Quinta Real Acapulco

Perched on a hillside above the beach at Punto Diamante, the Quinta Real is one of Mexico’s most elegant luxury hotels, a world apart from the real estate developments built in a hurry elsewhere in Acapulco. Guests check in at street level, greeted with a moist towel and a glass of wine, before descending the stone steps that wind through manicured gardens to the lounge and guest rooms.

The Quinta Real is an all-suite hotel, and the suites are exquisite, without a hint of colonial kitsch — instead they’re all contemporary international elegance, with marble floors, ornate sculpted headboards and wingback leather chairs. A pillow menu ensures optimum comfort for the fussiest sleepers, and the marble bathrooms are stocked with Hermès bath products. All overlook the bay from private balconies, while the best feature private plunge pools on outdoor terraces.Service is attentive yet laid-back — the pool deck is constantly attended by staffers bearing drinks and dry towels.

There’s a haute-cuisine restaurant on the hilltop, and an informal seafood restaurant in a thatched-roof palapa at the beach club, which means there’s no need to venture to town. Spa treatments, tennis, golf and all manner of water-borne diversions are available as well — though there’s no prohibition against simply lounging.