Name: Rancho Banderas All Inclusive By Marival
Address: Carretera Punta de Mita Km 8.3, Cruz de Huanacaxtle, Cruz de Huanacaxtle, Cruz de Huanacaxtle, 63732, Mexico
Rating: 8

Smoke-free property

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Gustavo Diaz Ordaz International Airport

Rancho Banderas All Inclusive By Marival

Cruz de Huanacaxtle

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...to start, there is some accuracy in the negative reviews when they speak about the construction. Yes, there is construction here. And a third of the resort is NOT yet completed, but this is an expansion, and not a part of the facilities in use. It is entirely separate from the existing resort. Now the question is...how does it impact your stay?
In our case, not at all. There is the sound of jackhammers (occasionally), and general work going on, but with the sound of music, our time in the pools and work being completed each day before dinner time, it really didn't impact us. There was dust, but not in quantities that we saw issue. We spent most of our day down at the beach where we were largely unaware of construction. We could see workers on the stairs down to the beach and a covered area was being constructed by hand. But even that was inaudible to us over the much louder crashing of the surf.

Don't be concerned about the construction, or as we did, think of it as an added attraction as we eagerly scoped out the progress each day from our balcony. Perception is everything. 

As to the other 2/3 of the property... wow. This place is stunning. Lovely. Perched on top of a 30' cliff with the ocean in view from most of the property the vistas are gorgeous. Multiple pools to choose from, amazingly warm surf to play in, clean beautiful beach and sandy all the way in so no need for water shoes at all. Not really snorkeling water, but you will not get tired of playing in the surf whether you use your body, the provided body boards, or even a surfboard on some of the days that allow for it.

The food is in a word, phenomenal. I cannot stress enough the quality of the food here. The chefs here are the best i've experienced at an all inclusive, and better than most Vancouver restaurants (my apologies to Vancouver restaurant owners, you are good too :) ) There is currently only one a la carte restaurant and one buffet. It is hard to choose which to eat at as the buffet quality is of the highest. The a la carte changed the theme of their menu daily so there was no selection fatigue. It was never so busy that tables were unavailable, and reservations were unnecessary. 

Entertainment - this is a quieter resort, so entertainment is shorter and less intrusive than most, but some delightful dancing, some amazing cirque type acrobats, and a mindblowing fire show on Saturday's are worth watching without giving up your entire evening for. The entertainment staff do NOT force you to participate in activities, but instead let you know what is starting up should you wish to join in. Obler and Mario were excellent ambassadors for the resort in that regard. Get to know these guys, they are lovely, entertaining, and just want to make sure you are enjoying yourself in whatever way YOU choose to.

Ok... staff and service. When we left, we felt the need to walk around and say goodbye to everyone who had contributed to our excellent time there. The staff look out for your every need and act on it instantly. They are not aloof but friendly. They are happy to talk about their families if you ask, or talk about your home should you want to. You find each one of them gives you time and attention to ensure you get the best stay possible. 
It was most sad to say goodbye to these people when we left, and to call out a few... Miguel at the Buffet, Armando at both restaurants, Alexis and Alejandro at the a la carte, Gerardo at the pool and beach who NEVER let our glasses run dry, Rolando who gave me great surf advice, Viktor who ensures your time at the beach is fully up to expectations... damn, I know i'm missing people and I'm sorry for that. They all deserve shout outs.

Isolation - this resort is away from towns and other resorts and general hustle and bustle, so you can have a relatively quiet time here should you choose. However, cabs are plentiful if you choose that mode so you can get anywhere for a relatively inexpensive cost, somewhere around $20USD will get you just about anywhere you want to go. However, right outside the front gate, you can catch the local buses. We never had to spend more than 30 pesos to get anywhere. They come very often, every 7 minutes, and get you to any of the neighbouring towns quickly, or even all the way into Vallarta. We did have to do a change to get to Sayulita, but it was easy, quick, and again, extremely cost efficient. I highly recommend the local buses. 

I've droned on, I know, and I hope others find this review helpful. We can't wait to return, and are so excited to see the full resort upon completion.

I am surprised at some of the negative reviews...

So we have been coming to Rancho for a few years now and a few times a year at that. We knew they were under construction, but we’re assured on the phone things would be complete by May 3rd..Soooo about 10 days  before our trip we got that call,” sorry you can’t stay at Rancho or  Armony but we will gladly put you up at another property, check them out and decide. So we chose distinct, my Marival, looked more adult and smaller then the other property. Though it is nice and room is newer...the beach club was a loud party on the beach. RELAX ON THE BEACH. NOPE 
It wasn’t Rancho by any stretch of the imagination. 
WE HATE IT...
And our ocean view...see photo..construction..are you kidding me. Hey we’re easy going but this was a joke...We’re suppose to stay one week at distinct and them be back at Rancho. We arrived on May 3rd to find out, nope we have to stay here for 2 WEEKS. Had we know that we would have cancelled our trip. 
So I had to scramble to find another place to stay, unfortunately we could only find a place for the second week, so we’re stuck!
Seriously this is just crazy. And they are basically making us go on the presentation, if not they’ll change us 160.00 a day for food.. We will never buy or recommend this company. We have never bought before anyway. 

We hope this helps others.
I’m sure the “new” Rancho without the old pool will be like the other properties, loud, no quaintness...
So very sad..
We have another trip planned for this July with our kids. 
I’m thinking it will be cancelled, or we will stay somewhere else for sure...

What the heck...

We booked a 3 bedroom villa for two families for a total of 8 people in May. We haven’t arrived yet and it’s already turned into a nightmare. 

First issue: good luck trying to find any associate that can offer accurate information. Each call I have made, I’m provided with different information or no answers to my questions. 

2nd issue: They refuse to honor any information or pricing provided. I called several weeks ago to find out how much the all-inclusive option was since you cannot find it anywhere on the website. I was given tiered pricing based on the amount of days I would be purchasing with 6 days being $50 a day and half that price for children under 12. When I called I specifically asked if I add the all-inclusive to my reservation and pay ahead of time and was told not to worry about it and to add at check-in. During that same call I also specified oceanfront villa for room type. I recently called again to confirm everything as I noticed there were some changes to their site. At that time the associate could not confirm all-inclusive prices nor could assist with any other questions and was to call me back, which of course that call back never occurred. After much back and forth I was finally provided a phone number and email to someone that actually could assist me. Now I am being told the all-inclusive pricing increased from $50 to $80 per person. A steep increase for 8 people for 6 days who had already budgeted and aged based on the original pricing provided. I keep getting told pricing subject to change. I understand that, but given the fact that I specifically asked if I add to my reservation and pay ahead of time and was told not to and to just add at check-in, I feel ripped off to say the least. I have emailed back and forth several times and have gotten absolutely no assistance and simply keep hearing “pricing subject to change”. Again, to say I feel scammed is an understatement. I also wanted to confirm my oceanfront villa and now I’m being told “if available”. Just another way they continue to scam me and my family. 

3rd issue: We have no clue about the accommodations, amenities, or even what establishment we will wind up at upon arrival. After reading several reviews and seeing people complain that they were relocated upon arrival due to renovations, I thought it wise to call ahead of time to confirm. I have been told several different things with each correspondence. I’m told they won’t know until the day of if I will get our 3-bedroom villa or be relocated to the neighboring resort, then I was told the villas will not be ready and we will be relocated to a normal hotel, now I’m being told yes we will get a 3-bedroom villa but can’t guarantee oceanfront. No guarantee it will be at Rancho Banderas or at neighboring resort. Also I don’t know if all the restaurants or look will be complete either. 

All this back and forth and conflicting information is ridiculous. If this is what I am getting now, I can only imagine the nightmare my actual stay will be. I have never dealt with such unprofessionalism in my entire life. Their absolute lack of desire to remedy the situation is astonishing to me. If I didn’t already purchase our airfare I would walk away from this nightmare. Take my advice and stay somewhere far away from Rancho Banderas.

ALREADY A NIGHTMARE

The resort will be beautiful . It is not now . It is fully under complete re-construction. You cannot stay there as of today .We were shuffled over to Armony next door. The construction noise is constant , as is the dust from 8am to 8 pm all week. Seriously.

We went April 5th 2019

We were treated to beautiful brand new rooms with absolutely lovely views of the bay. Thoroughly enjoyed the infinity pool and watching for whales. It will be interesting once all the construction is completed. Looks like a lot of people could end up here at one time. As it was, this time, we were among the few who braved the construction noise. Honestly I enjoyed watching all the work being done. They are such hard workers. Shout out to both Alberto’s for taking extraordinary care of us. Young Alberto found palomitas for me and faithfully delivered a bowl every day. Absolutely awesome! Was gonna give 4 stars for the dust & noise but I gotta go 5. The whole experience with our family was really special and I thank the staff for there excellent service. I think the demo part is done so it shouldn’t be to noisy from here on.

Rancho Banderas All Inclusive By Marival

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