Saturday, July 16, 2011

Leaving La Playa and Coming Back To Carmageddon


I would love to tell you that this is what my vacation looked like

 all sunshine, clear blue water and deserted white sand beaches along the Playa de la Ropa

But down in the tropical paradise of Zihautanejo - Ixtapa it was the rainy season
so while hot and humid, the sun only peaked out from the storm clouds intermittently.

The sky wasn't blue and the beaches weren't deserted...yet I endured
When not swimming
most of my time was spent with a book on this chaise under a palapa
hoping that it wouldn't rain...
and that if it did rain, at least the ever present viciously biting bugs would go away.
Rainy season on the Mexican Riviera isn't for the faint hearted or the fair weather traveller.
But it is for the thrifty since the rates at The Tides hotel go down significantly between June and October.  Even given the low rates. there were only about 30 guests in total at the hotel. Imagine that.

In terms of the overall quality of service, accommodations and cuisine, The Tides was not up there with the Palmilla in Cabo San Lucas.  I didn't expect it to be...after all, the Palmilla isn't a called The One and Only for nothing. But I wasn't in any way disappointed with The Tides. 

The suite was clean and comfortable, the grounds were lovely and lush, the food was good and the service was caring. For the adventurous sporty types, surfing, diving, snorkeling, jet skiing, sport fishing etc. could be arranged for.  I wasn't that adventurous.

A couple of highlights.
A charming young man, Juan Landeros, became something akin to my personal concierge, bringing me delicious margaritas at cocktail hour and filling me in on the ins and outs of the hotel and the local area.  The Tides needs to give that guy a raise!
Also, one evening's dinner on the beach was accompanied by lovely music by a local duo, Daleth & Antares. Daleth's soft soprano voice singing Bossa Nova and Mexican standards was such a upgrade from the typical Mariachi music that you hear at every resort.

Would I go back to The Tides, most definitely...but not in mid summer.

Happily I am home where the temperature is a mild 75 degrees without bugs and where I can occupy myself in the neighborhood all weekend and avoid Carmageddon, which you might or might not know is the two day closing of the 405 freeway, the carotid artery if you will, controlling the life blood of Los Angeles traffic.  A lot of hype has been made about our Carpocalypse, but I'm ignoring it.

What are you up to this weekend?
Digg this

9 comments:

Sydney Shop Girl said...

What a fantastic getaway, Belle!

I am glad you are ignoring Carmageddon! Stay safe.

SSG xxx

Sydney Shop Girl blog

YONKS said...

I can't imagine how inconvenient this must be. We all rely on our vehicles and open roads so much. We have had the exit road from where we live closed for 2 months now due to construction. The only other way out is along a long road with speed bumps every 100 yards. I wonder if the Council will pay for the extra wear and tear on my suspension, tyres, brakes etc? FAT CHANCE. OK, moan over, hope you had a good holiday. Sometimes it's nice to get away even if the sun stays away - RELAX.
Di
XOXO

Wildernesschic said...

Just the word vacation ... is making me jealous .. I hope its wonderful xx

Karena said...

Belle, I lived in San Diego 13 yrs and of course know the 405 very well...hope lots of people can work from home!!

Sorry your vacation wasn't as hoped, yet relaxing, reading and having dinner on the beach is not all bad!

xoxo
Karena

Art by Karena

Come and join my Giveaway of a very special painting!

LPC said...

Well you LOOKED fabulous, despite the bugs and the weather. No wonder you got such good service;).

Belle de Ville said...

SSG, I think that I need to go to Australia for my next vacation!

Yonks, I actually love the idea of not driving for a couple of days. I would be such a change from the norm in Los Angeles.

Ruth, Hi I've missed you, and your wonderful house, and your boys, and your chickens and dogs! Please blog again.

Karena, Surprisingly, carmageddon is turning out to be carmaheaven with no major problems yet.

Lisa, you can't imagine was a difficult decision it was for me to post that photo. No one on the interwebs wants to see me in a bikini!

Katherine said...

So sorry about the rain...but it seemed like you had a fabulous time! Did you enjoy the hotel? I'm always looking for good hotel recs..

Thank you for the compliments on the necklace...I wear it often! :)

Unknown said...

It sounds like a wonderful get away and having a personal concierge is always a good thing! Nothing like being home though. I am braving the day after carmagedon this morning and hope it will be okay.

xo Mary Jo

Jill said...

No one noticed the rain and bugs with your hot self on the beach!!

Add to Technorati Favorites