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Spend Some Sexytime in Sayulita's Villa Amor

Where: Playa Sayulita, Sayulita, Nayarit, Mexico

All this week, Shira Levine will be filling us in on the emerging hot spot in Mexico--Riviera Nayarit. Any questions or suggestions? Let us know.

With new developments north and south of Sayulita, the small town (but bigger than most in the area) is still pretty laid-back in that way you’d imagine things were before the development boom. Here’s where you still find surfer dudes with sun bleached dreadlocks. But now they’ve brought along their model girlfriends to chow down at open-air eateries with free Wifi like the oh-so-popular and centrally located Choco Banana. Afterwards, surfer dude will take model girl to little boutiques that sell artesania and whimsical overpriced dresses.

And here's where you'll find Villa Amor.

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Rustic Family-Owned Lodge Has Le Cordon Bleu Fare

Where: Paredes # 106 Sur, San Blas, Nayarit, Mexico, 63740

All this week, Shira Levine will be filling us in on the emerging hot spot in Mexico--Riviera Nayarit. Any questions or suggestions? Let us know.

The totally charming family-run Hotel Garza Canela is one of those unassuming gems you discover by accident or word of mouth. Or at least, it has the energy of that sentiment. If you Google "hotels" and "San Blas" it is the upscale hotel in the town of roughly 12,000 people. If charming and old school rustic is your bag, the four sisters and a brother that own Garza Canela are pretty welcoming to inviting you into their life in San Blas.

The compound is the perfect setting for a reunion or a low-key intimate wedding. (They've got a chapel on site.) There are four two and three story buildings with roughly a dozen rooms in each building.

I stayed in a two-story and had a quaint 70's looking room with brown, wood-paneled walls and ceramic-tiled floors, a full kitchen and a super old school TV with equally old school TV channels.

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Hotel Cielo Rojo Won't Harsh Your Mellow, Dude

Where: Calle Asia No 6, San Francisco/San Pancho, Nayarit, Mexico, 63732

All this week, Shira Levine will be filling us in on the emerging hot spot in Mexico--Riviera Nayarit. Any questions or suggestions? Let us know.

Just north of Sayulita is San Pancho, a beachtown even more chill exists, if you can imagine it possible. It’s like where Cheech and Chong might ultimately pass out, while Sayulita would then be their party zone. There’s a big push for potential vacation homeowners to buy here but at the moment, artists are particularly drawn to San Pancho as there is a 40-member collective and an annual music festival that rolls into town.

Hotel Cielo Rojo is something of a gallery with an assortment of Mexican art and antiques. There's a headless padre that greets guest at the doorway to the patio.

The terra cotta floors and painted bathroom tiles are nice touches, but don’t quite make up for the lack of AC. The ceiling fans for the most part though do some adequate cooling. The hotel also boasts its own Bistro Organico which serves, as you can guess, organic fare. If that doesn't appeal to you then perhaps the bar with its tequila, wine, mojitos, margaritas and artisanal drink collection will.

While it's nice to have a restaurant within the hotel for convenience sake, remember in San Pancho, the quintessential taco stand dominates sit-down restaurants. It’s a very "grab a fish taco and hit the waves" kind of living.

Room rates right now are at $95 a night for a queen bedroom. A suite, which includes a queen bed and two twin beds starts at $150 a night.

Shira visited Riviera Nayarit courtesy of the Riviera Nayarit CVB and the Mexico Tourism Board.

Tags: Riviera Nayarit Hotel Guide / Mexico Hotels / Hotel Services / Hotel Baths / → All Tags

Villa La Estancia Woos Guests With Their Mega-Luxe Bath

Where: Villa la Estancia, Nuevo Vallarta, Nayarit, Mexico

All this week, Shira Levine will be filling us in on the emerging hot spot in Mexico--Riviera Nayarit. Any questions or suggestions? Let us know.

There's a version of gentrification storming the tropical tourism world. In urban metropolis' you know things are a changing when an artsy bookstore and a health food store run by hippies opens up in the ghetto.

Just a few years ago, a previously undeveloped place like Riviera Nayarit was a lovely stretch of 20 some Pacific Coast villages in Mexico and considered a secret surfer's haven with Rasta dudes and beach hippies. Now another $350 million has been invested into 35 projects on top of the initial $1.5 billion dedicated to infrastructure just two years ago. So yeah, the chic yoga studio is a given, as is the soy Frappuccino.

Expect something close to another 4,000 rooms within 20 new developments by 2011. It's amazing what adding the word "Riviera" does tourism wise for a place. The area of note begins just outside of Puerto Vallarta and works its way north about three hours along the Bay of Banderas.

So here's where we say it: Watch out Cabo San Lucas and Riviera Maya, there's a new set of tan gams in town and they belong to the state of Nayarit.

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