Guestbook: Comments from Villa Pactifico Guests

Thanks again for providing a fantastic vacation resort. We hope to return soon, maybe in the Spring of 2007.

Dale and Gayla

Hi Tony

What a great time we had at Villa pacifico two weeks ago!

All of my family agreed that it was the best vacation we've ever had.

The views were sublime, the living quarters were impeccably clean, the food was fresh and tasty, the swimming pools and beaches were heaven for my grandchildren, and our field trips were adventuresome and fun.

My 14 year old grandson caught his first sailfish, (2 as a matter of fact), the girls amassed a great shell collection, and I took my first (and hopefully last) ATV ride.

Rebeca was warm and wonderful, as you already know. In my conversations with her, I learned a lot about the culture and life of the area, which was most interesting to me. Hugo made balloon sculptures for the little girls, did our laundry beautifully and kept our rooms immaculately clean and neat. I feel as though I made two new friends.

Thanks to you for building the Villa and staffing it with these wonderful people. It is a treasure. My daughters and I felt like princesses in our own private castle.

We'll be back!

Kay Puryear

Hi Tony--

I have been meaning to write to you since we returned from Huatulco. Still having a hard time getting back to the hustle bustle life here.

Where do I start...we had an incredible stay at your villa. Not only is your villa beautiful, but your staff went above and beyond. Their hospitality was great. Rebecca's cooking was delightful and her tour guiding, etc. was invaluable. Hugo was adored by the children. They all made us feel so welcome and at home. We even insisted that they join us for dinner a few times. It was so much fun to hear about their background and share ours. They also speak very highly of you.

I have been raving about your villa to all our friends here. You may have a few emails coming your way.

Thank you very much for the use of your beautiful home. We couldn't have asked for a better spot for vacation.

Regards,
Jodie Olsson

We can not thank you enough for the most awesome holiday we have ever had! We have traveled together for 9 years all 8 of us and this was by far the best holiday ever….We enjoyed your beautiful place and especially your staff, Rebecca, Hugo and Antonio. Your staff was absolutely amazing you are so lucky to have staff like them. You will not believe this but we all had tears in our eyes when we had to leave.

Every thing was perfect, the weather, the accommodations, the pool and of course the beach. Everyone could not believe what a great cook Rebecca is; we all felt like royalty!!!!

Huatulco is the cleanest and most absolutely beautiful Mexican place we have been to yet. You can count on us coming back.

Thanks again.
Bette Reid

Thank you so much for all of your help and planning with our vacation. I think I can speak for everyone in our group when I say that it was the most relaxing vacation we have ever taken. It was incredible. The house was breathtaking and the weather.....well, you've experienced it! I couldn't have asked for a better time. Rebecca was wonderful and her cooking was just superb. I told her to pack up her kids and I was going to take her back to the states with me! We lived off of chips and salsa all week long. I have to say that I was lost without it when I woke up at home Saturday morning! I hope Rebecca enjoyed us as much as we enjoyed her. I think she thought we were going to drink ourselves into oblivion!

None the less, it was a fabulous time had by all and we can't wait to get down there again!!!! I will recommend this piece of heaven to everyone!

Thanks again,
Carma Gentry

Had a great time, caught approximately 25 fish tuna/dorado, more importantly enjoyed your house accommodations so much I still have a set of Keys! If possible please send an address either in Tahoe or Huatulco so that I can get them back to you. By the way Rebecca was an excellent house keeper and made sure all us were well taken care of from breakfast to dinner and the rooms were immaculate. I particularly enjoyed the shower since I'm 6'3" and 215lbs I could actually move around!

Again, enjoyed every minute!

Regards, Scott Hoover

Tony, Just wanted to thank you again for a great honeymoon. We enjoyed the condo and Rebecca's company. She is a great cook and hostess. After spending 2 weeks in the Huatulco area, we can definitely say that Villa Pacifico is the way to go when planning a trip. The privacy and luxury were something that was not matched in any resort or condo that we saw while down there. Please feel free to refer any potential visitors to us for our thoughts. If October is the "low" season in Huatulco, the rest of the year must be spectacular.

See you soon! Sandy and Ken - Seattle

First day home and am going through serious 11am mango daiquiri withdrawal. Tony, thank you so much for sharing Rebecca and your incredibly beautiful villa with us. We had such a great time doing all the various activities in the area but we decided the best times were just hanging sound the villa with you and Rebecca, having her to pamper us and having you to make us laugh! I can hardly wait until next year, until then...

Hasta la Pasta, Frank and Angela Mtn. View, California

I just returned from a nine day stay at Villa Pacifico. If was truly the best vacation I have had in years. I loved Rebecca and her cooking. I loved the pool. I loved the views and I loved my room. All were supurb!!!

Had a fabulous time at the villa. Our group was certainly pampered by miss Rebecca and we love her! She even did my wash and ironing which certainly wasn't expected. I,m having a little trouble coming down from the trip and getting back into reality. Kathy was a wonderful hostess from a Mariachi band to golf trophies which really added to the fun. So' after a week of margaritas and fine dining it's back to the Atkins diet. thanks to all for making our vacation memorable.

I just can't say enough about Villa Pacifico! The villa itself is absolutely gorgeous - from the awesome views from every vantage point to the wonderful suites (especially the shower!). The pools and palapa bar are like coming home again and again! And Rebecca, Oy Vey!!!!, what a gal, friendly, a superb culinary wizard, "johnny-on-the-spot" when it comes to refreshing your coctail and just a sweet,informative person all the way around! Our hostess, Kathy, was a dream come true! Organizing a group of nine women, with no hitches or problems is an extraordinary feat! I toast you! Thanks so much for the special attention we received -- the mariachi band was a fabulous surprise and the private day sailing was special, too! The extra attention you gave to the golfing ladies was way above what anyone expected! Thanks again for a memorable time!

Karen S. Truckee, CA

My boyfriend Kristian and I just returned from a wonderful vacation in Huatulco! It was our first time to paradise, and we are already planning our return trip. Everything about our stay was great, from top-notch villa accommodations to delicious restaurants, exciting day trips, fun-filled nightlife, shopping galore, and soaking up the sun on several of the gorgeous beaches. For those of you considering coming to Huatulco, I can’t encourage you enough, and I hope the details below will prove helpful in your planning process. We stayed in Residential Conejos at the Villa Pacifico, which was better than any 5 star resort I’ve experienced in the past. The rooms are huge and nicely furnished, each with its own ocean-view balcony (amazing views!), fridge, microwave, satellite television and shower fit for a king (two shower heads!). The main area offers a shared kitchen, washer/dryer, dining room, family room w/VCR and plenty of common space for playing games or relaxing with a book. Outside there is a waterfall pool, jacuzzi and bar area. And a beautiful private beach is just a short walk away; we shared it only with small crabs (they don’t bite) and sea birds! Rebeca, the housekeeper, prepared the most luxurious breakfasts for us every morning, including molletas, huevos rancheros and special french toast, along with Oaxacan coffee, fresh fruit platters and fresh squeezed OJ with each meal. She was also happy to whip up lunch, dinner or desert (her flan was the best!) for only the cost of the food. Her meals were as good as any we had in the restaurants, and the restaurants we tried, we loved. (I’ll get to those in a minute). She also kept our glasses full of margaritas, mango daiquiris, pina coladas and cervesas. Although Residential Conejos is not right in town, both La Crucecitta and Santa Cruz are only a 30 peso ($3.00 US) ride away, and we never had to wait more than 5 minutes for a cab. I cannot say enough good things about Residential Conejos. While wandering around La Crucecita, we met another couple who was staying at Agua y Azul, and they too were thoroughly impressed with the neighborhood. We took some great day trips that I highly recommend. First, we took a tour of the coffee plantation with Alex. He drove us through the curvy dirt mountain roads (be prepared for close to a 2 hour ride full of pretty big bumps – probably not an adventure for those who get car sick) to a beautiful river where we hiked the trails to a magnificent waterfall. I swam in the clear water while Kristian pretended he was Tarzan swinging from the rope swing and jumping off the cliffs. Then we headed to the coffee plantation for a delicious lunch and a tour of the facility. It was great to learn about the local foliage as well as the harvesting process and machinery used to turn the raw beans into toasted coffee. Even if you’re not a coffee lover like I am, I still think the trip is well worth taking. The second trip we took was a sailing excursion with Pepe through Luna Azul. It was terrific to see the bays from the ocean on a 44-foot sailboat and experience the difference of the strong ocean surf (be prepared to get wet when the waves crash over the bow) versus the calm bay water. Pepe, our guide, was very informative about the local culture and history of the bays and answered all of our questions. He also enjoyed keeping our hands full of margaritas and cervesas. We stopped at one of the bays accessible only by water for some snorkeling and then we went to Maguey bay for a yummy lunch right on the beach. We also had the opportunity to see Cacaluta bay, which is beautiful. You can also get to Cacaluta by hiking a long trail off the main road near Entrega beach. I strongly recommend seeing Cacaluta beach, either by land or sea. It’s very quiet and absolutely stunning. After taking a few organized trips, Kristian and I felt like we were ready to tackle exploring on our own, so we rented a scooter from Roger (across from the Gala, I think) and took off. Wow, what fun we had exploring La Crucecita, Santa Cruz and many of the bays. We stumbled on the lighthouse after taking a wrong turn and were rewarded with a stunning view. We also took the scooter about 10 kilometers outside of Huatulco to Copalita where we enjoyed body surfing at La Bocana beach (we took a boogie board from our villa but we were told that when school is out you can usually find kids willing to share their boards). If you like waves, try La Bocana for some bigger surf. And if you’re really daring, head out even further to Playa de Mojon. We found this by accident after traveling further down Route 200 and hiking down a dirt road for about 30 minutes. A jeep or an ATV would have made it much easier! Regardless, it was worth the trip, since the waves were even bigger than at La Bocana and the beach was completely deserted while we were there. If you decide to try it, I recommend bringing plenty of water, as we did not see anyone selling anything, and it got pretty hot walking the long path in the sun. I cannot stress enough how safe we felt wandering around on our own, by day and by night. All the local people we met were so friendly and helpful, despite the fact that we speak very little Spanish. It’s amazing how far a smile and body language can get you! I know this is a lengthy review, but it wouldn’t be complete without touching upon the food, which was terrific each and every place we tried. I was nervous about getting Montezuma’s revenge but took the advice of others on this board and washed my hands frequently and made sure to ask about filtered water. I had no problems at all and ate all kinds of stuff, including drinks with ice and salads with veggies. Kristian even tried grasshoppers, which he claims taste a bit like peanuts?!?! We loved our dinner at Mambo Cafe – had a great fondue, and the service was fantastic. We also enjoyed dinner at Oasis – the Arranchera was the best we tried on our trip – and at Sabor de Oaxaca, where we tried the platter for two of all kinds of traditional Mexican dishes. We had lunch at Las Portales – what great guacamole - and had snacks several times at Cactus, where we also had fantastic mango margaritas, which were huge and so tasty! Oscar is so friendly – as soon as we met him we felt as if he was an old buddy! We also enjoyed the nightlife in La Crucecita, especially Café Dublin, where the beers are the coldest we had on our trip, and Victor, the owner, offered great advice on places to see and things to do. He’s the one who recommended we check out Cacaluta beach – thanks Victor for the great tip! We wish we had more time to do a bunch more stuff we heard was fun from other travelers, like golfing, horseback riding and deep-sea fishing. Rumor has it the tuna were out and the fish were huge. We’ll definitely try fishing on our next trip! And when we come back, we’ll stay longer, because 1 week in paradise is definitely not enough.

Happy Travels,
Sarah Torres & Kristian Svindland New York, NY

We just returned from our first trip to Huatulco last night. Previously we have spent time in Cancun, Cozumel, Puerta Vallarta and Isla Mujeres. In our opinion, Huatulco far surpasses all of these other places. The scenery was spectacular, our accomodations were outstanding and the food was excellent. There was more than enough to keep us busy when we wanted and we had plenty of time to kick back and relax. We stayed at Villa Pacifico. Residential Conejos where Villa Pacifico is located has numerous homes which are all gorgeous. The villa itself has spectacular views in every direction. Our suite was large and comfortable with balconies looking over both Tangolunda and Conejos Bays. In addition there are decks off of the living room, by the pool bar, on top of the villa and above the garage where the jacuzzi is located. The landscaping is lush with flowers everywhere. Tony, you did a great job in designing this vacation home. A short walk down the hill brings you to a very nice beach which we had to ourselves. There is decent snorkeling by the rocks off to the right and some pretty interesting bird life in the vicinity. The villa is not far from the Tangolunda hotel zone. We jogged from the villa to the golf course and back and saw many others walking the same stretch. It is all sidewalk and felt very safe. If you choose to run the same route, go early because it gets hot and the hill from the Camino Real to the entrance to Residential Conejos is a killer.

Our stay at Villa Pacifico was truly made special because of the warmth and service that Rebeca provided. She was our personal chef and concierge. Rebeca prepared full breakfasts every day including fresh papaya, cantaloupe and pineapple. The OJ was fresh squeezed. For dinner one night she grilled lobster which was accompanied by shrimp and calamari. It was our best meal of the week and we ate at some very good places. All of Rebeca's cooking was from scratch. She extensively used peppers, herbs and fruits growing on the premises. In addition, Rebeca seemed to know everyone in town. When my wife inquired about spa services, Rebeca had a masseuse at the villa the next day. She also arranged an english speaking driver for our trip to Ventanilla, Mazunte and Puerto Angel. We rented a scooter one day and Rebeca had Roger deliver it to our door. I could not end this paragraph without mentioning Rebeca's never ending margaritas with fresh squeezed lime. They were great.

We also went to some pretty nice beaches - El Maguey and La Entrada. The snorkeling was good at both. When leaving El Maguey stop and take some pictures of Santa Cruz from the top of the hill. The view is awesome. I fished one half day with Laco. We caught 7 yellow fin tuna between 6 & 15 pounds. I could not believe the number of dolphins in the area. Literally, there were hundreds all around the boat. We also went to a botanical garden near La Bocana where the view at the top should not be missed. Regarding the restaurants, we had very good meals at Dona Celia (at night on the beach during the lunar eclipse), Sabor de Oaxaca (excellent variety of moles) and Ay Caray (great seafood on the beach). We were not impressed by the tacos at Los Portales or at Oasis( the shrimp was overcooked).

In one week there is only so much one can do. There is much more for us to see. We will be back.

Al & Mary S. from
Lake Zurich, IL