Travel agents in St. Louis MO occasionally have the opportunity to visit destinations and resorts so they can share first-hand experiences with their clients who are planning to travel in the future. The following travelogue details the journey of a St. Louis travel agent in and around Puerto Vallarta, Mexico in February 2014. Come along and take an insider’s tour of some of Puerto Vallarta’s most beautiful and luxurious resorts. We’ll be adding more entries on her journey in the days to come.
Each year during the winter, a group of friends and family gather somewhere tropical to get out of the St. Louis Missouri cold. With the winter weather in St. Louis this particular year, we were anxious to get to someplace warm. This year, our “Friend Fiesta” group of twenty chose the tropical paradise of Puerto Vallarta. What an amazing choice it was.
Flight and Arrival
The flight from St. Louis to Puerto Vallarta was painless. From St Louis, we had a simple connection through Dallas on American Airlines, but most carriers have convenient flights every day. Some even have nonstop flights directly into Puerto Vallarta.
Arrival into the Puerto Vallarta airport was easy; immigration went smoothly. Customs, like in all international locations, have the red and green light. Push the button and pray for a green light, but even a red one just means a quick search of carry-on bags. As in most resort areas of Mexico, our next area in the airport was the awful hallway of timeshare sales representatives. I give everyone the same advice: be polite, but keep walking. Upon seeing the outdoors, we knew our tour operator would be waiting for us. This is also the location where one can easily hail a cab to their resort.
Once we departed the airport, we were quick to see beautiful downtown Puerto Vallarta. With everything from taco shacks, to Starbucks, the bustling city is clean and authentic. We passed the beautiful marina where we saw huge cruise ships in port. Our hotel was about thirty minute drive from the airport.
Secrets Vallarta Bay: Our First Stay
For this getaway, we chose to stay at two resorts. Our first stay was at the beautiful adults-only Secrets Vallarta Bay located on Banderas Bay. Our first interaction at the resort was with the welcoming bell staff that greeted us with a warm “Welcome Home”. The resort shines with a beautiful open-air lobby. The infinity edge pool featured super-comfortable seating where we enjoyed cocktails and entertainment. Check-in can also be completed in this pool area. We watched the most spectacular sunsets from this location each night.
Although our rooms weren’t quite ready when we arrived, we were offered a place to change clothes and enjoy the property. We exchanged blue jeans and sweaters for swimsuits and flip-flops after enjoying an amazing lunch at the World Cafe. World Cafe has a buffet each day for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Lunch consisted of everything from fresh sushi, to a pasta station, sandwiches, salads, etc. In my opinion, the food at Secrets Vallarta Bay is consistently exceptional.
We headed off to the pool, where pool chairs covered in lilac towels were abundant. We found our way to the infinity edge swim-up bar. Jokes, conversation, and much laughter had us entertained throughout the afternoon. The service at Secrets Vallarta was impeccable; the drinks were top shelf, and food was available whenever you wanted it.
Tomorrow, we’ll continue the journey at Secrets Vallarta with thoughts on the room, the beach, the food and the spa. Being a travel agent in St. Louis Missouri is the best job in the world!
