Puerto Vallarta is a colonial town by the sea that has grown to become many destinations rolled into one. It sits where Jalisco and Nayarit meet, on Bahia de Banderas, the largest natural bay in Mexico with 100 miles of coastline ringed by mountains. For most culture, cuisine and nature are big attractions in Puerto Vallarta. For me, Puerto Vallarta was all about the Cosentino Top 100 and a few galleries and architectural sightings, too!
STAY: Beginning in northern Bahia de Banderas and stretching towards San Blas, Riviera Nayarit is home to many travel destinations, each with their own unique character. We stayed with the rest of the Cosentino team at the Grand Velas Riviera Nayarit Resort. Our visit began with a “spa moment” upon check in and was followed up by great service, wonderful food and unexpected surprises.
DINE: Situated on the glistening waters of Banderas Bay in beautiful Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico, Grand Velas Riviera Nayarit is an all-inclusive luxury resort. We enjoyed world cuisines at the signature restaurants, Piaf & Lucca, and toasted a cocktail or two at the swim-up Aqua Bar. And PS, Grand Velas is a recipient of the Conde Nast “Most Excellent Spa Hotel” award, too…so don’t miss it!
SEE: The heart of the Puerto Vallarta is easily explored and divided by the Cuale River, which features two very distinct neighborhoods: Viejo Vallarta and the Zona Romantica, home to Playa Los Muertos, the most popular beach. In Viejo Vallarta, cobblestone streets wind their way uphill from the beach. This is the traditional downtown area and home to Vallarta’s most iconic symbol, the crown atop Iglesia de Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe.
The sunsets from our hotel were also amazing and not to be missed. And even at the end of our first evening, Cosentino surprised all attendees with a fireworks display! Bueno!
TID-BITS: The purpose of our trip was to meet with the Cosentino Top 100 and present design trends to over 250 solid surface fabricators. Additionally, designer gal pal, Julia Edelmann and Cosentino Director of Marketing, Patty Dominguez and I were to judge the entries for the Silestone Design Contest. We had so many wonderful entries that we enlisted the help of ASID CEO, Randy Fiser and NKBA CEO, Bill Darcy. It was wonderful to meet up with each of them and I look forward to further collaboration at KBIS!
While fun was had by all, a lot of work and a successful product launch of Cosentino’s Dekton line was also accomplished. Cosentino Product Development guru, Valentin Tijeras was generous enough to walk me through all of the new product plans. His favorite Dekton product is Strato due to it’s resemble to limestone, while my current Dekton favorite is the matte black version that uses striped art.
President and CEO, Paco Cosentino, and CEO of North America, Eduardo Cosentino, presented the state of the industry to us while a collaborative roundtable event was presented via ASID, NKBA, MIA, Cosentino and Kohler CEOs, too.
Thank you Cosentino for your forward thinking and for including me as one of your Trendspotters on this wonderful trip!