A Honeymoon Review of the Buenaventura Grand Hotel in Puerto Vallarta

My now-husband Tyler and I went to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico for our honeymoon and stayed at the Buenaventura Grand Hotel and Great Moments. If you’re looking at all-inclusive resorts in Puerto Vallarta, I’ll share my honest review of this hotel and our experience there.

What We Loved About It

The Location
The Buenaventura Grand Hotel and Great Moments is located in downtown Puerto Vallarta just before the city’s iconic Malecon boardwalk on the north end. This means you’re in the heart of town, and lots of great restaurants, shopping, bars, entertainment, and more are within walking distance – including Old Town Puerto Vallarta (also known as the Romantic Zone). You also have easy access to buses that can take you south and north of the city for day trips to places like Sayulita, Bucerias, Yelapa, and more. Of course, staying in the city isn’t for everyone, but if this sounds like something you’d enjoy, the Buenaventura’s location is unmatched. 

The Service
The service here, particularly from the waitstaff in the restaurants, was incredible. Every time I go to Mexico, the kindness of the Mexican people is always one of the best parts of the experience. Every time we had a meal, the servers went above and beyond to make us feel welcome. 

The Food and Restaurants
The Buenaventura Grand Hotel’s food selections were impressive, but the access to fresh seafood really stood out for me — from ceviche, mussels, and seafood pasta at lunch to an entire night dedicated to seafood dishes. Other specific foods at the hotel we loved were the tortillas, soups, French toast, and fresh fruit (the papaya especially!). Honestly, though, there were so many great choices, including the two specialty restaurants, that you’ll never go hungry. And if you need a break from hotel food, just walk out the door, and you’ll find dozens of local restaurants in the city.

The Honeymoon Suite
We booked the honeymoon suite for this trip and were really happy with our room. The Buenaventura’s honeymoon suite included an ocean view room, private balcony, in-room jacuzzi, king-size bed, unlimited toiletries, and a complimentary mini-bar with daily refills on soda, water, and beer. Best of all, you could hear the ocean at night while you sleep – not a bad way to relax at night. The only downside was that we're pretty sure there's a second honeymoon suite across the hallway that had a better view, which I had seen in pictures online. Also, the hotel advertises their honeymoon suite as including a canopy bed, but that isn’t accurate; it’s a standard king-size bed. I don't think the lack of a canopy is necessarily a dealbreaker, but just something to note.

What Could Be Improved

Better Welcome After Check-In
To preface, the process before and during check-in was great. When we arrived in Puerto Vallarta, we took a bus from the airport to our hotel,  but we weren’t entirely sure where to get off. As it turned out, we saw a couple of Buenaventura employees on our bus (they were wearing their work uniforms with the logo, which was how we knew). They were on their way to work and were more than happy to help us get there, even taking my luggage as we got off the bus and bringing it to the resort. 

After a smooth check-in, though, we were immediately greeted by one of their salespeople. Here’s the thing: rather than trying to give us a sales pitch after a long day of traveling, we would have preferred to be given a tour of the hotel grounds. No one explained to us where things were, particularly the specialty restaurants, and we felt kind of lost those first few days. 

Nightly Entertainment
Daily activities at the Buenaventura Puerto Vallarta are similar to other all-inclusive resorts, but the nightly entertainment left much to desired. The only night they had an actual “show” was the Mexican fiesta night. Other than that, it was just music in the hotel lobby or sometimes karaoke. The nice thing about being downtown is that you can just go out on the town after dinner, but one thing I’ve always loved about all-inclusive resorts is the nightly entertainment with exciting, fun shows. That being said, I think the resort’s location probably makes it difficult to stage nightly shows since they don’t have the space for a permanent stage area. 

More Pool Access
OK. So this isn’t necessarily the resort’s fault, but it is something to keep in mind. Toward the end of our trip, the majority of guests at the resort switched from families with lots of kids to large groups of older adults who’d reserve a bunch of pool chairs for themselves as early as 8 in the morning. That means if you’re not the type to ‘reserve’ your chair at the crack of dawn, you may be out of luck if you want to lounge by the open pool areas. However, there were more available chairs on the beach, so when the pool areas were full, we’d just head down to the beach.

Rocky Shoreline on the Beach
While the beach was lovely, if you plan to actually go in the water, you’ll probably want some water shoes as the ground there was very rocky. Again, this isn’t a fault of the resort itself, but if swimming in the ocean is a high priority, this could be a drawback. 

More Vegan Food Options
My husband is vegan, and while the hotel had some things he could eat, the options were very limited. So, if you have food restrictions like that, you should look at Puerto Vallarta hotels that are explicitly marketed to provide more vegan-friendly foods. 
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Would I Recommend the Buenaventura Grand Hotel and Great Moments for a Honeymoon?
We had a great time regardless, and we really liked staying right in town. But I might suggest looking into more romantic Puerto Vallarta hotels or adult-only resorts for a honeymoon specifically. The vibe at the Buenaventura was more fitting for families and friend groups; we were one of just a few couples here. 

Transparency Disclosure — The opinions on this website are independent and based on my own personal experiences. I may receive a referral fee for stays booked through the links on this site.