¡Viva México! Our Stay At Marival Residences Luxury Resort

Oh, Mexico we keep coming back for more. We have traveled to Mexico countless times but for some reason had never made it to the Pacific side. When Marival Residences invited us down to check out their property and be there for the grand opening of their new beach club front experience named Mozzamare we said SI!

We had an amazing four-night stay in one of the penthouses with our own private plunge pool at the Marival Residence Luxury Resort. If you’re looking for a winter escape consider heading to Riviera Nayarit, here’s what you can expect.

Beach

When we look for the perfect vacation spot it almost ALWAYS includes a beach and Riviera Nayarit just doesn’t have some beaches it has 200 miles of gorgeous Pacific coastline. Gorgeous beaches and then rugged mountain peaks in the background.

Location

Marival Residences is located in Nuevo Vallarta which is a quick 20-minute ride from the Puerto Vallarta airport (PVR). We left Milwaukee in the early morning and landed just after lunch. It was a quick and easy drive. Nobody likes a long drive to a resort after a travel day.

*When looking for the best price and biggest selection of hotels check prices on Booking.com, we’ve found they are the best option and have a great cancelation policy.*

Rooms

There are five different room types at Marival, they are slightly different with views & amenities but all are gorgeous.

Residences | One – Four bedrooms 1,400 – 2,800 square feet
Demi Pool | One & Two bedrooms ground-level pools that walk-out to a semi-private pool
Luxury Ocean View | One & Two bedrooms 1,400 – 1,700 square feet
Penthouse | One, Two, and Four bedrooms with rooftop sundeck and private plunge pool
Villas | Three bedrooms, 3,900 square feet

All rooms aren’t just rooms they are full-blown apartments with everything and anything you could need. Complete with kitchen, dining room, and living. They really are a home away from home. Thanks to Marival Residences for spoiling us and putting us up a penthouse room.

Private Swimming Pool

If you rent one of the rooftop penthouses you’ll be spoiled with a private plunge pool. With this crazy view and room service, you’ll never have to leave your room. If you don’t stay in a penthouse at Marival Residence there are several pools available and you’ll never have an issue getting a lounge chair.

Mozza Mare

They just opened a brand new beachfront section, that as the name suggests is right on the beach. If the beach isn’t your thing hang out in the infinity pool with a margarita in hand. We really liked the menu at The Mozza Mare Palapa Restaurant, we inhaled the calamari that is a must.

You can’t go wrong with fish tacos and guacamole in Mexico. The beach club is a great place to hang out during the day working on your tan and come back to dance the night away.

Room Service

If you have an early morning pickup to head off exploring Riviera Nayarit just order room service! We are totally guilty of ordering breakfast every day of our stay. Our room service was always on time, which has been a problem in the past at other all-inclusive resorts.

Room service is available 24/7 and we did order it for lunch & dinner but we found the best meal was breakfast. If you indulge a little too much in the unlimited alcohol we highly suggest ordering a big plate of the french fries, they were really good.

Wifi

Maybe this is just the travel blogger/social media addict but having Wifi that works throughout a property is amazing. We loved that no matter if we were in our penthouse or at one of the five restaurants at Marival Residence we were online.

A post shared by Travel Couple ✈Hannah & Adam (@gettingstamped) on Oct 9, 2017 at 6:22am PDT

Sunsets

We are suckers for a good sunset and Riviera Nayarit has some amazing sunsets. Our favorite spot to watch it was from the rooftop of our penthouse at the Marival Residence. If you aren’t staying in a penthouse head to Insu Sky Lounge wash the sunset down with a cocktail.

Make sure to check what time the sunsets every day and plan on watching it 20 minutes before actual sunset time and stay around for, at ten minutes, the colors in the sky linger forever in Riviera Nayarit.

In-Unit Laundry

If you’re traveling with kids having an in-unit laundry is KEY. Well, we aren’t traveling with kids we are constantly traveling. Each room at Marival Residence has an in-unit washer & dryer. However there isn’t laundry detergent in the room you’ll have to purchase it in the lobby, which is kind of annoying.

We however always travel with a few laundry pods, so we were able to do our laundry. If doing laundry on vacation isn’t your cup of tea just send it off with housekeeping and they have it back to you a few hours later.

Things To Do In Riviera Nayarit

Make sure to save a few days to explore the surrounding area. There are several day tours that we highly suggest. One of our favorite days was the day we spent in the cute beach town of Sayulita. Sayulita is only 18 miles away, and you can easily rent a car and drive yourself or

Surfing in Sayulita – This cute little beach town is only 18 miles from the Marival Residence. Sayulita has the perfect conditions to learn how to surf. Grab a board and take a surf lesson and before you know it you’ll be riding a wave. If surfing isn’t your thing, stroll around the town. It’s a colorful town with a bunch of fun souvenir shops.
Whale Watching – If you’re lucky and time your visit from December through March you might be able to spot a whale. Your best bet is to get on a whale-watching boat, as they have devices to track whales to ensure your chances of seeing them. We suggest this whale watching tour. It’s a small group tour and a reasonable price.
Taco Bike Tour – Who doesn’t love a food tour?!?! What better kind of city tour than one that involves stopping for the best tacos in Mexico? Read more about the tour here.
Islas Marietas – Head to the inhibited islands about an hour offshore of Puerto Vallarta. Technically no one can set foot on them even though they are visited daily by hundreds of tourists. One of the islands has a crate that has formed a beach nicknamed “hidden beach” or “beach of love” that you can only access during low tide. Plan your visit accordingly to see this epic place. We highly suggest taking a private tour so you can go early or stay late to avoid the crowds. Adam and I are still upset we didn’t have time to visit Islas Marietas on our recent trip but we’re hoping to get back to Riviera Nayarit in 2018.

You can book these in advance or just wait until you get to Marival and then chat with the concierge to go over all your options.

Melange World Spa

All vacations must come to an end and we always try and get a massage on our last day on vacation. Head to the Melange World Spa for a selection of very unique treatments. As their name suggests they have different experiences from around the world: Indian Shirodhara, Italy Vendimia’ Wine, Thailand Body Work, Turkey Hamam, Mexico Agave Experience, Bali Aromatherapy, Japan Shiatsu, Russia Banya, and America Menage Spa.

Each cabin offers a different type of treatments and pursues different goals, some are relaxing, some work on your lymphatic system, others release toxins and so on. Our friend Meg had the Italian spa treatment and says it was amazing. We had the Indian Shirodhara, click here to watch a video of the experience. It’s a really unique idea but it wasn’t the relaxing massage we were hoping for.

Places in Mexico to Visit Before or After Playa del Carmen

If you’ve got more time to explore Mexico there are some amazing places nearby you should check out. If you can’t on this trip consider them on your next trip. Make sure to check out some of our other Mexico articles to fuel your wanderlust.