Need to know

Rooms

Eight houses.

Rates

Low season, $270–$380; high season, $370–$550, including tax and transport between the hotel and Boca de Tomatlan and Yelapa. Service is an additional 10 per cent and the compulsory meal plan is $80 a person a day, excluding drinks.

Check-out

11.30am. Later check-out times are subject to a charge.

Facilities

Spa with soaking tub and Watsu massage pool, yoga palapa, gardens, library, free WiFi throughout. In rooms: king-size beds, natural spa toiletries. The Stone House, Studio and Casa Chica have air-conditioning.

Poolside

The raw concrete pool is surrounded by a series of stepped terraces lined with orange loungers and parasols. The wall of one terrace has become an unofficial guestbook, where people have scratched their names and assorted declarations of love.

Children

Verana is far too romantic to be suited to under-16s. Extra beds are $70 a night.

Eco-friendly

The hotel eschews all carbon-hungry electronic goods (no TVs, sounds systems etc) and candles are used in preference to the (mostly low-energy lights) where possible. Food is sourced from local producers (as were all building materials).

Hotel closed

6 July to 1 November.

Also

There’s a five-night minimum stay in high season (November–June), and a seven-night minimum over Christmas and Thanksgiving. Smoking is permitted throughout.

In the know

Our favourite rooms

We loved the lofty, arboreal setting of the Tea House, a Japanese style suite spread over a series of floating wooden platforms above the forest canopy. Although smaller, the Studio also raised our appreciative eyebrows with its pale bluey-grey concrete walls and natural-effect crackly pattern, huge wrought-iron four-poster, and whole wall of metal-framed windows that capture the pastel brilliance of the Verana sunrise. Mayan, the bedroom of which opens out onto a wide private terrace with staggering sea views, is one of the hotel’s most theatrical, and has an outdoor bathroom.

Packing tips

The hotel library is well stocked with books and magazines, so don’t waste suitcase space on reading matter. Outdoorsy clothes would be a wise inclusion if you plan on hiking or horse-riding in the jungle.

Also

As well as the expected range of resort activities, such as kayaking, snorkeling, and island-hopping, the hotel also has a tarot reader on hand, should you fancy dabbling in the spirit realm. The chef gives cooking classes too.

Food & drink

Hotel restaurant

Breakfast and dinner are served on the terrace, lunch is enjoyed lazily beside the pool. The daily changing cuisine is authentic Mexican, varied with European or Asian dishes that meet the chef’s approval. Look out for Taco Night.

Dress code

Flip-flops and sun-dresses; it really couldn’t get more laid-back.

Top table

Almost every table on the terrace has a camera-friendly view of the Pacific, but elbow your way to the front to snag the most enviable.

Last orders

Dinner is available until 9.30pm, but there’s an after-hours snack menu. The bar keeps the tequila a-flow until gone midnight.

Room service

There’s no room service system as such, but you can request a candlelit romantic dinner in the privacy of your house.

Hotel bar

Smart, intimate, and chilled-out in the extreme, Verana’s bar sits alongside the restaurant and mixes chilli-infused margheritas that’ll send you to sleep with a smile (and a stumble).

Smith card offer Your choice of a cooking class with Verana's chef or a wine-tasting session for two

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Book this hotel

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Verana

449 Calle Zaragoza, Colonia Centro, Puerto Vallarta