AMAZING! This as our second Valentines stay at Las Alamandas...and it did not fail to be the most romantic, wonderful place to be. We are celebrating being together for 28 years - and Las Alamandas brings out the best of why people love each other. Only come here with someone you like - the property, the staff, the food, the rooms, the hospitality from the houskeeping....it is all amazing. I have given a critic of Las Alamandas before,,,,, it did not fail on my second visit - with all my expectations. Note: the property is remote - and THAT is the beauty...

My husband and I just returned from a three night stay at Las Alamandas. My husband says I have "travel attention deficit" because with few exceptions (Phuket, Positano, Marrakesh), I seldom want to return to somewhere I've been, but rather explore the unknown. It is within that context, that I say that I simply cannot wait to return to Las Alamandas. We found our stay to be the perfect blend of romance, relaxation and activities. We were celebrating our 20th wedding anniversary, and our accommodations, Casa San Miguel, were private and spacious. We had a totally secluded lounging bed upstairs on the patio outside. The temperature was perfection. No need for air conditioning, just the sound of the crashing surf to lull one to sleep. Amazingly, there was no problem at all with insects despite the lush jungle setting. Each night we returned from dinner to a different surprise: chocolate covered strawberries, home baked cookies, a flower petal strewn bed, lighted candles surrounding the entire perimeter of the bed....it was magical. By day, we struggled to decide how to spend our time, but settled on working out at the excellent gym (designed with help from Robert DiNiro), riding the horses throughout the expansive grounds and along the beaches, mountain biking and one late afternoon, a hike to the sunset lookout. The balance of our time was spent lolling on the beach or reading on one of our two private terraces at Casa San Miguel. The food was excellent and the kitchen accommodating to our mostly vegetarian palates. One morning, at breakfast ,our server motioned to us excitedly to look out to the sea and we witnessed whales breeching in the surf. We found all of the staff to be eager to please but not hovering or intrusive...just as we would prefer. Special thanks go to Victor and Tony. Our fellow guests were sophisticated and engaging. The atmosphere was conducive to interaction and conversation among the guests, if desired. Sharing travel tales among the guests was particularly enjoyable. The grounds and rooms were in impeccable condition. I am quite mystified by the negative comments of one recent Trip Advisor reviewer to the contrary. I always consult Trip Advisor when deciding where to stay, however, I find it is good to consider alternative resources such as Conde Nast Johansen's and Andrew Harpers Hideaway Reports, both of which bestow honors and glowing reviews on Las Alamandas - most deservedly. I feel that I have experienced a truly special environment. Ms. Goldsmith is a lucky person to own such a magical place, and I am grateful to have shared it, if only for a few days.

Our stay at this property turned into a nightmare trip. We would not recommend this hotel to anyone. The management was non existent at the time of our stay & they had no interest in the guests & their needs. Conditions were well below standard, we do not mean 5 star ...we mean 2 star at most!. Everything about this hotel was awful, the food, lodgings & lack of management. The pool was so dirty with a film of grease around it but as swimming at the beach is not an option (due to the strong rip tides) it was frustrating .The sun loungers were tired & soiled., in fact everything about this resort was just awful. It is very isolated, so leaving the property is not an easy option. As it is such an expensive hotel we were bewildered by the simple lack of comforts & basic requirements. We realise it is privately owned but standards are standards & it is just so sad that this property can operate in this way. We have stayed at other "boutique" hotels around the world & have never experienced anything like this. Our worst trip ever, so disappointing & simply ghastly.

All the reviews over the years have been wonderful, and we were thrilled to be able to go to Las Alamandas (the name, by the way, refers to the yellow flowers you see all over the property and as the logo). Most of it was true-- the welcome, the service, the food, the views, all fabulous. The privacy is wonderful and worthy of the Hollywood stars who must love it there (we saw photos of Brad Pitt, Minnie Driver and a bunch of others). We really hope to go back at another time of year. Without detracting from the real appeal of Las Alamandas, though, I think it's important to tell about the things a guest might not like, as well. We would not have gone there recently if we had realized that rainy season is a bad time to go. It made our expensive holiday, which was supposed to be relaxing, a lot less fun. We were staying in a villa. They are beautiful, and most of the year, you just open the doors wide to the ocean view. But in summer, this had its disadvantages. First, in the stifling heat of central Mexico, there was no air conditioning except in the bedrooms. It's true that most of the time there is a nice ocean breeze. But at night, the nice ocean breeze carries mosquitoes into your room, and if you shut the mosquitoes out, it becomes horribly hot and stuffy. (No screens on the living room door, just a glass door.) Second, we were there in the rainy season. The resort is set up for the majority of the time, when it is dry. But once the rain starts to pour, the pleasant rooftop bar is closed (we never got to see it in operation), the hammocks and outdoor cushions are all put away, and you are reduced, in case of heavy rain, to huddling indoors and hoping it doesn't get too hot, since you can't open the doors to the veranda without getting soaked. The resort seems mighty small when your choices are staying in your uncomfortably humid, hot room to eat (with a wet waiter delivering your food from far away) or making your way under an umbrella through a downpour to the little restaurant/bar area more than 100 meters away-- as befitting a resort with few guests, the restaurant is tiny. There is also a nice, large, air-conditioned common room, but if one group is in there watching a movie or television, no one else feels comfortable using the room. The third disappointment was that, even though Las Alamandas is on a pristine beach, and you can borrow boogie boards, the waves and undertow/ rip current are high and very dangerous. There are no lifeguards, and the employees actively discourage you from swimming or even wading. They are all terrified of the water and you certainly could not count on anyone trying to rescue you if you got into trouble. It's not the resort's fault that we had bad weather, but it was not a relaxing visit because the rain took away all the pleasant places to hang out, which are all outside. I imagine that is a rare problem! Otherwise, we highly recommend Las Alamandas. The food was delicious, the service top-notch, the people who work there are wonderful and hospitable, and we'd love to go back.... when it's dry.

All the reviews over the years have been wonderful, and we were thrilled to be able to go to Las Alamandas (the name, by the way, refers to the yellow flowers you see all over the property and as the logo). Most of it was true-- the welcome, the service, the food, the views, all fabulous. The privacy is wonderful and worthy of the Hollywood stars who must love it there (we saw photos of Brad Pitt, Minnie Driver and a bunch of others). We really hope to go back at another time of year. Without detracting from the real appeal of Las Alamandas, though, I think it's important to tell about the things a guest might not like, as well. We would not have gone there recently if we had realized that rainy season is a bad time to go. It made our expensive holiday, which was supposed to be relaxing, a lot less fun. We were staying in a villa. They are beautiful, and most of the year, you just open the doors wide to the ocean view. But in summer, this had its disadvantages. First, in the stifling heat of central Mexico, there was no air conditioning except in the bedrooms. It's true that most of the time there is a nice ocean breeze. But at night, the nice ocean breeze carries mosquitoes into your room, and if you shut the mosquitoes out, it becomes horribly hot and stuffy. (No screens on the living room door, just a glass door.) Second, we were there in the rainy season. The resort is set up for the majority of the time, when it is dry. But once the rain starts to pour, the pleasant rooftop bar is closed (we never got to see it in operation), the hammocks and outdoor cushions are all put away, and you are reduced, in case of heavy rain, to huddling indoors and hoping it doesn't get too hot, since you can't open the doors to the veranda without getting soaked. The resort seems mighty small when your choices are staying in your uncomfortably humid, hot room to eat (with a wet waiter delivering your food from far away) or making your way under an umbrella through a downpour to the little restaurant/bar area more than 100 meters away-- as befitting a resort with few guests, the restaurant is tiny. There is also a nice, large, air-conditioned common room, but if one group is in there watching a movie or television, no one else feels comfortable using the room. The third disappointment was that, even though Las Alamandas is on a pristine beach, and you can borrow boogie boards, the waves and undertow/ rip current are high and very dangerous. There are no lifeguards, and the employees actively discourage you from swimming or even wading. They are all terrified of the water and you certainly could not count on anyone trying to rescue you if you got into trouble. It's not the resort's fault that we had bad weather, but it was not a relaxing visit because the rain took away all the pleasant places to hang out, which are all outside. I imagine that is a rare problem! Otherwise, we highly recommend Las Alamandas. The food was delicious, the service top-notch, the people who work there are wonderful and hospitable, and we'd love to go back.... when it's dry.