I was "forced" to go to a family wedding at Dreams Puerto Vallarta and my expectation was low but I was hopeful, given what seemed a high price for the location and time of year (early Feb.)

We were transported seamlessly via Sunquest and greeted with rolled up moist face cloths and champagne at check in, which was friendly and efficient.

The grounds are beautiful, extremely well-kept and the overall "polish" to the lobby, upstairs lounge and surrounding areas gives a very nice first impression.

The food is good to excellent with enough variety to satisfy any level of preference.

The World Cafe (buffet) offers extraordinary breakfast and a nice selection for lunch, some days offering ceviche or traditional mexican grill stations outside the buffet as well as a huge array inside. Full bar service available if you're inclined including mamosas and caesars being offered on the way in.

The Italian restaurant was definitely our favorite (get the chicken!!) with flawless service, a beautiful, elegant atmosphere and four-star food. House wine is included in all meals (as well as full, premium bar) and there's an extensive list of wines to purchase if you wish.

Coffee Drinkers - I was missing my Starbucks and the Coco Cafe (quaint, elegant, pastry laden coffee bar) saved me with their Lattes and Americanos!

The staff on all levels are outstanding. I'm in the service industry and am extremely aware of energy, attitudes and efficiency and the level offered here was impressive, from housekeeping to beach servers.
The resort sales team are respectful and take no very easily.
The drinks are NOT watered down as some have suggested and premium brands are available on request.

OH, and very worth mentioning - there were 50 people there, many young, and thus many things got lost in the course of the week and 100% of the time, they were at the lost and found. Staff are constantly checking chairs, bars, tables etc.

My only mediocre rating for this resort is the unfriendliness of the ocean (hard waves, 24/7) and I found the pools quite small. Also, kids are welcome in the swim up bar pool and I didn't find that appropriate given the level of partying in there most days.

We paid a high price for this trip as we were a large, specialty group but if you can get a week with air for under $1500 pp, your money will be well spent.

We will be going on another warm vacation next year and I will be looking for a Dreams to spend it at.

Like many of you reading this post I spent time looking at reviews before deciding on Dreams Puerto Vallarta. Now I feel I must take the time NOT to complain - but to praise this resort for being, well...AWESOME!!
Top 10 facets of Dreams Puerto Vallarta:
1) Friendly: all the staff- from bell boy to concierge, restaurant waiters and maintenance greeted us with a smile- always. They were constantly asking if we were pleased or if they could do anything more. Sincere friendliness was a big plus
2) CLEAN: This place was spotless! Every day we were there I noticed different crews cleaning, painting, refurbishing or inspecting. The rooms were impeccable, bedding perfectly clean and NO bed bugs of course!
3) Easy: No wrist bands, no reservations in the restuarants and honestly no lines. This place is easy come easy go from A to Z.
4) Location: just south of the city although easily a $5 cab ride away it is perfectly located and has one of the nicest beaches in the entire Banderas Bay area.
5) FOOD: My wife and I love to eat and try new and different things. Every restaurant was amazing- we ate like royalty and the service was fast, friendly and 110% effort. Wow!
6) Activities: Something for everyone! I snorkeled with their gear, the staff was willing to play beach volley ball or ping pong with me, dance lessons, Spanish lessons, several pools, live bands at night, rock climbing on the property- the list goes on and on!
7) Peace and Quiet. Though there were plenty of guests we never felt crowded. Plenty of towels, space to relax and even though I noticed a few children there were few and far between.
8) Price: after looking at other resorts in Mexico as well as the Carribbean I feel like we got a smokin' deal and it was worth every penny. After seeing both the usual tower and the 'prefered club tower' I thought the room upgrade wasn't worth it (albeit a nice upgrade).
9) Comfort: 4 different types of pillows offered, super comfortable bed/sofa/chairs in room. As well as super nice lounge chairs around pool. The management has thought of everything!
10) A resort that doesn't feel like a resort. We were looking for a honeymoon where we didn't have the impression of being at a big, sterile, cheesy resort yet didn't want a pricey private cabana on the beach. This place is the perfect blend- organically woven into the mountains/beach yet posh and sophisticated to a certain degree.

Can't say enough positive things about Dreams Puerto Vallarta!!!!!

It really was a dream- they completely deliver-
When you go please say hi to the Iguana nicknamed George at the Seaside Grill.

Stayed here for a week Feb 2010. NO complaints. Very private place, very clean, very quiet,excellent food, excellent service and quality entertainment every night. Short cab ride into town. Went parasailing off their beach. Went fishing from their beach....$240 for 2 of us for 4 .5 hrs...could have been cheaper if we shared...but was awesome for the two of us...stopped and went snorkelling and full tour of the bay. Excellent beach, excellent weather, excellent hotel. Excellent vacation!!

My husband and I have loved Dreams Puerto Vallarta for many years; we also loved it when it was Camino Real. We have vacationed here at least 8 times. It is romantic "old Mexico", with elegant landscaping, beautiful wood, great food, and perfect service. DPV has the best, most private beach in all of Puerto Vallarta.

We appreciate the "no bracelets, no towel cards, and no restaurant reservations" policy. This allows us to feel as if we're really on vacation and not be bothered with petty rules. Beach towels are plentiful all day long. Although the resort seemed to be near capacity, finding good beach seating (under a palapa) was not a problem. We never waited to get a table at any restaurant during our entire stay.

This is not to say that there are not problems. The old tower is really showing it's age and needs renovations. The gym had only one usable treadmill 5/7 days of our visit; people were waiting in line to use it. We feel that another significant problem is the pools. The main pool is heated, but was crowded and noisy all day. The adults-only pool is beautiful and quiet, but this is because it was freezing cold during our entire visit. The small pool, close to the old tower, is also cold and has many leaves floating on the water, despite diligent cleaning on the part of the staff. Another annoyance was that wireless is free only for occupants of the Preferred Tower. For those staying in the old tower, wireless is $17/day, or $69/week, which we thought was ridiculous, as free wireless is pretty much an industry standard today. Lastly, and this is not the resort's fault, there seemed to be a large number of children who were completely unsupervised by their parents; they got in the way of waiters, bothered other guests, and were screaming & running in all but Portofino Restaurant (which is adults-only) - our sole sanctuary.
We are sorry to have reached the decision that, in the future, we will be vacationing at adults-only resorts.