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Calle del Monte Calvario 12, La Cruz de Huanacaxtle, Riviera Nayarit, 63732, Mexico
of people enjoy staying here
157 Opinions
Elsa is a wonderful hostess, and so very helpful. We were the only guests for one day it was nice to have the place to ourselves, but even when more guests arrived it was still very peaceful. She was extremely corteous from breakfast to assisting us planning our day time events. I definitely recommend Villa Bella over a tourist resort place.
We truly appreciated and enjoyed our stay at Villa Bella! The beauty of the place and area added to the week of relaxation. Elsa and Villa Bella staff gave us a great service and hospitality. We´ll definitely tell others this is the place to stay in Puerto Vallarta!
What a fabulous vacation and one of the best places we have ever stayed in! We really enjoyed the relaxing atmosphere and gorgeous garden and refreshing pool. The breakfast were so yummy and filling, and we appreciated all the ways from Elsa and Staff to made us feel at home.
We will reccomend Villa Bella to our family and friends.
We loved our honeymoon hideaway under a beautiful palapa. We spent many hours lying on our bed or sitting on our deck listening to the sounds of La Cruz. The view of Bandera´s Bay is amazing and we would highly recommend Villa Bella to our friends. We also made good friends with the lovely birds. The service was excellent and they (Elsa & Staff) made us feel completely at home. If you want good food, a local experience and great company, we would highly suggest Villa Bella!
After extensive searching for a place to stay for our honeymoon, we hit the "jackpot". Just 20 min. north of Puerto Vallarta and 20-35 min. to all of the nice surrounding beaches (Sayulita, Punta Mita, San Francisco etc.) Villa Bella is in the quiet town of La Cruz De Huanacaxtle nestled in the hills. It is everything we anticipated, from our greeting at the airport from Elsa ( the owner), to the excursions she set up for us, to the great morning breakfast and beautiful pool overlooking the bay. We could not have found a better place to stay. We felt like friends rather than Elsa's hotel guests. Her small staff is friendly and accomodated all of our needs. We highly recommend Villa Bella Bed and Breakfast for any vacation getaway. It made our experience in Mexico memorable and enjoyable.
I just got back from a delightful stay at the Villa Bella in La Cruz de Huanacaxtle. I booked my stay based on the other reviews I had read here in TripAdvisor.com. I must say I was somewhat skeptical of the universally positive reviews that I had read. Really, could any place be that perfect? Could this out-of-the-way bed-and-breakfast live up to its reputation? Another thing that made me skeptical of the TripAdvisor reviews was that they all said just about the same thing, and they were all quite brief (as compared with some of the extensive reviews written about other properties in Puerto Vallarta.) So, I determined that I would add my own 2 bits to the discussion. The Villa Bella property is quite nice. It has a tremendous view of the Bahia de Banderas. It sits on a hilltop overlooking the sleepy fishiing village of La Cruz. La Cruz is NOT a tourist mecca. It is just a simple town with simple, friendly people... no time-share salesmen, no T-shirt shops, no trinket stands, no all-night bars. We spent several evenings in La Cruz walking around the town. We always felt perfectly safe and we were able to get by and get what we needed with my limited and broken Spanish (not much English spoken in La Cruz). Each room at the Villa Bella is unique. The master suite in the guest house is truly stunning. I would like to live there permanently!! Its open-air living and kitchen areas overlooking the bay are quite fantastic. This is how the rich and famous live. The junior suite in the guest house (where we stayed) is cleverly designed and extremely private. Perfect for a get-away-from-it-all vacation which is what I was seeking. I spent many hours sitting on the veranda watching the comings and goings of the people in La Cruz below us. (I did not tour the main house, so I will leave it to others to describe.) A word of caution: we visited during the off season in July which is the rainy season in Vallarta. It didn't rain much but it was very hot and humid. Only the guest house currently has air conditioning. I wouldn't recommend staying in the main house during this time of year unless you are used to sleeping in hot, muggy environments. But really, Villa Bella is not about the rooms, the view, the town, or the pool.
You can find better. Villa Bella is about hospitality. From the first moment when we were picked up at the airport by the owner, Elsa, until our departure the last day I always felt like I was a most welcome guest in a good friend's home. I truly was cared for and looked after.
Not doting attention, but true concern. Perhaps a couple of anecdotes to illustrate the point. One day we had determined to go on a tour that originates in Nuevo Vallarta, an $11 cab ride from La Cruz. The cab was arranged the day before by Ms. Elsa to arrive at 10:00 a.m. so that we could be prompt in Nuevo Vallarta at 10:30. When 10:00 rolled around there was no cab! Elsa made several calls to ascertain the cab situation, but at 10:15 there was still no cab. The solution: Elsa loaded us in her car and drove us to our destination, then went in to the tour office to make sure that we were not too late and that everything was in order. On another occasion, another couple staying at Villa Bella needed to depart for the airport at 5:30 a.m.!! a truly ugly hour. Elsa arranged for a cab to be there and all was set. But, due to her concern that the cab driver might oversleep or something else might happen, she drove in from her home in Vallarta at 5:00 just to make sure that all was well. This time to cab driver arrived on time and her extra effort was not necessary, but it illustrates her concern and attention that all go well for her guests. I'm sure everyone who has stayed at the Villa Bella has an Elsa story to tell.
Recommendations: if you want a different and relaxing experience away from the tourist hubbub, Villa Bella is an excellent choice; I'll stay there again. Try the little family restaurants in La Cruz -- inexpensive and delicious. Don't miss the Los Veneros Beach Club -- get pampered and relax. Take a taxi up the hill to Villa Bella, the hike is a killer -- it's worth the $2.50 cab fare.
The view from our palapa-roofed room was gorgeous, the breeze welcome, and the breakfasts excellent, with local fruit and pan dulce. Elsa is a great hostess and keeps the property and grounds in wonderful shape.
Highly recommend it.
I have had great service at many Hotels/Inns. etc. during my travels, but none that inspired me to write a review! That changed after spending a short vacation at Villa Bella! I could sense that I was in for a rare treat after communicating a couple of times with Elsa (Owner/Operator). I was met at the airport and greeted like a friend.
On the way to the Inn she detoured to give me an tour of the surrounding town, pointing out favorite restaurants, the local church and the little convenience store along wth other points of interest.
Upon arriving at Villa Bella every detail was divine, with accomodations to suit all budgets and needs, coupled with stunning views of the spectacular Banderas Bay from the manicured garden (with a delicious infinity pool). My every wish was granted, and then some.
Elsa truly went out of her way to ensure that my vacation was everything I had hoped for. The Villa Bella Inn is an absolute treasure nestled into the hills of La Cruz de Huanacaxtle. Only about 25 minutes from the vibrant center of Puerto Vallarta. So near, but yet one felt so far from the crowds! A perfect combination - a perfect vacation and a perfect Hostess! I cannot wait until I return in the spring!
Elsa and her lovely husband Guillermo picking us up at the airport at 23.30h was a great start, especially after the rough 20 hour journey from Britain. We had the great pleasure to stay in the big palapa roofed room right at the top and liked it so much we stayed an extra night. Throughout our stay Elsa was just brilliant, she organised a cheap hire car for us (check out the roof-choppped-off beetles), advised us re. restaurants, beaches and places in general and was always there for any questions or advice. Let's also not forget Juan and Anna, 2 employees, for extensive breakfasts and general maintenance and care for the whole setting (pool, garden, ...). We'd like to return on our next Mexico trip.
We had a wonderful relaxing stay at Villa Bella. It was just what we needed. Elsa was a wonderful host and the property was gorgeous. The view of the coast was amazing from the pool and it was small enough to be truly relaxing. We would definately return in the future.
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