Casa Vela - Beachfront luxury lodge with private chef & staff

The house is beautiful and very comfortable. The rooms are large with seating and work areas. The living/dining is open to the ocean breezes. The kitchen is well equipped but during our stay the dishwasher was not working and the freezer broke down midweek - the bar at Tres Rios graciously gave us ice. For 1500 a day the kitchen should have been totally working. Swimming for our grandchildren was not the best but the very nice beach next door was easy to walk to. The drive up to the house was exceptional through the mangroves and Alibar would ferry us from the road to the house by golf cart. One drawback was the construction next door from 7-6 but the bedrooms were on the opposite side of the house so were very quiet

Over the years, I have stayed at more than a dozen VRBOs in exotic locations all over the world. Above all, this property exceeds its description. It's just a really special place with a dedicated services team that makes your stay magical. We had eight members of the family on this particular trip, so I highly recommend the Chef package because the food was fantastic. During your stay, Alberto, who designed and built the house, coordinates everything via WhatsApp and is very knowledgeable and responsive. The freshwater cenote down the beach is great for a dip. The home itself is beautiful and unique. I would definitely recommend this experience for a family reunion.

We had a wonderful stay over Thanksgiving. 4 adults and 7 kids ages 3-14. We were able to arrange everything ahead of time including airport transfers, excursions, food ideas (we hired a chef) and food and beverages to have stocked at the house. I emailed with both the house manager Alberto and the owner Bruce as well as spoke to Bruce on the phone. Every detail was taken care of including a very traditional American Thanksgiving meal, which was amazing! We ended up changing our plans a few different times due to the kids wanting to do different activities and it was no problem at all. I simply messaged Alberto using the WhatsApp and arrangements were immediately taken care of. We gave the chefs ideas ahead of time and they were very good about fixing not only traditional Mexican foods but also some typical kids foods such as pizza, cheeseburgers and chicken strips in case the kids didn't care for the Mexican fare. The chefs were amazing and very friendly. We used a translation app to communicate with them better. My kids now know how to ask for ice cream in Spanish - More helado por favor! The house itself was roomy, clean and beautiful. It is exactly as it looks in the pictures. The beach was amazing. The only reason I gave it 4 stars for location was that the water right in front of the house is not that great for swimming. Our kids wanted to swim and boogie board so we ended up going to a different beach in Tulum for that but it was nice to go off on a few excursions which we would have done anyway. If you don't care about swimming, the beach is amazing and you can kayak and use the stand up paddle boards. You can also walk down the beach to the cenote and swim in that which is very refreshing. There are tons of activities in the area if you care to go on excursions such as cenotes, mayan ruins at Coba and Tulum, the Xcaret parks (which we were planning to do but ended up going to Tortuga cenotes and Tulum beach instead.) It's nice to come back to a quiet beautiful house at the end of the day. If you simply want to relax in peace and quiet the whole time, this house is for you. Alberto arranged a masseuse to come, we had chefs on hand and 24 hour security. No reason to leave if you don't want to. It could use a few more activities for kids so keep that in mind. We ended up going to Walmart and purchased some balls, beach toys and boogie boards as there were none at the house. Overall we had a great stay!

I hope Bruce and Alberto are ready for 6 new roomates as we never wanted to leave. From the moment we arrived to the moment we left we were 100% taken care of. The property was exactly as described and honestly was even better in person (if that's even possible). It had every amenity you could ever want and everything was glorious. The staff was incredible and very unobtrusive but were there for us for everything we needed. They became our mini family while we were there. The rooms and common areas were perfect, location was exactly what we needed and the nearby cenote was perfection. We paddleboarded and kyaked every day, we even took a snorkel and centoe tour and had a day of whale watching and fishing. We truly are all heartbroken to have to leave. But i guarantee we will be back. Thanks to Bruce, Alberto, CeCe and Anibar for making this the best birthday I will ever have.

This is just the perfect get away. From the layout of the house to the location to chief and all the staff. This is the place to go relax and enjoy a vacation. You live your idea of a dream spot. You think back and smile about every little thing, the flowers, the furniture, the folded towel animals. The open airy architecture that makes you feel as though you are part of your surroundings and simply relaxes you both at the dinner table and lounging afterward. With the ground level sitting areas for afternoon cool off or evening cocktails at the swinging chair bar, pool and storage for water enjoyment equipment this place fully accommodates kids and adults. Love it! John

Casa Vela was amazing - everything from the view to the beach to the kitchen was 5 stars. The house was top notch and the cleaning staff kept things in great shape by cleaning each morning. The living room area where we spent most of the time was perfect for groups - open air and plenty of comfortable seating. The staff was friendly and always helpful. A great, peaceful house to relax and getaway from the crowds. The property is super secluded and very safe. Downtown playa is about a 15 minute drive - convenient for those who want to go out, but make sure to plan a taxi in advance. Overall, a great stay - perfect for groups or large families.

We had a wonderful time staying here over spring break. We stayed with our entire family, 13 people in all, and everyone was comfortable. Great bedrooms and bathrooms. The back deck is amazing with great breezes. Well appointed kitchen and open air dining were fantastic. Great outdoor seating and wonderful equipment for water sports. The staff and cooks took great care of us and food was fantastic!! I couldn't rank this place higher.

We woke up to the sunrise over the ocean, luxuriated all day on the beach, had wonderful meals by the property's chef, and this week, enjoyed the full moon over the ocean. The house is very comfortable. Everything is top drawer, kitchen, bedrooms, bathrooms, TVs, etc. We didn't have to shop, cook, clean, anything! Some of us used the kayaks and paddle boards, right off the beach in front of the house. Everyone was sorry to leave and would love to return.

The house is beyond expectations. Alberto took care of every single detail. Organized a superb trip for us to visit mayan sites and cenotes. could not be more thrilled with our vacation. a very warm thank you for the entire staff, including Tomas, Rosario, Hannibal and all the others.

Wow! From the moment we arrived at Casa Vela we we're treated to the utmost luxury and service. We arrived with our 3 small children (4, 2 and 4 months)... they were given fresh juice and we were given margaritas along with some guacamole and pico de Gallo! We sat on the swings under the house and took it all in! Alberto, the property manager had pack n plays and high chairs ready for use. He also helped me to arrange a surprise for my husband for his 50th birthday. Our friends flew in a few hours after us and Alberto sent me a text to let me know when they were on their way from the airport so I could get him in place! He also arranged for a birthday celebration one night. Everything we wanted was delivered promptly or ready for us when we got there. My Spanish is atrocious so I spoke into my phone using Google translate so the staff knew exactly what we wanted, what we needed or how appreciative we were of their efforts. Oh... the maid service! Every day, the maid created some kind of animal or design in the rooms. My kids loved it and I have never seen such intricate designs with towels. It was truly impressive and a wonderful touch. It was quite a humid time when we went but with the breeze at night, it was heaven on the large lanai. One afternoon it rained and the day staff gentleman promptly ran upstairs to lower the shades to block the rain. Oh... And the day staff grounds helper/do anything you need him to was super attentive. It seemed like every time we moved from an area, he would come tidy up without us even noticing. The food... WOW WOW WOW! Absolutely incredible. The food was actually my favorite part. We had two chefs throughout the course of our week. They had different styles but both equally delectable. To say the food was sensational would be an understatement. We had different juice pairings with each meal, juices I had never even heard of before and they were so refreshing. The beds were extremely comfortable, AC worked great, showers were so cool, rooms were spacious and had good wifi connection. The TVs could be turned to English which was great for occupying our children while we got ready for dinner. We walked just north to the cenote and saw crabs, a barracuda and other local wildlife. It was beautiful. The kayaks and paddle boards were so fun too! If you paddle out you can see massive starfish! I can't say enough good things about this place. We will definitely be back!