Dreams Vallarta Bay Resort & Spa - All Inclusive

Customer Ratings & Reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

8977 reviews

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  Family vacation

  Beautiful hotel and ambiance. Great for family vacations, many included activities. Food and drink selections were very extensive

  Aug 20, 2025
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  How one family enjoyed stays at both Secrets and Dreams

  My family is made up of 5, myself as Grandma, Grandpa, a 6-year granddaughter our daughter and her partner. We arrived in early August the weather was hot, hot, hot and though rain was forecast for the duration of our stay there was surprisingly very little rain. Grandparents stayed at Secrets and our daughter’s family at Dreams. As it happened, we spent most of the time on the Dreams side but we found quality of service was excellent in both hotels. Secrets, at the time of our visit, was a little more restricted in amenities due to the sit-down pool side restaurant, main swim up bar and pool being closed for reconstruction/maintenance. It was not unusual by 9.00am to hear, the sound of saw on concrete but only during the day time. Whilst the Secrets side palapas on the beach were still available to guests to use along with a temporary bar set up on the beach, access was not really very desirable as the beach sellers had set up their own station close by. Meanwhile Dreams was perfect for our 6 years old granddaughter she had the choice of three pools, two of which had child friendly levels of depths. One of the pools even had a water slide which was closely monitored by a staff member to ensure young children could safely use the slide. We did notice that whilst Secrets side was easy at any time in finding available chairs and umbrellas, Dreams was more difficult regardless of the house rule of no reserving for longer than 30 mins. I am an avid early morning gym person (great gym by the way) I would glance out over the Dreams pool area on my way to the gym at 7.00am and noticed the chairs nearest the children’s pools were all clearly reserved by books, clothing etc. but their owners were absent neither in the pool or around and about. We did try to apply the hotel rule and to be fair the staff did respond in clearing away people’s stuff so it really seems to be “we the guests had not read or chosen not to read the hotel rules” so good luck to those seeking a chair with an umbrella. So yet again we would join the daily hunt however once we had confirmed the non-availability of chairs, we would then ask the staff for help and to their credit we did find them super helpful. With such intense temperatures of close to 40 C daily due to the intense heat, we found umbrellas had become a necessity in enjoying a successful time in the great outdoors. I did bring bug spray with me but didn’t have to use it once. As a guests of Secrets, we were able to enjoy breakfast in both hotels and found plenty of choices on both sides in their choices for parents and children. Entertainment was good however the Amphitheatre children’s shows had had to be cancelled supposedly due to the rain? So shows were restricted to the reception area of Dreams and likewise Secrets. My family reported that all shows were fun and Dreams were especially child friendly. Not sure where this fits in but we did chose to book for the teppanyaki dinner ( booking open at 9am with the hotel concierge but don’t be surprised if there a queue when you arrive at 9am) I included it last because it was really was more of an entertainment event however our granddaughter loved everything from the juggling of the chef’s knives and forks to getting to eat his delicious food altogether a super fun food event.

  Aug 16, 2025
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  Exceptional family vacation at Dreams Vallarta Bay

  Wonderful family vacation at Dreams Vallarta Bay! Beautiful resort, clean, and easy to navigate. Kids made many friends and felt safe and comfortable walking the grounds and being self sufficient. Special shout out to Jorge who went above and beyond every single day with the entertainment, activities, energy and kindness. He really made the vacation special for our family. Another young woman from the entertainment staff and young man who led the spin bike classes were wonderful as well. Rooms and resort were very clean - Yelitza cleaned our room to perfection. The food is spectacular - loved tamarindo and the Mexican fiesta and mariachi band were authentic and fun! Wait staff and cooks at the breakfast buffet were attentive and kind.

  Aug 15, 2025
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  Not my favorite resort

  Staff is great, food and drinks are another story.. very disappointed in the food. The only decent restaurant was the Mexican restaurant and that’s because they have table side fresh guacamole

  Aug 15, 2025
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  Tipped for an Upgrade – Got Nothing and Felt Dismissed

  I am currently staying at Dreams Vallarta Bay with a group of four rooms — two preferred and two regular. Upon arrival, we gave the front desk receptionist around $120 in good faith, expecting her to give us a good deal on an upgrade. Unfortunately, nothing was arranged that reflected the tip we gave. The only options presented were a Presidential Suite Ocean Front Pool for $900/night or another suite for $300/night — which is far too high for three nights for two people, especially since it’s not peak season in Puerto Vallarta. What made the situation more frustrating was the lack of appreciation for the gesture — it came across as a casual “yeah, that was supposed to be done” response, with no extra effort made to actually help us. We were also told that because two of our rooms are not preferred, we cannot even visit our friends in their preferred suites. The “best” adjustment made was putting our two regular rooms a few doors apart — something we could have had without paying extra. We believe a fair and seasonal upgrade rate would be around $100–$150/night for preferred or $200/night for the presidential suite. We are not asking for anyone to be penalized — we simply hope management uses this as a teaching opportunity so guests feel valued and treated fairly when they make a goodwill gesture. So far, this experience has been disappointing for what is supposed to be a high-end resort, but we still hope management will make this right for our group and improve this process for future guests.

  Aug 14, 2025