First, you have to get there. This yoga retreat center and destination wedding venue fronts the open Pacific Ocean on its own private beachfront, down a 2-mile dirt road from the main highway. It’s about an hour north of Puerto Vallarta in Nayarit state near the well-known village of Sayulita. There’s no sign off the highway, and no indication other than from Google Maps that you’re going in the right direction. You wind down the curvy and hilly road and hope there’s no oncoming traffic because there’s no place to turn off or even just get out of their way! But once all the way down to the water, it opens into the retreat compound and all your worries melt away because you start glimpsing views of the ocean and you start hearing the waves crashing onto shore, and well, you may never want to leave!
This place is definitely for those who don’t mind a little adventure and really want to get away from it all. The staff who work here live here, because there’s nowhere nearby for them to come from. You’re in an independent property of some 300 oceanfront acres and there’s just no one in sight. The scenery is beyond gorgeous, nature is teeming all around you, and big surprise, there’s no cell phone coverage! PERFECT!
The property features 12 bungalows and cabanas with beds for up to 37 guests. There are three levels of sophistication available: 5 deluxe cabanas, 3 bungalows and 4 rustic cabanas. Each structure has ocean views and easy access to the beach. Guests eat together in the main outdoor dining area on long wooden tables and the general vibe is relaxed togetherness. The grounds are spacious and the beach is long and enormous, so there are plenty of ways to go seek solitude and bask in nature.
For weddings, there couldn’t really be a more-perfect setting than a huge deserted and completely private beach framed by mountainous cliffs, with incredible sunsets coloring the ocean waves as they wash up onto the sand. It can be decorated in any style, and there’s space for pretty much any wedding activity, so consider it a very natural blank canvas onto which you can create your dream event. One caveat is that the retreat center is not open for destination weddings during the rainy summer months because there is no covered area large enough to act as a “plan B” in case of afternoon or evening thunderstorms and very few clients are interested in paying extra for a large tent to be erected in such a natural setting. So don’t plan to use this facility from June 1 through October 31 each year.
These photos showing the retreat grounds, beach and rooms will give you an idea of the unexpected comfort in such a rustic and natural setting. There is air conditioning in all the rooms except the rustic cabanas, but it’s not really needed in wedding season because of the lovely sea breezes every day.
INTERESTED? Here are more details:
AIR: This retreat center is located approximately 45 minutes northwest of Puerto Vallarta International Airport (PVR). We don’t recommend renting a car because of the scary entrance road, but we definitely do recommend and can arrange group transport for your arrivals and departures. Check out this recent article on nonstop flights from major U.S. and Canadian cities to Vallarta.
LODGING: 12 rooms in three different levels of luxury. Many larger rooms have multiple beds, so are great for families with children or couples comfortable with sharing accommodations. Lodging rates range from rustic cabanas at $100 per person with double occupancy to bungalows at $90 per person with triple or quadruple occupancy to $120 per person in deluxe cabanas for triple or quadruple occupancy.
VENUE RENTAL: The center requires two nights’ buyout lodging for events at $3700 USD per night (total $7400), so with full occupancy of 37 guests, it comes in right at $100 per person per night. In addition, there is a $10 per guest event fee, which mainly covers the extra maintenance for cleaning and grooming the grounds and beach before, during, and following the wedding. The largest event so far held there had well more than 350 guests, so there should be no problem with regular sizes of destination wedding groups.
Contact us for more details about this and many other fantastic wedding venues in the Puerto Vallarta area!