First up before I get into today’s post, congratulations to the winner of my blogiversary giveaway, Linda Moore.  I drew Linda’s name using a random number generator (if you’re reading Linda, be sure to check your inbox for an email from me).

I have to admit, taking a tropical vacation just before Christmas can feel a bit discombobulating.  As you know, I did the bulk of my Christmas decorating before I left for Mexico, and lucky thing because now I’ve been lulled into thinking it’s still summer.

This was my third year at Velas Vallarta, a resort quite near the airport in Puerto Vallarta.

I’m extremely lucky in that my neighbor nnK’s family invites me along on their annual family holiday, and this year they invited my sister too!

As much as Velas goes all out to decorate for the holiday, it just doesn’t feel Christmas-like to me.

They fill their grounds with the most lovely poinsettias.

And they also have a very impressive Christmas tree in the lobby.

This year we were there for the Christmas tree lighting ceremony too.  They serve hot chocolate and cookies and have a performer singing Christmas carols.  I will admit that for that one evening I was reminded that Christmas was coming.

But honestly, when the bulk of your day is spent like this …

you very quickly forget all about the hustle and bustle of the holiday season.  You also quickly forget about the winter weather!

If you are looking for a nice resort in Puerto Vallarta, I can 100% recommend this one.

The grounds are absolutely immaculate.

The beach is lovely.

I like that it’s located deep in Banderas Bay, so rather than an endless horizon out to sea, you look across the bay at a lovely view of mountains.

The pools are incredible, and gigantic.

I’ll also note that they allow you to use flotation devices.  Maybe resorts ban them from their pools, but not Velas.  We bring our own floaties, you know, the kind with a drink holder …

and we float with a cocktail and/or a good book.

The rooms are very clean and spacious, and there is a large balcony.  The staff is excellent, very friendly and accommodating.

The breakfast buffet is fantastic.  They have a large selection of fruit, juices, eggs, bacon, sausages, etc.  They also have a custom omelette bar where they will make one with whatever you want inside.  They also have waffle/pancake/french toast chef and I visited her almost every morning.

Eating a delicious waffle and washing it down with a mimosa while sitting in a lovely open air restaurant right on the beach was heavenly.  Unfortunately it wasn’t until the last day that I figured out I could get a passion fruit mimosa, but the ones made with plain old orange juice were quite good too.

We ordered lunch by the pool nearly every day, and our poolside waiter Eric was happy to deliver whatever we wanted; hamburgers, pizza, sandwiches, nachos, salads, and more.

There are two restaurants at Velas, the more casual beachfront option where we had breakfast and a little fancier option that doesn’t have the view.  We had dinner in both, and we also ordered dinner from room service a couple of times and dined on our own balcony.

I mentioned that Velas Vallarta isn’t far from the airport, and you can see and hear planes taking off from poolside.  It really is hardly noticeable after a day or so.  It’s also in walking distance from the marina.

My sister and I walked down there a few mornings before breakfast.  I’ll share more about that in another post, so be sure to stay tuned!

And on that note, I have to go get re-acclimated to winter … the projected high of only 4° on Thursday should help, and maybe do just a little bit more Christmas decorating.  As much as I loved soaking up the sun for a week, it’s also good to be back!