Several parts of Mexico are popular golf vacation spots and we’ve just updated our story on the best Golf Courses of Los Cabos, southern Baja around San Jose del Cabo and Cabo San Lucas.

We have covered golf in Punta Mita and Puerto Vallarta and there are some great courses in other spots like Costalegre and the Riviera Maya. No place in Latin America is a match for the Los Cabos region though, whether you’re talking about sheer number of choices or the quality of the courses themselves. Most benefit from dramatic scenery—including ocean views from some holes—and designs from some of the best-known names in the biz.

It always seems extravagant to the point of ridiculous to have golf courses in the desert, but in this region they’ve gotten it right more than many. Watering is generally done via desalinated sea water and new turf grasses that are more salt-tolerant and need less water and helping keep the impact down as well.

So now you can enjoy your 18 holes with a bit less guilt than you’ll feel in, say, drought-stricken Scottsdale, and you’ll get a nice sea breeze while you’re at it.  See the full story on Golfing in Los Cabos.

There are some Mexican resort that, if they were in some country between there and Chile, would be one of the main draws. In Mexico, however, there are so many terrific resorts that it’s easy for even a great one to exist so far below the radar that it’s almost a secret.

Sure, Grand Bay Isla Navidad gets a shout-out in U.S. and Canadian travel magazines sometimes, partly because it’s next to a 27-hole golf course, but it probably gets 1/10th the press of places in Los Cabos or Cancun. There’s a good reason for that. The closest city, Manzanillo, isn’t exactly a big airline hub and there are just a few international flights. Sure, you can fly into Puerto Vallarta instead, but then you’ve got three hours or so of driving to get here, on a road that’s often not all that scenic.

So many of Grand Bay’s guests get here another way: by coming in on their own yacht or driving over from Guadalajara. Should you find yourself in Guadalajara, this would be a fine beach break indeed. It’s in a terrific setting on a calm bay, across from a funky town called Barra de Navidad, which you can reach on a 10-peso water taxi. Great food, a terrific pool complex, and plenty to keep you busy should you want to be.

See our full review of Isla Navidad Grand Bay Hotel.

I’m currently at the Wyndham Grand Bay Resort at Isla Navidad, a hotel in the Costalegre region of Pacific Mexico, north of Manzanillo. I’ve been meaning to get here for a while, but finally the stars aligned. Later I’ll give you the full rundown on the rooms, facilities, restaurants, marina, and golf course. But for now, here’s a video tour of the impressive swimming pool complex. Enjoy!

....(Your editor researching in Punta Mita)

The April 2012 issue of Condé Nast Traveler has another reader’s poll, this time highlighting golf resorts. Six of the 20 in the International category are in Latin America.

They’re all familiar names to Luxury Latin America readers and you can follow the links to see our detailed, professional reviews.

One&Only Palmilla in Los Cabos, Mexico

Four Seasons Resort Punta Mita, Mexico

Esperanza, Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

Four Seasons Resort Peninsula Papagayo, Costa Rica

Fairmont Mayakoba, Riviera Maya, Mexico

Moon Palace Golf & Spa Resort, Cancun (not a luxury property)

Fairmont Acapulco Princess, Mexico

Keep in mind that these readers’ polls get distorted by lots of factors, including which places are already the most popular and who’s doing the best job at mobilizing their staffers to engage in ballot stuffing. So you’ll seldom see lesser-known gems like Tamarindo in Costalegre or a golf resort in Guatemala, of all places. You’ll have to discover those on your own.

Here are some other golf round-ups of ours to check out for ideas:

Golf Courses of Los Cabos

Golf in Puerto Vallarta and Riviera Nayarit

Golf Communities Sprout in La Paz, Baja Mexico

Last week I noted that we had just added a new review of a seaside boutique hotel in Uruguay. Now we’ve added another notable recent opening to our reviews of the best hotels in Uruguay with Fasano Las Piedras.

We’ve had our eye on this one for a while as it’s an offshoot of two of the best-known design hotels in Brazil: the Fasano hotels in Rio and Sao Paulo. While those are all about flash and bold artistry, Fasano Las Piedras near Punta del Este is more of a laid-back country retreat.

It’s not on the beach and it’s not in Punta del Este proper. This is a destination hotel situated on nearly 1,000 acres. It’s 15 minutes from the coast, but a different part of Uruguay entirely. If you want room to wander, you’ll find it here, plus I can’t think of another hotel where the swimming pool is inside a giant boulder. Sure, you’ve got a great spa, elegant restaurant, and a 9-hole Arnold Palmer golf course going in, but it’s the wide-open spaces that make you slow down and notice the little things.

“It’s a hotel that unveils its secrets to you over time, in layers. On the surface, it seems very minimal, discreet. The more you explore, the more you notice details in service and amenities that make you realize that you really are in a high-caliber hotel. And before you know it, you find that the place has at some point gotten under your skin and you have become completely enchanted.”

There are flashier resorts in Uruguay, for sure, but for many travelers who have seen the inside of a lot of those types already, this Fasano retreat comes out on top as the preferred address.

See our full review of hotel Fasano Las Piedras in Uruguay.