Talk about perfectionism; GRAND VELAS ALL SUITES & SPA RESORT in Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico, does everything right. Each of the resort’s 267 well-decorated roomy suites opens to a private terrace with an extensive ocean view.  Each of the four upscale, on-property restaurants serves a different well-loved cuisine (Italian, French, Mexican and International), covering a gamut of guests’ taste preferences. And the Grand Velas spa, which authorities consider the hands down finest on Mexico’s Pacific Coast, offers 80 different treatments to polish, pamper and please in a serene and peaceful setting. No doubt about it, this exclusive, all-inclusive sees to the details—no matter how large or how small.

Which brings us to the bar menu.

Some may consider it a coincidence, but I know Grand Velas is so perfection focused that the head bartender probably created the house specialty cocktail to color-coordinate with the garden plants around the resort’s various bars.

The resort's lobby and swim-up bars.

The Grand Velas Special, a drink that tastes of vacation with an easy-going refreshing charm, matches not only the bright green, orange and yellow crotons scattered around the grounds and backing the swim-up bar, but also the broad leaf water lilies that grace a garden pool in front of the lobby bar. Pretty perfect if you ask me.

THE GRAND VELAS SPECIAL  

A generous splash of green licor de melon (a melon liqueur such as Midori)

1/2 cup fresh orange juice

1/2 cup pineapple juice

1-1/2 ounces ron Malibu (coconut rum)

Put licor de melon in a tall glass. Add orange and pineapple juice. Top with rum. Gently fill glass with ice. Don’t stir. Enjoy.