Mexican Holiday

We spent a week at the Grand Velas Resort in February. We were not disappointed. We booked 3 rooms - all were spacious and exquisitely appointed. All the rooms were like mini-suites: sitting room, bedroom, and luxurious bath.

We were greeted warmly by the staff when we arrived. We were given a very short orientation tour and then escorted to our rooms.

Pool and lounge area were wonderful - the pool water was perfect - a bit cooler than the outside temp, so we felt totally refreshed when going into the pool. The infinity edge pool - WOW! The pool has a "swim-up" bar that our teenagers could not get enough of - lots and lots of virgin pina coladas were consumed. The resort is all-Inclusive - everything, including the drinks, were included.

The resort is situated right on the edge of the water - so the views of Banderas Bay, sunsets, etc., are spectacular. The only negative with the location is that beach is small and not too inviting - though the kids had plenty of room to toss around a football and/or frisbee.

We ate at the resort most of the time - there are three different restaurants plus a buffet restaurant on site. Reservations for dinner at the specialty restaurants are a must because they are in demand with guests wanting to try something other than the buffet.

Nuevo Vallarta is several miles from downtown Puerto Vallarta. We ventured downtown one time via taxi cab. It was well worth the drive to explore downtown Puerto Vallarta - charming town with loads of shopping, farmacias, restaurants.

We spent one day whale watching on Banderas Bay - oh my - it was so exciting because we did see many whales. The waters were quite calm and no one became seasick. We were lathered in sunscreen cause the sun was very, very warm. Great day on the water was had by all.