My friend and I fell prey to the salesmanship at the Mayan Palace in Nuevo Vallarta and purchased the DISCOVER THE DREAM package. Needless to say, none of the prices/availabilities matched the overall impression given at the time of purchase. I contacted my credit card company to cancel, but they said since I had signed a paper that said I wasn't relying on what the sales person told me (I was SO stupid to sign that—I work in the legal world!), they could not do the refund. If my memory serves me, I think DISCOVER THE DREAM is actually an Arizona corporation. I would like to hear from anyone else who has had this problem to write to the Attorney General of Arizona (or the appropriate state) to make a complaint and seek refunds based on false advertising, etc. I believe what we will need to make this work is for everyone to do a sample search of resorts and keep a list (I did mine on a spreadsheet), indicating location (Spain, Bahamas, Mexico, etc. ), the period of availability, and the price quoted. I would be happy to collect your research and a letter describing your experience, put it with my own, and send it along to the various authorities. If you are interested, please contact me at balebos@gmail.com. For me, it is worth $5000 to try to make this last ditch effort to bring these crooks to heel!

The room had a living room, a bedroom, bathroom, and kitchen. The bed in the room was great and in the living room it was okay.

Best Things Nearby:
Town for shopping, eating, or just having a drink and looking at the beach

Best Things About the Resort:
Wine bar and great restaurants

Resort Experience:
It is very clean and the restaurants are excellent. The rooms do have a musty, moldy smell, but that's the only negative thing we can say. The water was rough on the beach, but the pools are magnificent.

• Unit Type: 1 Bedroom
• Activities: Very Good
• Amenities: Very Good
• Unit Satisfaction: Very Good
• Family Friendliness: Very Good
• Service: Very Good

Best Things Nearby:

All you need is available without leaving the resort: wonderful restaurants, pools, beach, shopping for jewelry or beach wraps, and activities for adults and children.

Best Things About the Resort:

Children's activities are great, with each day programmed from morning until 5pm, including lunch for $15 per child. Teenagers and adults can take Spanish or flower-making classes, make friendship bracelets, go on the beach and play water soccer, take water aerobics, or just relax by the many pools.

Resort Experience:

The Mayan Palace is quite large, with a number of fine restaurants as well as snack bars near the pools. There are also waiters who bring you drinks or a sandwich at the pool or on the beach. You don't have to be rich to enjoy the rich life. We lived like a king and queen while there. We had a bus all over the resort, could get a bus or taxi to town if we wished to go, and had shuttle transportation to wherever we needed if we chose not to walk or had difficulty doing so. From the back of the resort, you look over the golf course. From the front you look over the swimming pools and the beach. Even room service is like eating in a fine restaurant - both food and service were wonderful. On returning home from the airport, we stopped to eat a late dinner and felt like we had really come down in the world, as we had had gourmet meals there. And how I would love the recipe for that fantastic onion soup from the Mondo. It was as good as dessert. There is a little train to take the kids around the resort. The pools have areas where water is only 5 or 6 inches deep and others where it is chest deep. There is an endless pool looking out over the beach and ocean. And the spa!!!!!!!! Oh, the bliss. I had the special of three different massages, all for $175 during the time we were there.

• Unit Type: 2 Bedroom
• Activities: Excellent
• Amenities: Very Good
• Unit Satisfaction: Excellent
• Family Friendliness: Excellent
• Service: Excellent

Best Things Nearby:
The beach, Puerto Vallarta, Punto de Mita, grocery stores, and a golf course

Best Things About the Resort:
Private beach (very few vendors), huge pool, friendly staff, and ocean-view rooms

Resort Experience:
The hotel is on the ocean, with expansive grounds. We asked for ocean view and had a two-bedroom unit in blue tower, which was a hike to the pool, but once there, it didn't matter. The pool is clean and huge, with shallow areas for kids. The private beach is clean and stays shallow for quite a ways.

We had breakfast and lunch in the room. The furnishings are dated, but we weren't in the room much. The beds are comfortable. The kitchen has two burners, a microwave, and a small fridge. Restaurants are expensive, so we avoided them. Buses or taxis are easy to take to Puerto Vallarta, where there are groceries and restaurants. It is a fun week in the sun!

• Unit Type: 2 Bedroom
• Activities: Very Good
• Amenities: Very Good
• Unit Satisfaction: Very Good
• Family Friendliness: Very Good
• Service: Excellent