Acapulco. The name is almost
synonymous with the stars of Hollywood's heydays: Elizabeth Taylor,
Lana Turner, Rita Heyworth, Debbie Reynolds, Eddie Fisher, Elvis
Presley, Frank Sinatra.
Acapulco may have changed since
its days as an exclusive Hollywood getaway, but at Villa Vera
Hotel Spa and Racquet Club, the legend lives on. This hillside
retreat has regained its glamour status following a $2 million
renovation of its 69 unique accommodations.
Today the boutique hotel serves
as a getaway for stellar travelers (Farrah Fawcett always asks
for the presidential suite and Julio Iglesias has a private home
on the hotel grounds) and any couple looking for peace, quiet,
and privacy.
The resort offers guest rooms
and junior suites but it is perhaps best known for its villas
named for its most famous guests. Luxuriate during your stay
in the privacy of the Lana Turner Villa (where the star lived
for five years), the Rita Heyworth Villa or the Elizabeth Taylor
Villa, where the violet-eyed movie icon vacationed yearly for
nearly two decades. Villas have private swimming pools, outdoor
bars and hydromassage tubs.
Many
rooms have tubs perfect for a soak --a deux--complete with a
sea of bath bubbles. Lovers luxuriate in "Romance,"
a fragrance specially designed for Villa Vera. The hotel has
also designed essential oils for its customers, a light, fruity
aroma designed to trigger memories long after a vacationer returns
home.
The memorable oil is only one
of the amenities offered by the resort's new spa, considered
by many to be the finest in Acapulco. Opened in December 1999,
the spa was designed for quiet, luxurious pampering ranging from
massage to wraps and facials. Special treatments include oxygenating
facials designed to bring oxygen to the skin and delay the aging
process, anti-stress massages, thermal mud wrap, and shower massage,
a combination of relaxing manual massage and water pressure.
The resort also offers a signature treatment--the Villa Vera
Cocktail. This exclusive treatment combines mud, paraffin, and
seaweed into a warm body wrap while the head and neck receive
an aromatic essential oil massage.
The spa is also adding treatments
of special interest to romantic travelers. Couples will be able
to learn massage techniques on each other, using edible oils.
For more on Villa Vera, call
800-327-1847. Spa treatments can be booked by guests at other
Acapulco resorts. Rooms begin at US$150 per night.
