My family of 14 (myself, my husband, 3 of our kids, their spouses and 6 grandchildren ages 2-8) spent a truly magical Christmas and New Years celebration at Ranch Pedro Paila! We loved it so much when we stayed for New Years week 4 years ago that we just had to come back. The ranch has the perfect setup for us - renting all three houses gives us the perfect mix of togetherness and privacy, and the property is truly stunning with the soft white sand, coconut trees and beautiful Caribbean sea all right there. It was very windy our entire week there, so we didn't do much kayaking or any snorkeling, but we played a lot of corn hole and soccer, though not nearly as much volleyball as during our last stay, and the kids made sand castles everyday. Although we enjoyed spending time at the beach and catching waves in the rough sea, the kids absolutely loved swimming in the brand new pool. The deck around the pool is a fun gathering space between the houses where we lounged and celebrated happy hour daily with margaritas, guacamole and pico de gallo made by the staff.
Speaking of the staff, we were very happy to see Edgar again! He is a wonderful host who made our stay a true vacation - he made travel arrangements, bought our groceries, and since he knows everybody, he even found some delicious home made chocolate gelato for my granddaughter's 5th birthday and fruity paletas at my daughter's request. He even arranged a fishing trip on the lagoon for the guys and they caught 3 large fish which new chef Lao turned into ceviche, fish tacos, panko coated fish sticks and a special grilled Mayan fish dish that was absolutely delicious! We actually had the staff cook us 5 out of 8 dinners and they were all delicious! All the staff work hard and do a fabulous job of cleaning the houses, keeping the beach and pool pristine and cooking delicious meals. I highly recommend you let them cook for you!
When our 8 days were over, we were truly sad to leave this piece of paradise and head back up to the snowy midwest.