Villa La Estancia in Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico was incredibly beautiful. The suite and facilities were elegant and impeccably maintained. The staff was always professional and helpful; there were no sales pitches, ever. The restaurants on the meal plan were very good, and we did not feel the need to leave the resort for meals. This was certainly the most relaxing and overall best vacation we've taken in years. I would go back again in a heartbeat!

-C. Favero

We stayed at villa La Estancia for 5 nights in April due to a deal we obtained on Luxury Link, which worked out to slightly more than $230 per night, all inclusive. The one bedroom suite was more space than we needed, the deck large and very private with full ocean view. The L'occitane bath amenities advertised were not provided, another brand was. The beds, hard but satisfactory, the pillows small and mushy. Television had 90 channels, many English to choose from but we did not come to watch television. The grounds were immaculate, the pools lovely with many loungers to choose from. Our biggest issue, and the primary reason we would not return was the food. 1. The breakfast was offered in La Casona, and had good variety. The waffles were not fresh, reheated and tough. The pancakes doughy and heavy. Coffee barely hot. Traditional eggs Benedict dry and gluey. The Mexican breakfasts were fine. Muffins tasteless and dry, like old cake. The yogurt arrived in a plastic container from the store, which was good as it was expired 1 month earlier. 2. Lunch offered only poolside, which was difficult as the wind picked up every day, blowing drinks etc. everywhere unless you ate next door at their sister property. Lunch at La estancia was barely edible. The ahi tuna burger and ahi tuna salad both left us in the bathroom for hours, resorting to Imodium. The ceviche, which was like fish mush, gluey and tasteless along with the la estancia salad, chicken sliced and served on red and white onions, a few alfalfa sprouts, warm limp greens and a tasteless mayonnaise style dressing. The chicken quesadilla, which used the cheapest greasiest cheddar cheese on dry tortillas with cold diced chicken. No flavor at all, but would likely please a small child. When we tired of eating in the wind, we went next door to their sister property where I ordered their "signature" shrimps dish, 5 shrimps on a paste of rice and ....cheese? We also ordered a gluey, bland dried out guacamole burger. Hmmm. We tried the Italian restaurant, where we ate pizza which rivaled a McCain frozen pizza, tasteless and dry dumped with canned pineapple. Again, suitable for a children's menu. 3. Dinner at La Casona, the steakhouse, was hit and miss. Soups, pleasant, steaks sometimes dried out, overdone and tough. The prime rib was fried. The mashed potatoes, instant. The appetizers of scallops, foie gras, etc. we're unremarkable. The ambience is extremely pleasant, and thankfully adult oriented during our stay at least. Although the food at the flamingos next door is inedible and the food at la estancia barely edible or hit and miss at best, know that it is expensive. Our dried out pizza lunch for 2 with 4 drinks was 70$, worth about 20$. Dinner is always $200 for 2 with a few glasses of house wine. The hotel is the last on a strip of beach where the next north is the cheaper Royal Decameron, then the town of bucerias about a 20minute walk. The stay included a 30 minute spa service, and I elected for the leg message (I almost upgrading to a full body). It was 30 minutes of someone rubbing cream on my legs and feet, nothing more, although the facility was beautiful. We attended the Flamingos for a Fiesta one night, but walked out. The food horrible, drinks watery with entertainment so poor it was laughable. Wireless Internet slow and unreliable. An ancient plug in for Internet located in the room. The stay was relaxing, but we will not return.