Overall this a an average to below average property. It is mostly time share. The grounds are well kept, but the buildings show a lack of maintenance. There were large structural cracks in our building and the exterior paint was not kept up. The rooms were spacious and clean, but our phone never worked despite their maintenance efforts. Both the exterior door and the door to our suite looked as if someone had attempted to pry off the door casement molding to break in and the repair was poorly done. There was only one small elevator for two attached buildings and it was not enough.

We found the food to be very average and ate most of our meals in the room or out. The kitchen facilities in the room were sparse compared to other properties we've stayed at in the area.

The pool chairs and palapas on the beach are inadequate for the number of rooms, so you have the normal problem of trying to reserve a chair. There are palm trees around th pool, but no umbrellas, so it can be hard to find shade.

The recommend the walk down the beach to the nearest town and this was enlightening. The beach was completely covered with trash and plastic bottles most of the way, probably washed down the streams from the nightly rains. Several of the creeks we crossed were carrying raw sewage directly into the ocean, which should give a pause to people who spend a lot of time in the ocean in this area.

The PDS Grand is a nice smaller resort. Pool isn't terribly large for number of rooms. Pool bar is very small and can't accommodate 'happy hour' easily. Our room (7301) was great! not quite high enough to see over the palms, but could see through them nicely to the beach and pool and beautifully manicured grounds/ponds. Food at pool bar was decent. Cardinelli's food was average and VERY slow. We didn't eat at the Palm Terrace except for the free Time Share Upgrade breakfast. Service there, too, was terribly slow. Desk Staff (Francisco), Bellmen (Trinidad), and concierge (Yuli) were great! Excellent service and response to maintenance needs (small bugs in bathroom). Air conditioner was noisy as was ceiling fan, a minor inconvenience. The road into the resort is TRASHED! There's a new resort next door that just opened, I think the constuction traffic was the reason. The 'vendors' are enough to drive you crazy on the beach and at the pool's edge. We got so tire of saying 'No, gracias'. It was unreal. Everything from Timeshares, Silver, Tshirts, to chicklets. We didn't spend much time at the 'resort', but went into Puerto Vallarta or Bucerias via cab. Even in both of those places, 'vendors' are like sharks. They allow them in the restaurants. We took cabs everywhere, got kind of expensive as it was $25 to PTO Vallarta and $15 to Bucerias. Over all the resort is very nice, clean, and well kept. I would visit again, but would wait until more resorts/attractions are built up closer to Nuevo Vallarta.

When i first arrived i thought the place was beautiful. The lobby and the pool area were really nice, i was very excited to see our room. Which unfortunatly was a major dissapointment. It smelled musty and was very outdated, it looked like it hadnt been updated in about five years or so. If they did some remodeling and maybe some fresh paint and new decor, new appliances and something to get rid of the smell I would consider going back. The staff was friendly and very quick to take care of anything you needed. There were alot of activities and the pool itself was the nicest i saw. I just kept finding myself wanting to be somewhere else. We actually ended up taking a tour of the Villa del Palmer next door, and i wished so badly we had stayed there. that place is beautiful and the rooms are definitly kept up to date.

My guests and I arrived into Puerto Vallarta and were immediately bombarded by a barrage of time-share pimps. WOW! Since we were not in the market for a time-share (we were guests of a time-share owner), we told them NO a few hundred times and were finally able to walk out the door to our -- ummm, barrage of taxis. The taxi cab ride was $36 USD.

The resort is beautiful. We were greeted by a valet and a time-share agent. We checked in and were given complimentary drinks -- no alcohol included. They did offer to put some tequila in our drinks, but we declined. We explained that we were not interested in buying a timeshare and attending the presentation, although they offered 15% off of everything if we did. eh, not interested in the hassle. The only hassle - there is construction going on next door to the 3 series building. And the construction workers don't understand the concept of working 9 - 5. They worked from 6 AM - 11 PM. Very disturbing and the front desk can't stop it. Ask to move to another room if you're in this building, or don't sleep in the master bedroom.

We unfortunately came during the rainy season, so every day it rained for short periods of time. Well, that was until the Friday before we were leaving. We thank Hurricane Ike for that. But the rain did cool things down as it was amazingly HOT!

The food was delicious but the drinks were lacking. They were very watered down and they tasted different than similar drinks here in the US. They weren't bad... but what I recommend is going to the Mega Mart down the street ($6 USD cab ride) and purchase EVERYTHING you need from food to drinks and just make your own. You'll save money all the way around. We typically ate breakfast in the resort restaurant (The Palms) because they had a great buffet. It had everything, and was very tasty. The waitstaff is very friendly and helpful, and they all speak English.

The accommodations were great! They were clean and well appointed. We had a 1 bedroom 2 bath suite. The suite included a king and queen size bed (king was in a separate room; queen in living room area), along with a couch bed in the kitchen area. The kitchen had everything we needed: utensils, plates, cups, bowls, cook ware, stove and a refrigerator. The two bathrooms were great, with great water pressure and a jacuzzi tub in the master bedroom. The cleaning service came daily and the place was very clean. The A/C works amazingly and with the heat, it was needed! Each room had its own unit.

The swimming pool was great with a swim-up bar. You overlook the ocean from the infinity edge. The music they play though is nothing but "oldies". The food is good at the bar too. Some of the best hamburgers I've ever had. There is an activities director, but honestly -- I saw him twice and he supposedly didn't show up for Wednesday's karaoke.

We did the Pirate ship cruise and it was okay; the show was very female-centric and kinda boring. The fireworks were great though. Take some Dramamine before you go out on the ship. Oh, and the food is okay. I had the steak and shrimp. And you eat down below, which caused a lot of people to get sick. The drinks were oddly tasting. Get your drinks without ice!

We snorkeled on the Kon Tiki and it sucked. It may have been better if wasn't the rainy season. The ocean was dirty and you couldn't see anything. The rainy season caused the rivers to drain into the ocean. Total waste of time. Then we went to this island area/beach and spent two boring hours doing nothing, literally. There weren't any shops available at all and a few people trying to sell trinkets. It's my opinion that's why they take you there... to provide commerce to the locals.

We went horseback riding in the rain forest. Okay; um... not the sort of Brazil-meets-Africa rain forest, but nonetheless, the Mexican rain forest. Our guide took us up the mountains and to a small hut overlooking Puerto Vallarta. It is a beautiful site. The only animals we saw were lizards... tiny lizards. We enjoyed it over all though. Very relaxing, but rough riding and sad. You go through these small towns and see the poverty. Oh, and the horses are like dogs... they just run freely through these towns. Some were even on leashes tied to trees and gates.

Puerto Vallarta is about 30 mins away and $20 USD. There was some good souvenir shops and typical mexican restaurants. Don't drink the water, no matter what people tell you! There are cabs everywhere. (For the gay travelers, ask to go to the "Blue Chair" area. It's a hotel and private beach area for gay travelers and locals. And there are some very attractive people.)

We also stopped by the Liverpool Shopping Mall. It's quaint and we had lunch at Chili's. There are some typical shops you would find in a mall. Nothing too touristy. Similar to a Macy's.