Engagement at Verana - LONG WITH LOT OF PICS - Perfect honeymoon spot

[JMikla]

Taken from www.unusualhotelsoftheworld.com
Check out www.verana.com as well.

Floating above the Bay of Banderas and embraced by the mountains of the Valle de la Sierra Oriental rests VERANA.

This small, personal hotel and spa, is as unusual as it is remote.

8-room outpost of VERANA never fails to enchant guests. Luxurious yet surrounded by unadulterated nature on all sides, it is an amazing destination for weddings, honeymoons and get-away-from-it-all packages that take advantage of the fine food, setting and spa.

VERANA has just 8 guesthouses that dot the 5-acre property, lush with tropical plantings and fruit trees. All the guesthouses are unique in concept and feel. As Architectural Digest's Kathryn Harris said, "The bungalows are part of an ongoing play between inside and out, past and present, privacy and community, nature and manmade."

The Bar serves up sunsets, signature cocktails and a wine list featuring international and local producers as well as a good selection of top shelf tequila from the region. Not to mention the gourmet food.

 

 

*************My Journey to being a Mrs. Begins Here********************

 

We arrive in PV 30 mins late and all I know is we have to take a boat 30 mins to our destination. We have a 40 min taxi ride from the airport to Boca de Tomatlan which is where the pier was located that we would board the boat. The taxi trip was crazy! The driver kept doing the sign of the cross and although he said the speed limit 60 kms he was clearly doing 80+.

 

The driver came up to us at the taxi and started to try and take our bags. I had no idea who he was and was pretty concerned as to why he was taking our bags the opposite direction of where we were headed. Nolan had seen him in the boat, so he knew that it was ok, but didn't pass this on to me.. LOL. He just let me sweat it for a while.

 

      

View from the Pier                                                       View from the water on the boat ride

 

 

         

 

We arrive after a gorgeous 40 minute boat ride to a dock with a rock face and some stairs. We have arrived at our destination. This is me looking concerned as the porter has to carry my 45 pound bag up some stairs. I felt like such a jerk!

 

My finace had told me before the trip to pack light because a mule would have to carry my bags up a mountain. This sounded to me like a ploy to get me to not over pack, so I packed like any one would for a 2 week vacation, 45 pounds. In my defense 10 of it was towels and toiletries that wouldn't fit in his bag Turns out the mule was not a lie! We had an uphill hike for about 20 minutes to get to our destination, and the mule carried our bags all the way to the top.

 

           

 

            

  A sign for guests at the end of the public trail                The sign welcoming you to Verana

 

            

  Beautiful Lily pond                                                       The steps up to the dining area

 

 

 

So they finally let me in on the secret. The entire staff had been coached to not reveal that we were staying at Verana. I was told we were having dinner here. One of the porters gave us a tour of the property and sat us back down at the bar. FINALLY Nolan told me we were staying at the hotel. I was overjoyed and totally excited that we got to stay here. One of the lucky 8 couples at the resort. Yes that is right there are only ever 18 people at any one time.

 

The following pictures are of our "room" the tea house.

 

 

There were really no walls in this "room" and we had two living areas the "Tea House"/living room area and the bed room equipped with mosquito net, which made sleeping in the jungle feel more safe and very romantic. We woke up each day and looked at the bay through the mosquito net! They deliver (read sneek:)) coffee to your door with home baked goodies each day. AWESOME.

 

Ok back to the engagement story...................... TO BE CONITINUED posted pics takes a long time

[hzak1203]

Looking forward to seeing the rest:)

[rkingtx]

That place looks AWESOME! Thank you for sharing.

[CdnBeatPrincess]

Sounds like paradise, can't wait to see more pictures.

[taylorwd]

FABULOUS!!!!!  I must check out this place for myself!

[Amanda+Dave]

wow, that place looks amazing, can't wait to hear the rest of your story!

[Ayslinn]

woooow... where is that place?

[JMikla]

We went down to dinner over looking the Bay of Banderas and had an amazing meal. Maybe the best salad ever. Beets, carrots, mixed greens, walnuts, apple and goat cheese. So good! Followed by a seafood plate with snapper, shrimp and scallops. Verde sauce and yummy broccoli. And tempura banana with kiwi sauce. All paired with excellent local wine.

 

 

Following dinner one of the ladies that works at Verana came to our table and told us a surprise awaited us in the spa. I was so excited! We walked by flashlight to the spa and finally arrived there.

 

What awaited me took my breath away...........

 

 

There were hundreds of candles all over the spa. It was gorgeous. I cried as soon as we walked in. There was a coconut milk bath poured for us as well as a bottle of Veuve champagne (our favorite) and a fruit plate with cheese.

 

Just as I told Nolan that my heart was ready to explode he excused himself and left me in the spa for a second where just sat and tried to calm down. It was really the most beautiful thing I had ever seen.

When he came back I hugged and kissed him and thanked him for such an awesome surprise. Little did I know that wasn't the end of the surprises. He was just about to make my heart burst!

Before I knew it, he was down on one knee asking me to marry him. Between the tears, I jumped on him and hugged him and said "Yes! Yes thousand times yes!"

I don't even think I looked at the ring for the first ten minutes! Just cried and hugged him and jumped around a lot!

 

 

We spent another 10 days at this resort and extended from our original reservation of 7 days. It is the most unique and extraordinary place on earth. Nothing I have seen can compare, I am without words.

 

An excellent honeymoon location. All the couples that we met there were indeed on their honeymoons and joked with my fiance about what he would do for the honeymoon to outdo the engagement... I guess we will have to see.

 

Fairy Tale to be continued as we plan our wedding sometime next year!

[JMikla]

It's in Yelapa 30 south of PV

[DiamondGirl]

Amazing place! Can't wait to hear the rest.