Magnificent Mousai in Puerto Vallarta
Updated: Mar 9, 2022
Amazing property. Great staff. Views to blow you away. Very easy to get to and travel from. We took a taxi from the airport ($20 air-conditioned taxi,about $55 if you want to hire hotel transfer and travel in style. There also is an option of a city taxy, you just have to leave the airport and cross the street, it is about $15.That is what you will pay going back to the airport when you are ready to leave If you choose to ask the hotel to call you a cab).
We wanted to post this review to help travelers understand what to expect and also to point out the great and not so great. That said, we loved out experience and would come back.
What you will most likely love and will come back for:
*you will feel very welcomed when you arrive and are greeted with cool towels and a chilled ginger drink.
*the rooms are fantastic. From Creston-like I pad app controlling everything in your room (think waking up with black out drapes automatically opening with music playing softly to ordering room service and having it promptly delivered).
*The property is beautiful. The views from your room are magnificent (they all face the ocean and you are on a cliff so even though there will be two other properties in your site of view, you will have an amazing ocean view from anywhere on your balcony or from you room. If you are lucky like we were (I suggest asking for this option when you check in) you will have a corner unit with a view of the jungle on one side and ocean on the on the. We did want to leave our suite the fist day of our stay, it was so beautiful! The hot tub on the balcony with the view of the sunset, what a dream!
*Service is excellent. The employee, who brought our luggage, showed us everything in the room and explained the I Pad workings and then came back with a bucket of ice. On one of the night the week we spent there, there was an incredibly loud private party held one level below at Garza Blanca pool. It literally felt like there was a live Mexican band concert playing on our balcony until midnight. Normally wouldn't be a huge problem but I happened to feel sick that night and we were back at the room at 9PM trying to watch a movie and rest. We could not hear our TV at the highest volume setting:((( The experience manager, Yanet Dorado, was so professional and accommodating about the ruined night, we felt that our upset was respected and taken into consideration.
*The beach is small but lovely and beach service is very good. You will be on a hill so you can either take at shuttle or walk (we did that every day, ask the employees about the shortest way, it is easy and fun and let's you see more of the property). You have plenty of towels and lounges, the guys who service the beach are always looking *Food and drinks. We mostly ate on the property and BocaDos and Blanca Blue were both very good. We had not desire to eat sushi in Mexico as we try to eat more of the local type of food when we travel, so we never visited Hiroshi (some of the fun people we men during the week said it was excellent). We had very good steak (although a bit fattier that you would want), great bread, ceviche, crab soup and mahi mahi at BocaDos. Rib Eye and Tuna flatbread stood out at Blanca Blue. Service was excellent at both places. One night we ate at the Roof Top bar. They have a limited menu. We ordered vegetable platter and seafood platter and both were amazing. I could have that any time and be very happy:) Breakfast at Blanca blue (about $20 a person for buffet, best value on the weekend when they have a Bloody Mary and Mimosa bars set up) and BocaDos were good. Try the freshly squeezed juice (the same in all three restaurants serving breakfast). I loved the green juice with a hint of kiwi. The lunch at Aquazul was fanatic, freshens seafood you feel was caught hours before it was served. You actually can see catch of the day sometimes, they display it at the beach level pool. Our best meal during our stay was when we went off property. it was at Ocean Grill Vallara. Short cab ride (you can also take a really cheap bus) and a short beautiful boat ride (the restaurant has boats to pick you up and take you there) takes you to gorgeous small beach (you can swim before or after you eat). The food was amazing and by US standards it was inexpensive but top notch quality. The menu has prices if you look it up.
*
The rooftop bar. Quite spectacular views, great service and fantastic menu. Expect to pay what you would in US. That goes for all the food selections, restaurant and room service. Wine is a different subject, will be covered below. We LOVED the music, very cool chill lounge/dance, great and non intrusive. If you are a pool person, you will live there. We have a pool at home so we were at the beach during the day and at the pool in the afternoon.
Now , to where Mousai could improve:
*Breakfast at the Terrace (we had it twice). We really wanted to like this place, it is so pretty there and the view is wonderful. No good :( Excellent service can not hide mediocre food) The menu sounds fantastic, you feel like you can get whatever you are in the mood for. Until you taste it. Just not good. When I pay $60 US for a breakfast of two entrees, coffee and juice, I expect excellence.
*Room service. Again, great service. Mediocre food at best. We had it twice and we SO disappointed! We ordered mahi mahi, steak tacos, cream tacos and a hamburger and chicken sandwich on the 2nd occasion because we were so disappointed with the our first try and though something easy would be more edible.We were saved by the views from the balcony (dream surrounding to have your dinner at) and the hot tub:)
*Wine: If you like wine you are in trouble. $50 US a bottle will get you your run of the mill drinkable stuff. Anything below this price point it is really bad. In understand Mexico is not wine connoisseur destination (and I don't even pretend to be a wine connoisseur) but a hotel like Mousai really needs to get it together with what they serve as wine. Wine by the glass in the pool area or in the restaurants is completely undrinkable. It is sad.
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