Five years of marriage seems to have flown on by, and David and I certainly thought it was worth celebrating. As usual, our insane schedules conspired against us, so it wasn’t until several weeks after our actual anniversary that we headed off to sunny beautiful Puerto Vallarta. But we had the loveliest, most relaxing stay at Casa Kimberly, and it was beyond worth the wait.
I’ma sucker for a good love story, and Casa Kimberly was positively dripping with history and romance. Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor fell in love while filming Casablanca, and were still involved in a torrid relatonship when he went to Puerto Vallarta to film The Night of the Iguana. He gifted her Casa Kimberly for her 32nd birthday, and built the bridge above, la Puente de Amor, to connect it to his own casita across the street. The two casitas have been gorgeously updated and restored, and together make for a magical luxury hotel.
We were lucky enough to stay in the Elizabeth Taylor Suite, what were her private quarters, and I can say in total honesty that my jaw dropped when we stepped off the private elevator into the suite and walked in. Gorgeous polished marble everywhere, dripping with chandeliers, a bed that felt like a cloud, and a bathroom that rivals our entire condo in size- I’d never in my life stayed someplace so luxurious. And the views! Our bathroom balcony overlooked the courtyard, while the one in our bedroom overlooked cobblestone streets and all of Puerto Vallarta. And french doors opened onto our private patio, which was the dreamiest.
Breakfast was included in the room rate at Casa Kimberly, with the option to eat in the restaurant, poolside, or delivered the room. We lived that room service life, and ate breakfast almost every morning on our patio. I’m always here for freshly squeezed orange juice, local fruit and housemade pastries, and the cinnamon custard french toast was spectacular. But once I discovered the chilaquiles, served with the most amazing fireroasted salsa, that was my standing order for the rest of the week- and I made David get his own, because love or not, i wasn’t willing to share them!
And the rest of the patio, well, y’all can see for yourself. Lounge chairs in the sunshine were the perfect place for me to work on my tan and several bottles of rose.
I’d be fibbing if I didn’t acknowledge that we spent three-quarters of our vacation right here- and do you blame us? After the insanity of the past year, it was unbelievably nice to have nothing on the agenda except for relaxing. We soaked in the sun and napped in the shade, had dance parties and splashed around in the gorgeous pool, and I ripped through books on my kindle app at a crazy pace.
We didn’t hole up exclusively, though- we managed to get out exploring for a little each day. Casa Kimberly is way up on a hill overlooking Puerto Vallarta, so we climbed down the stairs to the town center.
The pigeons were definitely king of the centro, but I couldn’t quit obsessing over the cheerful papel picado decorating all the streets. Much to my dismay, David doesn’t think it works with our decor at home- I swear I’d hang just about everywhere!
Let’s talk about this tub for a quick second. Not only was it made for bubble baths, I just felt so fancy bathing where the late great Liz did. It also made me giggle- Richard Burton had commissioned it from an Italian marble quarry, and something got lost in translation. Instead of being shaped like a romantic heart as he envisioned, a giant pink marble tub shaped like an anatomically correct heart arrived, et voila.
We got all fancied up to celebrate our anniversary at dinner one night, and it was so easy to just walk downstairs and be at the best restaurant in town. We watched the sun set as we indulged in an incredible meal and were spoiled by more impeccable service at Cafe Iguana.
And while the food was in fact exceptional, the highlight of the evening was the entertainment. Mariachi La Joya de Mexico, one of Mexico’s most famous Mariachi troupes, played all night, and they were fantastic- crazy talented, with beautiful singing and music. Even when I couldn’t understand the words, the emotion was so moving, it brought me to tears when they serenaded us. 
We did have one drizzly and dreary morning, so we slept in, had breakfast delivered to bed and lounged around- tough life, I know.
But before we knew it, the sun had burned through the clouds and it had warmed right up! We decided to break away from our patio for the day, as hard as it was to leave it, and crossed lover’s bridge to the hotel pool. It might as well have been a private pool, though- other than the staff coming to check on us, we had it utterly to ourselves.
We went back into town for lunch, heading straight for the taco stand we’d discovered on our first day- and visited almost every day since. We like what we like, and we were loving Marisma Taqueria- the ceviche tortas and smoked marlin quesadillas were to die for, and the lovely ladies griddling up fresh tortillas in this little roadside stand couldn’t have been sweeter.
We also went just a few blocks away, to Casa Kimberly’s sister hotel, Hacienda de San Angel, for dinner one night. We had more incredible views during a scrumptious Italian meal at La Capella- the tartare was a standout- and such a stunning sunset beyond the old clock tower!
We switched rooms on our second to last day, as the Elizabeth Suite had already been reserved for another guest when we booked. The staff made the room swap to the VIPs Suite utterly effortless for us, and while it wasn’t quite as large, it was no less lovely.
It was loaded with every amenity and luxury we’d come to expect from Casa Kimberly. had stumning colonial furniture and the most enormous blue-tiled shower. A jacuzzi overlooked the city on on one side of the wraparound patio, and it opened up to sunbeds, an antique fountain, and even more prettiness.
We couldn’t help but capture some of the magic on video.
It was so hard to leave Casa Kimberly and Puerto Vallarta, but we did so refreshed and rejuvenated, and knowing we’d come back someday soon. Thanks so much to Casa Kimberly and their lovely staff for hosting us so graciously.
