Villa Pachuco's grounds and architecture are absolutely beautiful. It was very convenient to have a bathroom connected to each bedroom. The spacious living and dining room areas allowed us to spread out comfortably. The pool was a highlight, but the best part of the vacation was hiring China and her daughter to prepare meals. The food was delicious, and so much easier than trying to get a large group out to a restaurant! Each morning, when they came to do the daily housework, we would talk about what we would like for dinner, they would shop, and a spread of food magically appeared on the table at our requested time. What a treat! They presented their receipts and we reimbursed them for the food each day, so you will need to have pesos/cash on hand for that.
We ate most of our lunches on the beach, because you can use the beach chairs and tables if you buy food and drinks from one of the variety of vendors. We spent most of our time at Playa Ballenas, a 5-10 minute walk from the villa (head away from town). We enjoyed a couple of excursions with Flora Tours, and we took several walks into town (15-20 minutes) to shop and get treats. It wasn't easy to get a taxi to come out to the house, but as soon as you walk down to the main road, you can get a taxi very quickly - or hop on the back of a scooter.
Notes that might be helpful for future guests: We used the taxi service from SDQ offered by Richard, it was the best deal we found, with a prompt and friendly driver. We were grateful for the good supply of bath and beach towels on hand at the house; you don't need to bring your own. You might want to pack your own pillow, if a fluffy pillow is a priority for you. We were also happy that we brought a good supply of mosquito repellent, because the open air living spaces meant that the mornings and evenings were extremely buggy. There is a washer on site, but no dryer. Having a Spanish speaker with the group was very helpful for coordinating logistics, English is not universally understood. The main house's hot water system went out intermittently; my understanding is that it's a solar powered system, and because the weather wasn't great while we were there, there was an auxiliary system that needed to be activated (by pushing a button on the power panel...ask one of the staff members to show you where so you can be sure to have hot showers!). There is a water cooler, and 5-gallon jugs are delivered to the house daily.
Thanks for a great vacation!
