While I was in Mazatlan last month I got to hit the links at Estrella del Mar. This 18-hole golf course was designed by Robert Trent Jones, Jr. and has six holes that look out at the Sea of Cortez. It’s one thing to say it’s a PGA Championship course, but I didn’t need any convincing: there was a PGA tournament wrapping up the day before I got there.

I’m a pretty sucky golfer I have to admit, so I was thankful that I was having a good day and could really enjoy it. The houses aren’t too close to the fairway here, which I always appreciate. Nobody likes to put an errant drive onto someone’s terrace. Like most great golf courses the service is excellent: range balls already to go on the driving range, places to clean your ball or get a drink of water at the tee boxes, and a refreshments cart coming around regularly.

The course itself is beautiful, maintained by a huge team of gardeners. With sea views, water hazards, and hills that are rolling without being too steep, it’s a real pleasure to play on. I’m putting up a few photos here to give you an idea.

Despite all the great attributes here, including an excellent restaurant at the clubhouse, rates are a screaming bargain. This may be the best-priced oceanfront course you’ll play on in North America. Here’s a link to the rates since they could change, but at the moment they tap out at $110 for morning play in high season, including a cart and taxes. They dip down to $49 for twilight play in low season. If you book a golf package at the Las Villas hotel on the grounds, it can be folded into the room rate for a trifling amount.

For more information on this excellent course, which is only 10 minutes from the Mazatlan airport, visit the Estrella del Mar website.

I am currently on the ground doing research in Mazatlan, Mexico, where we haven’t previously featured any hotels. I will be adding reviews of three in the coming weeks. One is the Las Villas hotel at Estrella del Mar, near the airport in Mazatlan. This is part of a large housing, condo, and golf resort that literally stretches for miles along a beach that’s a protected sanctuary for sea turtles: as in no ATVs, no parasailing, no vendors.

Here’s a look at one of the rooms and what you see when you step out onto the balcony. Gorgeous!

“The goal of this resort seems to be to outdo every luxury hotel in the area and it looks like they could pull it off.”

That was the gist of the message from one of my Mexico correspondents after he spent some time at La Tranquila, in the Punta Mita region of Pacific Mexico, just around a few rocky coves from the Four Seasons and St. Regis—no slouches in the pampering luxury department themselves.

Time will tell if they can win over picky guests from El Norte once the whole place is fully open, with all rooms and the spa finished, but they’re doing their best to dazzle.

“La Tranquila is all-suites, every one with an ocean view. The standard configuration is actually a three-bedroom apartment with three full bathrooms, a complete kitchen equipped with Viking appliances, and compact washer and dryer. Hotel guests can choose the full-size apartment, a two-bedroom configuration (the Serena Suite), or the one-bedroom Tranquila Suite, which features an individual plunge pool on the balcony and contains the master bathroom.”

See our full review of La Tranquila in Punta de Mita, Mexico.

See reviews of other luxury hotels in Punta de Mita and Puerto Vallarta.

In a resort area where there are seemingly hundreds of similar hotels and timeshares crammed into every available beachfront space, how do you stand out with a new hotel? In the case of Taheima in the Puerto Vallarta region of Mexico, the answer is to ignore the hedonism and focus on wellness instead.

Taheima is a new resort in Nuevo Vallarta, Nayarit that is very different than the norm. First of all, it’s not even on the beach. Sure, guests can get shuttled to a beach club that is just a few minutes away, but your focus is more within. Here you eat healthy food that’s tasty and learn how to cook it. You exercise and do yoga. You take ceramics classes and Pilates.

But don’t worry, this is not a place that wants you to live like a vegan monk. There are two huge swimming pools, hot tubs, and a bar that opens at 5 pm. You can play golf or tennis at the adjoining Le Tigre club. Two restaurants offer French food and upscale Mexican food. And the rooms are downright sumptuous.

For more on this intriguing new offering, including some photos, see our review of Taheima Wellness Resort and Spa.

We feature three kinds of travel reviews on Luxury Latin America: the best luxury hotels, interesting luxury travel tours, and Latin American real estate that appeals to foreigners buying a vacation home or retirement home in Mexico, Central America, or South America. In the latter category is a piece we put up a couple weeks ago: Real Estate in Punta Mita.

Punta Mita goes by two slightly different names, so it’s a little confusing. Punta de Mita (which sort of translates to “arrowhead”) is the peninsula region in general, located between Puerto Vallarta and Sayulita in the Riviera Nayarit region. Punta Mita without the “de” is the private development within that region. It’s anchored by the Four Seasons, a St. Regis resort, and two golf courses designed by Jack Nicklaus. Plus there are plenty of different real estate developments for those who like it so much they don’t want to leave.

That feeling is understandable as this is one of the prettiest and most dramatic coastal locations in Mexico, plus the golf experience here wins plenty of “best of” accolades on a regular basis. Don’t come to this area looking for a bargain though—one software mogul has built a house here that supposedly cost $36 million, give or take a few mil—so you’ll be in the company of people who can afford to buy exactly what they want. Except for a few condos and townhouses, prices are listed in seven digits.

This is perhaps the most prestigious resort living address in Mexico. See the full story here:

Luxury Real Estate in Punta Mita, Mexico