Unpack your
bags and live the Las Palmas
experience
I’m not big
on all-inclusives, but Air-Transat’s complete package at the 4-star Las Palmas by the Sea
Hotel was a delightful surprise. This immaculately clean, personable hotel is
just the right size, has just the right number of swimming pools, eateries,
bars, sea-view rooms and cute nighttime stage shows to satisfy any discerning
stress-filled traveler. The staff is adoptable!
Thirty-eight
years old, Las Palmas
has 225 rooms on four floors. There’s enough space between each room to give
you comfy privacy. The two pools – one
for the kids and for us older folk – are warm and both offer expansive sea
views of sunny Banderas
Bay sparkling in front of you.
I loved the
enormous palapa-covered Aire del Mar Restaurant. It boasts an enormous buffet
with its endless constantly fresh international cuisine. A delectable array of
choices, including Mexican dishes are presented in dashing style. By the way,
get David at the Coco Lobby Bar to make your drinks; he’s an expert. All
drinks, like the food, is free.
Guakamajazz,
à la carte restaurant is equally lovely, and like its buffet partner, it
straddles with a view the sea. Fish, meats, lasagna and more are graciously
served. Order a Spanish coffee at the
end of your meal and watch the waiter prepare it using his fire torch. It’s the
real thing!
Las Palmas is like a spacious
home-away-from-home haven where friendliness, fun and a variety of excursions
put the best of Vallarta only a bus-ride away.
Warning: avoid booking during spring
break for college students!
Puerto Vallarta’s Excellent Excursions
Staying at Las Palmas by the Sea Hotel in Puerto Vallarta, I was able to directly book
some great excursions. Let the adventures begin! I took the Trio City
and Tropical Tour (really low in price but high in variety sightseeing). The
guide was a walking historian, only we were on a bus! We stopped in the
neighborhood of Pitillal to enjoy its highly acclaimed Saint Michael Archangel
Church.
It looked old but its construction started in 1967 and ended in 1983.
The town definitely had that real Mexican flavour – distinctly different from Vallarta’s famous
Malecon downtown area where over 2-kilometres of boardwalk boast wonderful
statues with great names: Nostalgia, Millenia In Search of Reason, Teachers and
more.
Stores and markets abound
We then
headed near Mismaloya where Night of the Iguana was filmed; the more ominous
site we ended up in was in the jungle spot of Kawitu where a scene from the
movie Predator was shot.
A lesson on organic tequila was given to us before we
sat to lunch at a series of rocky waterfalls.
From
Vallarta’s romantic zone, I hopped on a water taxi heading for the tropical island of Yelapa. On the way, we spotted several
humpback whales. Captain Gama took me to a lovely waterfall in Yelapa, and then
we descended little winding lanes – cobblestone gems that harken back to a time
gone by. At Rogelio’s, a makeshift beach restaurant, I enjoyed a fantastic
seafood soup and guacamole. Then, Gama took me to Lagunita where about 25
palapa huts become your accommodations. The beach is so lovely. Free and
natural, Lagunita is a primitive paradise where simplicity flows. Owned by Luke
Donahue, this unique place is a yoga and tai chi retreat, but one can simply
stay here and watch the calm ocean waters whisper to you outside your cozy
room.
Beach Boy Boat Day is the Best
This is a wonderful day of snorkeling
at Los Arcos – two enormous rocks jutting out of the ocean (oodles of fish to
discover), and then being taken to silky sands of quiet Animas Beach – certainly the most beautiful
in the entire area. You can stay on the boat and travel by donkey up to the
waterfall, or after enjoying your free lunch at Animas, take a sneak peek at
the stunning Hotelito Mio. For a minimum of 500$ US/night, you stay in your own
luxury palapa- covered glass house. The views are beyond description. The boat
guys are hilariously entertaining. Before hopping on the boat, the port serves
you coffee and cookies. I loved this excursion.
Garza Blanca:
Botanical Garden:
