Here’s the short version: We enjoyed staying at the Krystal Grand, formerly the Bel Air Collection, in Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico. The full details on our vacation in Nuevo Vallarta are in this post.
Tl;dr Highlights: the staff and comfy pool furniture.
Lowpoints: the food and non-balcony room.
Click through for the full review! Check current prices here.
Overall this was a very nice hotel. All of the staff was very pleasant and accommodating and we enjoyed our time. Here are more details:
Cleanliness: the resort and the rooms were very clean, and the staff was consistently maintaining it throughout the day.
Bedroom: we stayed in a standard room. It was nice with king size bed and large flat screen tv, and an excellent shower/whirlpool bath. However there were two problems- the first is that there was no seating area/no balcony, so that there was no where to sit down if we had just come up from the pool or beach and didn’t want to sit on the bed. The second issue is that the sheets and towels were very rough.
Pool: it was very nice infinity pool, and we really enjoyed sitting in the comfy couch type chairs, which were perfect for lounging around. The hotel was not quite at capacity and there were just barely enough chairs; so if you didn’t arrive to the pool on the early side, you would have difficulty finding a place to sit adjacent to the pool.
Food: this was probably our biggest complaint. We stayed on an all-inclusive plan and the food was on the low end of mediocre. The sushi restaurant was pretty good, but other than that we didn’t really enjoy our meals.
Tipping: as other reviewers have mentioned, the hotel makes you sign a check every time you order, even if you are on the all inclusive plan, and every check reminds you that tips are not included. This is pretty annoying and takes away the joy of not having to think about money while on vacation (isn’t that the point of an all-inclusive?).
People: the guests of the hotel were mostly older Americans. There were some younger couples and families but we were definitely in the minority.
Internet: the wifi runs in the range of $15/day. Also, the business center has 2 computers and 2 other laptop stations. Out of the 6 times we attempted to go, 4 of the times everything was occupied.
We also posted our review on Tripadvisor: Solid beach hotel
