Clara Vista Villas — Hotel in Jalisco

We arrived in Puerto Vallarta and met our driver at the airport (which was arranged by the staff at the Clara Vista) for the 3.5 hour drive to Clara Vista…. through the town of PV (City actually), through the hills south of the city, onto the plains. We paralleled the ocean about 10 km to the west, and went through high plains — some papaya and other agricultural areas, lots of youngish trees, grass, and scattered small towns. We arrived at Clara Vista at dusk, just in time for the birds to say goodnight (really loudly!) and to walk across the foot /crocodile (more later) bridge to the Clara Vista,

I recommend a 2nd story with beach view condo at Clara Vista — amazing views of the infinity pool and the beach and ocean beyond. Huge windows with stunning views to the ocean, and almost no one around. I took a swim every day — even in the rain, the water is nice and warm.

Town is just across the crocodile bridge. Lots of beach-side places to hang out, drink a beer, enjoy a meal.

And the crocodiles — there is a protected crocodile reserve right near Clara Vista, and a bridge across it which is totally safe for young and old. The bridge connects the Clara Vista (and other folks who live farther away from town) to the town when the road is too wet to traverse. Crocodiles are always visible — sunning themselves, lazily searching for food. (I read that they only need to eat once every 2 years). Quite something to see — at all times of the day. But not threatening or scary.

Clara Vista — close to town and good eats, but far away enough to be quiet and restful. A great vacation. When it was time to leave, we took another taxi ride back to the PV airport — I was really glad NOT to have stayed in...

A little bit of paradise!

We stayed at the Clara Vista for nine nights in August/September. It was fabulous!

The staff was warm and helpful. Anytime we needed assistance Miriam went out of her way to help us. But we didn’t need much because everything was so perfect.

We were in condo #11, right on the ocean. The view was fabulous. We heard the sound of the waves 24/ 7. The rooms are spacious and clean with high ceilings, comfortable beds, fans and air conditioning, a well-equipped kitchen, two patios and lots of windows. We had access to a beautiful space on the roof where we could lay in hammocks and see the night stars.

Every morning I took a long walk on the beach. I’d encounter just a few people and lots of birds and small crabs scampering around. Every day they would put lounge chairs and umbrellas on the beach for us, a great place to read books.

The pool was fabulous, warm and beautiful. I loved leaning over the edge of the pool watching the ocean.

Clara Vista is right on the edge of town. So, while it has a very private feeling, it is very close to small grocery stores and lots of restaurants. We found plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables in the grocery stores and tasty fish dinners in open air palapas on the beach every night. It was exciting to watch the spectacular sunsets while eating dinner.

It’s fun now to remember that trip. It was so relaxing and peaceful and beautiful. Can’t...

The pluses: The complex is gated and the apartments are lovely, quiet, spacious, high-ceilinged, air-conditioned, and light-filled with interesting found-objects art and comfortable common-area furniture. There is an appealing infinity pool for relaxation and relief from the high humidity. The staff members were available and helpful. The quaint, charming town is a short walk down the beach and a slightly longer one down the road. It offers an abundance of cafes, restaurants, shops, and galleries. Townspeople are welcoming and friendly. The negatives: A luxury condo - which in many ways these are - would typically include a TV, microwave, and dishwasher. While these things certainly aren’t necessities, they should be included given the high lodging price. In addition, the extremely firm mattress made deep sleep a challenge, although some people do prefer hard mattresses. (Reportedly several other apartments had soft, thick, luxuriant pillow-top mattresses.) Overall the Clara Vista Villas are beautiful, comfortable, safe, quiet, and...