What a great adventure this was! Truly, my overall experience here was peaceful and delightful. Adults in need of a little get-away need to look into staying at Casa Velas in Puerto Vallarta. It is a luxurious adults only, all inclusive hotel, with a golf course that wraps around it. If you’re really into golfing, than I’ve really got the place for you. They day we arrived, the concierge mentioned that a tournament had just ended on the property. To me that meant, “so you’re saying we have the entire hotel to ourselves?!”, which we practically did. Well, at least it felt that way, and isn’t that what you want when you’re researching hotels?

I loved being greeted with a local cocktail and PEACOCKS! Laying poolside with my eyes shut and hearing thee peacocks in the distance background was calming! Not only do they host golfing, but they have little poolside activities that guests can be part of. I thought it was cute bringing the community together and even having the ability to learn about the culture on site. I saw they were hosting painting classes, wine tastings, and cooking local dishes. Also, the hotel offers a designer handbag for you to use during your stay, which I found to be quite cute and unique. If you’re tired of sitting poolside (said no one ever), I recommend going for a walk around the property or scheduling a spa day. They have a Botanical garden filled with tons of plants and cacti from all over the world, and the spa…well, I don’t think that needs much explanation

Room Accommodations

The rooms were a very comfortable living space. I melted into my bed every night and had to remind myself every morning to get up and stop skipping out on perfect tanning time!! Whats lovely about these rooms, is that they have their own little pool/hot tub for you to enjoy privately over looking the golf course. Whats lovely about golf is that it is a quiet sport, so any room is a peaceful room. I recommend one by the spa, because you are close to everything!

Ocean Club

One night or every night, you need to have dinner at the Ocean Club. During the day it’s the beach access and secondary pool for Casa Velas. You can reserve the cabana right on the beach from morning until night, sipping on margaritas and eating as much guacamole and chips you like! I don’t think life can get any better than that…?

SPA

I’ve never tried hydrotherapy before and I was really excited for this experience. I have been dealing with vertigo for the past few months and I was worried this would make me dizzy. Luckily, it didn’t and I felt so good after! Firs you start in the sauna for about 15 minutes sweating out all of your toxins. Secondly, you stand in a pressure shower, where the water isn’t that warm and pounds on you. Sadly for us, the steam room wasn’t working. So we skipped 2 steps, and went straight to jacuzzi, (the normal order: sauna, press shower, steam room, pressure shower, jacuzzi. Even though it was cut short, it steam calmed me and I felt refreshed. My next treat was a beautiful full body massage. Casa Velas creates a journey to healing with fire (candles), scent and sound.

Emiliano Restaurant

We spent most of our lunches and breakfast here, but treated ourselves to dinner at least one night.  Great view of the pool and beautiful music being played by a pianist. Truly such a romantic evening and I was so thankful to share it with some girlfriends!  I had a WONDERFUL vegetarian dinner here at Emiliano and I recommend taking a peak at the menu, even if you are not vegetarian. There were some unique dishes on this menu in comparison to the other.  Everything looked superb, and if my stomach was large enough, I would have ordered each dish.  

Recommendations for lunch by the pool (from the restaurant) would be the mushroom quesadilla, and my personal favorite, the fish tacos! I am the biggest fan of tacos!  Honestly, I would eat them for breakfast, lunch and dinner, not giving a care in the world!!!!  Fish tacos are my absolute favorite, so I am VERY picky when it comes to flavor, overall presentation, and if they add fruit. THESE WERE PERFECT!  The fish wasn’t fishy (trust me, thats a thing), they added slaw and sees for texture, and pineapple for fruit.  I crave those passionfruit daiquiris and fish tacos daily! If you go to Casa Velas, have a few rounds of each for me! 

Dinner at Grand Velas

Grand Velas in Nuevo Vallarta, is the sister resort to Casa Velas. This property was MASSIVE and beautiful! Gorgeous views right off of the ocean and full of lush flowers covering all over the resort. Clearly, this is a fun family orientated hotel and next time I’m staying here!!

Sen Lin

I love being the first to try something new and exciting! This asian inspired restaurant has only been opened for a few months at the Grand Velas Resorts.  Even if you are not staying at the resort, but some what close by, I would recommend this restaurant to anyone.  They had a mix of Vietnamese, Thai, Japanese and Chinese dishes.  Of course, Japanese being my favorite culture and one of my favorite cuisines, I went with the miso soup and the fresh fish of the day (Mahi Mahi)  with a soy ginger ponzu glaze sauce. At the end of dinner, Chef came out to greet us and I was thrilled!  I always love thanking the chef personally for a superb meal! 

Travel Guide to Sayulita

If you can, take a day trip out to Sayulita! It will be worth the hour drive, I PROMISE! We spent the first part of our day at La Playa Los Muertos, (Beach of the Dead). Don’t let the name fool you! This beach get its name because you have to walk past a cemetery to access this gorgeous beach. For a while, we had the cove to ourselves, and we appreciated how quiet it was. Super relaxing and loved how the sand sparkled with gold glimmer! Yes, GOLD SHINY SAND!! When we left we passed by the main beach of Sayulita and I saw hundreds of people in the water or sitting on the shore. 100% if you are wanting to relax and just feel like you have the place to yourselves, you need to go to La Playa Los Muertos.

After spending the morning on the beach, we took a stroll through this vibrant and colorful little town. Tourism has been a big benefit for this town, you can tell based off of the stores and restaurants. We worked up an appetite after sun bathing in the morning, and made our way to La Esperanza. Filled our bellies with fresh pressed juices, the most delicious guacomole I have ever had, and delicious healthy dishes. If you are vegan or vegetarian, than this is the spot for you!

Once you have a full belly, I recommend strolling the colorful streets, treat yourself to pallets (Mexican ice cream), or go shopping in some of their trendy shops!