There are resorts you visit.
And then there are places that somehow weave themselves into the story of your life.
For us, Vidanta is the latter.
We’ve been Vidanta members since 2013, returning again and again to Mexico—not because we haven’t found other places to travel. Quite the opposite. We’ve explored countries around the world, cruised incredible coastlines, played bucket-list golf courses, tasted wine in unforgettable places and built entire trips around experiencing somewhere new.
And yet, we keep coming back to Vidanta.
Over the years, we’ve experienced Vidanta in Nuevo Vallarta, Riviera Maya and Cabo—three destinations in three very different parts of Mexico, each with its own personality, landscape and rhythm.
And if you ask us which one is our favorite?
Well…
How much time do you have?
Because Vidanta isn’t just one thing to us.
It’s the moment the lush jungle of Riviera Maya seems to swallow you into another world.
It’s floating in a pool at Beachland with a cocktail in hand while John settles into his happy place at the swim-up bar.
It’s riding a gondola high above Nuevo Vallarta and realizing the resort below you is practically a destination of its own.
It’s standing on a golf course we’ve watched the professionals play during the Mexico Open.
It’s the dramatic desert-meets-sea landscape of Cabo, where Mexico somehow feels completely different yet again.
It’s walking into a restaurant we’ve visited before and already knowing what we’re probably going to order.
It’s an evening at Cirque du Soleil JOYÀ in Riviera Maya or LUDŌ in Nuevo Vallarta and once again wondering how Vidanta manages to turn dinner and entertainment into a full sensory experience.
It’s discovering a shortcut after twelve years and laughing because apparently we still don’t know the properties as well as we thought we did.
And sometimes, it’s simply sitting beside a pool with absolutely nowhere else we need to be.
That might be the real magic of Vidanta.
When we first became Vidanta members more than a decade ago, we couldn’t possibly have known how many memories would eventually become connected to these properties.
Over the years, our membership and experiences have evolved. We’ve stayed in different accommodations, explored new resort concepts and watched Vidanta continue to grow.
Today, our membership includes Empress Private Reserve and Kingdom of the Sun, and we’ve had the opportunity to experience Vidanta from several different perspectives.
But here’s something important.
Our love of Vidanta isn’t about a membership level.
It’s about the experiences.
We’ve learned that you can visit the same Vidanta destination multiple times and have a completely different trip each time.
One visit might revolve around golf.
Another around food.
Another around spa days and pools.
Another might have us exploring beyond the resort and discovering more of Mexico.
And occasionally, our agenda is wonderfully simple:
Where are we eating tonight?
For two travelers who believe a destination is best experienced through food, culture, people and a healthy dose of curiosity, Vidanta has given us plenty to explore.
One of the questions we’re asked most often is:
Which Vidanta property do you like best?
Our answer?
It depends on what you love.
Riviera Maya feels immersed in the Yucatán.
The jungle.
The cenotes.
The Mayan influence.
The proximity to Tulum, Chichén Itzá and Playa del Carmen.
There’s an earthiness to the destination that constantly reminds you where you are.
We’ve ventured beyond the resort by catamaran to Tulum, explored Chichén Itzá, visited a Mayan village, watched homemade tortillas being prepared and experienced traditional dance. We’ve explored cenotes—although for the record, John swims in them.
Cathy does not.
Then there’s The Beach Club.
Oh, The Beach Club.
If you ask Cathy to name her favorite pool experience at Vidanta, The Beach Club will probably win before you’ve finished the question.
The tiered pools, tropical landscape and overall atmosphere make it feel like a resort within the resort.
John, meanwhile, has developed a deep appreciation for the pools with swim-up bars. Not that he doesn’t like The Beach Club because they will serve you drinks directly in the pool and they do have a bar with TV’s to watch games during football season. Just have to get out of the water for that…
We each have our priorities.
Riviera Maya is also home to JOYÀ, the Cirque du Soleil dinner experience that perfectly captures Vidanta’s ability to blend dining, storytelling and entertainment.
Looking for some water adventure, Riviera Maya might has its Jungala waterpark that has a variety of water slides, wave pools, lazy rivers and relaxing cabanas. This is right on property so no need to leave the resort. It does have a separate entry fee.
And then there’s the food.
If we absolutely had to give one Vidanta destination the slightest edge for restaurants, Riviera Maya probably wins.
By a hair.
A very small hair.
For more on this look for our post that compares the dining at the different locations.
Nuevo Vallarta—now within the destination known as Nuevo Nayarit—is a completely different experience.
It’s bigger.
Much bigger.
This location is Vidanta’s corporate headquarters where Vidanta showcases the full scale of its vision.
The SkyDream Parks Gondola moves high above the property.
Resort towers rise across the landscape.
Pools seem to appear at every level.
Restaurants, entertainment venues and golf courses create an environment where you could easily spend an entire week without leaving the resort.
And we’ve come close.
Almost.
Curiosity usually wins eventually.
One of our favorite recent discoveries was Tony’s water taxi, which took us across to Paradise Village. After more than a decade of visiting, we also discovered the Sea Garden beach shortcut to the marina.
Twelve years.
Apparently, we’re still learning our way around.
Nuevo Vallarta has also become an important part of our golf story.
We’ve played the Vidanta Vallarta course numerous times, and its connection to the Mexico Open makes returning especially fun.
There’s something surreal about watching professional golfers compete on television and recognizing holes you’ve played.
Of course, the professionals probably encounter fewer crocodile battles on hole five.
That’s another story.
Most importantly, Nuevo Vallarta is where we’ve built relationships.
We’ve known Amauri Paz, the caddie master and our friend, ever since our first visit to Vidanta Nuevo Vallarta. He knows our games, our personalities and exactly how to offer advice to two very different golfers.
Those relationships are one of the reasons returning feels different from simply checking into another resort.
Then there’s Cabo.
Cabo reminds us just how geographically diverse Mexico really is.
After the jungle of Riviera Maya and the expansive tropical landscape of Nuevo Vallarta, arriving in Los Cabos feels like entering another world.
Desert landscapes.
Rock formations.
Deep blue water.
A dramatic coastline where the Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Cortez shape the experience.
Our Vidanta travels in Cabo also became part of a larger exploration of the destination.
One of our favorite experiences beyond the resort was Flora Farms, tucked into the foothills near San José del Cabo.
We participated in a cooking class where a chef prepared an enormous spread of food while we rolled up our sleeves to make our own guacamole and homemade tortillas.
If you’ve followed The Inspired Travelers for any length of time, you already know this is exactly our kind of experience.
Food.
Culture.
People.
And something we can attempt to recreate at home.
The keyword being attempt.
Cabo showed us another side of Vidanta—and another side of Mexico.
We get asked this all the time.
And after all of our years, our answer hasn’t gotten any easier.
If we’re craving jungle, culture, incredible food and Cathy’s beloved The Beach Club?
Riviera Maya.
If golf is high on the agenda and we want the enormous, constantly evolving Vidanta experience?
Nuevo Vallarta.
If we’re drawn to dramatic landscapes and the desert-meets-the-sea personality of Baja California Sur?
Cabo.
The truth is, we don’t think of them as interchangeable resorts.
We think of them as three completely different travel experiences.
And perhaps that’s why we’ve continued returning.
Travel has taught us that places are rarely remembered because of buildings alone.
We remember people.
Amauri on the golf course.
A sommelier introducing us to a Mexican wine we never would have selected ourselves.
A chef teaching us to make tortillas.
A musician stopping by our table.
The server who remembers a favorite dish.
The person who quietly points out a shortcut you’ve somehow missed for twelve years.
Those moments become part of the story.
Vidanta has been the backdrop for many of ours.
We’ve celebrated.
We’ve explored.
We’ve played golf.
We’ve eaten exceptionally well.
We’ve gotten lost.
We’ve discovered shortcuts.
We’ve climbed onto gondolas.
We’ve watched Cirque performers leave us wondering how the human body can possibly do that.
We’ve floated in pools.
We’ve sat at swim-up bars.
And we’ve laughed—a lot.
Even after all of the years and dozens of visits, we still find ourselves planning another visit.
That’s probably the greatest compliment we can give any destination.
Vidanta has changed over the years.
So have we.
Our membership has evolved.
Our travel style has evolved.
Even the way we experience destinations has evolved.
Years ago, we might have tried to see everything.
Today, we’re just as happy spending an afternoon at The Beach Club, playing a round of golf with an old friend nearby, discovering a new restaurant or sitting with a glass of wine and talking about where we’ve been—and where we’re going next.
For us, Vidanta isn’t simply a resort.
It’s become part of our travel history.
And after all of the years, all of the destinations and more stories than we could possibly fit into one article…
We’re apparently not finished yet.
And we’re perfectly okay with that.
Where a passport stamp is just the beginning of the story.
— John & Cathy | The Inspired Travel
