Celebrating 31 & Travel Review for Punta Mita
Every year around my birthday I try to spend some time evaluating the previous year and discerning what God is saying to me for the next one (note I said discerning and not deciding because the plan for my life is already written). Anyway, last year on my birthday for the first time God gave me a scripture. This year he gave me a word. The word he gave me was “Celebrate.” More specifically I think he wants me to celebrate all that’s coming in my life. I think he wants me to be forward thinking, not to dwell on the past or wonder about the future. I believe he wants me to celebrate as I wait in joyful expectation for how he is going to show out in my life this year. So, this whole year I’m going to practice celebrating things before they come because that’s the kind of faith I have in God. He is a God that does what he says, he is faithful to his word and he watches over it to perform it. I believe this for you too, because even though “celebrate” was the word that God gave me he loves us all uniquely and has great plans for your life that are worth celebrating.
That being said I started my celebration with a vacation to Punta Mita, Mexico. I vacationed at the Four Seasons with my family (annual girls trip) and it was amazing! My hotel experience is important to me so I’m willing to pay a little extra to make sure I have a great one. I’ll be honest I love luxury but I don’t love luxury prices. My goal is to become the proverbs 31 woman in every area of my life, especially where my money is concerned. In verse 16 of chapter 31 the bible talks about how “she considers a field and buys it.” Basically, she gives careful consideration to how she spends her money which should be everyone’s goal. Soooo I wanted to share how I cut costs on this trip but still managed to indulge a little.
Flight: I flew from Atlanta to Dallas and from Dallas to Puerto Vallarta. The Four Seasons sent a car pick us up from the airport and it was about a 40 minute ride to the hotel. We opted to use the car service because we know Mexico has had some crime related issues and we wanted the peace of mind of not having to worry where somebody was taking us. The car service was $225 dollars roundtrip and we split it 5 ways but there were plenty of people that took taxis and had no issues at all. Money Tip: I found that it was cheaper to buy completely separate tickets than to fly straight to Mexico. They wanted $1000 which was more than I was willing to pay. By purchasing separate flights we got the tickets for just under $600 which was still a bit more than I wanted to spend but was much more reasonable. (depending on the time of year you go you may be able to find them cheaper)
Hotel: The Four Seasons felt very safe. We had to go through 3 gates to get on the property. The hotel sits at least another 5 miles back (maybe more) from the gate. It really is like a little piece of paradise. The grounds are beautifully kept and it felt like someone was always doing some landscaping. The property is huge and they will come get you in a golf cart to take you from one place to another if you need it. There was a gym, spa, 2 pools and a lazy river. The family pool has a great view of the ocean and there is plenty of seating around all the pools. There are also two beaches with hammocks and suspended beds to lay out on. The rooms were very spacious and clean with patio furniture on the outside and extra seating in the room. Money tip: 1. If your budget is tight but you still want a great, high end hotel experience get a garden view/resort view room. Skip the ocean view, chances are you will spend most of your time outside the room on the beach anyway and all the rooms look the same on the inside so you will still enjoy the comforts of luxury without the price tag. Also, a lot of these hotels will offer you a free upgrade or you can ask and if they have the availability they will usually do it. 2. When booking google the hotel that you want with bargain/value dates. These are dates where occupancy is lower and prices are cheaper. 3. Go with friends or family members because there are more ways to divide the money.
This is the infinity pool, they also have an adult only pool as well...
Food: Everyday we got the breakfast buffet. I’m not gonna lie, its pricey at around $40. It may be cheaper to order off the menu but I always get the buffet because they have so many options. Literally, too much to name but a few are waffles, pancakes, French toast, oatmeal, omelets, every fruit you can think of and fresh squeezed juices that were amazing. We didn’t really do lunch because we were stuffed from breakfast. We usually ate by the pool or beach, and they had sushi, burgers, wings, and wraps which were all pretty good.
These croissants were sooo buttery, they made then fresh everyday and they were amazing!
Money Tip: I know the $40 is expensive but if you eat a big breakfast later around 11am you can skip lunch and just do an early dinner. This is a way to cut costs on food! To be honest I was so stuffed that all I really had during the day was a something light or a smoothie and then I ate dinner. Be careful about room service sometimes the prices are more expensive just because they deliver it to your room. Also, in the afternoon some of the bars that serve food and drinks by the pool have happy hour and everything is half off.
Dinner: They had 2 restaurants because 1 was being renovated but the food was good in both. We mostly ate on the property because my mom was scared to go off lol but there were plenty of people who did go off the property to eat at the other restaurants and they said it was fine.
Ice cream we had at dinner, it was sooo good!!!
Money Tip: Depending on how much you eat and the portion sizes consider splitting your meal with someone else. My sister and I often split our meals when we go out because there is so much food. In particular, at hotels leftovers don’t do much good if you don’t have a microwave so you might as well share it with someone else.
Obviously, there are other ways to save like hotel points, airline miles you get from a credit card and booking early with a non-refundable fee and saving on the cost. I use these methods as well, but I just wanted to share a little about this trip!
