DESIGNED TO ENTICE

Compelling contemporary architecture and unexpected activities make the new Four Seasons Resort Tamarindo a must-visit.

BY SAMANTHA BROOKS

Anytime a new Four Seasons resort opens on a beach within a direct flight from LAX, it’s going to catch the attention of Angelenos. The hospitality brand may not offer a points program or membership rewards, but they have amassed a loyal following through traditional markers like top-notch service, plush rooms, elevated culinary programming, and premier locations. With five properties in Hawaii and three resorts on Mexico’s Pacific Coast (with another on the way), it might seem like the brand is oversaturating its SoCal audience. However, at the new Four Seasons Resort Tamarindo, on Mexico’s still relatively under-the-radar Costalegre, the property has somehow managed to create the kind of elevated five-star experience the brand is known for, while establishing a new template for the industry on how to masterfully balance the reputation of a luxury brand with the influences of the property’s setting, as well as the contemporary designs of some of Mexico’s leading architects and designers.

If you haven’t heard of the Costalegre, you’re not alone. On one hand, this quiet stretch of coastline from just south of Puerto Vallarta and just north of Manzanillo remains mostly untouched and undeveloped (there’s no main town, no shopping, and definitely no attractions that will soon make it the next Cabo San Lucas or Playa del Carmen). With the exceptions of the private-hometurned boutique resort Cuixmala (bookings can only be made through online inquiries), Careyes, the community of architecturally striking homes for rent, and Las Alamandas, the region’s first and for a long time only true hotel in the area, the 150-mile-long region has been in a kind of extended slumber. However, the 3,000- acre Four Seasons is the first of a handful of projects to launch, most of which have been decades in the making.

(Also underway are the resort developments of Las Rosadas, Xala, and El Tecuan, all aiming to add low-density residences and/or boutique hotels to the area in coming years.)

In the works since 2012, the Four Seasons Resort Tamarindo took over a previous boutique hotel with 29 rooms, El Tamarindo, which has been closed since 2011. The new resort’s plan may have evolved in the decade-plus that it has been under development, but it now offers a total of 157 rooms and suites as well as forthcoming private residences. At press time, most of the hotel construction has been completed, with all rooms, including the top-tier suites, set to roll into hotel inventory by the end of the year.

Just 35 minutes from the Manzanillo airport (which receives direct flights on Alaska Airlines on Wednesdays and Saturdays), the property might begin on the highway, but allow for another 15 minutes until you’re at the resort. Here, the bumpy road passes through their own Rancho Ortega—a 35-acre farm filled with egg-producing chickens, goats, 8,500 agave plants, and a garden that will grant the resort zero-mile sourcing—before arriving at the Mansion, the open-air pavilion-style center of the resort.

Here, the three restaurants, a boutique carrying a mix of Mexican crafts and clothing, a cinema, a fitness center designed by Harley Pasternak, and a complex of three tiered pools overlooking the ocean act as the hub. Just south of the Mansion rests the 31,215-squarefoot spa and collection of beachfront and nature rooms, which start at 710 square feet; to the north, topping the cliffs, one-bedroom, 1,593-square-foot suites with private infinity pools stretching the length of each room grant stunning panoramas of the sea. An additional beach suited to swimming and watersports (there’s also a dock to hop aboard boats) is just a five-minute golf cart ride away. Although golf carts are always on the ready to transport guests throughout the property, most of the attractions are just a short walk away from any of the rooms. Indeed, the design of the resort is one of its most attractive components. Some of Mexico’s top firms partnered up to create a new firm, specifically to design the resort. Victor Legorreta, Mauricio Rocha, and Mario Schjetnan created the firm LegoRocha for this project, also working with Uribe Krayer and Estudio Esterlina. The result is geometric perfection and stunning views from every angle, with swaths of stone walkways and walls allowing for breaks of light to create dramatic shadows.

When viewed from the cliffs, beachfront rooms form Tetris-like clusters. Expanses of glass walls take in the picturesque views, yet also reflect light for privacy. Every structure is orchestrated so that the sunsets cast perfect golden hues over the property. But this is not just a design hotel. Knowing that most of its guests wouldn’t be leaving the property, Four Seasons made sure that the stunning architecture is just one component of the experience. Golf on the 18-hole David Fleming–designed course; partake in a traditional Mexican Temazcal ceremony at the spa—the only one on the Costalegre; go on an ethnobotany walk or night safari led by resort guides; bike through the onsite terrain; or explore the sea and nearby coastline on a boat for fishing or diving. Additionally, the property offers daily cooking classes at 11am for everything from Oaxacan tamales and vacuum-packed pibil chicken to sourdough pizza and chocolate making. (Families and groups can also request to arrange their own cooking classes at any time.)

However, like Four Seasons’ other acclaimed resorts, there’s nothing wrong with doing nothing and just enjoying the property’s six miles of coastline, outstanding service, and expected luxury amenities that made you want to visit a Four Seasons in the first place. From $1,050; fourseasons.com