When it comes to golf destinations in Mexico, the Puerto Vallarta region is one of the most popular. So in the name of duty, I played 36 holes on my recent visit there and have a round-up of the other options. See the full article here: Golf in Puerto Vallarta and Riviera Nayarit.

With two Jack Nicklaus courses and some stunning sea views, the Punta Mita peninsula is the prestige spot to play. It’s only open to hotel guests, villa renters, and residents. Others are closer to the string of hotels around the Marina or Nuevo Vallarta. More golf courses are on the way further north, closer to Sayulita. We’ll keep you posted on those as they spring up in the future.

I’ve been spending time in the Puerto Vallarta region of Mexico this past week, checking out some new luxury hotels (more on that later) and checking in on some old favorites—like the stellar Four Seasons Punta Mita.

This iconic Four Seasons functioned as a world on its own at the end of the Punta de Mita peninsula before the St. Regis opened up nearby last year. It’s still clearly the best hotel in the Puerto Vallarta region, however, and though the St. Regis has a great beach and access to the same two stunning golf courses, it can’t quite match the service level and the dramatic location you see in that photo at the top.

Once you get past the prices, it’s hard to find fault with any aspect of this operation: great facilities for kids (including a lazy river pool), a revered spa and adults-only pool to escape the kids, consistently excellent food in three restaurants, and plenty of organized and free activities each day. One family we met there had been staying for two weeks—and they were nowhere close to getting bored of the place yet. Management is continually tweaking, adding, and improving the facilities.

I’ll be updating our Four Seasons Punta Mita review soon to reflect additions and changes, but meanwhile here’s another photo to enjoy, putting you on the beach:

I’ve posted some info on here before about the ongoing soap opera that is the Yellowstone Club World Blixseth couple, a man and wife that have led a boom and bust life more dramatic than any reality TV script Bravo could throw together. The latest news from the Wall Street Journal has a Mexico twist: wife Edra Blixseth is putting their Los Cabos home up for sale at a list price of $12.88 million.

If you’re interested, it’s a two-acre oceanfront estate with 10,000 square feet of living space inside (six bedrooms) and another 7,000 feet outside.

She was awarded the house as part of the couple’s knock-down, drag-out divorce proceedings, but she has since declared personal bankruptcy. This Los Cabos home pales in comparison to their one near Palm Springs, CA. That listing has “excess” written all over it. The Journal described “a fountain with jets whose sprays rise about 80 feet and a private, 19-hole golf course of about 240 acres. The roughly 25,000-square-foot main residence is decorated with several ceiling murals and has a prayer room and separate wings for guests and children.”

My personal background on all this is that several years ago I was reviewing the property called Yellowstone Club World Tamarindo that was part of their vacation club, located in the Costalegre area a couple hours south of Puerto Vallarta. The lackey general manager pointed to the Blixseth yacht moored off the shore and told me how rich the owner was, that he was a billionaire who traveled the world and was pouring money into the resort to make it the best in Mexico. If you’ve seen the new Tim Burton Alice in Wonderland movie, picture this guy as one of the Red Queen court helpers with pasted on large ears. I could tell then that something was not quite right, but the resort looked great so I moved on.

Thankfully the resort and excellent golf course were quickly bought by someone else and both are still great, as simply El Tamarindo, but there’s no Blixseth yacht in the harbor anymore…