A little soon for a hotel stop, but we didn’t care- less than 3 hours north of Puerto Vallarta, we had reservations at Casa Manana, a boutique hotel on Playa del Coco just outside of San Blas. This hotel was very cute with beautiful grounds and a charming pool. The restaurant on site had friendly servers and great food, made even better since you’re sitting just a few feet from crashing waves of the ocean. Directly in front of the hotel, the beach has large round stones covering most of the beach- not someplace you want to walk barefoot- there are tons of tide pools on this beach and we had a great time climbing out over the rocks, seeing fish and sea creatures while trying to avoid the occasional wave that was tall enough to splash us. Just to the right of the hotel, the rocks stop and there is a long stretch of sandy beach that was perfect for early morning exercise and sunbathing.
Casa Manana’s rooms were cute and very clean. Beds were hard but that’s typical of Mexico. We really loved our balcony which looked out over the pool and the ocean. We had a fantastic sunset from this point and made it a point to run upstairs to the rooftop terrace for a few photos.
Did I mention Casa Manana’s oceanview room was only $58 USD? There was also free wireless internet and they offered simple conveniences- such as when I realized my phone card was low and asked where I could buy one; the receptionist pulled out a handful of cards and asked which kind I would like saving me a trip into town. I love when they think of the little things!