The holidays are a very special time in Tepoztlan. The town is full of light and color as this idyllic small town gets ready for Christmas. This week you will have the opportunity to cook Christmas Eve dinner with a lineup of traditional Mexican favorites. Celebrate with Chef Ana’s family and friends with a special Christmas Eve dinner. Escape the cold with a new holiday tradition!
CHRISTMAS WEEK ITINERARY
Dec. 22-29, 2024
Important!! This schedule is posted to give the guest a general idea of our schedule on a normal week. The schedule may change to take advantage of seasonal dishes, ingredients or the interests of our guests. LVB reserves the right to modify this schedule and the dishes contained therein.
Day 1
Guests arrive at MEX (Benito Juarez Mexico City International) with airport pickup. The trip takes 1.5 hours from Mexico City to La Villa Bonita and guests will be greeted upon arrival with a delicious homemade cocktail such as Chef Ana’s famous Margarita made with her own Calamondine Orange liquor.
Later that afternoon/evening guests will enjoy Chef Ana’s 4-course gourmet dinner made from primarily local ingredients grown in the garden or from local providers. Dinner is served within our ample open-air kitchen with a view of the valley below or above our kitchen in the elevated dining area with a 360-degree view of the mountains. Chef Ana will explain her dishes to the guests and also discuss how the week will unfold.
Day 2: The Joy of Mole
We start with a fabulous breakfast as usual and begin our preparations to enjoy the grandeur of Mole. This timeless Mexican classic is a joy to make and taste. Depending on the option chosen, side dishes may include clay pot beans, classic white rice, and the sinfully delicious Tres Leches Cake.
Day 3: Tamale Day
After a hearty breakfast, guests will dedicate the day to the production and use of masa with a trip to the Masa Mill to produce our own masa from corn grown locally. The original “to go” packet in pre-Columbian times was the Tamale in corn or banana leaf husks. This easy to carry and nutritious meal could be put in a bag or satchel and carried for sustenance on long journeys to neighboring villages. Learn how to make this Mexican classic as families have done for generations with squash and corn, shrimp, pork tamales in red sauce as well as delicious dessert tamales such as pineapple and pecan, or strawberry. Mmmmmm! Delicious! You will never look at the tamale in the same way again!
Day 4: Christmas Eve Dinner Preparation
The day begins with Chef Ana’s famous big breakfast with fresh fruit, biscuits, homemade jams and jellies along with a new traditional Mexican main dish each morning. Guests will go to the local Tepoztlán market to select the best ingredients from Chef Ana’s local providers and bring these ingredients back for the cooking session in the open-air kitchen.
Today we will be preparing for our Christmas Eve Celebration. This will be a full day of cooking beginning right after breakfast as many dishes must be prepared for dinner that evening such as Pierna (pork leg), Romeritos (mole with shrimp cakes), Bacalao a la Vizcaina (salted cod in red sauce) and other amazing side dishes and drinks. Don’t worry! We will also have lunch while we get the dishes ready!
Day 5 – Christmas Eve
The day begins as always with a fabulous breakfast and a trip to the market to select ingredients and to meet the local butcher and cheese vendor. Guest return to LVB to cook up a storm. An example of dishes on this day may be fillings or “guisados” for classic Morelos quesadillas such as squash blossoms, huitlacoche, fresh pork rinds in a green tomatillos salsa, potatoes, and chile poblano strips. Learn how to use white, blue, or red masa produced from ancient corn varieties grown locally. Guests enjoy lunch of dishes prepared with drink service in the open-air kitchen or the elevated terrace. After late lunch, guests will have an opportunity to take a walk into the downtown, relax around the pool with a good book or take a great nap! You are on vacation, it is up to you!
Later in the evening, we will have a Christmas Eve party with Chef Ana’s family and friends complete with fireworks, the depiction of the original posada in miniature, and a wonderful Christmas Eve dinner.
Day 6: Christmas
Today is a Christmas like no other — today is your day to relax and do what you would like. After breakfast, this is your day off but the town DOES NOT CLOSE on Christmas day. You can tour the Ex-Convent, take a hike up to the Tepozteco pyramid, go to Christmas mass, walk around town, shop and have lunch downtown or hang out and relax on the property with a good book. How many Christmases have you spent doing what you would like to do?
Day 7: Walking – Eating Tour and Traditional Pottery Demonstration
Breakfast starts a day of incredible local cuisine, local sites, and a traditional lead-free pottery demonstration. After coffee in the kitchen, guests will join Chef Ana on a walking/eating tour of the Tepoztlan market, visit the Ex-Convent and museum as well as try a wide variety of local delicacies in the market. Walk, learn and eat like a native, delicacies such as itacates, pancita, cecina, and traditional Morelos quesadillas. This is the day to see the wide variety of ingredients and dishes that Tepoztlan has to offer.
After the tour, guests will witness a demonstration of how to make traditional lead-free pottery from a producer in Tlayacapan by the name of Dona Chayo and her husband Margarito. This is the incredibly beautiful and useful potter that Chef Ana uses in her culinary classes and at home. It is both ecological and beautiful. Chef Ana and Chayo have cultivated a great friendship as they have worked together to promote lead-free pottery as well as preserve the traditional methods handed down for generations. Chayo’s family has produced pottery in the traditional way for generations. Guests will have an opportunity to purchase his traditional rice and bean pots, flatware, cazuelas among many other great items.
Day 8: Departure
After breakfast, we will organize our return to the Mexico City airport and count the days until we see each other again for a new culinary adventure.
Tepoztlan, a “Pueblo Magico” ( or magic village) is located about 5280 ft. above sea level and roughly 1 hour 15 minutes south of Mexico City making transportation easy (we pick you up in the Mexico City airport and bring you back). Because of its incredible “eternal spring” climate, Tepoztlan is a year-round destination where our award-winning packages take place.
La Villa Bonita is located on the upslope of the Tepozteco mountains with a privileged perch above the town and an incredible view of the ex-convent below. We are a 15-minute walk to the central downtown circuit so there is not an excessive amount of traffic in front of La Villa Bonita but we are just minutes away from the centro and zocalo.
Due to its year-round average daily temperature of 83 F/28 C, Tepoztlan has become an off-the-beaten-path destination for those who want a wonderful climate with a picturesque, authentic, and traditional Mexican backdrop. Tepoztlan’s temperate climate with prevailing sunshine, its wonderful adobe facades, incredible local festivals, and ancient cobblestone streets attract Mexicans and foreign tourists from all over the world who seek a traditional, small-town environment.
Tepoztlan is one of the most unique, authentic, and safest places you can visit and has a lower crime rate than most cities and towns in the US. You will get this understanding in the first 15 minutes after setting foot in the village. It is a place that time seems to have forgotten with time-honored culinary traditions, wonderful local produce, and a very enjoyable pace of life focused on family and friends.
Tepoztlan is made up of stubborn townspeople and subsistence farmers who vigilantly guard their traditions from change, which makes it an ideal destination for the “foodie” and the traveler who seeks to experience a rich culture. “Tepoztecos,” as they are known here, appreciate the foreign tourist because you appreciate their culture. You can walk anywhere day or night and people will say “hello” to you, be cordial, but not overburdening.
This Magic Village with its mystical vibe is known as the “Sedona of Mexico” and consists of a very small, tight-knit community where people are very content with their lifestyle — a full social calendar that consists of constant cultural events, celebrations, and festivals during both the week and weekend. In Tepoztlan, you will hear the enveloping sounds of the community, the church bells, the rooster crowing, the occasional firecracker and music wafting through the valley. So, enjoy your stay and when you go home, please tell everyone about your experience in the “hidden culinary jewel of Mexico.”
Christmas in Tepoztlan.
Spend the Holidays with us!
Dec. 22-29, 2024
4
HANDS-ON COOKING SESSIONS OF COMPLETE MEALS WITH TRIPS TO THE DAILY MARKET, FARMER'S MARKET, AND TORTILLA MILL
7
NIGHTS STAY IN BEAUTIFUL ROOM WITH EN SUITE BATHROOM AND SHOWER
3 YOGA SESSIONS WITH NATURE WALKS AND HIKES
GOURMET WELCOME DINNER, BREAKFAST EVERYDAY, LUNCH ON COOKING DAYS WITH SIGNATURE COCKTAILS, SNACKS THROUGHOUT AND DRINKS IN THE EVENING
MEXICO CITY AIRPORT PICKUP & RETURN*
WALKING-EATING MARKET TOUR & TRADITIONAL POTTERY DEMO
WIFI, DAILY MAID SERVICE, LAUNDRY SERVICE, PDF MANUAL WITH RECIPES
$ 1,999.00 USD plus taxPER PERSON DOUBLE OCCUPANCY
+ $499 USD plus tax
SINGLE SUPPLEMENT
5% DISCOUNT FOR PAYMENT IN FULL OR HALF NOW AND HALF ON FIRST DAY OF MONTH PRIOR TO ARRIVAL
La Villa Bonita No-Change-Fee Guarantee!
We want you to enjoy your vacation at La Villa Bonita and we know that things may come up that preclude you from joining us. While we do not accept cancelations or refund payments, if you need to change your reservation for any reason you can do so once without penalty and subject to availability. You will receive a credit towards the same experience that you can apply to a different date or different experience. If you choose a more expensive experience you will need to pay the difference. Please contact us for further details.
Payment Options and Sales Tax
You can receive an additional 5% discount by paying in full upon making your reservation or you can pay full price paying half to reserve and half due on the first day of the month prior to arrival. The 5% discount is not valid with any other discount, sale or promotion. We will send you an invoice by email that you can pay online or you can call us and we will receive your payment information. Prices do not include 16% sales tax which will be added to the final price of your package. Tips for the staff are not included.
This is Chef Ana´s mountain home that was specially designed for her culinary program. The property consists of 6 guests rooms all with private baths. All rooms have a king bed and some rooms have the possibility of 2 twin beds or 1 king. The property is a big citrus orchard on a hectare of terraced land, complete with an herb and vegetable garden. The specially designed kitchen is complete with a living area, three sinks, lots of cooking and prep space as well as a 360 degree view of the magestic mountains. Above the kitchen sits our 16 person capacity glass table with an incredible panoramic view of the Tepozteco mountains, the ex-convent, and the town below. La Villa Bonita is located in a very quiet residential area of town away from the downtown hum.
Airport Departure. For departure, we have more flexibility. If you would like to use our shuttle, your departure time should be after 12 noon. You may leave earlier for an additional fee. We have an Uber driver on call who charges $1900 pesos per trip (currently about 95 USD).-
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Not Included
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La Villa Bonita offers Chef Ana Garcias’ award-winning culinary and cultural vacation experiences in our specially-designed resort in the foothills of the Tepoztlan valley.
Contact Info
Start your Mexican culinary adventure now! Dates available year-round. Contact us for the most up-to-date availability.
+1 (631) 994-3436 // US
email: [email protected]
