Grand Matlali Suites & Villas Riviera Nayarit — Hotel in Nayarit

My husband and I chose this resort because we wanted peace and quiet in a nature setting with excellent food to celebrate our anniversary. This was a lot of money for us to pay but we splurged for our special celebration. Instead we got a SUPER NOISY resort, less than average food, and barely could enjoy the private pool we paid lots for because of the noise and mediocre customer service from management. ||I don't know where this resort got their 4 diamonds rating but they must have paid for it on the black market or something. And I don't know where they get all those positive reviews (probably all accounts or AI that belong to the resort). This place is a 3-star at best. They don't do proper maintenance of their rooms. The first room they gave us had no handle on the bedroom door and the ACs were not working at all. Took 2 hours for them to give us another room. The 2nd room, the AC in the bedroom barely worked but we had no choice as apparently there were no other rooms available. While we waited and were obviously upset, nobody offered to give us a drink or anything. They have ZERO knowledge of customer service and how to take care of clients. ||The AC remote didn't work so we were not able to turn off the display light so we had to sleep with this bright light over the room. Next day maintenance came and couldn't figure it out so they put black duck tape on top of the display light. ||We had a beautiful balcony overlooking the ocean and the forest with a private pool and where we could see the sunrise but we didn't enjoy it because EVERY morning the gardener was out there at 7am with a super loud leaves blower. One day it went on for 4 HOURS!!!! It was so loud that we had to stay inside. That was absolutely devastating to us. We complained and asked for it to stop but nothing happened.||And at night, they have a bar outside with super boom boom loud music until 1am. So we didn't get the rest and relaxation we were looking for at all.||The food was the food of a 3 star resort at best. There was absolutely nothing special. The nachos came with that orange liquid disgusting unhealthy cheese. The hamburgers were made with frozen patties like the ones from Costco. The chicken was super dry and recycled in different sauces. The scallop potatoes were not cooked. The fish they offered was Tilapia which is the worst fish ever. And one night they even had the audacity to put on the sign that it was salmon. Do they think people are stupid? The only meal that was decent was breakfast because we could get our own omelette but the rest of the choices were ordinary. There wasn't even a station to make toasts or bagels. They didn't even know how to make French toast properly. One night it was a la carte Oriental. What a joke. First it was a tiny little salad with cold green beans and 1 piece of broccoli. Then what was supposed to be a Miso soup with spaghetti noodles all stuck together in a broth that had no taste with pieces of the disgusting dry chicken. Then there were 2 choices of meal (chicken Teriyaki - 2 pieces of dry chicken with a coleslaw salad with greasy uncooked pieces of bacon OR tuna with rice) the tuna was okay but the pieces were super tiny. There was only 1 kind of desert and it was gelatine. Mexican night had the same recycled chicken and fish in different sauces with the same vegetables, same potatoes and fried plantain. It's a good thing there was birria left over from the breakfast that morning otherwise I would not have been able to eat. The buns were always hard and not fresh. Etc.....||I think you get the gist that this was not gourmet food expected in a 4 diamonds resort. So that was a huge disappointment.||The 2nd day, my husband goes to the bar to get a gin/tonic and a bloody ceasar to bring back to the room and was told there was no tonic and no vodka. That's it. Goodbye. The bartender didn't offer for him to wait while he goes to replenish his supplies or call someone to bring him tonic and Vodka. He just said we're out. ||We complained and complained. We wanted to leave the first morning and go somewhere else but they said they couldn't do a credit on the card right away and couldn't give us cash so it would take 5-10 days. Obviously we didn't trust them to ever refund us so we felt trapped and had to stay. One time the manager Carlos I think called and we asked again to leave and get a refund and he refused. After that we never heard from him or seen him. NOBODY cared about us as customers having the worse experience on our anniversary. They have done NOTHING to help us to make things better. ||We are angry and sad that we spent all this money for nothing. We could have stayed home and gone out to eat delicious food every night in restaurants and it would have cost a third of what we spent on that ridiculous resort.||And if this resort was even a tiny bit decent, they would offer a partial refund for all the inconvenience. They absolutely don't deserve to have 4 diamonds. ...

Just returned from 9 nights at the Grand Sirenis Matlali Hills. We enjoyed ourselves and have the following comments: PROS-- Rooms were great! We somehow got upgraded to a villa at check-in and it was fabulous--3 bedrooms, 3 1/2 bathrooms, full kitchen, plunge pool on patio, etc. We wished we had invited relatives along to enjoy it! In conversation with other guests, most indicated their rooms were "better, newer and larger" than other hotels they have stayed at. Entertainment was low-key but of high quality. Rock Band evenings played a great mix, Mariachi nights had very professional groups, etc. During the day they often had games and/or Bingo around the lower pools area. Food was good to excellent and for the evening meals in the a la carte restaurants, you were able to make reservations for a couple of days ahead all at once. Buffets always had something that was available cooked to order. Our favorite restaurants were the Italian and the Japanese... Beach Club--this was the first time we had stayed at a resort in Mexico that was not right on the beach. The shuttle took you from the front gates of the hotel through La Cruz to their Beach Club, beside the marina. You could ask the driver to let you off along the way if you wanted to explore the town. At the Beach Club there was a bar and buffet. You could relax in a lounge chair, play beach volleyball, walk next door to the lovely marina or the other way for quite a long walk down the beach past typical Mexican beach village areas. Look in the clump of trees near the marina taxi stand to see iguanas--some are over 6 feet long... Off-site activities. If you came down on a air/hotel vacation package your tour company had a representative at the hotel usually every morning or afternoon to assist you and help with booking local tours or events. The concierge at the front desk could call you a cab to go wherever you wanted and give you the approximate cost. There was also a Taxi stand at the marina with posted prices if you wanted to take a cab to explore nearby towns or go into Puerto Vallarta, or you could hop on a local bus. If you book some local trips through Vallarta Adventures' website ahead of time you will save 15%. Taxi from/to the hotel to Vallarta Adventures is 220 pesos each way.

CONS-- The hotel is a large complex spread out on the hillside above La Cruz de Huanacaxtle. It is quite beautiful but there are some steep roadways, sidewalks and stairs. The new towers and junior suites are near the top end of the complex, while the majority of the restaurants (also brand new) are down the hill. IF YOU HAVE MOBILITY ISSUES THIS IS NOT THE RESORT FOR YOU. I heard a number of people say they discovered they were obviously not in as good shape as they had imagined. The staff was very friendly and helpful and went out of their way to be accommodating. The two new towers at the top end of the resort had only opened just before Christmas and were immediately pretty much booked to capacity. However the hotel was apparently having difficulty finding the extra staff needed. So it obvious they were running pretty lean, staff-wise, at the time. Hopefully that will be resolved with time. You are in Mexico. So enjoy the friendly people, warmth, sunshine and RELAX. Like travels anywhere, not everything is always going to be perfect. So don't sweat the small stuff! Don't spoil someone else's day just because your room wasn't made up the instant you left for breakfast. Don't expect a golf cart will be there at your beck and call to personally take you wherever you want to go around the resort. And don't--like one Brit I overheard--complain on and on because he couldn't find anywhere to get more beer at 3:00 in the morning...

BOTTOM LINE-- Everyone I talked to said they were enjoying themselves--they liked the hotel, liked the beach bar, etc. They had fun exploring La Cruz, enjoyed just relaxing. Good choice of music and food. And, away from the highways and towns, it's very...

Me and three friends just returned from a 10 day stay at Matlali Resort. I have a Club Membership.. I want to share our experience with others, so that they have a true sense of the place. So here goes..... Reservations: I booked two Club Rooms, each with two queen beds. Two of us arrived a day late (due to weather complications) but two arrived on time. When they got there, instead of the rooms I reserved, what had been booked were two standard rooms, each with a king size bed only. The staff did fix the problem as promptly as they could (which turned out to be the next day), but still, it should not have happened.. I also pre-booked our pickup at the PV airport on our arrival. When I got the reservation confirmation, it read pick-up at Cancun airport. Double check every reservation. The Resort: The resort is beautiful. It is clean and there was no litter to be seen. The maintenance and grounds workers are up every morning making sure the site was immaculate. The landscaping is breathtaking. The public washrooms were very clean, both at the resort and at the beach club. Our housekeepers did a great job every day of keeping our room tidy. Everyone works hard at their jobs. Cheers to them! Food: We had mixed feelings about the food. The food in the restaurants was, for the most part, good. However, the food in the buffet was not so good. I did not try the buffet mussels, but two of my friends did. They both spit out the first mouthful. That pretty much sums it up. We ate twice at the Italian Restaurant. The first night was wonderful, which is what inspired us to go back. The second time was horrible!! The service was exceptionally slow (the restaurant was not busy). Of the four meals ordered, two were wrong and mine was cold. What we learned from this was, unfortunately, that there is no consistency in the service or food provided in the Restaurants. An exception to this was the morning buffet. It was consistently good. Of note also was that we found most of the food to be mildly to extremely salty. Especially salty was the meat. Hygiene: This is a big one and not to be missed. I do not know what the food handling standards are in Mexico, but I suspect it is not well monitored at this resort. In the breakfast serving alone we noted at least three major violations. We saw staff mixing big bowls of fruit with their bare hands, big bowls of cheese with their bare hands, and omelletes being served only partially cooked. Two of us took part in a Mojhito making class at the poolside bar. There were six of us all together. When the bartender finished making the mojhito, he passed the glass around for us to sample from. Six of us shared the same glass! A big hygiene violation. On our second to last day at the resort, myself and my friends all became ill with vomiting and diarrhea. We all got sick within 24 hours of eachother. One of my friends with us is a physician, and feels it was likely food borne. We went off the resort 24 hours prior to us getting sick and ate at another place, so it is possible that we picked up something at another beach. However, given the violations mentioned, it is fair to think that the lack Food Handling Standards at Matlali may have contributed to our illness. Final thoughts: 1) I would return to Matlali Restort, but I would be very cautious about food consumption. 2)The Customer Service was amazing, everyone was kind and helpful. It is not a flat resort, so if you want to walk, but have a disability, it may be difficult to do. However, the staff is wonderful about getting people rides around the resort, so in that way it is accessible. 3) Do not consume the ice or water. Large bottles of water are provided to guests for a reason. Use it. 5) Don't be afraid to explore. We used taxis (there is a price list at the front desk) to go to other towns. It is cheap and reliable. 6) The alcohol is very watered down. If you are a member, you will have bottles in your room. Bring one to the bar with you to add...