Grand Velas Rivera Nayarit: Family Trip Recap

Updated: Aug 19, 2022

Grand Velas Rivera Nayarit is one of those places we call home away from home. And it's such a special place to us.

It was our first international beach vacation destination in 2018 with Sofia when she was 7 months, and our first international destination as a family of 4 when Beckham was 7 months in 2020. And now with two toddlers in 2022, we knew we wanted to come back, which shows you how much we love this place. They make it easy for parents to ENJOY and RELAX in a vacation with littles.

Grand Velas, is located in Rivera Nayarit in the West Coast of Mexico (they have a few locations across the country), super convenient just a short flight from LA under 3h (you fly into Puerto Vallarta and then take a 15min car ride), and a VERY family friendly destination, with perfect tropical summer weather and vibes year-round.

Top reasons why we keep coming back with our family:

1. All inclusive & luxurious. Truly a hard to find combination! They do everything in their hands to allow you to relax, even with minis.

2. “Baby Concierge” service included which provides you with the baby gear you need: sanitized bath tub, hammocks, toys, strollers, pacifiers, high chair in your room, carriers... so you can travel more freely and not sacrifice on comfort. They even wash your baby bottles if needed.

3. On-site daycare/babysitting & summer camp option. We tried both of these for the first time in this trip! The resort has a complimentary kids club from ages 4+ open 9a to 11pm + babysitting (in room or on site) available anytime booked through reception or your concierge. And a teens club with video games, pool tables, music and much more where they supervise them until 11pm!

4. Kid friendly fine dining restaurants with high chairs, baby puree and kid menus.

5. The most gorgeous, lush, tropical location with sandy, kid friendly beach in an extremely convenient distance from home and direct flights

6. Airport transfers with car seats available. You have to reserve this in advanced to make sure the hotel can coordinate the private car and proper car seats! You can do it before arriving and leave it all set.

7. This resort is also all Inclusive: yes, everything mentioned above except the private baby sitter and car service inclusive. Restaurants, room service, drinks, snacks, kids club, mini bar, baby concierge... makes life easy. Plus, room service is available 24/7. If you have kids, you know how important it is to have food available at anytime and anywhere, and how a nice all inclusive, is peace of mind. And amazing with kids who want to snack all day!

Every night you can make a reservation at a different restaurant, and I recommend you try them all if you stay 4 nights or more. SO WORTH IT. Babies and kids can come with you and they also take early reservations, but remember the kids club offers activities until 11pm so if your kids are 4+ they also can go to their "movie nights" to hang with other kids their ages, eat the kids buffet offered there and watch a fun movie, followed by a dance party or programmed activity. Sofia did it a couple nights instead of coming to dinner with us, and she loved it.

Here they are ranked from favorite at the top (although I absolutely loved them all but I am including them linked below in order of preference)

• Lucca (Italian cuisine)

• Frida (Mexican cuisine)

• Sen Lin (Asian cuisine) • Piaf (French cuisine)

Then you also have two Casual Restaurants:

• Azul (International Cuisine, open for breakfast and lunch)

• Selva del Mar (Snacks and Sea Food, lunch only)

And of course, you can also order poolside or at the beach. I 100% recommend trying their fish tacos (my husband liked the rib eye tacos), and their shrimp ceviche. We ate that on-repeat poolside and at the beach cabanas!

And this year, it was the first time we tried the Babysitter service. Since B is under 4, and Sofia is over 4, she was able to go to the kids club during the day, but he wasn't. So we hired one of the babysitters on-site and had her stay with Beckham in the kids club, so that B not only could be with Sofia, but also could enjoy the programmed activities (arts, crafts, picnics, summer camp activities, shows, etc)

And to ensure our relaxation, we decided to get a day pass to spend the morning in Casa Velas, one of their sister properties located just 15min away. A boutique, adult-only all-inclusive resort that’s extremely quiet and exclusive. We laid by the pool, read, talked, ate good food with no rush... and there’s even golf course access if you wish. It was such a serene ambiance and a great way to disconnect. The babysitter kept sending us amazing updates, and the kids didn’t even want to leave when they saw us back, ha!

A lot of people also use the kids club to go go to the spa, have meals on their own or go out of the resort to do activities; and we probably do that more once both kids are 4 and we can utilize the kids club more!

Other things you can do on-site?

• Water activities like kayak

• Their Gym is spacious and amazing with classes available as part of their programming too

• There is a Tennis court, previous reservation is required (free) and they also offer Tennis instructor service with a cost

• Free Basketball court

• Family outdoor movie nights & comedy shows And at an additional cost: • Their Spa is one of my favorites! • They have Golf courses in the nearby area • Sunset yatch cruise • Family art class • Family bond fire • Cooking class • Wine tasting • Mixology class • Dinner under the stars • Picnics

Some touristic things to do/visit in the area if you want to leave the resort (remember you ca leave the kids at the kids club / sitter on site, and leave to do activities!) - Puerto Vallarta - Marietas Islands - Sayulita - Caletas - La Tovara Nature Reserve

- Snorkling

- Whale Watching

- Off roading

-Swim with dolphins