Costa Alegre Vibrates
Taking the pulse of new properties on Mexico’s Pacific Coast.
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As the trend of residential resort home ownership keeps evolving, so do the lush environs of Mexico’s Pacific Coast. The area has always attracted a glamorous Hollywood crowd. Now it is enjoying renewed attention, with a diverse and sophisticated second home market and a tasteful explosion of new developments, particularly in Punta Mita.From Costa Careyes, in the southern reaches of the Costa Alegre, to the north in Punta Mita and Playa Las Tortugas, home ownership can be private and remote, ecologically sensitive or under the influence of a five-star hotel. Villas, homes, castles or condos are on the menu, and high-end resorts and their residential development arms range from Starwood Luxury Collection to the Four Seasons and Rosewood.
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Stunning cliffside homes have kept Careyes on the “must
buy” list. (Click image to enlarge)
The main gateways are the two international airports at Puerto Vallarta or Manzanillo. The climate is tropical and the bays up and down the coast are topographical engravings perfect for home developments that feel private yet expansive. The balmy terrain rivals Hawaii, but is much closer for most of North America. With an eye on preservation of nature, architectural roots, wildlife and community, most of these coastal developments have innovative plans that keep height and overbuilding under control. Framing the locations with a mix of Mexican and Mediterranean architecture and living the tropical indoor/outdoor lifestyle created by Mexico’s top architects is a part of the purchasing process.
El Tamarindo
Located 30 miles north of Manzanillo, El
Tamarindo Luxury
Properties is owned by Grupo Plan and Roberto
Hernandez. El Tamarindo Golf
Resort (a Starwood Luxury Collection
hotel) is the hub of activity under a
gorgeous palapa-style outpost
with freestanding jungle or beach villas, and a
natural feast of flora
and fauna that competes with Costa Rica or Fiji. There is
a five-star
restaurant and spa, but the real action is quietly scattered on
2,000
acres in the hills, where a development of 96 private estates and an
18-hole golf course are set to debut in the next year or two. This area
is for
privacy lovers, golfers and naturalists with a passion for
architecture. The
Tamarindo Ecological Foundation ensures that
homesites do not disturb the
natural jungle habitat.
Costa Careyes
One hour north of the Manzanillo airport
and two hours south
of Puerto
Vallarta on the Costa Alegre is Costa
Careyes. It is a legendary
second home enclave, with its own polo club,
an equine and ecological playground
(turtle nests are protected on the
remote beaches), where villas and castles,
parties and spa treatments
reign. The hillside community is tethered to the El
Careyes resort, a
Starwood Luxury property, with a spa, restaurant, pool and
suites for
guests. The region is the essence of Mexico’s jungle, which makes it
both secure and a little more daring and dramatic, just like the
homes.
Costa Careyes, +52.315.3510320, www.careyes.com.mx
El Tamarindo,
+52.555.257.0097, www.grupoplan.com
El
Tamarindo Golf Resort, +52.315.351.5032, www.starwoodhotels.com/luxury
Four
Seasons Resort, Punta Mita, +52.329.291.6000, www.fourseasons.com/puntamita
Lynne Bairstow, Punta Mita Real Estate, +52.322.223.0150 and 866.263.6952, www.puntamita.com.mx
Playa Las
Tortugas, 800.320.7769, www.playalastortugas.com
