I had the utmost joy staying at this property as a wedding planner for an on-site client event inJanuary. I doubt I’ll do it justice with this review, but I’ll try my best.

First, let’s talk service. Our stay started with a fantastic welcome including a mini massage and freshjuice. A friendly bellman whisked us up to our room, where we found beautifully clean and comfortableaccommodations, including a patio with lush bougainvillea spilling over the balcony. The bed wascomfortable, and each night at turn down the staff placed robes and slippers at the bed. Everyonewho is working here seems happy to be employed by Grand Velas, and eager to be of service. Neverat any time did I pass a staff member without being acknowledged and welcomed with an offer ofservice. An in-room coffee station was stocked with a Nespresso machine and pods, and complimentarybottles of Carminere and Mezcal were placed on the counters. The snack bar was full of tasty snackslike M&Ms and chips, and the refrigerator was full of chilled bottled waters and beers. Anything weconsumed was promptly refilled each day.

Continuing with food, the dining scene is top notch. The restaurants at Grand Velas are so fantastic, Iforgot I was staying at an all-inclusive resort. The Italian restaurant, Lucca, was a particular joy. Thefood was extremely fresh and delicately prepared, and the all-inclusive wine list was full of excellentoptions from around the world. Servers checked up frequently without being intrusive to the diningexperience.

But let’s remember, I was here for work, not for a vacation! My clients wed at the Grand Velas inJanuary 2019. I have had many different experiences with weddings outside the US, and I typicallyfear the worst when it comes to coordination. I’ve had a wedding in Mexico where the venuecoordinator changed 5 times in less than a year. You read that right: 5 times. It made my role as anindependent planner more valuable, but it also made the entire process a headache for the poorclients. To my utter surprise, there was NONE of this nonsense at Grand Velas. This resort’s eventsdepartment is being run as seamlessly as you’d expect from any 5-star resort.

Throughout the planning process, we had a consistent and very talented gem of a weddingcoordinator named Andrea. Andrea is extremely helpful, detail-oriented and communicative. She isthe rare type of hospitality individual who cares personally about everything she touches, and sheworked very hard to get every detail just right. Andrea’s team was supportive and friendly; there wasnever anything we asked for that they didn’t do their very best to accommodate. They handled acomplex 4 days of celebrations with grace and professionalism, and it was a joy to see everythingcome together so beautifully.

It was a pleasure to work with the Grand Velas team to execute my clients’ wedding and to enjoysome vacation perks while there. I have stayed at several other properties in Puerto Vallarta, but theGrand Velas would be my top recommendation for a beautiful luxury wedding in the area.