JILL WEINLEIN

After graduating from UCLA, JIll traveled the world looking for unique destinations. She’s been writing about her travels for almost 30 years in various publications.

She writes a weekly restaurant review for the Beverly Press and Park LaBrea News. It’s inserted into the Los Angeles Times every Thursday and delivered to subscribers from Hancock Park to Beverly Hills, Hollywood Hills to the Wilshire Corridor.

Magnificent Manzanillo Mexico

BY JILL WEINLEIN

Remember in the 1990s when Blake Edwards made the box office movie hit “10” starring Dudley Moore, Julie Andrews and Bo Derek? Filmed at the Las Hadas Resort along Manzanillo Bay, the resort and town of Manzanillo saw a spike in tourism.

Last month we took a 2.5 hour non-stop flight from LAX to the safe and quaint Manzanillo airport. It was refreshing to not see any timeshare salespeople, as we usually do when flying into Cabo San Lucas and Puerto Vallarta.

After a picturesque 30 minute taxi drive, we pulled into the gates of the Mayan design oceanfront resort Barceló Karmina. It’s an all inclusive resort overlooking the Pacific Ocean and Las Hadas along Manzanillo Bay.

There are 324 stylishly appointed rooms and suites with six different swimming pool views among tropical gardens and waterfalls. Checking into the Premium Level room 7011, our large suite offered two double size beds, a marble bathroom with a rainfall shower-head, and complimentary minibar filled with juice, beers, water and snacks. Sliding the glass door open onto the balcony, we took in the views overlooking the pools, private beach and distinctive Las Hadas Resort in the distance, where the movie “10” was filmed.

This resort caters to it’s guests with plenty of lounge chairs and umbrellas next to the blue tile mosaic pools. For a quieter setting, there is an adult-only pool and separate heated whirlpool.

Guests can visit one of the five bars for a Mexican draft beer, freshly made margarita or enjoy a glass of wine from vineyards in Baja Mexico and Chile.

The resort features four themed restaurants, including an authentic Mexican thatched-roof palapa dining venue, Agave. It’s perched on the point of a peninsula offering 180 degree views of the Pacific Ocean. Other dining venues include Capri for Italian dishes and Kyoto for Japanese specialties. The resort’s all-day buffet restaurant features daily International themed fare with tables for guests to sit indoors or outside on a terrace dining area.

Activities include kayaking from the private beach, three-hour snorkeling excursions, tennis, golf, fishing and eco-boat tours. After a day in the sun, guests can spend the day at U-Spa offering a variety of facial treatments, deep tissue and sports massages. There are four treatment rooms and a separate steam room for woman and men. For those seeking the ultimate spa experience reserve an outdoor private massage cabana near the waters edge.

Throughout the day the staff leads an outdoor yoga class, dance lessons, volleyball games, and water aerobics in one of the pools.

Next time you seek a long weekend or week-long vacation, the five-star Barceló Karmina provides a variety of activities, as well as plenty of relaxation spots in the warm Mexico sunshine.

To make a reservation, go to https://www.barcelo.com/en-us/barcelo-hotels/hotels/mexico/manzanillo/barcelo-karmina/or call 1 (800)227-2356.