Romantic hacienda a true labour of love
If someone whispered a hot stock tip in your ear, you’d listen, wouldn’t you?
Well, learning about the Hacienda San Angel in Puerto Vallarta Mexico is the global nomad’s equivalent of a sizzling hot stock pick.
And the buzz about this ultra-romantic, intimate hotel has already pegged it a spot on the Condé Nast Traveler Hot List of Hotels for 2005.
Hacienda San Angel is a labour of love that started innocently enough — and then just grew and grew.
Hotelier Janice Chatterton — a California expatriate — was in the market for a vacation home when she bought the original hacienda from Susan Hunt, who received it as a 1977 Valentine’s Day gift from her husband, actor Richard Burton.
The kitchen and bathroom needed remodelling and “one thing led to another thing, and then on to another thing …” says Chatterton.
After a lot of research crammed into a relatively short time, she emerged as somewhat of a local expert on Mexican colonial architecture and traditional religious art of the period.
When word spread that she was looking for quality, authentic pieces, trucks started pulling up out front.
“I did a lot of purchasing right off my front walk,” says Chatterton.
Eventually, Chatterton bought the contents of a local museum, completing the transformation of the hacienda’s décor with objets d’art from the 16th through the 19th centuries — everything from paintings and bronze statues to her favourite pieces, a pair of stone angels that keep watch over the main dining room.
Just strolling through the grounds is a feast for the eyes — there is a Renoir sketch in the office area, a large “tree of life” featuring various antique statuettes of saints just inside the entrance door, crystal chandeliers in every villa and a rare Chinese “blind stitch” tapestry that hangs in a stairwell.
At night, candles flicker throughout the gardens, along the walkways and in the antique candelabras, throwing a soft light on the classic collection.
Over the four years that Chatterton renovated the property, Hacienda San Angel kept growing and elbowed into a much larger space than the original Burton home.
As the neighbouring two haciendas became available, Chatterton snapped them up and then connected the three original homes together with terra cotta courtyards, winding passageways, lush gardens and terraces with vistas of the red-tiled roofs of old Puerto Vallarta and the wide arc of the Bay of Banderas.
The pleasures of this boutique hotel go far beyond the wealth of hand-picked artwork; it is the fact that once you step behind the large wooden entry doors of the hacienda, you could be a hundred miles away from the energy of the market, the traffic along the seawall, or the downtown tourist shops of the Old Town of Puerto Vallarta.
The only intrusion (if you can call it that) from the outside world is the magical tolling of the cathedral bells on the quarter-hour.
Looking for privacy and seclusion?
Check.
A sense of serenity and tranquility where you can rest and recharge?
Check again.
A romantic escape?
Absolutely perfect.
Each of the villas contains several suites, a common living room, dining area and kitchen space.
At full occupancy, there would just be 20 guests at Hacienda San Angel, so things are pretty low-key, quiet and very, very private. Most guests rent a single suite, but entire villas (or the whole property) are available for rental by groups or families for special occasions.
If you yearn to experience all that Old Town Puerto Vallarta offers, it’s found just steps outside the front door. And if you need to venture farther afield, the concierge can arrange expeditions to the nearby Sierra Madre Mountains, or history tours to religious sites and historic mining towns.
When Janice Chatterton hands you the dangling silver key chain upon check-in, she really is welcoming you to her home.
And, like all true homes, sometimes you may just be content to settle in, go for a swim or eat a great meal.
For more information on Hacienda San Angel see http://www.haciendasanangel.com.
Nightly double rates start at $250 (U.S.) in the high season and include continental breakfast and cocktail hour.
A fantastic feature of the Hacienda is free Internet access and free long-distance phone calls to Canada and the United States.
