Casa Angela has 20,000 square feet (6,000 of which is patio space)
of private but open living space on a small cliff 350 feet above
Banderas Bay. It is at the top of the Conchas Chinas enclave, a
development of homes and condominiums on the first major ridge line
south of town. The enclave has just two entrances from the main road,
the first is less than a mile from the old town. Casa Angela is not
visible from the entrance gate. The driveway curves and rises seventy
five feet to the parking area.

The mountainous area south of the town has a much more intimate
feeling than the hotel strip to the north. The strip is still
convenient for those who like "bright lights" on demand.
The views from Casa Angela are the best in Puerto Vallarta, a town
renowned for its views. The unobstructed panoramic view covers more
than 300 degrees. Starting with the unspoiled jungle covered mountains
to the southeast, past the mountainous coastline to the south, across
the width of the bay to Punta Mita, La Cruz, Nuevo Vallarta, the hotel
strip, airport and town, and then to the mountainous jungle to the
northeast.. A pair of binoculars is worthwhile extra baggage.
Casa Angela has a unique microclimate shared by a 4 or 5 villas
high on the south side of Conchas Chinas. The mountain valley
immediately to the south of the ridge on which Casa Angela is located
acts as a funnel for the cooler mountain air as it rushes to replace
the heated air rising over the bay and the low lands to thenorth of
the city. Consequently Casa Angela enjoys a daily cooling breeze,
starting about 10:00 AM(it even surprises the natives), even in mid
summer when daytime temperature/humidity can be uncomfortable away
from the beach, in the hotel areas and downtown. The villa is not
air-conditioned (it is not required). All king sized beds have
ceiling fans inside their mosquito netting. In the rainy season, July
to October, the humidity can be oppressive in PV. For detailed
weather data click on; Puerto Vallarta weather


living area from pool patio
The living, dining
and breakfast areas from the pool terrace

Open:

The open architecture integrates the weather and the environment
into the living spaces using traditional Mexican materials. The design
by Ronald Bradshaw, The Architects Partnership, Marble Falls, TX,
minimizes interior walls to visually merge adjacent spaces reinforcing
the open feeling. There are no exterior walls except the mountain.
Interior walls provide complete privacy for bedrooms and bathrooms.
There are no windows and very few doors in the structure. Every room
has at least one side open to the elements. The daily cooling breeze
from the mountains to the south precludes air conditioning, CA has none.
There are five patios in the common living areas on level 4,
two on level 5 (the master level) and one on level 2 . The three
lower levels range in size from 3000 to 3600 square feet. The master
suite has 1900 square feet plus 600 square feet of patio. The site is
large, unlike most Mexican residential construction. The compound is
almost an acre in area. There is room to park six cars on the grounds
inside the gates.

Casa Angela is a little over a mile from the old town, which has
very much maintained its quaint character in spite of the world class
resort area immediately to its north. An auto is not necessary, taxis
are 5 minutes away and they are not expensive. Casa Angela overlooks
beautiful Conchas Chinas beach, really several small quasi private
beaches separated by large granite outcroppings. Conchas Chinas beach
is an twelve minute walk down the mountain. Los Muertos beach, the
principle town beach, is about a mile further north. It is
reminiscent of the commercialized beaches on the Mediterranean (lots
of small restaurants and shops). You'll need shoes to walk between
the two beaches.

There are convenience stores on the main road between the two
entrances to the Conchas Chinas enclave. Several five star resort
hotels, the marina, the airport and the marina golf course (one of 6
in the area) are about 15 minutes away taking the bypass around the
city.
In addition to the villa's heated pool, with built in bar, wading
area and wet sunning area (a space to lie in the sun in four inches of
water): there are four Jacuzzis (each bedroom level has one). All
the Jacuzzis, showers, counter tops and the pool are covered with
cobalt blue venetian tile. The master suite and the living room have
large fireplaces, for ambiance not warmth. Traditional Mexican terra
cotta Saltillo tile covers all the floors. A digital satellite TV
system (with US DirectTV programming with the NFL package), a VCR, a
DVD and a CD stereo system are installed at the main living level
(level #4). The bedroom levels can have local Mexican TV programming.

There is a staff of 6 that are included when the villa is rented.
The houseman, the gardener, the chef, and three maids/cooks come in
daily as required. The staff works 7 days a week when the villa is
rented. The services of the houseman and the chef only come with
rental of the villa.
Two stairways, one outside and one inside, access the lower levels
providing flexibility when configuring the property. Access to the
inside stairway is locked at the stairs to the bottom apartment if it
is occupied separately. All of Casa Angela may be rented as one large
villa with 8 bedrooms, 2 private sleeping areas (bedrooms) and 11
bathrooms, accommodating 20. Alternately it may be rented as a villa
with 6 bedrooms, 2 private sleeping areas (bedrooms) and 9 bathrooms,
accommodating 16 (levels 2,3,4&5). Also it may be rented as a villa
with 4 bedrooms, one private sleeping area (bedroom) and 6 bathrooms,
accommodating 10 (levels 3,4&5). On rare occasions the bottom
apartment may be occupied separately, if so the occupants do not have
access to any common areas (level 4 and the center stairwell). We
prefer larger villa rentals, so rental of the top 3 levels as a villa
will not be confirmed until 30 days before arrival .

Casa Angela fits family reunions and business retreats equally
well. The center rooms (with kitchens and Jacuzzis) in each of the
three lower levels make excellent conference rooms. (They have raised
entries that provide natural stages.) There are three patios,
including one on the top level, far enough out of the traffic patterns
to be used for outdoor conferences. While the facility can
accommodate more, the maximum number of guests permitted is 20,
sometimes extended to 22 (there is an extra charge of $90 per guest
per nite for all over 20). A maximum of 12 beds are made up.

Special Events:
Casa Angela is rented for the use of the resident guests and their
special events which have been arranged in advance. It is not rented
by the day for a party or any other event. The staff can manage
special events (e.g. wedding receptions) for up to 30 people,
including children. For all events, an event fee of $15 US is
charged for the total # of people attending the event, including the
resident guests. On rare occasions the maximum attendance permitted
is 50 when catered by a caterer and wedding coordinator approved in
advance. All events must be supervised by Casa Angela's staff. The
villa is for the use of the resident guests only, except for special
events.

The villa has wireless internet access, bring your laptop!
There are five kitchens in the complex, one in each of the three lower
levels, and two at the living level 4 (an open serving kitchen with
built in range, griddle and barbecue and a more private preparation
kitchen). The parking area is at the middle level (level 3) at the
bottom of the stairs to the main entrance. Bedrooms are equipped with
sleeping nets and fans. Two of them have two single beds as well as a
king sized bed and 4 of them have one single bed as well as a king
sized bed. Public buses run regularly to/from town along the highway
at the bottom of Conchas Chinas. The fare is $6.00 pesos( 58 cents).

Extreme care has been taken to integrate the living space
into the natural environment and to use the environment to enhance the
ambiance of the living space. The villa's common area, level 4, was
carefully situated around a large fig (strangler palm) tree (the trunk
is over 25 feet in circumference) which shades most of the patio
areas. It starts life as a vine using a palm tree for support. The
host palm is still alive.

All the rooms have planters built along their outer edges in lieu
of railings. The bougainvillea in them provides a very effective
barrier to small children (and large ones too). Wherever possible the
granite mountain has been left exposed. Several tall indigenous palm
trees remain on the property together with one prominent coconut palm.
Lime, banana, almond, papaya, coconut, mango, nanci, guava, orange and
avocado trees have been planted. A wide variety of shrubs and flowers
are used however purple bougainvillea. dark red hibiscus and copa de
oro (yellow) dominate the colors.

Much more information is available at Administrative & Logistical
Information for Confirmed Guests and Description of Facilities, both
pages are on our web site .