Carved out of a dense jungle (you drive a loooong way on a private road to get to the entrance here as the resort is set on 250 private acres), Imanta Resort offers its guests the kind of seclusion that's very rare nowadays. You'll walk along the lovely private beach, or on one of the winding trails here, without running into another guest most days. Looking out from your casa (all but one of the guest lodgings are in free-standing, and well-spaced, houses), all you'll see is ocean and/or jungle. Which may be why crowned princes of Europe have vacationed here as have top-of-the-heap stars (Christina Aguilera got engaged at the bar in Imanta).

As you might expect, the appointments are luxurious, from the flat-screen TV's that pop out of the footboard of your bed at the touch of a button, to the private plunge pools in many casitas, to the fluffy robes, sheets and towels that swaddle guests. Because the property was littered with massive boulders, they're incorporated into the design of the place in clever ways (in our favorite casa, a boulder in the middle of the bathroom has been carved into a deep soaking tub). The private beach is eye-candy of the first-degree, and the restaurant there (lunch only) plus the one at the top of the hill (breakfast and dinner), are top-quality.


So why two-stars rather than three? Because at these sky high prices, you'd expect everything to be perfect and that can't be said of Imanta, despite its many charms. Mattresses are set on awkward platforms (so guests get a lot of shin scrapes climbing into and out of bed at night), some rooms—while oversized and filled with luxuries—are conspicuosly lacking in, well, character and don't have the type of local, native Mexican art that enlivens the pricier suites. And the gym has a rather cramped feel to it, despite the machines being state of the art. Quibbles, I know, but when you're charging this much money....

I also have to issue a warning to anyone with mobility issues: the resort has many stairs, and most are uneven, since they're carved into the existing rock. Those who'll have difficulties climbing up and down several times a day (to get from their cabin to the restaurant, beach or other facilities) should stay elsewhere.

-Pauline Frommer