I have always been a huge HARD ROCK Resort fan and wanted to try something new this time. We Booked a Junior Ocean King bed was given 2 twins in the regular tower, which resulted in even worse back pain and in return added more stress to my "Vacation". extremely long waits at the reception but all spoke very decent English. I have now read several reviews all over and is a common thing with Now Amber that tourist do not get the room options they have paid for. If Now Amber needs to make a difference by working hard at standing out in ways that are obviously not as polished as advertised. I would call it a close narrow race to a 3.5ish and hopefully a future 4 star resort. The gym is on the Adult side (Secrets) Where you can access the French Restaurant which we never tried as we found the Secrets side very Intimidating.
The Italian restaurant (Capers | Italian Cuisine & Wine Cellar) was a huge disappointment.If the resort is going to have fine dining option you have to have a well trained support staff.there is no point in asking the guests to be in a dress code when the restaurant doesn't follow basic fine dining codes. The servers are well spoken in English but extremely untrained in serving. Our plates were taken after the first serving we were never asked for desert nor were given water. We extremely hungry had to go back to the hotel room for better food options. If the resort has private functions already booked, the guests at the hotel take a hit with not being able to use the space or common area as it been taken over by that event. Therefor, one feels extremely awkward being in and around the pool or the beach as the event takes over that whole section of the beach resort. Eventually, you would either have to be go back to the restaurant or back in your hotel room. I found that very uncomfortable as there is no designated area for such entertainment where it doesn't interfere with guests interactions with the facility and which is obliviously very inconvenience to the hotel guests. I would suggest this resort on a good deal or would pay that extra $500 elsewhere in comparison. [Details]

We spent a week here in February. We travelled with sunwing. We had our 3 year old and 1 year old with us. This was my second time to PV, my husbands first. We have been to Mexico numerous times and many other places staying at all levels of accommodation.

Check in - the bus ride from the airport was quick. We were the first drop off. Check in was one of the worst parts of our stay. We sat and waited to check in for a bit. The actual checkin process went fairly quickly but then they told us to have a seat and a lady would bring us our resort dollars. Well she did but this turned into a long spiel about the spa and using the resort dollars and then turns into a time share spiel even though they assure you it isn't a time share. They try to schedule you to come to the big presentation in the morning with breakfast. We were very disappointed in this. We know the time share people are everywhere but didn't expect this upon checkin and from the hotel staff. We had two very young kids who were exhausted after traveling ( as were we) and just wanted to get to our room. This was a poor way to start the trip.

Resort Dollars - we didn't use these and found them to be somewhat of a joke. Can't be combined, can only use on certain spa services worth so much money or a certain length of time...

Spa - we didn't use the spa. It was crazy expensive. We got massages on the beach which were great and the two of us had a massage for less than half the price of one at the spa.

Hotel Grounds and Common Areas - these areas are really nice and kept really clean. The view from the hotel lobby is amazing. The lobby bar is a great place to sit, relax and read. It is so peaceful and just can't beat the view. Can't say enough good things about it.

Room - our room was great. Spacious, very clean, great ocean and grounds view, large shower and jacuzzi tub. We had two double beds with the kids and they were definitely just doubles. A little small for two adults but we managed (we r used to a king). Mini bar stocked every day. Maids were in at least twice a day to clean and check supplies and turn down beds at night.

Elevators - there are 3 main ones. One was out of order the entire time we were there so made for long waits. We were only on the second floor so took the stairs often and didn't affect us too much but I think it would have got annoying for those on the top floors having to wait so much.

Pools - we spent most of our time in the kids pools. They were great. One was about 4-5 feet deep with a water slide that the kids loved. The other was a shallow pool that both my kids could touch in and they loved it. There were always lots of chairs and umbrellas by these pools. The barefoot grill is right there and a pool side bar. It was much quieter by the kids pool. We had great pool side service. The pools were all warm. We spent a bit of time at the activities pool. There was volleyball there once a day but other than that it was pretty quiet. The main pool with the swim up bar was always busy and loud so we didn't spend too much time there. It was harder to find seats over here. We really liked that there weren't towel cards and you just got towels as you needed from around the pool area. We didn't see the usual problem of people saving chairs all day which was nice. One annoyance is the pigeons around the pools at lunch time but not much you can do. They follow the food... We really liked that you saw them cleaning the pools every night and morning.

Beach - the beach isn't too big but we never felt crowded and could always find chairs and umbrellas. Beach service was good. The beach was very clean. The Usual vendors on the beach but a simple no was all that was needed. The ocean was too rough for our little kids. There were some older kids and adults boogey boarding and swimming. We just mostly walked on the edge of the water or played in the sand it wasn't safe enough for our little ones to go out. The beach and water here is pretty typical of what I've seen at other PV hotels.

Entertainment - things were pretty quiet around the pools and beach during the day which we enjoyed. The entertainment staff was by the main pool and beach a few times during the day but we didn't pay too much attention to what was going on. Seemed to be a bit quieter than most all inclusives and not as many activities going on. It didn't affect us but if that's what you are looking for you might be disappointed. One annoyance was a Chicago radio station had a group there for a couple days. They kind of took over the beach area every day for the radio show and also had some group things taking over parts of the hotel. We were happy when they were gone and it returned to the quiet not so busy place we liked. Evening entertainment was pretty typical for an all inclusive with the exception of the water show over the pools. That was fantastic. The Mexican night was pretty great too. We didn't go to the disco because had the kids.

Kids club - this is only for ages 3 . You can drop your child off and they give you a pager for if your child wants to leave. You can leave them from first thing in the morning until after supper if needed. They will take them for meals etc. Older children can come and go as they please if you sign a form allowing that. The kids area looks really good with soccer fields, play structure, rock wall, trampolines etc. Our daughter was just turning 3 and we took her the one day. We weren't allowed to go in with her which was disappointing. It would have helped her warm up to the place. Also they have a set schedule of activities every day: pool, video games, movies, craft... Seemed like anything that interested her was not at a convenient time for us. She didn't last long there because just wanted to play on everything but that wasn't the scheduled activity... I went to check on her after half an hour and found her crying. They said they had been paging us but our pager never went off. She didn't want to go back the rest of the trip. We saw lots of older kids having fun there so perhaps she was just a little young. It's unfortunate parents can't go in and play with the kids on the structures and soccer fields. Kind of feels like a waste that they only get used for the 1/2 hour time slot a day.

Restaurants - we tried all the a la carter restaurants except the Japanese. Kids are allowed at all but at certain ones there are specific areas for kids to sit. We enjoyed all the restaurants. We found the main buffet was smaller than what you would normally see at an all inclusive but the quality of the food on the buffet was better. We were really happy with the food here. It gets old by the end of the week the same as anywhere. Service was fantastic in every restaurant. The wait staff in the buffet were exceptional. Really catered to us and our kids.

Malecon - we had read you can walk from the hotel. It would have been a really long walk in the heat. A taxi ride was really quick and cheap. Would recommend doing this instead. There isn't much to see if you walk.

Excursions - we did one tour that we booked through nexus tours ( our sunwing rep). It was a catamaran snorkeling trip with a stop for bbq and time on a private beach. He sold it as a great trip to do with kids saying it was a calm beach where they could go in the water, lots of shade and umbrellas, a shorter day, good chance see whales and dolphins etc. We didn't see any dolphins or whales. I realize this is by chance but just wanted people to know not to have your heart set on this. They said they would allow you to throw out fishing lines on the way back. This didn't happen. They tell you the catamaran holds 60 but they only sell 40. Well there is no way you could fit another 20 people on it. We enjoyed the day but it was pretty rushed. Taxi ride to the pier was quick and cheap. The catamaran ride was good. Got to see a lot of the bay. Snorkelling at Los Arcos was great. My husband and I took turns. Our 3 year old got in the water too to see the fish (she loves water and isn't scared). They gave my one year old pretzels to feed the fish and they were coming up beside the boat for her to see. This also brought lots of fish around my 3 year old in the water. Note: we brought their own life jackets from home otherwise they wouldn't have had ones that fit. After snorkelling we went to the beach for a bbq. Food was ok nothing special. Didn't like that there were dogs everywhere around the tables and stuff. After eating we literally had 5 minutes on the beach before we had to head back to the boat. The water was a little calmer than at the hotel but still not ok for our young kids. There were only 3 umbrellas. Not that it mattered because we weren't there long. The catamaran can't go into the beach so you have to get in smaller life boats and ride to dock and get off then walk to the "private" beach area. Where every other tour is going! The dock was quite a step up and busy. This was a little difficult with little kids. We enjoyed the trip and would recommend it, just know that it is not everything that they promise (nothing ever is).

We had a great family trip and would recommend the hotel. [Details]

The resort was very nice. Super friendly staff and nice clean surroundings. The food was pretty good. Standard buffet, ok Italian rest. Good seafood rest. And great Japanese restaurant, which was the best one! One downfall was that we felt a lot of pressure to sit in on the 70min. Sales pitch for timeshare opportunity right when we got there. The evening entertainment was awful, very amateur except the fiesta night where they brought in a group and they were good! Otherwise, nice resort! [Details]

Excellent Hotel with very personable staff. [Details]

Puerto Vallarta
NOW AMBER PUERTO VALLARTA RESORT AND SPA [Details]

Beautiful hotel!! As the price reflects.

Unfortunately they try to suck you into a time share presentation as you are checking in. They claim it isn't a time share but its a time share presentation no matter how they put it. We were explicit in stating we were not interested in a time share but they insisted it wasn't to try and get us in the door. We walked out after 15 min of BS as it had affiliation with two major timeshare companies. It was a great disappointment to watch the leaches of the timeshare companies filling the lobby of the hotel and preying on the innocent patrons of the hotel through out the week.

Other than the timeshare issues the hotel is very nice. The beach is rocky but fair enough for sun tanning on. The rooms were well above average and the food was spectacular for an all inclusive. Now has made a good job of taking the annoying parts of all inclusive out of the picture. IE - no wrist bands, no signing up for al a carts (just walk in). The service was great - maids didn't wake you up in the morning as they didn't start room cleaning till late afternoon (3pm) and they had waiters out at the pool, bar, lobby and beach to serve you. The Drink selection was good but they seemed to use cheap mix for cocktails so it made an off taste. They had Budweiser in the Japanese restaurant but everywhere else you had to drink the corona which wasn't as good - not like at home.

The other perk is it is connected to secrets the sister hotel and you get to use its amenities too - But they are basically identical hotels so not a great perk - just no kids over there.

I would highly recommend the hotel but avoid the time share crew and tell them where to go if they talk to you - nobody needs that headache. [Details]

Great resort, great food, beautiful site [Details]

Fantastic resort, kids club is top notch. Food and service is excellent , will be returning with my family. [Details]

Excellent hotel overall
Beautiful setting
Excellent quality [Details]

Our second visit to the Now Amber (first in Jan 2013) was even better than the first (maybe because we extended the length of our trip to 10 days this time!!) Rooms are incredible...service GREAT... food FANTASTIC...entertainment was really good if you choose to take it in... and it was sunny every day!! Do yourself a favor and if you are staying in Puerta Vallarta, stay at the NOW AMBER!!! [Details]

We travelled with our 6 year old and 4 year old and had a wonderful time. This hotel is beautiful. The rooms were clean and very comfortable. Service overall was excellent. Food was very good. (Just wished they had their kids menu in all the a la carte restaurants). Kids club was great. It was difficult to get our kids out of there. [Details]

We stayed at the now amber. It is exactly like the secrets only secrets is all adults. We used the pool and beach at the secrets part and it was terrific. The pools are warm and always lots of Lou gets and shade. The staff are unreal and constantly come to ask if you want food or drinks. Very attentive and helpful. The beach is small but sand is nice. You can't walk far maybe 10 or 15 minutes each way. The waves can be rough and my wife got tumbled twice so if you go in you need shoes and pay close attention to the surf. The water is warm although after a rain storm the water was brown and dirty from the sewer.
The rooms are great all with views of the sunset and beach. Well appointed and clean with all the amenities. The food really is first rate. You can choose from 6 or 7 restaurants with no crazy reservation system like other resorts. We never waited. There is a silly dress code. You need shoes and long pants and collared shirts on some of the restaurants. Be prepared. The Internet is very poor in the rooms. If you need to connect you have to go to the lobby.
The resort is great for adults and also families with kids and I would definitely recommend it and stay there again. [Details]

We had an awesome time here. We celebrated my birthday and my husbands 60th while we were there. When we first got to our room there was a banner on the door wishing us a happy birthday and when we went into the room there were balloons every where and a lovely cake and a bottle of champagne . The staff were fantastic and very friendly . [Details]

I traveled with my family - me my wife and two kids (1 and 3.5) enjoyed our stay at the Now Amber. The rooms are very nice, clean and new, with LCD TV and ocean view. Resort have 4 pools in main resort and two pools in the Secret side(for adults only)plus swim-out pools, beach is quiet and we could always find a nice spot with a shade and nice view. The food is very-very good; each restaurants(7 in total) have their own unique specialty dish and appetizers. The kids club is amazing with different programs for kids every day and all staff is very friendly. The babysitter has been always available with a short notice for our 1-year old so we can enjoy the evenings. We have a grate time. I very recommend this resort to any one. [Details]

I have gone to the NOW resort in the Domincan Republic and it was amazing so we decided to try th NOW Amber and were greatly disappointed. There was a wedding one night that had a DJ. The music was loud and kept us awake and we had to get up early.
All the excursions you have to get yourself there. You need to taxi or city bus it everywhere.
We waited at least 20 minutes to get a drink each time if they came back at all.
We upgraded our room and they told us the price. They told us after we moved and had paid that they made a mistake and we owed $40 and needed to bring it down right away. They should have absorbed this for their mistake.
Maids cleaning the room was late in the afternoon. We were told it is their policy that the maids are not allowed to do anything special in your room like fold the towels into swans.
The food was often cold but the specialty restaurants were good. Twice we were late getting back to the resort and we could not get into any restaurants at 5pm. We were told we could only go to our room and get room service.
The beach is small rocks and big rocks under the water. Very hard on the feet. The beach is also very small.
The internet access is all over and you need to constantly change networks as you walk around. The wi-fi for Skype is not good. Not faster enough for a clear picture.
Dirty dishes were left in the hallways for sometimes 2 days. At least 12 hours every time we saw them. [Details]

Newer hotel. Beautiful rooms and facilities. Food and Staff excellent. Beach not so good, sand and water full of rocks. Not much they can do about that. Close to town and Malecon. [Details]