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Photos and article by Paris Permenter & John
Bigley
Acapulco. The name is almost synonymous with the
stars of Hollywood's heydays: Elizabeth Taylor,
Lana Turner, Rita Hayworth, 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 Hayworth 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.
Husband and wife team Paris Permenter and John
Bigley have authored over 20 guidebooks and also
edit the FREE
Lovetripper.com , a romantic travel magazine
featuring worldwide destinations.
Copyright Paris Permenter and John Bigley |
