la-ventana wrote:The Chef is IN... Chef Alfonso is creating his art. Chef Alfonso you to be about 100 yards from me at Rafas. He has a new location at Kite Paradise. Here are some examples. A four course meal is generally $14.00. their theme is "You may not have come here for the food but you will return for the food".
We just stayed at Kite Paradise (aka Villa Paraiso) last week. First off, Chef Alfonso is a great chef. We ate there twice and his food was very good. But, you will pay way more than $14.00. First night we got there we were informed that there had been a Blues Festival the night before so they had limited food. Chef suggested Potato Soup and Crepe's (vegetarian) with chilis. The meal cost us $18/ea plus drinks that were made by inexperienced food handlers. Chef had asked my wife that night what her favorite food was and he would make it up to her. She said Chili Relleno's.
So second night we came in for dinner to meet another couple. Chef had made some tostado/taco with carne asade and a plate with 6 chili rellenos. My wife had a margarita and white wine, the other couple each had 2 margaritas and I had 2 Bacardi/Cokes. Our bill came to $1550 pesos ($129.00). Seriously? We had trusted a fair deal from the manager and got screwed. There was no menu with no pricing so if you do stay ask before you order how much it will cost you.
We ate breakfast there once and it was $12.00/ea not $5 like had been mentioned in prior communication. And the only reason we got breakfast was we chased someone down and the girl that was cleaning the floors, etc. made it.
In our time there, there was only one other couple. They ate mostly at Las Palmas. The restaurant said it had set hours, but it didn't. We too, just left property to get breakfast and dinner.
This place has real potential, but it needs management. After the Blues Festival (Thurs night), garbage littered the property until late Monday when my wife told the manager if they didn't clean up she would.... they finally did. Part of the hotel is still under construction as well. And there equipment is lying around. I could go on about this but I think you get the point.
We stayed in a room at the bottom of the resort right on the beach. It was very nice and comfortable. The hot water heater was 6 gallon and it had a widow maker shower head. I don't think it worked properly and when I went to adjust its angle it shocked me. Our suite was also touted as having a hot tub. Basically, a small sitting pool on the balcony which has a a 10gallon water heater next to it. The pool probably could hold easily 55 gallons so this was pretty useless. I tried to fill it up once and it took over 20 minutes.
To kite here we were in the ideal spot in the resort. The lower floor next to the beach. We only had to walk out of our room and traverse a 25 degree slope of sand for about 25 yards, then carry our gear about 200 yards up the beach to Palapa Ventana / Captain Kirks. One hell of a warm up :) Carrying your gear back was even more fun...
Since we were at the bottom of the resort we had to climb 82 stairs to get to the top. And not normal stairs. Some taller than others and various widths. Pretty challenging overall. Kind of like climbing a Myan ruin.
We are glad we checked it out, but we won't be back any time soon. Unless, they actually started running this place like a resort. I think this is a good location possibly for people to come that don't kite, and when the weather is hot. The non heated pools would be nice to relax in and the views were nice.
