Another great 10 days at the Villa Vera. The staff especially Israel, Teddy and Antonio are terrific. They make you feel like you are an old friend. The Villa Vera remains a good home base if you are not expecting to be on the beach. It is not for children and the hills and stairs may not make it the place for everyone. We stayed in 408 again and love the view.
Once again we used Sebastian as our resident driver and tour guide. In our opinion he is simply the best. His e-mail is: [--] should you wish to contact him. We took a day trip to Taxco. Stopped along the way for a breakfast at a local place he knows. Good food and interesting owners, cute children. The advantage to using Sebastian for these trips is that his car can navigate the narrow streets of Taxco that a van or tour bus cannot.
Lot’s of good restaurants, but La Tortuga is still our favorite. It is walking distance from the Villa Vera just down the hill, behind the Office Max.

First of all, this place was Great! I have read some mixed reviews but can't understand why. Everyone there treated us great. From check-in, to the bellboys, to the daily maid service, and the pool boy. Also the staff at the restraunt were excelent. We were there on a RVC timeshare exchange and had read that you would get an inferior room. Not for us. They took us directly to 301 and it was beautiful!! We travel alot and have stayed at many nice places but this was exceptional. The room was over-sized and very well furnished. The king bed was as good as any I have ever slept on. Some of the people writing reviews seem to be expecting an efficientcy, but these were never represented as such. There was a $10.00 charge to empty out the minifridge/bar and let us use it how we wanted, but I think that is reasonable since they have to send someone to empty it and then restock it once you leave. If you are spending any time here, you might find it helpful to pick up a microwave at wal-mart like we did. This was the first 1/2 of a 2 week trip that ended up at the Villa Vera in Zihuatanejo, so we also used the microwave there and then gave it to a waiter that help make our trip so memorable.

As nice as the inside was, very large marble bathroom, nice jacuzzi tub and shower combo, table with 2 comfortable chairs and a cozy loveseat, plenty of closet and drawer space, ect. the best thing about this villa is the outside. A gigantic veranda with a wet bar, a table with 2 chairs with pads, a hammock, another table with 2 more padded chairs and an umbrella out by the pool, and 2 lounges with full length pads that were actually comfortable, as well as a private pool that was about 25' by 16'.
We even had some private yard space. The pool was very important to us as we spent alot of time in and around it. It was in excelent shape and was maintained every day, very early in the morning. It was lit at night (at your option), and was always clean and inviting.

Although Acapulco itself was not as inspiring as we had hoped, there are some great things to do and see there, but we found our villa at the Villa Vera to be the highlight of the 1st week of our trip. You will find plenty of great places to eat, but we found the restaraunt at the Villa Vera to be our favorite. A gorgeous view of the bay, great food & service and resonable prices were a hard combination to beat. The off season hours were a little restrictive or we would have eaten there even more.

If peace and quite along with high quality furnishings and amenities are to your liking, I think it would be hard to beat the Villa Vera for your stay in Acapulco!

We LOVED Acapulco. Even though June and July are part of the rainy season, it only seems to rain at night in Acapulco (During the day, the difference in temperature from the land to the sea pushes the rain out to sea and it only comes to the coast when the land cools down at night, or something like that!). The daily temp. was about 85 with a constant cooler breeze coming off the ocean. The only tine the heat bothered us was when we walked along the traffic-busy main strip in Acapulco and the high-rise buildings blocked the breeze. June has very few tourists, so we were pampered wherever we went.

Everyone at Villa Vera was helpful and friendly. The buildings, grounds, and pools are all well maintained. The daily maid service was very thorough, including fresh flowers everyday, picked from the grounds. The bed at Villa Vera was the best I've ever slept on in Mexico. It had a 1-inch foam pad. YEAH! Towels were thick and nice. The only negative was an odd/unpleasant smell in our bathroom, which required leaving the window open to the heat. BUT, the limestone tiled tub was lovely.

July is a quiet month, so we were often the only ones in the pool near our building. The water temperature was perfect and the waterfall blocked out all outside sounds to make a truly relaxing escape. The buildings are laid out in such a way that every room seems private. The Palma Real restaurant is excellent and reasonably priced. They have an amazing breakfast. Try the banana bread and fresh carrot-pineapple juice! I’ve included a picture of the view form the restaurant. The view from the main pool is breathtaking, but I didn’t take my camera in the water! All the waiters are helpful, and service is great. Plus, Israel makes the world’s best pina coladas—with or without alcohol.

Overall, we enjoyed the Villa Vera as a vacation hideaway. It is quiet and relaxing. We enjoyed exploring the grounds which have various flowers and sculptured hedges. If the main drive is too steep for you, they have a truck to go up and down. We thought the location was convenient for walking to the commercial area. Taxis are also plentiful. The spa offers a good selection of treatments, and I had one of the most relaxing massages I've ever received. In summary, Villa Vera is not resort-style luxury, but it is charming, private, and friendly.

Sebastián Hernandez:
Based on so many positive recommendations from other reviewers, we contacted Sebastian in advance [--]so that he was there to pick us up at the airport. How wonderful to be able to walk by all of the salespeople and taxi drivers by saying, “I’m meeting someone.” I have vacationed in Mexico on five different trips to five different cities, and this is the first time that I have engaged a driver. I hope I can find others like Sebastian in the future. First, I can remember several miserably hot car rides from the airport, with part of my luggage on my lap. Not with Sebastian. He uses the air conditioning all the time and has plenty of room for luggage in the trunk in his 4-door car with a luggage rack on top. If you have a large group or need extra space, he also has a Suburban available.

Planning our week was easy because Sebastian speaks lovely English. My husband and daughters and I told him what interested us; we got ideas from him and others; and we set our own schedule a day a two at a time. Sebastian was always on time, friendly, and helpful.

Sebastian arranged for us to go swim with the dolphins (This was fabulous!! Go for the whole hour—the second 30 minutes are the best!) and enjoy the aqua park CICI. The price was the same as the resort’s “discount” but the schedule was at our choice. On another day, he took us to a busy local fiesta where we were the only tourists. We danced and ate Pozole (a local soup) and enjoyed native culture. One evening, Sebastian took us to Esmirna del Mar, a small local restaurant where we played on the beach at sunset while the proprietors grilled our fresh-caught fish and shrimp.

Instead of a package Acapulco tour “deal” for $95 per person, Sebastian customized a tour to exactly what we were interested in and only charged $90 for all four of us. He was happy to start at 3:00 in the afternoon, answered every question I came up with, took us to the Flamingo for their famous sunset overlook, gave us the history of Diego Rivera’s mural, walked around the Zocalo with us, and ended by helping us choose a restaurant. (El Cabrito was very authentic, clean, delicious, and low priced!) Plus, I didn’t have to get on a bus! At the Church of Peace, Sebastian told us the history of the location and guided us through the inspiring setting. Unlike a taxi driver, he did not leave us at the entrance, so our visit was rich with local information.

Another highlight of our trip included a wonderful dinner at Las Tortugas. The combination plate didn’t have exactly what my husband was interested in trying, so they made a special meal for him at no extra charge. When I complemented the spicy pickled vegetables, Rufino brought me paper and gave me the detailed recipe. We felt like honored guests, and the food was fabulous! Don’t leave without coconut ice cream!

One of the best days of our two-week trip was a trip to Taxco with Sebastian. We left at 6:30 in the morning and stopped at a small restaurant for breakfast. Twice I was oohing and aaahing at the scenery so much that Sebastian pulled over for me to get out and take pictures. As we drove, Sebastian told us about the countryside and answered lots of questions about local weather, plants, customs, and culture. In Taxco, he took us to 3 specific jewelers where he has a relationship. We met silversmiths who told us about their craft, showed us pictures of the mine, and the prices were about 30% of the prices in Acapulco. Again, I’ve shopped for jewelry in Mexico many times, and the jewelers that he chose were classy and respectful. None of the heavy sell or chasing you out in the street. We came and went on my schedule. Sebastian also walked around the town with us, encouraged us to stop to explore other vendors, showed us around the local market and provided a detailed tour inside the church. When I fell in love with a 3-foot tall woven basket as we were walking, Sebastian negotiated a great price and carried it back to his car for me. We ate a late Mexican lunch with a fabulous view. We returned to our hotel at 6:00; on the way home, we had such delightful conversation.

Sebastian is more than a taxi driver. He is also a tour guide and a friend in Acapulco [--]. Riding with Sebastian is like having a cousin in town who loves his city and wants you to enjoy it as much as he does. His English is great; his prices are reasonable; his air-conditioned car is much better than the blue and white taxis; and he is a kind, honest man.

Villa Vera has an impressive past but the present needs attention. The room and gardens were genuinely superb. The management have some petty ideas and irritating habits of trying to get you to 'tour the resort' - read timeshare touting. They charged US $10 because we put our own cold drinks in their minibar but could not supply a fridge for the suite. They ban your drinks from your private pool area so you will buy theirs. Sorry, we paid a fair bit to stay there and I would have booked the timeshare package if I wanted all that. (Incidentally, check out their timeshare samplers on their website - its a good saving if you can stand the attempted muggings but probably a financial disaster if you end up signing on - why on earth do people buy those?) Its also too far from the seafront up a steep hill in the tropical heat even if you're pretty fit. So highly recommended for wealthy folk who never want to leave the complex and like nice spacious rooms surrounded by lovely mango trees and coconut palms. Anyone who has ever been tempted to sign up for a timeshare, stay away from Acapulco - its arrived - and signing up for mathematics lessons at night school might help you get through such urges. So, not that good if you want to do more than look across to the beautiful bay. Finally, they have the cheek to wack a donation to their allegedly favourite charity on your bill when you leave.