Make Your Next Trip Extraordinary

I originally contacted Zach to help me find a place in Mexico that would offer a 3-bedroom villa and where we could play pickleball, and which fit within our budget since we were going the week of Passover/Easter. He suggested Punta Mita. After our first conversation, I only communicated with Laura. Overall our vacation went smoothly and we had a relaxing time. The villa was lovely with a view of the golf course and then the ocean. We enjoyed watched the sunsets from our terrace, which had a plunge pool and lots of seating for relaxing and dining. The villa included someone to make breakfast each day (you buy the groceries) but we declined that service so I can’t comment on it. The villa also included a 6-person golf cart, which we definitely needed to get around.

We had access to the 5 beach clubs, and we visited all of them. We didn’t go on any excursions. We used the pickleball courts every day except one. Definitely make reservations a few weeks before travelling and get confirmation by email. The one day we changed our reservation time in person at the Pro Shop they never made the change. If you want to eat at Mita Mary, one of the restaurants at the Sea Breeze beach club, don’t go on a Tuesday since it’s closed that day. Also, Sea Breeze says they charge a minimum consumption (technically the charge a minimum but we went twice and both times we only were charged for what we consumed) and only what you buy at the Sea Breeze restaurant counts towards that minimum, not Mita Mary or the other restaurant at the St. Regis. These were things we discovered on our own; we were not told these things by the travel agent or the villa concierge.

We were surprised to see how many animals were in Punta Mita. We passed wild pigs, coatis, iguanas and many different birds. Other than helping me pinpoint where to stay, I can’t say I’d recommend the planning team or that it added value (if it did add value I’m not sure where). We opted to hire our airport transfers through them instead of using Uber (which friends recommended), even though it was 4 times as much. On arrival, it took us 20 minutes to locate the driver and we had to call the team in order to do that. I would have assumed that their drivers knew the property but when we arrived in Punta Mita we had to call the planning company again to give the driver directions to our condo. On departure, our first car was nowhere to be found. We had to call the company to locate him. He was at another building. We also were told that the same driver and car would drive my husband and me to the airport later that day. A different driver and car showed up and Delia still said we should expect the same one. He did not know how to get out of Punta Mita toward the airport and we did our best to help guide him since he didn’t speak English and we spoke only a little Spanish. For the price we paid for the transportation, I would have expected more knowledgeable and reliable drivers.
Our last night we had a dinner reservation at a restaurant at the Four Seasons, made by the planners and confirmed on our itinerary. When we got to the Four Seasons gate, they did not have our reservation. I contacted both the concierge and company. They said they didn’t know what happened but the restaurant couldn’t take us until 9 pm. They did not have our reservation. After we left in search of a new restaurant (it was Good Friday and everything was crowded), Delia at the company called us and said they could seat us inside. So back we went. I would not recommend the planners, mainly because I felt like unless I asked the right questions, I didn’t get any information. It seemed to take forever to go back and forth with emails. I never once heard from Zach after the initial call. When I asked for a call with Laura, it was hard to understand her. I had so many emails that I could never find the info I needed while on vacation. The itinerary only contained the bare minimum information. I felt very stressed the few weeks before my vacation. While everything turned out ok, it was not the smooth process I’m used to when working with a travel agent.

The other thing that was frustrating was that I specifically asked if there was any restaurant delivery available. They told me MitaEats. What they didn’t say was that it only was available at dinner time. Our first day my daughter was sick so we wanted to stay at the villa. There was no way to get food delivered. They also told me that there was no supermarket nearby but there is one right in Punta de Mita. The travel company just didn’t seem to know the property very well. Also, we were asked by the concierge if it would be ok for the owner to show the villa since it was for sale. We accommodated them but that should have been told to us before renting since it was our vacation. We also returned that day to find the realtor had left our unit door open (not just unlocked). We were in Las Marietas 302B. Anyone who rents it should note that the primary bathroom shower is attached but outside (so the bathroom gets very humid), and the toilets in all the bedrooms have see-through glass doors, in case that isn’t something you’re comfortable with…

This was our third trip with these planners and another WOW travel experience. We love Mexico, and traveling with this team has made us love it more. Each time, Jose creates a unique experience custom-designed for us.

We prefer boutique hotels and off-the-beaten-path experiences. This trip to the Yucatán was exactly that, including providing a guide who was a former English/Spanish teacher with whom we could practice our Spanish.

We spent the first half of our trip in Merida at a fabulous boutique hotel with eight rooms. Our room was gorgeous, with a huge bedroom appointed with fresh flowers daily. Breakfast was poolside, with delicious choices and excellent service. We toured historical haciendas and mansions, savoring Merida’s past. Our most interesting experience was a day with four Mayan ladies who taught us to cook authentic Cochinita Pibil, Sikil P’aak, and fresh tortillas, all prepared in the traditional way.

On one of our days, we were to visit Uxmal and arrived to discover they were closed that day because of African bees. Our guide immediately pivoted to take us to Kabah, another interesting archaeological site, and to see a cenote.

For the second half of our trip, Jose sent us to a charming boutique hotel in a tiny beach town so small that we rarely saw other people when we walked on the beach. While the hotel was not of the same class as the hotel in Merida, it was worth staying here for the experiences. My favorite meal was walking into town to eat fresh lobster in a small cafe with locals who only spoke Spanish.

The team always provides a virtual concierge who “travels” with us. Thanks to Luis, our virtual concierge, my favorite experience in this area was a boat trip “poling” in the swamp to watch pink flamingos in the wild. This day was supposed to be a fishing day with the possibility of seeing flamingos. When the weather disrupted that, Luis offered a more protected area to see the flamingos.

Overall, it was another WOW trip with our planners, and we look forward to traveling with them again.

We had a great trip to Mexico City and Michoacan planned by Zach and his team. It began with a visit to see the monarch butterflies at their winter habitat in Michoacan, something that has been on my bucket list for years. Unfortunately, we were surprised to find that the butterflies had already abandoned the sanctuary we visited on day 1 which we feared would be the case throughout the reserve. Luckily, our amazing guide, Amalia, made some quick calls and found that there were indeed butterflies at El Rosario sanctuary, which wasn’t on our itinerary till the next day. Our guide and driver were very flexible about extending the day and we were lucky enough to see butterflies both days at El Rosario. It is truly a magical experience and I would highly recommend it for anyone traveling to the area in January, February, or early March.

In CDMX we enjoyed a wonderful week which included a once in a lifetime experience doing a private, after-hours tour of the Anthropology Museum. Again, it was truly magical to be alone with so many important pieces of Mesoamerican history and our museum guide was a fount of knowledge.

Zach’s team was attentive throughout our trip, especially when we had a problem with our city hotel. In truth, the hotel probably wasn’t the best choice for us due to its busy location and multiple music venues. When we expressed our concern our team quickly moved us to the Alest, a lovely hotel on a quiet street in Polanco. We appreciated the efficiency and professionalism with which they addressed our issue.

Zach’s team is friendly, professional, knowledgeable and capable, and I wouldn’t hesitate to use them on future trips to Mexico.

Zach and his team created yet another magical Mexico journey for us. We started with a food and culture tour of Oaxaca and then continued on to Mexico City, ending with a quiet retreat near Playa del Carmen. All of the hotel choices were terrific and our guides were great. We learned so much form our fantastic guides. We centered much of the touring on food and art, highlights being a day with a well-known chef in Oaxaca, touring the market and cooking in one of his restaurant kitchens, an after-hours tour of the Anthropology Museum in Mexico City, and a day wandering in and out of galleries with an art guide. We also loved the private taco tour and all the Mexico City dining selections. Thank you!

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