Chef Rafael

Dreams Puerto Aventuras Resort & Spa offers guests a wide variety of food selections as part of Unlimited-Luxury®. We want to introduce you to the man behind it all, our Executive Chef, Rafael.

Chef Rafael has been the Executive Chef at the resort for nearly two years. He is very talented in the kitchen and is always keeping up with the latest techniques to create dishes our guests love. He studied Culinary Arts at the University of the Caribbean and he has gained expertise to lead his food and beverage team.

In the kitchen Chef Rafael uses fresh produce to enhance the richness of the foods he prepares. He uses flavors from South America and Mexico in his cooking.

He uses both traditional and cutting edge culinary techniques and vacuum cooking is a technique that he prefers to use. Vacuumed, low temperature cooking is a procedure that preserves the tastes and nutrients. Rafael is ready to prepare your special lobster or romantic dinner.

Recently, we came across an awesome website called Mishka Designs that makes maracas for weddings in Mexico. To our surprise, many of our brides have had maracas made for their big day! Here’s a look at a few of them. Enjoy!

Shelly & Joel said their "I Dos" January 21st at Dreams Riviera Cancun!

Nicole and her love said their "I Dos" this January 29th at Dreams Riviera Cancun!

Melanie & Richard who said "Yes" at Dreams Riviera Cancun this past December 1st.

Dustin & Tiffany said "I Do" at Dreams Cancun this January 12th

Our Dreams Entertainment Team went above and beyond at all destinations this week for Valentine’s Day. Young guests enjoyed fun activities themed around the holiday at the Explorer’s Club while couples enjoyed romantic dinners on the beaches.

Part of the Valentine’s Day celebration at Dreams Punta Cana Resort & Spa included a ceremony inviting married couples to renew their wedding vows. We are overwhelmed by how much love our guests share for each other.  Forty couples with more than fifteen years of marriage were selected to renew their vows in our group ceremony held under the gazebo. A pastor of nearby Laguna de Nisibon church led the vow renewal ceremony and provided official certificates to the couples. After the ceremony everyone gathered in the lobby for a reception with champagne, wedding cake and a photo session to capture every moment. The celebration continued with a party on the beach including live music by singer Chris Blizzard.

Romantic touches were found all over the resort including special dinning selections at the restaurants. Our staff recognized the special couples who renewed their vows by including the number of years they have been married in their guest room decorations. We can’t wait to do this again next year with our guests again and hope that you will be a part of it too.

Below is the recipe for this Valentine’s Day must-have courtesy of Dreams Puerto Aventuras. If you’re not visiting us for Valentine’s Day, you may want to consider making this drink for your special someone tomorrow. We promise they’ll love it!

Chocolate Martini
1 ½ oz Vodka
1 ½ oz Creme de Cacao (White)
1 oz Baileys

Shake all the ingredients together with ice in a cocktail mixer. Strain into a martini glass drizzled with chocolate syrup!

A lot of the appeal of an all-inclusive resort is that, you know, it’s all
inclusive. Your every need to seen to and there’s nothing really to worry
about. Sometimes this isn’t a good quality though, especially if you’re so
walled off from the surrounding area that you don’t learn anything. Travel
is about relaxing, but it’s also about the experiences, and that’s why I
was so pleasantly surprised to see how effectively Dreams Puerto
Vallarta Resort & Spa fused local experiences with a world-class luxury product. Dreams Resorts & Spas offer vacationers Unlimited-Luxury®, a new and better way to have it all with al la carte dinning, 24-hour room service and around the clock entertainment.

Photo Credit: Matthew Long

My first night at the resort featured a community-wide dinner celebration
featuring the best of Mexican food and culture. The beach in front of the
hotel was transformed into an open-air dining room and guests in flowing
dresses and white linen shirts ambled to their chairs, smiling in
anticipation of the evening event. The food, an elegant spread of Mexican
treats, was laid out alongside beautiful displays and centerpieces. The
setting was perfect, the palm trees swayed in the warm breezes and the
smell of the salt spray wafted by lackadaisically.

Photo Credit: Matthew Long

The meal was delicious, and everyone seemed content and happy as more and
more eyes began to flit towards the stage, wondering how it would be put
to use. As the coffee cups were filled, the host for the evening made an
appearance and then the real fun began. The rest of the evening was a
procession of musicians, dancers and assorted other performers showcasing
the best of Mexican heritage and culture. There was no doubt that night
that not only was I in Mexico, I was really experiencing the best it has
to offer.

Photo Credit: Matthew Long

Photo Credit: Matthew Long

Dreams Puerto Vallarta doesn’t stop there, throughout the property on a
daily basis there are subtle infusions of the local area. Whether it was
enjoying a surprise Mexican lunch or browsing through the wares of
craftsmen set up near the lobby, I really felt like I was vacationing in
Mexico and not at a featureless resort somewhere.

Throughout my time at Dreams, I was impressed by the language lessons,
specialty spa treatments, meals, and everything that was done in order to
enhance the guests’ Mexican travel experience. I can’t think of a better
combination than a fun, relaxing vacation while learning more about the
fun and vibrant Mexican culture at the same time.

Have you stayed at a Dreams property? What did you like best about how
they added local experiences to your stay?

About our guest blogger:

Matthew Long, Editor-in-Chief and creator of LandLopers.com, has a true passion for travel. As someone who has a bad case of the travel bug, Matt travels the world in order to share tips on where to go, what to see and how to experience the best the world has to offer. Matt is a Lonely Planet Featured Blogger, a contributor to many other travel sites and publications including Dabble Magazine. Matt’s site LandLopers.com is listed in the Top 100 Travel Blogs, Top 100 Independent Travel Blogs, Most Influential Online Travel Personalities and Washington Flyer’s Top 100 Travel Blogs. You can also find him on Twitter: @LandLopers and Facebook: Facebook.com/LandLopers

Small steps make a big impact! From using room key cards made of 100% recycled plastic to monitoring water consumption, the resort is leaving a green print in the Caribbean.  Dreams Cancun promotes projects that contribute to environmental improvements.

Room Key Made of 100% Recycled Plastic

They have kept track of their efforts and last year alone they recycled over 3,450 lbs of glass.  The resort has also joined World Wildlife Fund by taking part in Earth Hour. This is a period of time where the lights are switched off for an hour in specific areas of the resort.    

Guests will see reminders of the program throughout the resort.  Various recycling bins can be found throughout the resort as well as friendly reminders in guest rooms reminding guests to minimize the number of towels and linens being used to conserve water.

The next time you visit Dreams Cancun please keep all of this in mind so that generations to come will be able to appreciate the beauty of the Yucatan Peninsula.  

Leave a Green Print Coaster Served Without a Straw

Recycling Bins Throughout Resort

Below are some photos of this couple’s special day taken by Davina + Daniel photography. However, we should let you know beforehand that not even a little rain could ruin this wedding!

Be sure to check out the other fabulous photos from Christine and Vikram’s big day here.

Are you engaged? Start making your dreams become reality and plan your big day at one of eleven Dreams Resorts & Spas in Mexico or the Caribbean.

Since then, several of our followers have joined Doug in nominating us for an award, and we’d love it if you did, too! If you have a Twitter account, we’d love for you to send a simple tweet nominating us for an award in the Travel category.

 Your tweet should start with:

I nominate @DreamsResorts for a Shorty Award in #travel because…

Then, you can use the second half of the tweet to give a reason why you think we should win the award. Here’s an example:

I nominate @DreamsResorts for a Shorty Award in #travel because social networking is part of their vacation experience!

Voting runs through February 17 and you can track our progress by visiting http://shortyawards.com/DreamsResorts. Thank you so much for your support. We appreciate it!

Nominate Dreams Resorts & Spa for a social media award in the Shorty Awards

We’re giving away an Unlimited-Luxury® 4-night stay at a Dreams Resort & Spa during the 40 Days & 40 Nights Sweepstakes. All you have to do to win is click on the 40/40 tab on the left and then enter.

But hurry because the 40 Days & 40 Nights Sweepstakes ends on March 3rd!

Don’t want to wait to win? Then book now with rates starting at $121  Plus receive up to $400 in resort coupons to be redeemed for spa treatments, romantic dinning and more.  Book your trip now to save big!  

You can enter to win on any of our Facebook pages:

Dreams Los Cabos

Dreams Cancun

Dreams Puerto Vallarta

Dreams Villamagna

Dreams Tulum

Dreams La Romana

Dreams Punta Cana

Dreams Palm Beach

Dreams Puerto Aventuras

Dreams Huatulco

At Dreams Villamagna Nuevo Vallarta, guests who wish to learn how to paddle surf can participate in a clinic in the pool at our resort. From there, they can choose to rent the board per hour or take a private lesson from Pacific Paddle. For more information, simply stop by our activities desk upon arrival! In the meantime, enjoy these photos of some guests who recently tried paddle surfing.