May 15, 2012

Lucky you if you are in Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico for the next two weeks. Lucky, that is, if you like to eat and experiment with the many excellent restaurants that are located in the Puerto Vallarta and surrounding areas.

Since 2005, the period from May 15 to May 31 is a gastronomic festival. During this period, many of the participating restaurants offer three course meals with three options per course. Often times, the meals are unique to the festival and allow the chefs to offer their customers interesting dishes.

According to Virtual Vallarta, this year's list of participating restaurants include a total of 45 restaurants. Twelve will offer three course menus for $189 MXP, and the remaining will offer their meals for $299 MXP. These prices do not include drinks or taxes.

For a detailed listing of the restaurants that are participating in this year's festival and an overview of the meals, please visit Vallarta Restaurant Week.

If you do attend, share with us your experiences by posting your review on Restaurant Reviews. We would love to vicariously enjoy the Festival through your comments and photos, if you happen to take your phone or camera along. You can also email your comments and photos to infoaboutus@aimfair.com as well. We will do the posting on your behalf.

Enjoy...and share with us all...

May 9, 2012

Guess what....Jim and Gerry Skyped us this evening to up date us with their trip. Live chat on Aimfair.com? Well, not really!

They wanted us to know about their experience at the Riviera Maya property after the first three days of their vacation. We learned several new facts and were updated on facts we already knew about. The most important comment that came across loud and clear is they like Riviera Maya as much, and maybe even more than Nuevo Vallarta.

Here are highlights of their comments:

• Construction of Buildings Three and Four is suspended for the time being.
• Food and Restaurants are great.
• Transportation.
• Beaches are improving.

You can read their comments here: Jim and Gerry's Views of Riviera Maya

Thanks Jim and Gerry...

May 5, 2012

Independence Day in Mexico? No, that is September 16, the day in 1810 when the priest Miguel Hildalgo y Costilla ordered the arrest of Dolores' native Spaniards and later declared "Mexicanos, Viva Mexico!"

No, the Cinco de Mayo celebration is all about defeating the French at the Mexican forts of Loreto and Guadalupe in the state of Puebla. This hard fought battle is now called The Battle of Puebla in 1862. Cinco de Mayo is widely celebrated throughout the state of Puebla as the day Mexico defeated France in 1862.

In 1862, Napoleon III sent 6,500 well outfitted members of the French army to Mexico to collect debts owed to France by Mexico when Mexico decided to not pay its obligations. France was in an expansionist mode and decided to try to take over Mexico. Recall, Mexico had gained its independence from Spain in 1812. During this battle near Puebla in 1862, the French army was repelled by a passionate, but ill-equipped Mexican militia force that was estimated to be about 4,500 men.

The French forces landed in Veracruz and were intending to march the 600 miles to Mexico City. There, Napoleon III would instill his cousin, Archduke Maximilian of Austria as ruler of Mexico. At least that was the plan.

On their way to Mexico City, the French army encountered strong resistance near Puebla. The smaller band of Mexican militia was able to stop the French from proceeding to Mexico City. This victory is widely celebrated throughout the state of Puebla on May 5 each year.

Later in 1862, Napoleon III sent a larger force to accomplish what the smaller one could not. Thirty thousand more troops invaded Mexico. In 1864, the French were finally able to depose the Mexican army, take over Mexico City and install Maximilian as the ruler of Mexico.

The French rule was short lived. Maximilian was executed by the Mexicans in 1867 and local rule was restored.

Today, Cinco de Mayo is celebrated throughout the state of Puebla and in US cities with high populations of people with Mexican heritage. It has become a celebration of Mexican culture, food, music, beverage and customs unique to Mexico.

There are many sources of information about the origins of Cinco de Mayo. The source for our comments here can be found on http://www.mexonline.com/cinco-de-mayo.htm.

We intend to celebrate with friends this afternoon by sharing our own versions of enchiladas, fajitas, cerveza, margaritas and tequila. How about you?

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

April 14, 2012

What keeps us coming back?

Dave Osborne pretty much sums it up with his two most recent photos. He loves the views....





In a year and a half or maybe sooner, there will be pools where the river bends. There are foundations for a few of the features in place now. We understand this will become a centralized pool area for all members, their family members and guests of the Grand Luxxe Residence Club. The buildings that will have closest access to these pools will be the Grand Luxxe Tower IV A and B, since they are at the end of the current string of towers. Tower V will be located in this area as well, but we do not know exactly where yet.

Also, we hear there will be a roadway that runs along the river. There may even be walkways too. If true, this will become a popular way to access the beach and other features the property will offer.

BTW, we asked about access to the beach from the new pool area. The person we were talking with pointed toward the other branch of the Ameca River. Where the Bahia de Banderas and the Ameca River meet on the southern side of the Bird Sanctuary is the future location of the Beach Club.

Periodically, we receive emails from Aimfair guests that raise questions about the legitimacy of the programs offered by Grupo Vidanta. You know, the questions that we all have when we are asked to spend large sums of money on contracts that allow members to use the property. They are scary commitments, for sure. But the bet we have made is Grupo Vidanta is committed to making the Grand Luxxe Residence Club a Five Star Resort.

With that in mind, we look forward to seeing the plans we hear about become reality.

In the meantime, we will continue enjoying photos sent to us by Dave and other members who continue to share their experiences with us.

Thank you Dave and all who have contributed....

April 2, 2012

That sound we heard was the sound of a week that passed by so fast, we hardly hit the ground!

It was a busy week, to say the least. Here are topics of what we are going to publish in the coming weeks:

• Train Station - We have already published our report - May open during the summer months
• Grand Luxxe Tower IV A and B and Grand Luxxe Tower V - Projected opening date - late 2013
• Pool area at the bend of the Ameca River - Under construction
• Punta Pool Area Update - New fleet of waiter rides; no word on heating the pool; reserved sections for Owners of Presidential Villas is supposedly enforced when the area is crowded
• Golf Academy - Opens late April, early May
• Train - May be operating by late 2013
• Cirque du Soleil - April and May, 2014
• Greg Norman Golf Course - may start construction late 2012
• Call Center Tour
• Mansions of the World - Construction is underway....at least that's what we hear

New news to us: Grand Mayan and Mayan Palace equity will no longer be transferable to other brands. We do not know about the Grand Bliss. What this implies to us is equity in the Grand Mayan, Mayan Palace and Sea Garden remains within their respective brands. If true, this effectively closes a meaningful process whereby most Grand Luxxe owners acquired their interest in the Grand Luxxe Residence Club in the first place.

We are particularly familiar with this phenomenon because we owned a 3 BR Penthouse unit contract at Paradise Village. It was a great unit and we spent many years of enjoyment there.

But then our children got married. Then they started having children of their own. You know where this is going.....not enough space.

We asked to use our equity in our Penthouse unit toward a larger, free standing unit. Management denied our request. Consequently, we purchased a Grand Luxxe Villa, when it was described on a sheet of copy paper.

The Sister Resort Exchange was a major selling point for us, since we did not own a Grupo Mayan developed resort in the beginning. However, the fact that we could not use our equity in the Penthouse is the only reason we bought the Grand Luxxe in the first place. We had to start all over again, and it sounds as though owners of other Vidanta brands of resorts may be put in the same position as well, IF they have a need or interest in upgrading to the Grand Luxxe Residence Club.

Attending the Member Update is the only way to get true answers to questions about our options as owners. We did, which is where we heard about this new development.

More on all of these topics later. We plan to be here for a long time and are looking forward to the changes that are sure to take place in the future.

In the meantime....