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Archive for the ‘Crown Paradise Hotel’ Category

Taking up with the dip in the pool on my first night in PV, I began talking with some ladies who were in a good-sized group of people.  We discussed why they come to the Crown Paradise Hotel every year. 

One, it is affordable and all inclusive.  Refreshing fruit-flavored drinks were flowing freely at the pool as we spoke.

Two, the staff has a low turnover.

Three, the rooms are clean and well maintained.

Four, the staff remembers the people from year to year.

Five, it is affordable enough that they can afford to go out one or two nights to an outside restaurant. 

Six, they are all over the age of forty and the age of the clientele in the hotel is not so young that the noise level and entertainment level is ongoing all night long.  It pretty much quiets down after 10PM.  If one wants nightlife, one must go outside the property.  And that is also an acceptable alternative.

Seven, this year they had a bottle of champagne in their room upon arrival. 

Some very good reasons for returning year after year.

By 7:30 we decided we were hungry but did not want to “dress” for dinner.  In our cover-ups, we were able to eat outside at a table in the corner by the palm fronds.  Chicken enchiladas and refried beans, with more beer.  It was acceptably filling if not entertaining.  Pleading exhaustion, we both agreed to head off to our respective rooms for a restful bit of sleep. 

I walked into my oven and knew rest was not going to happen anytime soon.  I called the front desk again, with a two thumbs up for the response of the staff.  Maintenance was up in a flash. They tore out ceiling panels and opened the ducts.  But to no avail.  There was no air conditioning going to be had in room 1810.  They called the front desk to recommend moving me.  Front desk suggested room #1814.  The maintenance fellow was so great.  He went and got a key to check out that room before they moved me and returned with less than good news.  It was as hot, if not hotter than #1810.  In the meantime I was online and trying to G-Chat Video with the family.  G-Chat Video definitely has some issues with international communications. 

As the minutes flashed by, the long day was taking its toll on everyone.  I took all the unpacking I had done, including all the things in the safe, and the drawers and threw it into my suitcases.  The next thing I knew I was walking down stairs to the 7th floor to a new unit.  It seemed questionable as to whether this room was going to be any cooler, but between the air conditioner and the ceiling fan, by 3AM ir was starting to cool down.

I logged into the internet yet one more time to let my family know that I had a new room and that I had packed and unpacked since I last chatted by G-chat (some 45 minutes earlier) and then said good night.  Exhaustion was finally setting in and sleep was begging for a chance.  The first day of Puerto Vallarta was coming to a close, with mixed reviews.  Maybe, just maybe, this would be ok after all.

My fellow travel agent and I arrived at the hotel and were greeted with cold washcloths and a fruity (non-alcoholic) drink.  The desk person could not seem to locate our records (they use paper records here – how quaint).  He left with my passport in hand and then returned to pull my paperwork out of the box in front of him.  I did wonder what transpired with my passport in the back office. 

He gave me the check-in spiel – if I wanted to have the use of the safe in my room, I needed a lock.  There is no charge for the lock, unless I lose the key.  Then there is a $100 fee for the key replacement.  He checked out a remote to the TV to me (again, no charge).  And he handed me a card for pool towel check out.  He assigned me the room # 1810.  That was nice because it is on the top floor.  He then snapped a blue plastic strip around my right wrist which indicated that I was in the all-inclusive plan.  I would wear this wrist-let for the next 5 days.  It felt a bit like a one-sided hand cuff, but it does mean I eat and drink for no extra charge. 

I asked about internet access.  The price seemed to change as it left his mouth.  It ranged from $9 to $29.  The good thing is that you purchase a set number of minutes or hours.  I purchased 24 hours.  As long as you log on, and then log off when you are shutting down, you may use only a few minutes and 24 hours can last a whole week.  But if you don’t log off, it can be used up very fast.  I agreed to the 24 hour plan immediately and then he checked in the fellow traveler.  She was 2 doors down from me and we accompanied a bellman to the 8th floor.  He dropped me off and proceeded down the hall with her in tow. 

I walked into an oven.  It was hot outside and hotter inside.  I walked over and opened the drape.  I checked the balcony door and it was not locked.  I stepped outside and the heat was overwhelming.  I stepped back in and tried to lock the door, but there was not a working lock.  After checking the AC control, I called the front desk.  I want to say two-thumbs up for the response level of the staff.  There was a maintenance person in my room handling the lock ASAP.  The air conditioning was a whole other issue.

My fellow traveler and I agreed it was a good idea to adjourn to the bar for a drink.  After unpacking and laying out toiletries, we met at the elevator and headed to the pool bar.  There was a menu of drinks.  There were a number of fruity flavored margaritas, but not a straight up margarita.  The same was true of the martinis, the daiquiris and well drinks seemed out of the question.  We settled on mojitos.  Then we saw him break out a huge bottle of beer for a waiter and the next drink was destined to be beer.  “Sol” was the brand name, but it was beer and it was wet, so that worked for me.  We were both so hot and sweaty that we agreed to go put on swimsuits and take a dip in the infinity pool.  We gave up on making reservations for dinner as it was after 5PM and dinner reservations had to be made before 5PM.  We also were too late to get pool towels with our cards.  When we went to the front desk to see if we could check them out from there, there were no towels available for another 5-10 minutes.  We decided we could dip without a towel.  I grabbed the beer and headed to the pool, expecting a cool dip to help chill me out.  Oops.  Wrong again.  The pool is a bit warmer than body temperature.  But once in and kicking around, it did not matter.  I may have been warm but the sweat was gone and I was drinking a beer in the pool.  Life was ok by most any standard.   

Welcome to Puerto Vallarta.