Marival Distinct Residences And Spa

This property was lovely. The staff were friendly and the drinks were amazing. I would recommend this for families as long as you are aware it is not beach front. The gate to the beach was locked and the code did not work. you have to go to Marival to get beach front. [Details]

This was our second trip to the Marival Residences and will not be our last, from the spacious suites to the attention to detail from all staff this is definitely a winning hotel. [Details]

This is a first class, all inclusive, boutique experience. There is everything one could hope for on a vacation and more. This is the most civilized all-inclusive vacation we have ever had. We would definately return...the food and service are second to none. [Details]

This is the second time at the resort and was everything as expected. Service, food and accomodations were top notch. The resort never felt crowded and never had trouble with beach/pool chairs or umbrellas. All staff really were wonderful! [Details]

Amazing week, great rooms, friendly staff [Details]

From check in to check out, what amazing first experience in Mexico. Impeccable service & huge rooms. A small resort with a very intimate feel. The resort is new and modern, the restaurants are all a la carte and we never waited more than a minute to be seated. Every staff member deserves thanks for our great stay - Special mention to Fernando who helped make my wifes birthday memorable, to Francesco at the beach club and Ricardo at the pool who looked after us for drinks and lunch. Special mention to Carlos who arranged our excursions and spa day and of course, Laurence who, among other points of interest told us about the Thursday Art Walk in Bucerias - Awesome!. You can tell that everyone who works there truly loves where they work and cares about their customers. Thank you for the great stay and we can't wait to go back. [Details]

There were 3 of us and one which was a child. The cons outweighed the pros for us, which is why I went down a star from 4 and wouldn't go back. We had a very nice trip and the resort is very nice. We made the best of our time to enjoy ourselves and try to let go of the downsides. The resort is very small and compact. We were in the middle building with a lovely ocean view and on the 5th floor. Had a 1 bedroom suite. The one bedroom we booked with itravel was not what we got. We were to have 2 bathrooms. So next morning after arrival we stopped at front desk to ask why we don't have the room we booked and paid for. They stated and lied to us that all the 1 bedrooms are the same and only have 1 bath and we must have been mistaken. So we left it be and really shoud have contacted the westjet rep to deal with on our behalf and double check. Since being home and checking facebook and other reviews on trip advisor, I see what they told us was not true and I am po'd. It's not a cheap resort to stay at and frankly we overpaid then for what we got. We have 6 days after traveling to enjoy our trip, to not want to deal with this crap and worry about moving rooms and wasting our precious time. They lied to us and we didn't get what paid for. Very poorly handled and run. I will comment on the pros vs. the cons in our opinion. Depending on what you want out of a trip, or what you are used to with an all-inclusive, this one is quite different from the normal, which we found had positives and also negatives. I believe this resort is focused more on ownership(which is very expensive in US dollars and something I wouldn't do for only getting your suite for 4 months of the year) or timeshare or letting people into the resort to eat at restaurants and pay for their meal, although not staying there.
Pros:
1. Quiet and low key. Even with a child, I enjoy relaxation and not kids everywhere. Appreciate a resort that doesn't have the loud blaring music around the pool, water activities, people everywhere and party atmosphere. So this resort provides that nice atmosphere of quiet and calm. The pool is quite small and no deep area, which is good for kids and no big pool games. It is very small though.
2. Rooms were very quiet and didn't hear people next door, below or above. Appointed well.
3. Food is good. The quality was above the normal.
4. Always towels for the pool available. There are no cards or worries about loosing your towel to be charged for it, you just help yourself and they replensih all day long on every chair.
5. Nice all-inclusive bracelets that you could take off if need be and were not plastic to rub your skin. Really good for kids as my daughter hates those plastic ones and they sharp edges can really cut or irritate, so that was a nice touch to have a 'mexican style' braided one.
6. Our all-inclusive package included some activity trips and the only option with a 5 year old was the dolphins, so we did that and was great. Essentially we already paid for it in our package price, but nice you feel you are getting it for free and just book it and not have to pay for anything other then your cab there and back for these excursions.
Cons:
1. No beach on site. I enjoy a resort where you can just walk down to the sand and beach and enjoy that if you choose, or spend time at the pool. To see the water and sand and be near it is more appealing to me when getting away to Mexico from the prairies of Alberta, then just being in a resort, with no access on site. Riding the golf cart down to the sister resort just to do the beach wasn't a huge deal, but inconvenient and if you forget something, it's not just a walk back to your room, its a bunch of wasted time. The service they say they provide for our vip area on the beach was bad. Next to no servers and we never got a drink ordered till couple hours after we arrived and were packing up to go back to our resort.
2. The 1 bedroom suite has no blackout curtains in main area, although they have a pull out bed, which we used. So when the sun is out by 7am, you are awake with a full bright room. Makes no sense to us why you have a sleep area, with no way to keep the light out. The pull out bed is VERY soft and springy. The bed in the bedroom was hard as a rock - doesn't move when you sit down on it getting in.
3. Service was very inconsistent and was very disappointing. People constantly tipping got service, but they didn't even give us a chance at times. Just trying to get drinks at the pool some days was ridiculous, so I would go over to the bar by the pool and order a drink, then either someone would take my order and ask my room number(which you are asked for all the time for EVERYTHING, even getting out of a cab coming back to the resort?) and either say we'll come bring it to you, or other times I stood there waiting for it. So make up your mind how you are running this area and either serve or not. I even went into the lobby bar on other side of pool bar and ordered my own drinks and there was one bartender guy in there that didn't seem to like to be too busy with server's orders and my couple drinks added in and so he seemed annoyed and I'm like I don't really care. And we tipped a lot, which frankly got annoying - burned through the cash for these people, and more then half the time they didn't deserve it. I will not make that mistake again. Watch our for Ivan around the pool - he's a two-faced guy who is full of himself and treated people like he's god and will serve you if he feels like it. He was full of crap. As well, hit and miss with the cart that comes around with magazines and sunscreen - couple days saw a guy once and then not again. Either do it every day and be there or just don't offer the service then.
4. Biggest issue for us was the constant waiting for your food. There is no buffet and no way to grab a snack. With a child that is very tiring and annoying. You have to order everything and wait. One day we waited over 2 hours for my daugher to get her grilled cheese sandwich!! Yep, just a grilled cheease I could whip up at home in 5 mins! I would say it's supper when we went for our last meal of day and that its getting late for my daughter to get to bed, so we want to order right away and we can't sit here for 2 hours. Sometimes it worked and other times not. I enjoy a good quality buffet with options to eat at good a la cartes - so this was not what I expected.
5. The breakfast menus are the same at both places you can eat and are the same EVERY DAY. Same with lunch - same options. The only change in food will be at supper time at the pool area - so be prepared to look and see what items to eat again or try new, as it's limited. You can go to the sister resort, but avoid wasting your time at that buffet - it was like a cafeteria and nuts like cattle jam packed into a small area - terrible. Food was gross!! Worst I have ever seen - atmosphere, food qaulity, everything. The 2 a la cartes we did do at sister resort were just ok. Mexican was nice, but service was slow and took too long, that we ordered dessert and ended up leaving as it was getting late for my daughter and the waitress didn't even come around. All the waiting, got very tiring.
6. Since all menus have prices in pesos and it's hard to tell how this is all set up, we didn't think the 10% gratuity applied to all-inclusive guest for room service. We thought it was part of the european plan, etc. So when we checked out, we got stung with a bill and plus we had tipped the guys that brought the food to our room and again when we had them come back and take away the dishes! Crazy what we ended up paying to eat breakfast in our room 2 times. Very disappointing and not clear in our opinion. I was not very happy.
7. For a 5* resort and all focused on service(which as I said already is very hit and miss) they should just offer free internet. What a pain to ride that golf cart to the sister resort to use the business center and crappy computers with limited hours. As I didn't want to pay for a full day of internet, so the laptop stayed locked away. We stayed at the Barcelo in Los Cabos last Fall and their rooms are 'smart' and you have the internet right on the tv to access in your room whenever you need to and not have to haul a laptop along. That is the way to provide service to your guests.
8. The bathrooms. No hooks or towel bars, so funny they have the sign saying to reuse your towel, but I ask where do 3 of us put our towels to know whose towel is whose? Not enough room on the glass partition for the shower to just hang over to have them dry. Stupid really. And there is no counter space with only 1 sink and so all our 'stuff' was out on the ledge in the main room. And we used the kitchen area to be able to get ready at same time. No bathtubs either - just a shower. Which is fine for me, but I have had lovely rooms with a jetted tub and shower, with dual sinks and plenty of counter space and shelves below at a 5* resort, so this was lacking for a bathroom - very small.
Other points to note:
The best service we did have was at the tapas restuarant on the rooftop. Best service by far and they were very prompt. All the rest should be trained up there before going elsewhere and see how these guys did it. The food was great as well. The guys at the front of resort (bell boys or whatever they are called) were also very nice and quick to get you into the golf cart and transfer you, or get a cab and help you out. Treated my daugher very nice. The concierge was good to deal with as well and got business done. They are very busy at those 2 desks attending to all the guests needs. There is no beer in your room, but you can call concierge and order what you want brought to your room. If you are concerned about your pillow, you can get a different pillow - we didn't bother with it, but they do offer you a switch if need be. The rooms are nice and cleaned well - at least they change out towels and beds daily, but never one time left enough hand or face towels - so I called a lot for more. The cleaning is more superficial, as I dropped something under the sink vanity and was very dusty, so would hate to drop something under the bed - yuck. As well you could see the dust on the upper side of the glass hood fan in kitchen area. There are showers in the bathroom by the pool, which I had never seen before, so you can spend some time on your last day at the pool and then get cleaned up as you'll be out of your room early. They of course didn't have a hospitality suite available - which I am sure is the case always. The downside to these showers is that the water is cold....my daughter and I both had to endure freezing cold showers when getting cleaned up. Oh well. We will definately go elsewhere and get more out of a 5* resort then this. I am a bit surprised they are ranked #1 on trip advisor for this area or whatever their status is, but it really depends I guess on what kind of vacation your want and what you want out of an all-inclusive. [Details]

I traveled alone with my 12 & 14 year old daughters for spring break vacation. The resort is close to the airport, so no long drive to get there once your flight lands. The resort is about a year old, very clean and tastefully apointed. The suites are like having your own home for your stay. We opted for the roof top pool, but the girls wanted to be more social and use the main pool. The food is amazing and if you enjoy culinary excellence, look no further! The staff at Omaggio is amazing too. Lemon Grass food is very good, but service is strangely off. House keeping was unpredictable, often not stocking up towels except for one! Details cleaning the room not consistant. And the water in the shower never got hot. The beach is a ride away at the sister resort, but the quality of the beach club is good. I wish they would have stopped the beach vendors from harrassing though. Free excursions yes, but pay for your own ride to and from the place and book early to ensure you don't miss out. Spa has lovely atmosphere, but my daughter's manicure was unfinished. Other daughter enjoyed massage. Roof top bar has great atmosphere and lovely tapas. Staff are lots of fun!
And if you want internet, it's 180 pesos a day for wifi in your room. Yikes!
I think they're on the right track but need to work on staff training. [Details]

Fabulous resort with excellent food and great staff. [Details]

Great place from beginning to end. It will not disappoint! [Details]

We have travelled extensively to many 5 star hotels. We really liked the Marival Residences. The rooms were fantastic. We had a one bedroom, 2 bathroom, 1400 square foot condo suite. We actually enjoyed having our own washer & dryer. The service was excellent 95% of the time. During our 7 day stay, they twice misplaced our food order and had to put the order in again which made for longer lunches. We were on holidays and the food was really good so we didn't mind. The drinks were delicious and refilled quickly. The 6 free tours offered are excellent. We did the sea lions, the dolphins, the day boat cruise and the sunset sailing tour. The best tour was the sealions. We loved the hotel & the staff, especially Francisco & Ernesto at the beach and Raphael at Omaggio's. [Details]

This was our first time at the Marival Residences but hopefully not the last.
What a wonderful treat it is to stay here. From the moment you check in to the time you leave you are treated by a caring and friendly staff who are only to happy to help you enjoy your stay.

The suites and the the on site areas are truly 1st. rate. The food at all the restaurants was very good. [Details]

The hotel is quiet and small, but has everything you need for a relaxing enjoyable vacation. Rooms are beautiful and big, well decorated. The service from all the staff is understated but effective and timely.
The whole resort for that matter is minimalist, but gorgeous. If you are looking for action, this is not your resort. If you are looking for classy, elegant, relaxing and quiet - then it is perfect. No line ups, no gross buffets, just nice restaurants and good food.
Benefits are the all inclusive babysitting, excursions, and a la cart menus/drinks.
Well worth it and I would not hesitate to recommend or go back myself! [Details]