Enjoy a Five Star villa on a Three Star Budget
We were the ten amigos—a group of five couples who had heard a lot of great things about Puerto Vallarta and wanted to plan a group adventure. Yes, we were spoiled. We all worked hard and wanted to wrap ourselves in the luxury of a five star experience but didn’t want to break the bank in the process...
Still, some of us had found that five star hotels were not always what they were cracked up to be. Their five star reputations were sometimes twenty years old. Along with their high prices, several of us were tired of being nickeled and dimed on charges for internet, phone, parking, and access to the fitness center. Not to mention the high room service charges and the choice between valet charges or the 400 yard trek from the parking lot. Yes, we spoiled bunch of amigos still wondered if a better deal was possible.The Gustavo Diaz Ordaz Airport is located 13 miles from Villa Encantada. There are frequent taxi or van transfers from the airport at reasonable rates. It will cost $20-25 per taxi from the airport to Villa Encantada and takes about 25 minutes.
Renting a Villa
After checking the internet, we found most of the five star Puerto Vallarta hotels were all inclusive meaning incessant buffets and sometimes less than stellar food. The going rates were $350-450 per day per couple plus 17% tax. That’s when the idea of renting a villa in Puerto Vallarta came to mind. Sounded sort of luxurious— kind of like Lifestyles Of the Rich and Famous. It also sounded kind of chancy--would it really be a good deal and how would we separate the five star villa from the minus two star casita? Our only previous experience as a group had been sharing a ski cabin. One amigo had once used vrbo, vacation rental by owner, so we checked their website. It has gorgeous rental properties. Our dilemma—are they as advertised and what were we really getting? Turns out to be easier than I thought.
We went to the Puerto Vallarta section and narrowed it down to five bedroom villas so that each couple would have a private bedroom. We found that most of the more luxurious villas had individual bathrooms with each bedroom. The next part was a little trickier.
Nearly all the luxury villas had a houseman and maid, but when it came to cooks, the service provided varied and in some cases there were extra charges for the cook. There were also differences in taxes, with some villas charging 17% extra and others including it in the price. After searching vrbo.com completely as well as alternative sites we found on Google, and with good deal of friendly debate about alternative villas, we finally settled on a luxurious air conditioned villa near Conchas Chinas, Puerto Vallarta’s best area.
Seeing is Believing
Villa Encantada, our elegant home for a week was close to the beach and close to the best part of the City, and had both jungle and ocean views. It rented for $1,100 a night and tax was included in the price, as well as a houseman, a maid, and a cook for two meals a day. It even had a special that the seventh night was free which made it even more within our budget. This worked out to $190 per day per couple. We took the leap of faith that the pictures weren’t like a bad experience on match.com. Would the villa actually look like the beautiful pictures we had seen on the internet? We were about to find out.
Finally the long awaited day arrived. The ride from the airport was a relatively easy 20 minute taxi cab drive. Arriving at the villa, we were greeted by the friendly smile of Humberto, the houseman. He had cold margaritas, chips, and homemade salsa and guacamole waiting for us on the palapa bar next to the pool. Not at all a bad way to start—our future looked bright!
Villa Encantada Pool Area in the Day and Night
Anxious to look around, we had Humberto give us a quick tour of the villa. We had lucked out—the villa actually looked like the pictures—maybe better! The colors were gorgeous, the villa was open and airy, and the views were impressive. All five bedroom suites had access to balconies and outdoor areas. The main floor had a large cantera stone deck area with a beautiful pool and spa tub. The windows, doors, and closets were made out of a rich Mexican hardwood and the floors and columns were all cantera stone. Large, colorful artwork decorated walls throughout the villa and the décor was consistently designer quality. The bathrooms had striking stonework and large open showers. We were ten happy amigos!
Humberto, Isabel and Walter- Villa Encantada Staff
For those of us who couldn’t do without our electronics, we had free high speed internet, a fax machine, and free calls to the states. No one complained about the 50 inch plasma TV with 200 satellite channels including sports either.
Life is Good
It wasn’t hard to adjust to life at the villa. We got up each day to a breakfast served on the patio. Lunch was great leftovers from the night before or items we had asked Humberto to pick up at the store. Any food, drink, or sundry items we needed were picked up by Humberto and charged to us at actual cost. We never had a houseman before, but it got quite habit forming! ---and food costs per person were lower than buying food at the supermarket back home-- definitely an improvement over all inclusives!!
Afternoons tended to be spent around the pool and palapa bar with a cold drink close by. Puerto Vallarta has a myriad of activities from fishing and whale watching, to art walks, to tree canopy riding, but I guess we would have to do those next time around. We were having too much fun just hanging out with our friends. And why leave, when you can have massages or yoga classes on the open air patios at the villa.
At night, we had planned to visit the fabulous restaurants Puerto Vallarta is known for, but we were lulled into wonderful evenings drinking and dining at the large outside dining area. When you start with appetizers and drinks by the pool and a gorgeous sunset, it’s hard to muster up the energy to clean up and go out to dinner! Walter, the Mexican chef, was quite a character and a real luxury. He tried very hard to please us with his delicious meals and beamed when we praised the quality of his cooking and his presentation. A luxury vacation is when the hardest thing you do all day is figure out what to mark on the seven page menu for future meals. Coconut shrimp for dinner? Mango crepes for breakfast? Who could choose? If this is how the jet set lives, sign me up!
Sunset from The Patio at Villa Encantada
Following our relaxing evenings on the patio, we retired to our luxurious beds. The beds plus the soft tropical night breeze provided me some of the best sleep I’ve ever had. Over the course of our stay, the unexpected part for all of us was that our wonderful houseman, Humberto, our sweet hardworking housekeeper, Isabel, and Walter, our effervescent cook extraordinaire became like family to us. We all came to realize that this feeling was not something that you could easily achieve with a hotel staff. As our last day sadly arrived, the ten amigos were getting ready to ride off into the sunset, we all vowed to return again!
Written By: Jacquie McAniff