Tammy E.
Yelp
Sadly, this Hyatt disappointed on every level where they usually excel. They are very eco-friendly, so there are no paper maps or booklets telling you about the property, where various things are such as the adults only pool, restaurants (and their hours), or the gym. They give you a QR code to scan to find the information online, which is convenient if you are a millennial or younger, but even then, the information listed was often incorrect there. Also, the wifi was out for almost 2 days, so if you don't have a phone with an international data plan, don't plan to have access wifi guaranteed.
One would think the buffet dining option would be open for every meal or in between mealtimes, but that is definitely not the case here. They were only open for breakfasts, some lunches, and some dinners. Every restaurant needs to post their hours outside their doors so patrons know where they can have a meal and not have to scramble at noon with nothing to eat on some days. One day, we were told the sports bar was open for drinks, but food wouldn't be served until 1230pm. We sat there for over half an hour, and the server didn't so much as look at us until 1245pm.
There was heavy construction happening 24 hours a day at this location. You'd think there would be quiet hours from maybe 10pm-8am but you'd be wrong! They were happily drilling away after midnight every evening. They had a pulley system to bring glass window panels to the upper levels that had us worried while walking below them. They didn't have good safety measures in place at all. On several occasions, their tractor used for moving dirt almost hit families coming out from the elevator area.
There was a major pipe that burst, and the elevators in our tower were completely out for a day, but there wasn't so much as a sign put out anywhere to let anyone know as much. We, along with several other groups of people waited for long periods of time one morning before seeing and hearing people in the stairwells who passed on the message that the elevators were broken. Even after maintenance worked on the elevators all day, only one of the two was actually functional after they were "fixed." The stairwells were narrow and we had to contend with workers and other guests going in every which direction all day.
The only reason this is a 2-star review instead of a 1-star review is because of some standout employees (Samantha at Tequilas, Ivan at the pool, and Jon at the pool cantina). That, and Miguel with the baby sea turtles and their daily releases out to the sea.
Lastly, nowhere on the property was there information about how or where to get kayaks, paddleboards, or boogie boards, even though their photos show this as a major activity here. When we asked at the front desk, they said "yes, it is available - just ask the activities team downstairs." When we asked several people in the activity shirts, they made excuses for why kayaking was "not possible in this moment." After talking to several employees they finally told us we could go only at 4pm for a maximum of 1 hour, which was during high tide, and the hottest part of the day. It almost seemed like they thought this was a way to deter us. Had we been able to go when we asked, it would have been lovely with an almost flat surface and little waves.
I have stayed at the Dreams Vallarta Bay and that was 100% better than this Hyatt, with the exception of their beach (which was rocky, a steep entry, and not as good as the long sandy beach with gentle entry at Ziva).