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Tr a v v y A w a r d s 2 0 1 6

The well-known and leader travel company travAlliance Media, and the agency Dream Vacations, published the winner’s list of the 2016 Travvy Awards. This event is organized every year and recognizes the hotels, travel agencies, products, agents, executives and touristic destinations with the highest stadards in quality and excellence. The nominees passed through a strict evaluation process made by experts who inspected all the details.

Riviera Nayarit and Riviera Maya were the elected destinations for “Best Luxury Destination in Mexico” category, and Grand Velas Riviera Nayarit received the award in the “Best Luxury Hotel/ Resort, Mexico”, “Best Spa and Wellness Hotel/Resort, Mexico” and “Best Romantic Hotel/Resort, Mexico” categories.

To see the entire list of winners, please visit:www.travelpulse.com/news/travel-agents/the-winners-list-the-2016-travvy-awards-presented-by-dream-vacations.html

AWARDS

GRAND VELAS

AWARDS

T+ L A w a r d s 2 0 1 6

The Travel + Leisure Magazine has nominated both Grand Velas in its World’s Best Awards 2016.

We invite you to rate your experience in both resorts and you will have the opportunity to win a $10,000 dream trip, courtesy of Travel +Leisure!

You have until February 29th, 2016 to vote in the following link: tlworldsbest.wylei.com

GRAND VELAS

Grand Velas Riviera Maya

Zen Grand

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W i n t e r S p e c i a l s

Velas Resorts invite guests to exchange cold weather at home for Mexico’s warm sun with value-packed winter promotions. Through April, specials at Puerto Vallarta’s Casa Velas and Velas Vallarta, as well as Grand Velas Riviera Nayarit and Grand Velas Riviera Maya include resort credits, city tours, room or suite upgrades, unlimited golf and more in addition to discounted rates. At Casa Velas, guests booking the 2016 Winter Promotion receive a $50 spa credit (per adult, per stay), unlimited golf, 20% discount at the resort’s boutique, one dinner at neighboring sister property Grand Velas Riviera Nayarit, transportation to the hotel from the airport, and either a city and shopping or cultural and tequila tour in downtown Puerto Vallarta. In addition to the downtown city tour and cultural tour, families escaping to Velas Vallarta receive a two-for-one rate for children ages 5 to 17 years old, early check-in or late check-out, $30 spa credit, and a 10% discount on nightly rates. The AAA Five Diamond Grand Velas Riviera Nayarit and Grand Velas Riviera Maya extend guests a 10% discount at resort boutique shops and a $50 spa credit (per adult, per night), which can also be redeemed at the referred golf courses at Grand Velas Riviera Nayarit. As an added bonus at Grand Velas Riviera Maya, adults receive an automatic upgrade from an Ambassador Suite to a Grand Class Suite, each showcasing a minimum of 1,300 sq. ft. with panoramic views of the Caribbean Sea and private plunge pool. These promos are valid to travel until April 30th, 2016; discounted rates start at $263 (Casa Velas), $162 (Velas Vallarta), $385 (Grand Velas Riviera Nayarit) and $416 (Grand Velas Riviera Maya).

TRAVEL

VELAS RESORTS

Casa Velas

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A c t i v i t i e s f o r a d u l t s

Daily, guests will enjoy different types of flavored martinis and margaritas as well as indulge in tequila tastings. Expert sommeliers will guide them through wine pairing with cheeses, and they will also be able to enjoy afternoon tea with desserts and petit fours.

Unforgettable evenings await, such as a live piano dinner-concert, a barbecue with fine cuts and seafood, a special menu with dishes from the state of Veracruz, as well as personalized pastas and lobster prepared with a variety of sauces to choose from. They can’t miss the Cuban evening with delicious mojitos!

The guest chefs of the gourmet restaurants Frida, Lucca and Piaf (sister restaurants from Grand Velas Riviera Nayarit resort), will be present with their culinary creations to astonish all attendees.

The lovers of sports will enjoy discounts and special promotions in the Marina Vallarta golf club, a 6,701-yard course designed by Joe Finger that offers long passages lined by palm trees, sheltered by water and beautiful green areas, as well as the Vista Vallarta courses, the first designed by Jack Nicklaus, with the best views of the Banderas Bay with green hillsides, a dense palm tree forest and natural streams that create the perfect landscape. The second, an 18-hole golf course designed by Tom Weiskopf challenges clients with an extreme terrain, dense jungles, deep ravines and rapid streams.

SERVICES

CASA VELAS

Casa Velas

CUISINE

A t r i b u t e t o Y u c a t á n

Situated amidst the tropical jungle foliage of mangroves and Salam, Chechen and Chaká trees, Chaká restaurant at Grand Velas Riviera Maya is now open for dinner with a new Yucatecan menu inspired by the region’s traditional cuisine. The four defining pillars of Mayan cooking – achiote (annatto seed paste), citrus, habaneros (hot peppers) and smoke – are heavily used throughout the new menu, which showcases the cuisine of the Mayan peninsula. Standout appetizers include empanadas filled with pork, Oaxaca cheese and tomato sauce, served with avocado mousse, pickled onion, tomato, lettuce and sun-dried tomato dressing; dzotobichay tamales, a small variety made of masa and lard seasoned with achiote and habanero, filled with pumpkin seeds and wrapped in chaya leaf; and shredded beef tacos with a citrus infusion, topped with chicharrón (deep fried pork rind) on homemade guajillo chili tortillas. The authentic sopa de lima, a chicken soup spiked heavily with fragrant local lime juice, is also on the menu for tasting before the main event, which could consist of grouper marinated in achiote and spices served with plantains, fried onion, julienned vegetables and sweet-and-sour orange sauce or pollo pibil, chicken cooked underground with its juice, served with white rice, caramelized corn, refried beans, “chicharrón prensado” and coriander sprouts, among other options.

Highlights of the dessert menu include yuca doughnuts with horchata ice cream and a pumpkin sweet topped with Xtabentún (an anise liqueur made in Mexico’s Yucatán region) flavored cream. Touting the reputation as the “foodie resort” of the Caribbean coast, Grand Velas Riviera Maya features eight varied restaurants, including Chaká and Cocina de Autor, the first All-Inclusive restaurant in the world to hold the AAA Five Diamond Award. Chaká is open for dinner from 6:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. daily. Reservations are required. Outdoor terrace and indoor, air-conditioned seating is available.

It is important to mention that this initiative was born with the aim of offering innovative options to our members. Now Chaká restaurant, which used to close its doors during night to bring to life the exquisite Italian-Mediterranean restaurant Lucca within the same premises, displays its own specialty dinner menu, and Lucca moves to the Ambassador ambience.

GRAND VELAS RIVIERA MAYA

CUISINE - RECIPE

G u a c a m o l e

The guacamole name comes from the Nahuatl “ahuacatlmolli” translated into Spanish, which consists of the words “ahuacatl” (avocado) and “molli” (or mole sauce). According to the pre-Hispanic mythology, Quetzalcóatl, the Toltec god, offered the guacamole recipe to its people, who then spread it throughout Mesoamerica. It was based on an avocado sauce and water; subsequently other ingredients were added. Mexico is the number one producer of avocado worldwide. It is the city of Uruapan, Michoacán, where the export to remote countries as far away as the Middle East, United States, Canada, Europe and Japan, takes place.

INGREDIENTSA 17.5 oz portion approximately

3 avocados2 serrano chilies1 oz. lemon juice1 cup tomato, chopped

3 cilantro sprigs1/3 pc white onion, chopped½ cup aged cheese, grated1 pkg. corn chipsSalt to taste

PREPARATION

Wash and disinfect all the vegetables, remove the skin and seeds of the avocados, remove the chili stems and chop the peppers (you may want to remove some chili seeds if you don’t want your guacamole very hot; make sure you rinse your hands!), chop the cilantro sprig, and add the chopped onion and tomatoes.

In a bowl, mash the avocado pulp, add the lemon juice and salt, then add the other vegetables and mix well, correct seasoning.

Optional: You can sprinkle the guacamole with aged cheese and taste with corn chips. Note: If you put some drops of lime juice and mix it in, it will keep the guacamole greener, since being exposed to the air turns it black.

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VELAS VALLARTA

http://www.grandvelas.com/