Featured Image: Villa La Estancia
I’ve always been a stickler for tradition during the holidays, so much so that I make a bucket list every season and follow it meticulously (do you receive our toolkit every month? Case in point). At Thanksgiving and Christmas, I expect cold weather, twinkling lights, holiday music, and festive flavors to collide into a merry little sensory experience. This year, the holiday season kicked off with a November getaway to Puerto Vallarta, where we stayed at Villa La Estancia in Riviera Nayarit. Between the time of year we visited and the incessant buzz of group chats making travel plans, the holidays were top of mind during our trip. So when I spotted menu items like pumpkin flour enchiladas and heard chatter about holiday decor going up soon, my sensory-driven self perked up. I had one main takeaway: I could surely spend the holidays here.
I never thought I’d say it, but here’s my official petition for a holiday trip to Mexico this year.
The Food
Most all-inclusive resorts serve forgettable buffet food you only eat because it’s there. Villa La Estancia operates on a hybrid model—bookable hotel rooms are mixed with privately-owned suites and vacation rentals, so all-inclusive packages are optional. This means the food has to be good better be good, because many of the patrons are dropping their credit cards at the end of the meal.
Dining outlets span everything from upscale steakhouses to Japanese sushi bars and poolside grills, each paying careful attention to detail, down to the plating. Whether we were dining at the flagship steakhouse, La Casona, for our farewell dinner (we had perfectly-cooked beef tenderloin that the sommelier, Hugo, paired with a wine from a boutique Mexican winery while a server serenaded the dining room with opera during the pianists’ breaks) or munching on wood-fired pizzas in the late afternoon, gazing out at the ocean, we were consistently amazed at the quality and consistency we found.
Holiday Programming
Villa La Estancia runs seasonal menus from Halloween through New Year’s. The Thanksgiving menu has things like pumpkin cream with whisky topped with a parmesan crisp, puffy pastries with confit turkey and pink mole, and a caramel apple mule. Christmas has almond-crusted lamb chops, Michoacán-style corundas with gingerbread cookies, and a green Grinch mimosa made with sparkling wine, pineapple juice, Blue Curaçao, a red sugar rim, and a strawberry on top. The New Year’s menu features baked pork loin in apple-anise sauce, spiced cake, and a Midnight Kiss cocktail: vodka, Blue Curaçao, lime, sparkling wine, and cherries.
Amenities & Details
Our suite had a full kitchen, a washer and dryer, a bathtub, a living room, a dining table, and a balcony facing the ocean. For families or groups traveling for the holidays, you have plenty of room to cook a meal, spread out, or open presents. Ubers were easy to get, and the concierge is there 24 hours a day to help should you need it.
All Villa La Estancia guests have access to the Villa del Palmar resort next door, giving you twice the restaurants and pools. And yes, they’re also included in the all-inclusive package. Our side of the property was more calm and laidback, while the Villa del Palmar side had more energy with an activities team, more families, a splash pad, and pool games. Ours had the swim-up bar, though, so that’s where we camped out.
Lastly, don’t skip a spa day during your trip. This was my mom’s first time in Mexico, and since it was days before her birthday, massages at the Tatewari Spa were a necessity. We took advantage of the hydrotherapy circuit after our treatment, which included glasses of chlorophyll water, a sauna, a steam room, a hot tub, a cold plunge, cucumber eye masks, and aromatherapy heat wraps. She didn’t want to leave.
They’ve long said there’s no place like home for the holidays, but if you’re up for stepping outside your comfort zone, I can’t recommend this resort enough.
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