Puerto Vallarta--Adult Only All-Inclusive
Sep 28th, 2009 | 11:15 AM
#1
Original Poster
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 1
Likes: 0
Puerto Vallarta--Adult Only All-Inclusive
Casa Velas Boutique Hotel
Our Trip 9/19-9/26/09
My husband and I recently returned from Mexico from a five-star vacation! Casa Velas succeeds at making guests feel at home - staff is kind, friendly & helpful (both Mauricio and Miguel excel at granting your requests); grounds & pools are immaculate & beautiful; and remodeled rooms (all #100’s, #200’s & #300’s which are hotel units in the main building) are clean, roomy & bright. For honeymooners and couples looking for relaxation, this is the place for you! (If you are searching for activity or nightlife, you may be disappointed.) We did not use the spa but other guests raved about the reasonably-priced treatments. The restaurant, Emilanio, is wonderful but after 7 days of all-inclusive gourmet dining, the menu was limited. Wait staff service is outstanding and requests are most likely accommodated. The Beach Club is a stand-alone house with delicious sushi and Asian fare but too has a limited menu. Guests can dine at the two restaurants at Velas Vallarta but the food was not of the same quality. Once was enough for us!! All bars are warm & friendly -- try the "Benny Special" in the lobby bar.
Some Issues
We had some problems and although the staff tried to fix them, they were not successful. The villas (1, 2, 3 bedroom units) are NOT remodeled yet and have some mechanical problems (showers & toilets not always functioning properly.) Some villas are two-story (living room down and bedroom up) and lack of handrail makes the transition between dangerous. Communication problems at the management level occurred – let me explain. All Velas resorts use a highly scented soap and/or fabric softener on the sheets and towels. After spending the first night sleeping on the floor (due to a severe allergy to the scent), I requested a linen change. Although the laundry was closed on Sunday, the staff took a set of sheets/towels into town for water-only washing. Now that is service!! Unfortunately, EVERY day, the housekeeping staff tried to restock our room with scented linens. EVERY day, I complained and was reassured the problem would be solved. And yet the next day, the scented linens returned. Communication from top down did not occur. We finally had to refuse any housekeeping to keep the room medically safe. This issue marred what would have been a PERFECT holiday!
Other Information
If you forget anything, Wal-Mart, Liverpool (like Macy’s), the Vallarta Mall and Starbucks are close by. For only 11 pesos round-trip, you can hop on a bus in front of Velas Vallarta (transportation from Casa Velas provided.) The resort provides airport service (five minutes away) -- just walk past all the hawkers to the outside of the main hall. The VIP Services the resort contracts with is located on the right nearest to the outdoor exit. The Marina Golf Club is nestled next to Casa Velas and is one of the top 10 in Mexico. Activities are arranged through Vallarta Adventures - the Canopy Tour is a highlight. The resort has many types of rooms: Master Suites are typical hotel units with a plunge pool or Jacuzzi on the balconies, Grand Suites are larger with the same amenities, and Ambassador Suites are part of the Villas and are two story “condos without kitchens”. The gym is well-equipped with a Jacuzzi outside the door. Resident peacocks wander the grounds and are safe as are the numerous geckos and iguanas that sometimes visit your room.
Casa Velas is worth every penny, if you are looking for a quiet, slower pace resort with five-star service. The photos on their website are very realistic. We hopefully will return very soon!!
Our Trip 9/19-9/26/09
My husband and I recently returned from Mexico from a five-star vacation! Casa Velas succeeds at making guests feel at home - staff is kind, friendly & helpful (both Mauricio and Miguel excel at granting your requests); grounds & pools are immaculate & beautiful; and remodeled rooms (all #100’s, #200’s & #300’s which are hotel units in the main building) are clean, roomy & bright. For honeymooners and couples looking for relaxation, this is the place for you! (If you are searching for activity or nightlife, you may be disappointed.) We did not use the spa but other guests raved about the reasonably-priced treatments. The restaurant, Emilanio, is wonderful but after 7 days of all-inclusive gourmet dining, the menu was limited. Wait staff service is outstanding and requests are most likely accommodated. The Beach Club is a stand-alone house with delicious sushi and Asian fare but too has a limited menu. Guests can dine at the two restaurants at Velas Vallarta but the food was not of the same quality. Once was enough for us!! All bars are warm & friendly -- try the "Benny Special" in the lobby bar.
Some Issues
We had some problems and although the staff tried to fix them, they were not successful. The villas (1, 2, 3 bedroom units) are NOT remodeled yet and have some mechanical problems (showers & toilets not always functioning properly.) Some villas are two-story (living room down and bedroom up) and lack of handrail makes the transition between dangerous. Communication problems at the management level occurred – let me explain. All Velas resorts use a highly scented soap and/or fabric softener on the sheets and towels. After spending the first night sleeping on the floor (due to a severe allergy to the scent), I requested a linen change. Although the laundry was closed on Sunday, the staff took a set of sheets/towels into town for water-only washing. Now that is service!! Unfortunately, EVERY day, the housekeeping staff tried to restock our room with scented linens. EVERY day, I complained and was reassured the problem would be solved. And yet the next day, the scented linens returned. Communication from top down did not occur. We finally had to refuse any housekeeping to keep the room medically safe. This issue marred what would have been a PERFECT holiday!
Other Information
If you forget anything, Wal-Mart, Liverpool (like Macy’s), the Vallarta Mall and Starbucks are close by. For only 11 pesos round-trip, you can hop on a bus in front of Velas Vallarta (transportation from Casa Velas provided.) The resort provides airport service (five minutes away) -- just walk past all the hawkers to the outside of the main hall. The VIP Services the resort contracts with is located on the right nearest to the outdoor exit. The Marina Golf Club is nestled next to Casa Velas and is one of the top 10 in Mexico. Activities are arranged through Vallarta Adventures - the Canopy Tour is a highlight. The resort has many types of rooms: Master Suites are typical hotel units with a plunge pool or Jacuzzi on the balconies, Grand Suites are larger with the same amenities, and Ambassador Suites are part of the Villas and are two story “condos without kitchens”. The gym is well-equipped with a Jacuzzi outside the door. Resident peacocks wander the grounds and are safe as are the numerous geckos and iguanas that sometimes visit your room.
Casa Velas is worth every penny, if you are looking for a quiet, slower pace resort with five-star service. The photos on their website are very realistic. We hopefully will return very soon!!
Sep 28th, 2009 | 07:57 PM
#4
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 1
Likes: 0
My fiancé and I just booked our winter travel plans to Los Cabos. With the state of the economy, lots of hotels are offering huge discounts for people looking to travel to Mexico. A friend of ours put us on to one of our favorite chains, Barcelo (Spain) offering a promotion with the grand opening of their Cabo all inclusive. I can't speak for this particular locale as it is a new opening but Barcelo hotels in general are top tier. The promotion they are running is good for 45% off any reservation with the hotel having an opening date of December 1 – if anyone is thinking about going to Cabo, this promotion really is a great way to save some money. The link that we used was thehotelofyourdreams.com/?33 and all you have to do is click in the comment boxes regarding a review of what kind of hotel room you would like to stay in.
25% for early reservations, up to 20% (5% for each comment on the site) Total of 45%. Hope that some people find this helpful.
25% for early reservations, up to 20% (5% for each comment on the site) Total of 45%. Hope that some people find this helpful.
Sep 28th, 2009 | 09:19 PM
#5
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 1
Likes: 0
I feel it is important for me to write a little about what I feel to be an unfair treatment about Mexico in the news.
Tourism is the 3rd largest part of our economy, and many people depend on tourism and foreign investment.
Recently, Mexico has suffered a trifecta of bad press resulting in a huge drop in tourism revenue. I would like to address these issues one by one, separate the facts from the myths and hopefully inspire some people to travel south.
First - The swine flu. Let's be clear about this. It's the flu, nothing more. This may be a shock to some people, but over 100,000 people die every year from the flu (mostly in tropical climates) Maybe it sounds scary, but putting a name like 'swine' in front of 'flu' doesn't make it any more dangerous than your normal flu. If you are considering not traveling to Mexico because of this, just think - would you cancel a trip to Europe because you heard people were getting the flu? It sounds exotic, it sounds scary (which is why the media picked up on it) but it's all hype.
Second - The drug related violence. This is a bigger problem, and one that Mexico will have to address in a serious way very soon. However, if you watch the news you are left with the impression that the whole country is erupting in uncontrollable violence. This is not true either. The violence is segregated to isolated areas (like the border towns) and in no way are tourists or foreigners being targeted. On the contrary, the tourist destinations have so far resisted the influence of the cartels because of the availability of legitimate jobs. Typically the drug trade takes root where economic conditions are depressed and people are forced to deal in contraband.
Third - the economic downturn/crisis. This was unavoidable, at least from Mexico's standpoint. Naturally tourism will become depressed in a recession and many people who would have otherwise traveled to Mexico now cannot afford to. Nevertheless, this has had 2 positive affects for people now considering going south. Hotels are running at very low occupancy rates, so they are desperate for clients. Many hotels are running specials, just call and see what they can do for you. Also, the historically strong Peso has devalued 30% from it's high last August - which means 30% off everything in the country.
That being said the Hotel Barcelo chain has always proven to be one of the best in my experience as well for a great all around all-inclusive experience. I’m looking forward to the opening of a new location in Los Cabos in December.
Tourism is the 3rd largest part of our economy, and many people depend on tourism and foreign investment.
Recently, Mexico has suffered a trifecta of bad press resulting in a huge drop in tourism revenue. I would like to address these issues one by one, separate the facts from the myths and hopefully inspire some people to travel south.
First - The swine flu. Let's be clear about this. It's the flu, nothing more. This may be a shock to some people, but over 100,000 people die every year from the flu (mostly in tropical climates) Maybe it sounds scary, but putting a name like 'swine' in front of 'flu' doesn't make it any more dangerous than your normal flu. If you are considering not traveling to Mexico because of this, just think - would you cancel a trip to Europe because you heard people were getting the flu? It sounds exotic, it sounds scary (which is why the media picked up on it) but it's all hype.
Second - The drug related violence. This is a bigger problem, and one that Mexico will have to address in a serious way very soon. However, if you watch the news you are left with the impression that the whole country is erupting in uncontrollable violence. This is not true either. The violence is segregated to isolated areas (like the border towns) and in no way are tourists or foreigners being targeted. On the contrary, the tourist destinations have so far resisted the influence of the cartels because of the availability of legitimate jobs. Typically the drug trade takes root where economic conditions are depressed and people are forced to deal in contraband.
Third - the economic downturn/crisis. This was unavoidable, at least from Mexico's standpoint. Naturally tourism will become depressed in a recession and many people who would have otherwise traveled to Mexico now cannot afford to. Nevertheless, this has had 2 positive affects for people now considering going south. Hotels are running at very low occupancy rates, so they are desperate for clients. Many hotels are running specials, just call and see what they can do for you. Also, the historically strong Peso has devalued 30% from it's high last August - which means 30% off everything in the country.
That being said the Hotel Barcelo chain has always proven to be one of the best in my experience as well for a great all around all-inclusive experience. I’m looking forward to the opening of a new location in Los Cabos in December.
Sep 29th, 2009 | 06:44 AM
#6
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 98,176
Likes: 12
raulrincon7~ I strongly agree with you about people going to Mexico and the undeserved hit the economy has taken over some of the issues you mention. But I'm not sure it's really all that helpful to bring it up on a thread where no one was even mentioning these things! They were all talking about nice all-inclusive luxury resorts. Why bring up "swine flu" and "drug related violence" when no one's even speaking about those things? I think it works again the purpose you were hoping to serve.
