On the Cover


	Karen Brown's MEXICO

	Town and Country, Traveler's Notebook “Kelly Wearstler, founder of the interior-design firm KWID, is throwing herself a birthday party this month at Las Alamandas, on the Costalegre. Owned by Sir James Goldsmith's daughter Isabel Goldsmith-Patiño, the resort has six casas on the Pacific Ocean”. Town and Country, November 2006 (pdf format)

	Footprint Mexico handbook, Patrick Maher “Vallarta is the luxury resort LL Las Alamandas, T322 285-5500. Beautiful beach, health club, horse riding, tennis, etc. The resort is a 1 Km south of Puente San Nicolás on Route 200, turn right towards the coast at sign to Quemaro. Owned by Isabel Goldsmith, it is very exclusive, has been featured in several magazines for the clientele it attracts and reservations should be made in advance”.

	Cool Hotels America, TeNeues “Address: San Patricio Melaque, Jalisco, 48980 Mexico Tel.: + 52 322 285 5500 Fax: + 52 322 285 5027 www.alamandas.com info@alamandas.com Owner and designer: Isabel Goldsmith Opening date: 1998 Photos: Martin Nicholas Kunz Style: Mexican- inspired, contemporary Rooms: 14suites Clientele: couples, honeymooners Spotted celebs: Richard Gere, Rod Stewart, Meryl Streep. What` s cool: Sorbet color palette, freshwater swimming pool, 70 acres of unspoiled oceanfront”.

	THE HIGHLIGHTS OF THE YEAR 2003 THE WORLD`S TOP HOTELS, Worldguide. Peter Finkbeiner “AWAY FROM MANZANILLO Las Alamandas (120 Km/75 miles) P.O. Box 201, San Patricio Melaque, Jalisco 48980; Tel.: + 52 (322) 285 5500; Fax: + 52 (322) 285 5027; Prop.: Isabel Goldsmith; www.las-alamandas.com When not booked in its entirety by Hollywood starts and corporate chairmen plus entourage, Isabel Goldsmith’s miniature resort is the magnet for the Happy remaining Few, Psychodelic colour schemes in the villas, God’s own gallery of impressionist art outside”.

	Beach Hotels, TeNues 2004 “Website: www.alamandas.com www.mexicoboutiquehotels.com Opening Date: 1998 Address: Las Alamandas Quemaro, Jalisco, Mexico Phone: + 52 322 285 5500 Fax: +52 322 285 5027 Rooms: 6 villas with high-pitched tile roofs, private terraces and full-size living/ dining areas. Description: 2 hrs driving from Puerto Vallarta the resort features a private asphalt runway for small aircraft. Architecture/Design: Isabel Goldsmith, Manuel Mestre”.

	Getting Married Abroad, a Brit’s Guide, Amanda Statham DREAM HOTEL Las Alamandas PO Box 201, San Patricio Melaque, Jalisco 48980, Mexico Tel.: 00 52 328 5500 Web: www.las-alamandas.com “Las Alamandas is Mexico’s best keep secret. It’s an exquisite bolthole spread over 1,500 acres of land south of Puerto Vallarta on Mexico’s Pacific Coast. If you’re not on a tight budget, this is the ideal place to take over for a wedding with family and friends. If you are pulling in the purse strings a little more, then the owners are happy to arrange an intimate little ceremony in the grounds. And what beautiful grounds –full of tropical plants, colonnaded gardens. Couples will want to spend time relaxing and dining on the long veranda of the main house, which has beautiful antiques, decorated ceilings and magnificent pots of colourful plants. There’s also access along pretty mosaic pathways to three beaches. A simply stunning place to marry”.

	THE PRIVATE COLLECTION, Inspiration for the discerning traveler, Isabelle Van Passel LAS ALAMANDAS Puerto Vallarta. “Las Alamandas is an intimate retreat created by Isabel Goldsmith within a 1,500- acre private paradise of exotic trees, palms, flowers, wild birds, lagoons and endless white sand beaches. The 14- room hideaway, which is located on a private 1 Km beach is an elegant, private estate where guests are accorded the highest standards of hospitality. Isabel Goldsmith has searched out the best of Mexican design, fabrics, arts and crafts. Mexican folk art and hand- painted artifacts combine with furniture crafted by the best artisans in the region. The suites featured oversized tiled bathrooms, mini-bars and indoor-outdoor lounge areas. High-pitched tile roofs shade spacious terraces furnished for siesta time and al fresco dining. Pale yellow paths, decorated with stone mosaics wind through gardens fragrant with the scent of Gardenias, Bougainvillea, Jasmine, as well as the yellow Alamandas flower for which the resort is named. The Palapa Beach Club, Designed by the noted Mexican architect Manuel Mestre, incorporates Aztec motifs representing the elements of Mother Nature”.

	HIP HOTELS ESCAPE, Herbert Ypma “… If such places exemplify what can happen if tourism is approached without planning and sensitivity, Las Alamandas shows what can happen when it is. This is probably the only stretch of Mexico’s Pacific coast that still looks as it would have when the Aztecs first began making the trek here from Tenochtitlán (now Mexico City). Set on a sizeable private estate, Las Alamandas is more of a village than a resort: a collection of beautifully designed bungalows built in the style and materials of the Mexican vernacular and scattered along a stretch of private beach. There are no mariachi bands, no theme bars, no takeaway tacos… just a handful of handsome houses in lush and unspoilt surroundings…”

	Conde Nast Johansens, Recommended Hotels Inns, Resorts& Spas. “Las Alamandas Resort Carretera Barra de Navidad- Puerto Vallarta Km 83.5, Col. Quemaro, Jalisco 48850 A perfect paradise for those seeking beauty, romance and privacy, Las Alamandas is surrounded by 1500 acres of tropical gardens, breathtaking blue lagoons and endless white sandy beaches. With a maximum of 30 guests in the hotel, there is an extremely high standard of individual care and hospitality. Lovely colorful décor is in a traditional Mexican style with stunning fabrics and elegant design complemented by hand- painted artefacts and Mexican folk art. Pale yellow paths with stone mosaics wind through deliciously with fragrant flowers to the bedrooms, which have oversized bathrooms with private, outdoor showers and spacious terraces overlooking the Pacific Ocean. There is a choice of 3 excellent restaurants, all of which serve unique dishes featuring freshly caught fish, free range meat and many organic fruits and vegetables from the hotel’s garden. Owner, Isabel Goldsmith, has spearheaded many projects to preserve the Mexican coastline and bird lovers will appreciate the bird sanctuary within the grounds, which is home to more than 100 species of wild birds. Leisure activities include swimming, tennis, horse riding, mountain biking, fishing, snorkeling and hiking. Boats are available for rental, and there is a superb, fully equipped gym and an extensive range of massage and salon services”.

	LUXURY HOTELS Beach Resorts, TeNeus « Le vrai luxe de cete hôtel est la tranquillité et l` isolement total qui attendent l` hôte. 14 suites se partagent un terrain de plus de 600 hectares. Un parc tropical avec des lagunes et des oiseaux exotiques invitent à de longues promenades, une plage de sable fin à se baigner dans le Pacifique et celui qui veut arriver avec son avion privé, trouvera même une piste d` atterissage prope à l`hôtel. Le restaurant propose des spécialtés locales, la plupart des fruits et des légumes provenant du terrain de l`hôtel . »

	HABITAR LA LUZ, Gabriel Núñez Chávez “Colores que presumen una apasionada fascinación, que nos envuelven en una carnalidad placida y que van entreabriendo sobre los muros las más imantada atracción de las luces y sombras. En ese conjunto arquitectónico existe un descarado coqueteo de las formas construidas con las naturales, un roce casi impúdico del horizonte con los espacios, de la vegetación con los andadores, paramentos y tejados. Fuentes y arcos casi coloniales en plena galantería se relacionan con celosías de varas domedañas, con rústicos troncos de árboles que muestran sus fuerzas sosteniendo largos techos de teja donde moran muebles tradicionales de fonda. Eclecticismo sin prejuicios, emparenta cenefas y soles de piedra bola con cerámicas y ladrillos, palmeras, obeliscos y bugambilias con nopales y cactus. Aqui se logra algo que rara vez se da, pero que es del todo deseable en la arquitectura: desde la sencillez y el mínimo de ornamento llegar a un barroquismo de los sentidos, a una exhuberancia de estímulos que hace de quien vive el espacio un invitado a una erupción de destellos, a una algarabía de colores, a un espectáculo de luz y sonido con la quieta presencia del mar como testigo. Esta es sin duda una de las obras de playa mejor lograda de Gabriel Núñez, de los momentos mas sublimes que vivió como creador de esta arquitectura informal y lúdica y que es a la vez el resultado de un trabajo serio y profesional, de un conocimiento del medio y de la tradición constructiva y expresiva de los pueblos de playa. Es esta obra un homenaje y reconocimiento a la arquitectura vernácula de Mexico, al paisaje, al clima”.

	MEXICOLOR, the spirit of Mexican design, Levick-Hyams “Las Alamandas lies on a hidden stretch of Pacific coast south of Puerto Vallarta. Soft ocean breezes cool a garden of cactus and palms”.

	MEXICASA, The enchanting Inns and Haciendas of Mexico. Levick-Hyams “NESTLED INTO a fifteen- hundred- acre ecological reserve encompassing palm- fringed beaches, freshwater lagoons, and tropical jungles, Las Alamandas is a two hour drive from Manzanillo or Puerto Vallarta, but many visitors choose to arrive by Learjet on the resort’s private landing strip. The Pacific Coast property was bought in 1980 by Bolivian tin king Don Antenor Patiño, who founded the celebrated Las Hadas resort in Manzanillo in the 1960. He had ever grander plans for the Las Alamandas tract but managed only to clear a network of dirt roads before his death. His granddaughter, Isabel Goldsmith, who inherited the property, had very different ideas about developing the land. Rather than built a mega-hotel with thousands of rooms, she decided to created an exclusive luxury hideaway. She opened her retreat in 1990 with five villas and has since added one more. Even when all six villas are occupied, guests rarely catch sight of one anther unless they happen to turn up in the bar or restaurant at the same time. Upon arrival, the manager asks guests what level of attention they desire. Service can be highly solicitous- a white – shirted attendant checking in every thirty minutes – or it can be invisible, with preordered cocktails silently left on your doorstep at dusk. Pretty much any reasonable request is granted. The most popular request are to fly in a mariachi band from Puerto Vallarta to accompany a birthday bash and to reserve a mile- long stretch of beach for a romantic candlelit dinner. Among the outdoor activities are horseback riding, mountain biking, hiking, fishing, snorkeling, bird- watching, taking boat rides on the San Nicolas River, and, of course, eating chocolate-covered tequila bonbons by the pool”.

	MEXICAN GARDEN, Courtyards, pools, and open-air living rooms. Levick - Hyams “Twisting mahogany tree trunks support the Palapa Beach Club’s thatched roof at Las Alamandas on the Pacific Coast. Bright yellow throw pillows accent the built- in cement couch”.

	TROPICAL HOUSES, Tim Street Porter “ISABEL GOLDSMITH INHERITED THE ONE THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED- acre Las Alamandas estate from her grandfather, Antenor Patiño, when he died in 1978. Patiño had major plans for Las Alamandas, intending to create a resort as grand as his earlier creation, Las Hadas in Manzanillo. When Goldsmith took over Las Alamandas, situated on a lonely stretch of the Pacific coast and a ninety-minute drive south of Puerto Vallarta, it consisted of an infrastructure of unpaved roads cut into the jungle, a landing trip for small planes, and little else. She fell in love with this remote paradise, with its perfect half- mile- long beach, its lagoons rich in wildlife, and its setting of low hills covered in trees and cactus. She had no intention, however, of creating a miniature Acapulco. Instead, working with architect Gabriel Orosco, she concentrated on building a small group of villas that friends might visit, an idea that evolved into the creation of a small-scale exclusive resort. Using her own interpretation of the vibrant colors of Mexico, Goldsmith created a uniquely festive mood for Las Alamandas, together with an architecture that was unashamedly romantic, and which, small in scale as it was, did little to disturb the fragile environment”.

	COLOUR , Judith Miller HALF-WAY BETWEEN Puerto Vallarta and Manzanillo in Jalisco, Mexico, the exclusive resort of Las Alamandas lies in the sort of natural paradise that for once does justice to the hyperbole of the travel writer. At the resort’s centre is a hotel comprising four casitas with eleven suites, all filled with Mexican arts and crafts. The dazzling beauty of the surrounding palms, beaches, surf and lush vegetation is such that one might expect a hotel to have a difficulty making any visual impact at all. In fact the Las Alamandas complex (named after the yellow alamandas flower )- which was conceived by the late Gabriel Núñes, completed by Manuel Mestre and is now owned by Isabel Goldsmith- is a striking collection of buildings that take use of colour in Mexican architecture to dramatic new levels. Palm trees and a yellow mosaic path lead via a fountain to casitas that are much influenced by hacienda-style décor and architecture. Tiled floors, thick, rendered walls, shuttered windows and high vaulted ceilings set the tone, but it is brilliant colour that undoubtedly makes the most impact. Typical of the complex, of beachfront Casa del Domo, with its vibrant orange and pink exterior, is decorated in the traditional way: paint is first applied and then ragged in a process that needs to be repeated every few month in order to maintain the colour`s brilliant richness. Similarly, vibrant primary colours are often used on the risers of steps. Both functional and decorative, steps are a recurring architectural feature of Mexican architecture and figure heavily in the geometry of Las Alamandas”.

	SECRETS, Jet Tours “Isabel Goldsmith, petite fille d`un roi de l`étain, filled du milliardaire britannique, considère ses visiteurs comme des hôtes. Qu` importe qu` ils se nomment Francis Ford Coppola ou Monsieur o Madame Tout- le-monde, ils sont chez eux chez elle, une rareté sur cette côte Pacifique Prisee du tourisme de masse. La casa d`Isabel, comme on dit, est une petite éden depuis dix ans. Dessiné par la architecte Gabriel Núñes, il se compose de quatre maisons en harmonie avec le paysage. La décoration est un echantement de couleurs et de peintures bleu, rose, jaune et vert. Les meubles en bois révèlent la passion de la maitresse des lieux pour l` écologie. Quinze chambres, c`est peu, et l`on y vit coupé du monde, sans télévision ( luxe ultime pour les magnats d` Hollywood ! ) mais avec un lecteur d DVD. Pour ceux qui bannissent la solitude, la belle piscine bordée des palmiers face a la mer contitue un bon point de rencontre. Comme le restaurant où les chef a banni les cartes. À vous l’élaboration des menus! l’option pique-nique après une chevauchée sur la plage vaut aussi son pesant d’or. Sans parler du dîner en amoureux pres de la fontaine”.

	Kiwi Collection Overnight Sensation, The Americas, Brian Mumby Las Alamandas Mexico, Jalisco. “There was something missing right from the moment you arrived… something different from what you’ve experience at other resorts. You can’t put your finger on it? The personal level of service and cuisine certainly exceeded expectations. So what could it be? It isn’t until the next day, while sitting by the pool that you notice another couple off in the distance along the beach. Other guests! Yes, other guests- that’s the difference. With maximum accommodation for 24 in just six world-class villas on the 1500-acre ocean front resort, guests enjoy plenty of space and privacy. Spotting other guests is like going whale watching; with such rare sightings, it becomes a sport unto its own. Score two “guests” for you. The couple on the beach point in your direction; they’ve notice you. They’re playing the “guest spotting” game, too!”

top