I just came back from the mayan palace at the marina. the hotel was lovely and room was very nice. Thought the king size bed was comfy but my 2 children 20,21 said the sleep sofa that was like a trundle bed was very uncomfortable. The people were all very friendly EXCEPT the time share people. They are like vulgers and after you do the 90 min presentation and think you are through, you end up seeing 3 more before you get your gifts. They offer everyone something different, we got 4 tickets to a city tour which would have been wonderful except it rained for 7 days and 7 nights. Never saw the sun. We were told this was the start of the rainly season, so I do not advise you go from June to September. I was told it lasts 3 months. The water at the beach looked dark , gloomy and not clean. I would not go in and did not see many in there. As an RCI member they tell you that you can go to Neuvo Vallarta Mayan palace and use their facilities but not at the Grand Mayan. We did go, it was 20.00 each way by taxi. The grounds are more beautiful and pool was much larger but did not have a bar in the pool like at the marina. We took a walk over to the grand mayan and snuck into their lazy man river which was spectacular. There is a wave pool that is under construction right now. We ate at the snack bar during the day and their buffet breakfast we had during timeshare preview was wonderful. Do not go to the seafood buffet, much too much money and food was not that great. I think our vacation would have been much better if weather had been better, but walking through puddles constantly doesnt make me want to go back. The rhythm of the night was a wonderful excurtion that I reccommend. Do not exchange your money at front desk, they give you much less than even the OXXY across the street!

We traded in our timeshare this year and booked this through RCI. I was well prepared for their high pressure "welcome breakfast" and firmly told the lady on check-in that we were on vacation and had absolutely no interest in buying one of their timeshares. That's all there was to it. They left my family alone for the rest of the week.

The property is really nice. We stayed in a one-room suite on the 5th floor of the main building and loved the room. The only drawback in my opinion is that the bed in the master bedroom is really hard. I can pretty much sleep on anything, but it did bother my wife.

We really enjoyed the pool and beach area - just gorgeous! We did not eat a single meal on the property, so I can't tell you what the food is like. The mojitos at the lobby bar are great and happy hour from 7-8 has 2 for 1 drinks. My sons enjoyed going to the disco/sports bar to play pool, but they kick out all kids at 9 PM, so be ready - the security guards make their rounds at exactly 9!

Though we did several excursions this week, we did not book through the Mayan, so I can't tell you how that works. The only other complaint I have is the distance from Nuevo Vallarta to Puerto Vallarta, though that's not the hotel's fault. Next time we go, we will definitely stay closer to downtown so we don't have to deal with the buses or taxis as much.

Stay away from the Time Share presentation!! My family and I used an RCI exchange to stay at this resort last week and while the resort itself is decent, has an OK pool - needs resurfacing, lovely grounds and the wait/maid staff are incredibly friendly, the salespeople at the timeshare presentation are OVERBOARD. We were genuinely interested in what they had to offer since our growing family could use to upgrade from our Fiesta American Cabo studio to a one-bedroom sized unit. We decided to hear what they had to say and thought since we are staying at the resort and had to eat breakfast why not see what they offer. The bottom line is that they use a "Used Car Sales" method of sales. Stretching the truth would be an understatement for what came out of their mouths. The resort is not as nice as others, they will tell you how much more trading power they carry compared to other resorts using RCI, IT and SF Exchange etc. It took us 4, yes 4, sales people to get out of the presentation. The lies were unbelievable all the way through to the last guy where we were told he was just a "developer agent" there to "check us out and make sure we were treated with respect". Are you kidding? The last guy was "willing" to give us one week for $2,500. Yet another sales member. The resort is fair at best. Our vacation was not ruined but I will not go back to one of the Mayan owned resorts.
BTW on the last day after checking out we tried to go to one of the restaurants for breakfast and were told that children are not allowed for breakfast because the salespeople are using the restaurant for prospective owners. There are many really quality resorts and timeshare programs out there....stay away from Mayan properties and enjoy the true beauty of Mexico.

We just got back. I can say that this property is in a very nice location. Close to down town and to the marina.
There is a new resturant that just open across the street. Really good food and cheap. Next to the OXOX.
The people at the resort will do anything for you. The activities are great for the kids and the food is good to. We were in the building next to the pool which was nice to see the cruise ships come in and leave at night. Aslo seeing the fireworks go off at night was like having 4th of July every night. I have nothing to say but positive things. We also do the zip lines which was fun and we also did the last day of the whale watching tour.
I would suggest enjoy your self and get to know the people and the locals around the area. They know where to eat!