Following the growing success of its recent Ondalinda Festival, Careyes is taking steps into the mainstream of luxury travel that until recently was limited to a select few privy to a private invite or villa access to experience its exquisite beauty. We came to know Careyes in two very different ways, first on the outskirts of the hillside village at the eco-resort of Cuixmala built by Sir James Goldsmith and his daughter Alix now in charge of the otherworldly 36,000-acre compound frequented by Bill Gates, Madonna, Mick Jagger and George Lucas. Then there's the proper Careyes experience, in one of the 100-or-so homes that dot the hillside including the top two compounds all owned by Gian Franco Brignone - the 90-something year old founder of Careyes and the family currently overseeing its strategic expansion.
For anyone hoping to rent a house or book a room in Careyes, good-luck. Navigating its inventory of homes is a precarious task and best left to the professionals at Costa Careyes that oversees its Ocean Castles, Private Villas, Casitas and Bungalows that dot its Playa Rosa. This year, look for the opening of the new El Careyes Club & Residences (pictured) featuring 36 private homes and clubhouse with series of architectural pools and designer interiors inside the town's onetime former-hotel. Days in Careyes are spent lounging late into the day, preferably poolside, before taking lunch at Playa Rosa Beach Club with its wide open lawn and impeccable margaritas often enjoyed in the company of the resort’s patriarch. Later in the season, polo takes center stage as the season picks-up in early December through April and includes lessons for the visiting novice.
By night, evenings alternate between lively private dinners at residences that often come with an after party extended by the town’s gregarious social ambassadors or late nights at Cocodrilo Azul that opens daily from late-December. Other nights, the town's Plaza de los Caballeros del Sol is home to a collection of more family-minded eateries like La Coscolina its Moroccan flavors or Punto Como with its wood-fire specialties and pizza scene sometimes accompanied by outdoor movies. Most nights, however, inevitably end up back at home enjoying the incredible moonlight views over the sea or rogue bonfire that makes Careyes the most magical setting in all of Mexico.
