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Home > What's New > A Mexican Escape
A Mexican Escape
Posted: Tuesday, April 22, 2003
By Gordon Mott 
Webster's dictionary defines escape as "to get away," or in its noun form as a "distraction or relief from routine or reality." Most people dream about escaping to a place where they can forget the worries of the everyday world, or they fantasize about the act of getting away from it all. Most people leave it at the level of a dream or a fantasy. We have grown accustomed to settling for something less than an escape; a hotel that sits on a crowded beach, an island filled with too many other people or hotels, or a resort community that is a little too manicured and a little too connected to the modern world. Or we end up convincing ourselves that a three-day weekend qualifies as a vacation. On the flip side, we too frequently end up in some "escapes" that are too isolated from the modern world's amenities, or simply don't have any of the simple luxuries that give meaning to the word "vacation."
I have found the perfect escape.
My wife and I fled the lingering winter in the Northeast, and a home renovation in its seventh month, and braved the discomfort of traveling during mid-March, just after the start of the Iraq war. We headed to a small resort on the Pacific coast of Mexico near the port city of Manzanillo, called El Tamarindo. Operated as part of the Luxury Collection of Starwood Hotels and Resorts, El Tamarindo consists of 29 thatched roof bungalows. The resort is nestled on a cove amid the palm trees and lush jungle at the southern end of the Barra de Tenacatita, a large sweeping bay that lies about 40 miles north of Manzanillo. Given the uncertainty in the world, the hotel was only about half full during our six-day visit, which meant that no more than 30 guests drifted around the lush grounds on any given day.
El Tamarindo was originally built as a private club by a prominent Mexican financier, according to Rui Reis, the general manager of the property and the nearby Hotel Careyes, also operated by Starwood. The decision to go public with the 2,600-acre property, officially designated as part of a nature preserve, occurred in the mid-1990s, and Starwood took over the operation about two years ago. Starwood has upgraded the property's restaurant with the help of Mexican cookbook guru Patricia Quintana, and created a series of daily menus based on Mexican specialties. You can request virtually anything from the kitchen, although the small size of the hotel and the remote location may make some requests impossible to fulfill. Don't bother. The meals are excellent, especially the seafood, which is supplied by local fishermen. I would recommend ordering the seafood pozole, which is the Mexican equivalent of bouillabaisse.
Let's get another thing absolutely clear -- this is cigar-friendly territory. From the golf course to the verandas under the bungalow's roofs to the outdoor restaurants, you can basically smoke wherever you want. The hotel keeps a small humidor filled with a selection of top-brand Cuban cigars, including Vegas Robaina and Cohiba. But you should bring your own smokes, too.
The golf is world-class. The 18-hole course, designed by David Fleming, is routed through the thick jungle, down to the beach and then back up again through the jungle to the recently completed clubhouse. There are three ocean holes, although you can see the ocean from at least a half dozen holes. The par-3 ninth reminds golfers of Pebble Beach's famous par-3 ocean hole. The 150-yard hole plays downhill from an elevated tee overlooking the Pacific Ocean, across a deep ravine to a small green perched on a ledge with a 150-foot cliff rising above it. I had the good fortune one round to hit a pitching wedge to 20 feet, and sank the birdie putt. (Let's not talk about the other rounds.) The 6,600-yard course plays to a true par-72 because the par-5 holes are either double doglegs that require lay-up shots, or play into the wind that makes going for the green in two a high-risk proposition.
There is also a full-service spa, with one outstanding amenity -- a beachside hut where you can get a massage while the ocean breezes billow out the linen curtains. After your massage, you can return to your villa and take a dip in your own private plunge pool.
This summer, the hotel plans to offer optional TVs in the rooms for the first time. If you don't want to be distracted by the outside world, no TV. I'd suggest bringing some CDs of your favorite music, since a player is provided in each room. And, if you'd rather not have a TV in your room, but can't bear being totally isolated, it's a pleasant, short walk to a lounge near the main lobby where a television is hooked up.
We ate breakfast every morning on the veranda of our room, watching the flocks of pelicans swooping down for their morning feeding in the cove. We spent much of the day reading on the plush cushioned, built-in banquettes, drifting between the novel of choice and frequent naps. As the end of the afternoon came, one of us would trundle off for a massage. As the sun began to turn from white hot to burnt orange to red, we sat looking out over the bay, peering up at the swarms of dragonflies sweeping up their day's meal before the first small bats darted around in the fading light.
It was then that I lit up one of my favorite smokes. With a cold Mexican brew in hand, and a beach towel over my legs to ward off the evening's coolness, I savored every puff, not worrying about the smoke police crashing through the door, or any other distraction for that matter.
I was in a perfect moment in the perfect escape.
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