Villa Amor or other PV advice?!

DB2B · 08-19-2008, 08:46 AM

I've been trying to narrow down the options for our DW (our initial plan of Hawaii proved SPEN-DEE!), and I think the PV area is what I'm looking for. Does anyone have any info or (even better!) pictures of Villa Amor in Sayulita? Or any info on the area around Yelapa (south of PV)? Sayulita seems to be what we - or I - am looking for:

I want to have a relatively simple party, basically. We're inviting about 100 people, figuring 50-75 will come, and we really just want to have a really relaxed, fun time.

I'm not really big into the resort scene, but am looking into renting a villa for at least my part of the wedding party, so we have a house where people can come and chillax during the day.

Location wise, I don't want to be in a real touristy strip, but would like to feel like we're in Mexico - for reference, I hate Waikiki in Hawaii; we have a lot of family there, so we go where the locals go and I enjoy it a lot more.

I'd like the area we're in to be walkable - we have a wide range of people coming though, and I don't know how accessible taxis are (for the older folks). Basically, I don't want to dictate where everyone stays, but I'd like everyone to feel close. And that way we can walk to dinner, drinks, etc. as a group.

As for the wedding, I figure wherever it is, provided the bar is good, people will have a good time! I'm not too concerned with flowers or details, so I figure I can work that out wherever we decide.

Am I asking too much?? Is it possible to put this all together?!

Mishka Designs · 08-19-2008, 11:59 AM

I do think it's doable and I do think Sayulita is one of your best choices. It's not impossible to get into town from Sayulita, in case you have guests who wish to do so. The only thing about Sayulita is that you'll want to make sure to give your guests plenty of time to rent and lock-in where they are going to stay, because it is a very small beach town and I can easily see places being booked quickly.

I do love Villa Amor - I don't have other photos of the villa - BUT I will admit that I think it's pretty $$$.

You might also try San Pancho or San Francisco (it's the same place - San Pancho is just the nickname for Francisco) - they have a lot of really beautiful villas there - I went there a few weeks' ago for a ceremony, having never been there before, and I was really impressed- I had no idea they had villas like that in that area. San Pancho is about 10 minutes north of Sayulita.

You won't need a taxi in Sayulita or San Francisco - very, very small towns. To get into PV, if someone would wish to do so, you can either take a taxi or take a combi (like a vw van) - I think a bus passes by Sayulita as well. If you do stay in Sayulita or San Pancho I might suggest that you have a day where you all pitch-in and rent a van and driver so you can go into vallarta for those who have never been there to see stuff, shop, etc. But it's just a suggestion.

Best of luck and congratulations!

edna · 08-19-2008, 08:17 PM

I've been in Sayulita twice and each time gets more accesible than the other, Villa Amor is one of my favorite places on earth, is so romantic!!! You cant go wrong with Villa Amor... you are going to love it. Did you saw their packages on their website?

We stayed in a villa 3 years ago it was across the street from Villa Amor, the villa is called Casa Kukana, is lovely and the owner is such a sweet... just in case you need something affordable as an option for your guests.

dinogomez · 08-20-2008, 10:44 AM

Good luck with that and happy planning!!

K&Rwedding · 08-21-2008, 06:26 PM

Congrats on the wedding planning.

I went to Sayulita's when I was in PV in May. It took us 40 minutes and a $2 bus ride from Puerto Vallarta. This is a great place for a wedding. When I was there, we actually hung out with a bunch of people our age who were there for a wedding. Here is the feedback they gave us.

They loved the place and were all beach and surfer people. This is the only thing to do there. There is about 4 restaurants that are good to eat at. The other places are little Mexican joints. The town is all dirt roads and you can walk everywhere. There is only one main street.
The people we met were there for a week and they did say they were bored after day 3. Many of them took the bus to PV, but were upset that they had to be back the same day. They said it wouldn't be bad if they were there for 4 days max, but 1 week was too long because there was nothing to do. If your guests are really chill, hippy, beach loving people I don't think this will be a problem. The people on the beach are all very free loving hippy types. There were people from age 18 - 65 smoking weed on the beach all day long. I have to be honest it was a great change for us when we came for the day from PV but it was also nice to know we were going back to PV where there were more options.
Sayulita is beautiful and the beach is great and villas will take your breath away. Your guests could go golfing at near by Punta Mita.

You can also do south of Puerto Vallarta it isn't very touristy, feels more like South of Italy type of place. Lots of locals and great options for eating and going out. I really love Zona Romatican, didn't love Centro or PV city part, but the rest was like a dream come true.

I have tons of pictures of both Sayulita and PV if you would like. Just email me.

Best of luck

DB2B · 08-25-2008, 03:14 PM

Thanks for the info everyone! Very helpful! I think we'll just have to head down there and check it out for ourself. YOu all make it sound lovely, but i have to admit, we (and our group) will probably be less hippy/more yuppy, so maybe we should stay in PV and take a group trip to Sayulita... Still, I'm looking forward to visiting in November - then I can see what everyone is talking about!

ColleenMarie · 09-10-2008, 02:16 PM

Hello,
Did you ever decide on whether you will have you wedding at Villa Amor? I am also considering that option. My fiance and I surf and so do some of our friends, but many do not so I am hesitating a bit. I would love to hear what you decided.

DB2B · 09-10-2008, 09:06 PM

Hi Colleen! We haven't made a final decision yet. We're getting married in November 2009, so we're making a scouting trip this November. I really love the idea of Sayulita, but after discussing it with my Mr., we're leaning more towards something in town. We're looking at staying at the Buenaventura Grand and Villa Premiere, since they're within walking distance of downtown and our group likes to go out. So we're thinking of possibly doing the wedding at one of those hotels, or somewhere offsite like Las Caletas or a restaurant. I like the Botanical Gardens too, but it's a bit further out. Which is a long way of saying, all options are still open! We're thinking of Sayulita maybe as a honeymoon area and keeping the wedding closer to the action of Puerto Vallarta, but we've never been down there. I think once we've seen everything in person we'll have a better idea of what suits us. I had to count out Villa Amor, though, because I read that it has some steep hills/stairs and we have some older folks and possibly kids that might have difficulty maneuvering

Have you been looking anywhere other than Villa Amor? I think I looked at Costa Azul and Playa Escondida as well as a few places up in San Francisco (I think the Hotel Cielo Rojo and I really loved Casa Obelisco in San Pancho, though I don't know if they do weddings). It's hard to balance ease of flying in and getting there with the romantic getaway. I'd love to hear what you're looking at though!

ColleenMarie · 09-14-2008, 08:50 PM

Hi DB2B,
Still searching for the best option! The good thing is there are so many great choices and I am sure each one will be great. We have many surfer hippie types in our group and some yogis too so we like the idea of Sayulita. Our original idea was to get a house on the beach and just have a whole weekend party. From my research, the villa owners are not really down with that, they want to charge event fees for every night you have guests over. So we started looking elsewhere and found Villa Amor. A good friend has been there and tells me I can't go wrong, it is gorgeous, romantic and Sayulita has excellent cuisine. The only issue is booking rooms for guests, it is so small and unless the guests all book right away then I would be worried that they might end up having to commute to the wedding, which would obviously not work well after a ton of margaritas. So I am still trying to find the perfect villa. Do you know of many options for guests to stay in Sayulita? I would love to see your photos or hear your impressions on what find in November, although I hope to book something this week:)

Mel&B · 09-18-2008, 07:13 PM

Hi Everyone,

I am a newbie, but I think I have some info to add to this post. I got engaged in Sayulita in May and I'm getting married at Playa Fiesta in May of
'09. In May of '08 I stayed at Playa Escondida for 7 nights. This is actually where my fiance proposed! PE is a beautiful hotel and they do offer weddings, but the terrain is very hilly and not ideal for the elderly. The rooms are really cool, but they are definitely rustic and not for everyone. I would only send experienced travels and young people to this hotel for a wedding location. PE used to have a wedding link on their website, but when we visited the manager was reevaluating their wedding packages. It seems they were losing money on their weddings. Also, the prices keep rising at PE. Some rooms have increased by 100% in price since we made our reso's last year. I do have a special place in my heart for PE and I'm not trying to knock it, but I don't think it's for everyone as far as weddings go. If you have a small, well-traveled group, then I would consider it. Let me know if you have any more questions regarding Playa Escondida.

Next up- If anyone is even thinking about planning a wedding in Sayulita, please contact Andrea at Sayulita Dream Weddings. She is a gem and an awesome wedding planner in Sayulita. I met her in Sayulita and she would have been my coordinator had I decided to go in that direction. Check her out at Sayulita Dream Weddings One note, Andrea just had a baby, so she and her husband are taking the month of Sep. off. However, I think if you did email her, she would help you out. I could go on and on, so please let me know if you have additional questions.

Villa Amor- I thought about having my wedding her, but the cost is $2600 for one night. This was too much for us to pay, and we decided to move on. Andrea has pics of a wedding she did there, and it was gorgeous. It has a huge lawn overlooking the ocean on the north end of Sayulita. I might have chosen VA as our location, but I think we are getting more bang for our buck at Playa Fiesta.

I hope I helped to answer any questions. Take Care!