Trip Review Aug 4-10

Discussion in 'Golden Parnassus Forum' started by pandagirl15, Aug 13, 2011.

  1. pandagirl15

    pandagirl15 Enthusiast Registered Member

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    Hey everyone, we recently arrived home and can't wait to get back! Here's my review:

    We booked our trip through Orbitz.com and it was a great experience. Great price, lots of help from the reps in Mexico, and a great transfer.

    We stayed at the Golden Parnassus from Aug. 4-10, 2011. The entire trip was fabulous. We arrived on a Thursday, late afternoon. We were greeted at the lobby and given a drink while waiting for our check in papers. It took less than 10 minutes and the hostess was very pleasant. No pushiness for time share presentations or talk about bumping. I think the resort was only about 75% full when we were there. The lobby is beautiful.

    We were in room 405 and our friends were in 407. These were basic, lagoon view rooms. They were always clean & our maid did a great job taking care of our room. Our rooms were pleasantly cold (we had to turn the air down one night!) and although the lighting is dim, we didn't have a problem with it at all. Water pressure in our shower was just fine. We were very comfortable in the bed. Some people might like more pillows, but we were ok with the ones provided. I do like a pillow on the firmer side, but didn't have trouble sleeping on the softer ones that week. I also wish the towels/washcloths were a bit softer. I know the thin white towels are standard for a hotel, but these seemed rougher than others I've used.

    The pool and beach area were gorgeous. There were always plenty of palapas and chairs. We were always able to get a palapa around 10 am and there were pool chairs all the time. We took advantage of all the activities the entertainment staff organized throughout the day. We played beach volleyball twice a day with Daniel & Angel; tequilla volleyball, water basketball, and Olympic Games with Liza & Luciana. Everyone was a blast and they really make you feel comfortable and included. We had a lot of fun at the poolside BBQ with Carlos (food was decent here), but didn't always participate in the nightly entertainment activities. We usually ended up playing Euchre. Honestly, we wanted to spend most of our time out in the sun during the day, so we didn't stay up really late at night.

    The food we got at the Golden was pretty good for an all-inclusive. We ate at Pier 21 twice. The duck was a pretty good meal, but I would have preferred it a little rarer. Most of us enjoyed our meal the first time, but the second time, they were out of the things we wanted and the food wasn't as good. We ate at Shangri-la once. I had the veal chops and loved them. Everyone else thought their meals were just ok. We went to Old Barn one night and all had filet mignon, rare. We were very pleased with our meals that night. In fact, we liked the baked potatoes so much, we went back the next night after dinner at Pier 21 just to get potatoes. The breakfast buffet and the lunch buffet were always great. We really enjoyed the handmade empanadas at lunch and the waffle/pancake station at breakfast. The one food that we learned to stay away from was the dessert at dinner. Not one thing we tried could be considered good (we had creme brulee, a brownie, a lemon pie). The ice cream at lunch was adequate.

    We did one excursion, a jet ski/snorkling combo through our Orbitz rep, Martin. We went out of Marina del Rey. It was great, we had a fantastic guide. It was a 2 hour trip, which was perfect for us.

    Our favorite bar was the Dolphin Bar with Guillermo. He made our trip. We tried all the bars in the hotel and found this one to be the one where we got the best drinks and the fastest service. The tiki bar was always crowded, so sometimes it took a while to get our drinks. The lobby bartender didn't make drinks as well as Guillermo. We thoroughly enjoyed hanging out on the swings with Guillermo and he made us any drink we wanted and had us try a few we never had before. The only problem is this bar closes at 5 pm.

    We did travel up to the Great Parnassus twice. We went once at lunch, but didn't realize the restaurants were closed and we were there during the time they were changing the buffet over from breakfast to lunch. We tried to get drinks from the lobby bar there and the bar tender was extremely slow and made some of our drinks incorrectly. We went back for dinner one night and ate at Big Ben. Food here was good for most of us. I got the spare ribs and the sauce was inedible. Others got the fried fish and it was their best meal of the week. Food seems to be hit or miss at each restaurant!

    We will definitely be going back to the Golden someday. It was a wonderful vacation. We got a fabulous deal through Orbitz.com and felt it was well worth what we paid and more. I gave the hotel an excellent rating because we really couldn't have had a better time anywhere else.

    Let me know if you have any questions! I'll be happy to answer them!
     
  2. 808sensation

    808sensation Addict Registered Member

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    do you know who bartends at night at TIKI BAR?
     
  3. pandagirl15

    pandagirl15 Enthusiast Registered Member

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    We were only there a few times at night. I think we saw Jose there at the Tiki Party.
     
  4. lisaitaly

    lisaitaly Enthusiast Registered Member

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    Was really happy to read your review as we just have a basic lagoon view room so it's nice to know that those rooms are ok. I also liked your reviews of the restaurants as it gave me a good idea of what to expect. I don't expect perfection on holiday but I don't want big disappointments either. Thanks
     
  5. 808sensation

    808sensation Addict Registered Member

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    imo, its worth every penny to get the OCEAN view....hear the ocean waves and smelling the fresh air when you wake up and opening that balcony sliding door every morning is priceless
     
  6. Velvet

    Velvet Guest

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    How is the bathroom? Is there a tub/shower combo? Is it a small bathroom? Do I need to take a blow dryer for my hair? What type of activities did they have at night? Any theme nights?
     
  7. pandagirl15

    pandagirl15 Enthusiast Registered Member

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    The bathroom was a decent size. The shower was quite large. No tub in our lagoon view room. The room was plenty big enough for my husband & I both to be in there. There is a hair dryer in the bathroom, but it is the standard hang on the wall hotel kind! I didn't even attempt to dry my hair because it would just stay super frizzy in the humidity. Here were the things we did at night:
    Thu: Grease show. Corny, but we had a good time.
    Fri: Not sure what there was, we played Euchre.
    Sat: Pool BBQ, lots of fun
    Sun: Black Jack tournament
    Mon: Dance lessons & Kareoke
    Tue: Tiki Party
    We weren't there on a Wed., so I don't know what they did. They also sold bands to the clubs every night.
     
  8. 808sensation

    808sensation Addict Registered Member

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    fixed :)
     
  9. pandagirl15

    pandagirl15 Enthusiast Registered Member

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  10. annieosanto

    annieosanto Enthusiast Registered Member

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    I'm going to agree with 808.....the ocean view rooms are FABULOUS !!
     
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