Review - Peurto Vallarta, Mexico

Jan. 18/12

Trevor and I are in Mexico this week, at Neuvo Vallarta. We are staying at the lovely Occidental Grand Neuvo Vallarta. This hotel has been re-modeled and it really does look, feel and act like a 5 star hotel, which it is rated. We found the staff to be fantastic, they were always eager to please their guests in any way they could, right from the Bell boys to the Chef.

Speaking of the Chef we were honoured to meet Occidental’s Executive Chef Andre several times during the week. Chef Andre has a brigade of about 32 and his days easily run 12 hours. He told us that he is originally from Montreal, Canada and has been in Mexico for over 10 years. Just from talking to him you can hear the dedication to his craft in his voice.

His staff work very hard, coming in at 5am to get the breakfast started and the restaurant does not close until approximately 9:30 at night. Today Trevor had the opportunity to check out the kitchen with Chef Andre, considering it was during the lunch service and they were fairly busy Trevor said the kitchen looked like it is kept very clean and they have all the updated conveniences.

Just slipping away from the kitchen for a minute we would also like to say how pleased we were with Luis, the Sunquest representative. He booked some great day trips for us. Monday we had the tour of the City, which included a trip to see how Tequila is made the old fashioned way. Mmm smooth. Tues we went whale watching and wed aft a canal riverboat ride to see crocs, reptiles and birds in their natural habitat. Tomorrow we will be going on a pirate ship, which includes dinner and a show.

On the next several inserts I have talked about some of the meals we have had and included some pics.

Please read on and if you are looking for a wonderful winter getaway this is definitely the place to go. This is nowhere near where there is any danger and we felt comfortable to leave our bags anywhere and know they were totally safe. The natives of Mexico living down here are spectacular people, they treat everyone like a special guest, even away from the hotel.