Casitas Maraika — Restaurant in Jalisco

Short answer: Loved the hotel in all aspects and would highly recommend to anyone looking for a very affordable and comfortable stay with photogenic amenities. ||Long answer: stayed two nights here with my girlfriend in January 2022 in the Guamuchil bungalow. I found this hotel through searching up the best day clubs in the Puerto Vallarta area and was intrigued by their photogenic and well manicured social media account. I was surprised and a bit suspicious that there were so few reviews for the hotel especially since there was only a handful of reviews on all travel outlets that were within a year old. But based on the price and the pictures online we decided to roll the dice. ||I’ll get the slight cons out of the way. 1.) If you don’t speak Spanish the website and FAQs will take some effort to translate especially the part about how to get to the hotel. It’s not overly apparent but to get to the hotel it’s a 50 minute drive from Puerto Vallarta and then you get picked up by the hotel’s taxi boat from the pier in Boca de Tomatlan. Getting from PV to Boca de Tomatlan is pretty easy but you need to remember to bring adequate cash! There are no ATMs once you get to Boca de Tomatlan and credit cards won’t cut it everywhere. We ran into this issue and didn’t have any spare bills at the end of the stay to pay for a taxi home which put us in an uncomfortable situation where we had to ask the taxi to stop at an ATM on the way to the airport which felt sketchy. 2.) neither myself nor my girlfriend is squeamish when it comes to bathrooms but be aware that it is Mexico and the hotel is pretty far out from metropolitan areas so the toilets are the kind where you have to throw your TP into a basket next to the toilet. Not an issue for us but I know my dramatic friends from back in the States would flip out at that. ||The many pros: the customer service experience was all around awesome and the hotel itself lives up to the filtered pictures on social media. After booking the stay I used What’s App to communicate with the hotel in English and would text back and forth to organize pick up from Boca de Tomatlan and to schedule a massage. Everyone was friendly and helpful and welcoming and made every effort to make us feel comfortable and ensure our stay was the best it could be despite the language barrier (our Spanish is just a step below pathetic but it wasn’t a problem). The bungalow itself was gorgeous and actually matched the pictures you see online. The bed was comfy, everything was clean, and the bar/club area was well attended. ||We ate dinner here two nights and one lunch and loved everything we had. Additionally, the margaritas were the best we enjoyed during our week in Puerto Vallarta. The fresh squeezed limes made all the difference. The prices were in line with what we pay for food in drinks in San Diego and Seattle ($10-12 cocktails and $10-15 food plates) where we live so it’s more expensive than other places in Puerto Vallarta but they made up for it in portion size and quality. ||I will be recommending this hotel to friends and look forward to visiting again...

Upon arriving at Maraika, you may think its magic comes from its location - from the aquamarine ocean to the stunning backdrop of jungle mountains, you wouldn't be wrong: Maraika is prime real estate through and through. ||||When you get to your casita, you might change your answer and say Maraika's magic comes from whoever built the beautiful open-air structures or perhaps the designer who thoughtfully curated the pillows, artwork and furniture. Each casita has its own personality, yet they all share a peaceful zen-like energy that made each waking morning feel like a dream.||||But after renting out all of the casitas for my 30th birthday for a long weekend with 17 friends and family members, I was able to discover the source of Maraika's magic: the staff.||||My first introduction to Maraika was through Lily, the property's event planner who did an wonderful job coordinating boats and activities and made sure our arrival and departure went off without a hitch. Thank you, Lily!!||||Over the course of the weekend, we got to know the restaurant crew really well. Not only friendly and attentive, these guys hustle HARD. They set up the restaurant early so we could have breakfast before our hike and stayed late to serve us night caps , even after the DJ packed up and the beach club was quiet. Thank you Alejandro and the rest of the team! You guys were INCREDIBLE.||||Each night, the casitas - as well as the walkways connecting them all - were lit with candles, incense was burned to dispel bugs, and the mosquito nets around each bed were tightly tucked in to prevent any bugs from getting inside, with a corner of the bedding turned down for you to slip into. Turn down service each night was one of those small touches that made the experience over-the-top. Thank you to the sweet team of maids who orchestrated all of this behind-the-scenes.||||Saturday AM was jungle yoga (highly recommend!!) and PM was a DJ, which was the perfect setting for a birthday celebration. Pepe, the General Manager, made sure we had the BEST time, from beginning to end. Thank you for your generous hospitality, Pepe!!! Wonderful getting to know you this weekend.||||Lastly, a heartfelt thank you to the kitchen who cooked us DELICIOUS breakfast, lunch and dinner (17 people eating together is no easy feat!) as well as the Security Guard who helped us coordinate a 7 am water taxi to make it to an early flight (and who kept watch as we slept!) and to all of the water taxi captains and crew who took us back and forth from Boca de Tomatlan and Colomitos throughout the weekend! ||||In short, Maraika is pure MAGIC and is a place we hope to...

Upon arriving at Maraika, you may think its magic comes from its location - from the aquamarine ocean to the stunning backdrop of jungle mountains, you wouldn't be wrong: Maraika is prime real estate through and through. ||||When you get to your casita, you might change your answer and say Maraika's magic comes from whoever built the beautiful open-air structures or perhaps the designer who thoughtfully curated the pillows, artwork and furniture. Each casita has its own personality, yet they all share a peaceful zen-like energy that made each waking morning feel like a dream.||||But after renting out all of the casitas for my 30th birthday for a long weekend with 17 friends and family members, I was able to discover the source of Maraika's magic: the staff.||||My first introduction to Maraika was through Lily, the property's event planner who did an wonderful job coordinating boats and activities and made sure our arrival and departure went off without a hitch. Thank you, Lily!!||||Over the course of the weekend, we got to know the restaurant crew really well. Not only friendly and attentive, these guys hustle HARD. They set up the restaurant early so we could have breakfast before our hike and stayed late to serve us night caps , even after the DJ packed up and the beach club was quiet. Thank you Alejandro and the rest of the team! You guys were INCREDIBLE.||||Each night, the casitas - as well as the walkways connecting them all - were lit with candles, incense was burned to dispel bugs, and the mosquito nets around each bed were tightly tucked in to prevent any bugs from getting inside, with a corner of the bedding turned down for you to slip into. Turn down service each night was one of those small touches that made the experience over-the-top. Thank you to the sweet team of maids who orchestrated all of this behind-the-scenes.||||Saturday AM was jungle yoga (highly recommend!!) and PM was a DJ, which was the perfect setting for a birthday celebration. Pepe, the General Manager, made sure we had the BEST time, from beginning to end. Thank you for your generous hospitality, Pepe!!! Wonderful getting to know you this weekend.||||Lastly, a heartfelt thank you to the kitchen who cooked us DELICIOUS breakfast, lunch and dinner (17 people eating together is no easy feat!) as well as the Security Guard who helped us coordinate a 7 am water taxi to make it to an early flight (and who kept watch as we slept!) and to all of the water taxi captains and crew who took us back and forth from Boca de Tomatlan and Colomitos throughout the weekend! ||||In short, Maraika is pure MAGIC and is a place we hope to...