Las Alamandas

The backstory seems too fantastic to be true, like something from a Roger Moore-era James Bond movie. Don Antenor Patino, the Bolivian tin magnate, plans a beachfront mega-resort, but doesn’t live to complete it — so his granddaughter Isabel Goldsmith (English financier father, long story) takes over. In the interest of preserving the land (and the dolphins) so dear to her, she revises her grandfather’s plan and erects a tiny, exclusive resort, where a maximum of 28 guests have at their disposal 1,500 acres of pristine beachfront land and close to 100 staff members.

If there is one word in the above paragraph that sums up Las Alamandas, it’s exclusive. Your fellow guests are quite possibly royalty, Hollywood or otherwise — but the resort’s seven villas are each so secluded that you would never know it. From time to time you may spy another traveler, perhaps half a mile down the beach, enjoying a private dinner. But the vastness of the grounds and the scarcity of the guests means the odds of an unwelcome intrusion, or merely a reminder that you are not the resort’s only guest, close to zero. Of course, if close to zero is not close enough, you may rent the entire resort. Don’t laugh: it’s been done.

Clearly, this is the ideal sort of place for a honeymoon or other romantic getaway. The location is stunning, and secluded, halfway between Puerto Vallarta and Manzanillo, on Mexico’s Pacific coast. And as for the facilities themselves, it is no exaggeration to say that every possible luxury is accounted for, or can be arranged for on short notice. This is the sort of place that has its own private runway to accommodate private jet landings.

Like so many of the finest things in this world, all of this excellence comes with only one drawback: the cost. Las Alamandas is not a budget resort. But how could it be? The world has enough mega-hotel complexes of the kind Don Patino envisioned — but there are few places as special as Las Alamandas.

How to get there:
Ground transportation to and from Puerto Vallarta airport or Manzanillo Airport can be provided by the hotel staff. All transfers arranged by Las Alamandas include an airport greeter and personal assistance by a hotel staff member. The resort also features its own 3,300-foot asphalt runway, capable of accommodating small aircraft.