My wife and I stayed at Verana at the end of July for our 10 year anniversary. We chose the Studio, as it had A/C and late July in Mexico is a wee bit warm.
Verana is a difficult place to review. It is intentionally incomparable to almost every other destination. My wife and I stayed many years ago at Ladera in St. Lucia, which is the only marginally comp I can come up with and we found during our stay at Verana that we were constantly comparing the two. Verana suffers by the comparison, but only because Ladera, and even more so, St. Lucia, were so incredible. Prior to discussing any negatives, I want to emphasize that we loved Verana and would highly recommend it to anyone.
What you should know: Verana is a living movie set. No surprise, as I understand it is owned and "hand built" by two Hollywood movie set designers. This has huge positives and some small negatives.
The negatives: The property, including the Studio, is not particularly comfortable. It is insanely beautiful, wtih all the views and angles and colors that you would expect in a well produced Hollywood film about paradise, but when you actually climb it, it is a bit stiff. For instance, we went to Verana at the end of July, and it was hot. We chose the Studio because it had A/C. The A/C is no match for Mexican summer...My wife and I stayed at Verana at the end of July for our 10 year anniversary. We chose the Studio, as it had A/C and late July in Mexico is a wee bit warm.
Verana is a difficult place to review. It is intentionally incomparable to almost every other destination. My wife and I stayed many years ago at Ladera in St. Lucia, which is the only marginally comp I can come up with and we found during our stay at Verana that we were constantly comparing the two. Verana suffers by the comparison, but only because Ladera, and even more so, St. Lucia, were so incredible. Prior to discussing any negatives, I want to emphasize that we loved Verana and would highly recommend it to anyone.
What you should know: Verana is a living movie set. No surprise, as I understand it is owned and "hand built" by two Hollywood movie set designers. This has huge positives and some small negatives.
The negatives: The property, including the Studio, is not particularly comfortable. It is insanely beautiful, wtih all the views and angles and colors that you would expect in a well produced Hollywood film about paradise, but when you actually climb it, it is a bit stiff. For instance, we went to Verana at the end of July, and it was hot. We chose the Studio because it had A/C. The A/C is no match for Mexican summer heat. No shame there, but you should know that other than the bed, the Studio is uninhabitable from 10 am to 8 pm in July. And, regardless of heat, the Studio is not made to be lived in. It is spartan, with no place inside to really sit and read a book. Not sure if the other rooms are like that. Likewise, the restaurant and outdoor seating are gorgeous...but the chairs are horribly uncomfortable. It was somewhat disappointing...at Ladera, your room looks like a movie set and is incredibly comfortable all at once.
In a larger sense, Verana feels a bit forced, like it was made to convince you that you are really adventurous and you have escaped from civilization. So, you have to hike up a muddy trail to get there, with mules carrying your bags, and no dock for the boat. Don't get me wrong--it does an awesome job of portraying the part, but it feels like just that--a role.
The positives: Pretty much everything else.
People. I read a few complaints about the staff prior to our trip. Those must have come from pampered jackasses. We were at the end of the season, and the staff had been whittled down by attrition and had to be looking forward to closing, and they were still incredible. Chris actually saved us from a near kayak disaster during a storm in the cove.
Meals. We normally avoid all inclusive joints because our experience is that means quantity over quality, and things like Maine lobster in Hawaii. Not Verana. Quantity was great, quality was otherwordly. I literally dream about the taco night. It is a shame that it is called taco night, because, if you wanted to do it justice, you would call it "rainbow beautiful mesmerizing awesome" night. And every other meal was insanely good. And it isn't just that the food is good, the setting for dinner is about as cool and sexy as you can get anywhere in the world, and the whole thing is done at a pace that we forgot exists. Food is just the exclamation point on the experience.
Yelapa. If we have one regret, it's that we didn't spend enough time in the Yelapa beach side bars. If you asked someone to close their eyes and describe a Mexican village off the beaten path, they would describe Yelapa. Waterfall, with someone selling Cokes in old bottles and dozens of kids swimming and screaming? Yup.
Spa. Best massage I have ever had.
Puerto Vallarta. It is sad that most Americans visiting Mexico end up in some gringo enclave with the word "Nuevo" preceding it. Old town Vallarta is safer than any large American city we've visited. NOT ONCE did someone hawk any goods whatsoever to us and not once did we feel the least bit uncomfortable. There are a million nooks and crannies to explore, with cool bars, restaurants and shops that are not there to cater to those who think McDonalds and Wal-Mart make a good Sunday afternoon.More
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