After all of the energy it takes to plan and execute a wedding, Verana provides the perfect relaxed environment in which to honeymoon. It is pure bliss to be perched beneath one of their signature bright orange umbrellas next to the pool on the hillside overlooking the sea... The outside world with all its emails, phones and TVs seems a million miles away. Lovely. It's the ideal respite from the frantic way in which most Americans live their lives. Beyond that, there is something about the tranquil and architectural atmosphere that is particularly beautiful - call it feng shui if you like, but the way in which the unique "rooms," the spa, the dining platforms and such are designed and situated on that particular hillside is special. Add to that the unique quality of the very different indoor and outdoor rooms each with it's own distinct view - it's perfect... almost.
We were not disappointed... that is, until we really thought about how much we spent for the experience. Normally we are extremely budget-conscious travelers, but since this was our honeymoon, we threw caution to the wind and 2 weeks before our wedding, we booked Verana without much thought to the price-tag. But when we reviewed our credit card bills and really considered what our 5-day stay at Verana cost nearly 3000usd, we were flabbergasted. Yes the setting was beautiful and the food was good but basically all of the...After all of the energy it takes to plan and execute a wedding, Verana provides the perfect relaxed environment in which to honeymoon. It is pure bliss to be perched beneath one of their signature bright orange umbrellas next to the pool on the hillside overlooking the sea... The outside world with all its emails, phones and TVs seems a million miles away. Lovely. It's the ideal respite from the frantic way in which most Americans live their lives. Beyond that, there is something about the tranquil and architectural atmosphere that is particularly beautiful - call it feng shui if you like, but the way in which the unique "rooms," the spa, the dining platforms and such are designed and situated on that particular hillside is special. Add to that the unique quality of the very different indoor and outdoor rooms each with it's own distinct view - it's perfect... almost.
We were not disappointed... that is, until we really thought about how much we spent for the experience. Normally we are extremely budget-conscious travelers, but since this was our honeymoon, we threw caution to the wind and 2 weeks before our wedding, we booked Verana without much thought to the price-tag. But when we reviewed our credit card bills and really considered what our 5-day stay at Verana cost nearly 3000usd, we were flabbergasted. Yes the setting was beautiful and the food was good but basically all of the other luxury amenities that are usually standard at this price were suspiciously missing.
When a hotel charges 300-500usd per night (especially in Mexico) the beds should be delicious with soft mattresses and gushy pillows, the service should be exquisite, the food should be consistent, the staff professional and even the fixtures should be high quality. You should be able to order a drink at the pool, the massages should be excellent and if your room has A/C (which only 2 rooms have), it should work. We did not have the pleasure to experience these qualities at Verana.
The beds were standard firm mattresses with mediocre pillows, the food service was shotty at best and although the food was quite tasty, it was very inconsistent. Ordering the same dish two days in a row brought two completely different interpretations - especially since they were frequently out of key ingredients. When you first arrive at Verana they kindly ask you if you have any food allergies but apparently they just file this information away - far, far away - because I was served my single allergen no less than 5 times! The waiters were poorly trained and forgetful and sometimes we had to wait an extremely long time for a part of our meal. Not necessarily a bad thing given the exquisite setting in which you're sitting but again, for the price, we expected more.
Ultimately, we feel that Verana is not a good value for the money. You can argue that you're paying for the remoteness, the location, the beauty... and yes, this is true to an extent, but when you go to turn on the water in your sink with an old rusty plumbing lever, it's difficult to feel like you're getting your money's worth. With significant praise from books, magazines and other travelers, including Frommer's guidebook stating that Verana is the "current favorite place to stay in Mexico," Verana has gotten nothing but good press and mostly for good reason. But as is frequently and sadly the case with many a good thing, we feel that what's come of this good fortune is that they've lowered their standards and upped their prices. They've got a good thing going and they're taking advantage of it. But we also think that if they're not careful, they're going to get burned. With all the rave reviews, guests will come to Verana with increasingly higher and higher expectations but they will be met by lower and lower standards - the perfect recipe for disappointment.
A quick aside, it should be noted that purchasing the packages (honeymoon, romance, etc) offers no discount - it costs the same to select the individual activities/spa treatments/etc a la carte, so unless you can't think for yourself, this is definitely a better option to avoid paying for things you're in which you're not particularly interested.
One final note on Verana - although they have committed to staying open until the end of July (well into the rainy season), they were seemingly unprepared for what that may bring. One of the bartender/guides told us stories about horrible insect hatches, how the path up to the resort becomes a virtual river and rampant mudslides -- all of which happen every summer. When I asked him how he anticipated dealing with these problem when they have guests, he simply said, "well, we know we're going to have some guests that say 'get me out of here now' and we're going to have figure out a way to deal with that." This does not sound like a real action plan to me.
That said, we were there in mid-June and didn't have any problems with the weather - it was hot and humid and rained a few times in the evening but did not negatively affect our overall experience. This was not true for another guest staying in the Tea House (the most expensive room at Verana) who complained that rainwater leaked through the roof and drenched their bed.
We also spent 2 nights at Casa Sin Tiempo which is reasonably pleasant and well located but, like Verana it is also VERY expensive for what you get. In just about any other Central or South American city, a room without glass windows (there are only shutters & bars on the windows, so if there's ANY street noise, you're hearing it) or A/C would certainly cost less than 50usd per night - even with the continental breakfast that's served. Granted, PV is expensive, but 150usd for such a simple room?! There are certainly other options in PV that are a much better value for the money.
In the end, we enjoyed our honeymoon at Verana, but we sincerely hope that the owners of this beautiful resort will take comments like ours into consideration so that they may continue to be successful into the future.More
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