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Manzanillo, Mexico |
| John N Tab - June 2010 |
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My wife and I just returned from a fabulous week at Punta
Serena. We stayed from June 5th through the 12th. We arrived at the Manzanillo
airport Saturday afternoon.
I must admit I'm one of those typical
tourists who had visions of being kidnapped by a group of banditos dressed as
cabbies and taken to some remote village to farm dirt until conditions of our
ransom were negotiated. No such concerns as the airport and taxis were easy to
find. If possible, exchange your money for pesos prior to getting to the
airport. I'm sure the folks at the airport were just trying to make the math
easier on everyone but for the 20% premium we paid for the easier math, I would
have gladly gotten out a calculator (10:1 instead of 12:1 actual rate). If
you've lived your entire life in flat areas as my wife has, be prepared for an
invigorating ride to the resort. Imagine West Virginia roads through the
mountains minus those pesky guardrails.
We arrived at the resort and
were greeted with a refreshing cocktail, the only one that we drank not
brimming with alcohol for the week. The view we were treated with was so
breathtaking we almost didn't notice the omission. We hastily got our bags to
our room and were relaxing naked with a much stronger beverage within the hour.
It was easy to spot the other American guests as we were typically the only
ones naked.... until dusk that is.
I'm fairly certain there is a law in
Mexico that prohibits women from getting naked until after 6:00 PM. After that,
their scandalized expressions fall off as do their bathing suits and they adopt
the same carefree/clothes free attitude the northern guests espouse. My wife's
and my Spanish is limited to ordering things off menus which was really
sufficient for our needs (alcohol and food). The staff was extremely courteous
and helpful. We would spend our days sitting by the pool, going to the beach,
drink, eat and repeat. Not necessarily always in that order.
During the
week you may have the resort to yourself, a few Coati Mundi, Iguanas and the
ubiquitous birds who use the pool as their personal bath. There was another
American couple there with us which was nice to have someone to converse with
other than my staple of "uno vino blanco por favor?".
The resort was
easy to get around. Don't try to wear 6" stilettos (my wife takes pole dancing
classes and it was a good workout for both of us at night) and walk on the
cobblestones. That's a "recipe for disaster even if you haven't been drinking."
All in all we loved the place. Sexy, romantic, secluded and all inclusive. |
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| C & C - April 2010 |
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Wow...awesome. That sums up our feelings about Punta
Serena. This is a beautiful resort with a great staff and facilities. As the
name implies, it is very "serene" so it is designed for those that really want
to sit by the beach or an amazing infinity pool and soak up some sun. The beach
is very secluded, and we never saw more than a handful of people there (same
for the pool). The nights are quiet, as there is no disco or nightly
entertainment.
Directly next door to Punta Serena is Blue Bay Los
Angeles Locos, a larger family oriented sister resort that has the disco,
nightly entertainment, lots of free water sports, and many other activities.
The Punta Serena wristband will allow full access to the Los Angeles Locos, and
it is very accessible with a very short walk down a nice path...no
transportation is required at all. The Los Angeles Locos guests are not
permitted to use Punta Serena, for obvious reasons. (The pool and private beach
are clothing optional, although it's not a nudist resort.)
What's
more, the beaches at the resorts are completely divided by a large rock
formation, so each beach is out of view of the other, and you cannot access one
directly from the other. Punta Serena's restaurant is very nice, and all meals
are a la carte. We never ordered the same meal twice, and were always impressed
by the quality of the food.
Regarding the transportation experience,
we had never been to Manzanillo airport before and were interested in how
getting through the airport and finding a taxi would go. I wish that all
airports were this civilized. Everything went very quickly and efficiently, and
we had absolutely no concerns about security. There is a taxi stand right by
the exit; the taxi took us right to Punta Serena for 650 pesos total (approx
USD $52), about a 45 minute to 1 hour ride. Make your reservations for your
return taxi at the concierge.
When you are at the airport, be aware
that English is not as common as in other tourist areas, so having a phrase
book or some basic Spanish would be helpful. At Punta Serena, most staff
members speak passable English, so there were never any mis-communication.
All in all, we give Punta Serena a "10" for those that are looking to
connect with their partner and just decompress. This is a real gem of a resort,
we will definitely be back. Many thanks to James and his amazing team at
Castaways Travel for pulling this together for us! |
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| ANON - 2009 |
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We flew into Manzanillo, our first time to that airport.
We found the single runway airport very modern, especially the infrared camera
that Mexican immigration used to determine who was inflected with swine flu. If
you can get a seat towards the front of the plane, you can get through
immigration before the line stacks up.
The airport didn't appear to
have an ATM machine, but we didn't look very hard. At the taxi stand at the
airport exit, the words "Punta Serena" and "tenemos solomente dollares" got the
1-1.5 hour ride quoted at $58 US. You pay at the taxi stand, and are given a
receipt that the driver uses to be reimbursed later.
The taxi ride was
neat, traveling through two or three small Mexican towns that have a ton of
local character. The second half of the taxi ride was out in the country on a
winding one-lane-in-each-direction highway. Depending on the youthfulness of
your driver, Dramamine may be recommended. . I'll fly your wing next time,
Iceman.
About an hour into your trip, it's off the main highway onto a
multi-mile cobblestone road to Punta Serena. One and a half miles of
cobblestones, it's the most amazing engineering achievement of the entire
trip…how many months did it take to build that road through the middle of
the forest/jungle? Do not plan to jog on this road. When you arrive at the
security gate for the hotel, your names are needed. The security guard radios
who's coming to Reception, so they know it's you when you arrive. We tipped the
taxi driver, but I had the impression that it might have been included in the
$58.
Check-in is just like it is everywhere, and then we're onto the
tour of the grounds. From the Reception Lobby, across the turning circle, it's
a short walk to the pool. The host explains that it's a nice quiet hotel, and
by the way, the pool and the beach are clothing optional. We get to the pool.
Jeff Goldblum from Jurassic Park in my head says: "Do you plan to have any
naked people in your naked pool?" Free drinks from the bar, back to the
Reception Lobby, and we get our two beach towels and we're off to our room.
The Villa Rooms are great, and look out over the bay. The bathrooms
were…interesting. The toilet in our room was located immediately in front
of the enormous bathroom window. It had privacy if no one was looking and
whenever the groundskeepers weren't out cutting the grass. Don't drink the tap
water, and don't use the soaker tub.
Cellphone service had five bars
of reception, with text messaging, and the indicator for voice mail. Everything
worked with the exception of retrieving voice mail…when I dialed into to
get messages, the voice mail system didn't recognize our phone number. I was
asked for our voice mail password, which I don't know…you can solve this
problem with the mantra "I'm on vacation, and I don't care."
Dinner…Seafood Risotto was great. The bar closes at 11pm, and the staff
goes home. About the night time wild life, there was none. We never saw anyone
in the pool or hot tubs at night, and then only one couple during the three-day
Mexican weekend we were there for. About the non-primate wildlife, the place
was a zoo. Bats live under the eaves of the villas, the little lizards, and the
hermit crabs that crawl under doorways. And the gargantuan raccoon things.
Bring a flashlight.
The beach is awesome and is the primary
place where the nudes hang out. Beach fills up around 10am, empties out around
1-2pm for lunch/drinks, and then everyone comes back again around 4pm until
sunset, then upstairs to the hottubs for sunset #2.
Midweek, we saw a
ton of people taking the hotel tour, and then never again…we weren't sure
why. The place seemed livelier and more naked on the weekend. We liked our
Monday-through-Sunday trip (instead of Saturday-through-Friday) because it
ended on a high note.
Overall, a super-awesome place to unplug, read,
soak, people-watch, converse, and be romantic with your honey. |
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| Chantal & Bernard - 2008 |
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As we entered the resort, we saw it is carefully guarded,
protecting guests from intruders.
The Palm Trees lined majestically,
conducting to the pool is very impressive.
Punta Serena is NOT a
nudist resort.
Inside the resort there was complete nudity (in certain
places), as well as on the beach down below, (except in the formal dining room,
of course).
However, it is a Clothing Optional Resort and sometimes,
on weekends they had Mexican guests swimming in the pool wearing a bathing
suit.
So guests need to be prepared sometimes to enter the pool or
Jacuzzi areas being the only one in the nude.
As a joke, when someone
fully clothed was entering the Jacuzzi, I was warning them to be careful,
because the water contains special chemicals which would completely dissolve
their swim suits. They were laughing, then the woman would remove her bra and 5
minutes later, after she felt more secure, the bottom came off.
The
waiters, in full uniform, were bringing the drinks of our choice up to the
lower & upper Jacuzzis, which were far from the bar and everyone was nude
in the tub. At lunch time, we could eat in the nude around the pool, where the
waitress was serving the delicious snacks we ordered.
But if this was
our desire, we could eat in the formal dining room a large "a la carte" lunch
meal (with clothes on). However men and women had to be fully clothed in the
dining room (short + tee shirt) = No bare chest in the dining room for women as
well as for men. For the night dinner, many women were wearing very transparent
dresses .The atmosphere of the dining room is perfect: elegant and relaxed at
the same time. Nice starched tablecloths, candle light, tall torches on the
outside, soft music… Very classy.
After dinner, the comfortable
seats of the open air Bar (under the dining room) were inviting us to stay a
little bit longer to talk and savor the atmosphere of the night. The very
attentive barman accepted to play the dancing music CDs we had brought,
allowing us to dance under the stars.
On our arrival day, the very
large, tastefully decorated bedrooms (King Size beds) greeted us with flowers
on the bedspread and a "Towel-Swammy" looking at us. Adjacent to the bedroom,
we appreciated our own private terrace, and its hammock where we could read or
just dream.
I like the quiet peaceful ambiance in Punta Serena with
the luxury of the rooms and scenery inciting to meditation and love. You are
becoming one with the natural surrounding, the view, the eagle nest Jacuzzis,
the beautiful sandy beach with canopy beds, the sunset and the birds.
I had a very spiritual experience in the American-Indian sweat lodge through
the ritual conducted by a very enlightened Mexican woman. In such a place, it
seems clothing would be obsolete. I'm longing to go back. It is easy to reach
the Resort from Manzanillo Airport. Ask any Taxi to bring you to Punta Serena
(Adjacent to Blue Bay Los Angeles Resort). Trip length = 1 hour, cost about $60
US (Subject to change without notice).
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| Ken & Sue - March 2007 |
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Punta Serena is one of the best kept secrets in the travel
business! It had a natural beauty beyond anything we expected. The web photos
couldn't capture the real beauty of the place. The ambiance is one of true
serenity. We would sit nude in one of the two hot tubs perched on a cliff
overlooking the Pacific and watch dolphins play in the surf at sundown. The
food was excellent and well presented. The open-air restaurant was wonderful,
the staff very friendly, helpful and patient with our rudimentary Spanish.
There were more guests from Mexico than from the USA or Canada, which we found
enriching. Everyone could try their English or Spanish out. We found language
to be no big problem.
This place is geared for rest and relaxation. If
you are a party animal, this place is not for you. There is no entertainment on
the premises at night (except for the cute raccoon-like animals that come up to
the lounge area and will eat out of your hand) but there was a stage show every
night at Blue Bay Resort next door, where there are also water sports,
horseback riding and a riverboat ride available at no extra charge.
The facilities are old, but kept very clean and nice. The grounds are
absolutely beautiful with brightly colored flowers and tropical vegetation. The
room was quite a nice size with a balcony overlooking the ocean and a hammock.
We were told when we arrived that we could be nude in the pool, around
the pool, in any of the 3 Jacuzzis, the saunas or steam rooms and of course at
the private beach. Some people wore bathing suits, we did not, and no one
seemed to be uncomfortable with the situation, we each just did our own thing.
We only wore clothes to and from these places and for dining.
There
were only around 7 couples there for most of our stay so it was never difficult
to find a lounge chair at the beach or pool. Everyone was very nice and we
quickly made friends to hang around with. All and all we were shocked at how
inexpensive this place was compared with other all-inclusive resorts. We're
almost afraid to tell other people how good it is because then more people will
go and the price might go up. But the place is so wonderful, we felt we had to
give them an excellent report. We would definitely return! |
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| Michael & Mary Lynn - June 06 |
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First of all it is an easy flight to Manizillo, only 2.5
hours from Houston. There is a 40 minute taxi ride to the resort. $58.
Francisco was waiting for us to arrive and we were warmly greeted with Punta
Serena cocktails - delicious. We got a king bedroom. It was large and very
clean. Loved the balcony with hammock overlooking the ocean.
Freancisco took us on a tour, expalined the sweat lodge, morning yoga, spa
services, jungle boat tour and horsebackriding which are free. You can also
visit the restaurant and disco at the neighboring Blue Bay resort. The
restaurant "the reef" was very good - definately recommend it. There is no
extra charge to eat at that restaurant.
The resort was quite clean and
nicely appointed. You can tell that the resort is a few years past its prime,
but the employees take great pride in keeping their resort in good condition.
The pool area was colorful with flowers and very relaxing with the
ocean breaking in the background. The hot tubs were awesome! They clung to the
rocks above the ocean for a spectacular view!
The spa services were
wonderful. We enjoyed messages on the open air deck overlooking the ocean.
The food was good, especially for an all inclusive resort. No buffets,
but ala carte dining and service was very good and presentation one of the best
I've seen in a Mexican or Carribean resort. My only disappointment was that I
am a wine lover and there was not a great selection. Either red or white.
Watching the dolphins play in the bay while we ate breakfast was
probably the best part of our day - Incredible! Lots of wildlife around the
resort.
We would definatly recommend Punta Serena for anyone looking
for a relaxing vacation. Of course there are lots of activites too, as well as
nude beach and topless pool. Something for everyone.
You may want to
brush up on your Spanish, as most of the staff speaks little English. We were
solomente Americanos. The majority of guests were from Mexico with a few
Europeans.
Enjoy Punta Serena. |
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| tanline - November 2005 |
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We visited Punta Serena in November of 2005 and had a
wonderful time.
We flew into Manzanillo at night and then rented a
car. We underestimated the time it would take to get to the hotel and the road
conditions. The drive took about an hour and the roads were extremely curvy. It
was a very dark and tense ride as we were tired from the trip.
We
eventually made it to the hotel and were happy to find the night person waiting
for us. They knew exactly who we were and had everything ready to go. As it was
late, the kitchen was closed but they opened it for us and had dinner sent to
our rooms along with drinks to calm my nerves after the drive.
The
rooms were ok, I really can't complain. I think you have to understand that you
are in the middle of nowhere and accept that.
The view from the
restaurant and pool is the most beautiful view there is. Because the hotel is
elevated you can see the complete bay. It is so relaxing. One could sit there
forever and just enjoy the view with a nice drink.
There is another
hotel on the right side of Punta Serena. Guests can go to that hotel and enjoy
their services as well for free. We took the horseback ride, went to the disco
a couple of times and watched their show. It was nice, and a good break from
Punta Serena which is very serene and quiet.
The nude beach was great;
just a few people used it while we were there. Sometimes we had the whole beach
to ourselves. The pool area was nude, topless and people wore bathing suits as
well. It all depended on the person. No one seemed to care what people wore. We
would spend the mornings at the nude beach and then go up for lunch at 12. Most
people were sitting on the sun deck nude and about half of the people at the
pool were nude. After lunch we would go back to the nude beach until 3 then
come back up to the pool. We would usually get a drink and look at the view. We
would swim and layout nude.
The hot tubs are in a great and scary
location. It feels as if they are going to fall of the side of the hill into
the ocean. Most people go into the hot tubs nude. They are not really that hot,
so I would call them warm tubs. Luckily it was so hot there it didn't really
matter. It is really a great place to sit and watch the ocean and the waves.
The food is ok; they need to change the menu more.
The
service is ok; I think it's important to remember that this place is in the
middle of nowhere. It is beautiful though, but there is nothing to do at but
relax and enjoy the company.
Contact us if you have any questions
b0x3r@yahoo.com
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