Author: Bryan Dearsley

Photo courtesy Aman

Aman, the Swiss-founded hospitality group behind some of the most exclusive hotels on the planet, is about to open its first property in Mexico this spring. Amanvari is an adults-only, 18-casita resort on the East Cape of Baja California Sur, about 45 minutes south of Los Cabos International Airport.

The name combines the Sanskrit words for “peace” and “water,” and the property will occupy a stretch of coastline where desert, estuary, and the Sea of Cortez converge. With nightly rates expected to start around $3,000, it’s likely to become one of the most talked-about hotel openings of 2026.

For the growing number of international visitors interested in luxury travel in this beautiful part of Mexico, Amanvari marks something of a shift in what the East Cape offers. This is not Cabo San Lucas. There are no mega-resorts or spring break crowds. The East Cape has remained relatively undeveloped, defined by fishing villages, dirt roads, and empty shoreline. Amanvari’s arrival, alongside the Four Seasons that opened in the same community in 2019, signals that this quieter side of Baja is now firmly on the international luxury map.

The Amanvari Resort and What it Offers

Amanvari will have 18 standalone casitas, each a two-level pavilion designed by Elastic Architects with early input from Heah & Co. They are positioned at an elevation to frame views of the Sea of Cortez on one side and the Sierra de la Laguna mountains on the other. Interiors use white concrete, natural stone, and tropical hardwood, with open-air courtyards and artwork by Mexican artisans throughout. Some casitas will include cantilevered private pools. A collection of branded Aman Residences, ranging from four to seven bedrooms and listed from $13 million to as much as $35 million, will also be available for purchase.

The main pavilion, located directly on the beach, will house three restaurants: Arva, Aman’s Italian concept; Nama, for Japanese cuisine; and a third focused on regional Baja flavours using produce from the estate’s own organic farms. The Aman Spa will include a contemporary interpretation of a temazcal, the traditional Mesoamerican sweat lodge, along with Spa Houses, treatment rooms, and an open-air yoga pavilion. Aman has described the spa as a space for “calm reflection as much as rejuvenation.” Guests will also have access to snorkelling, diving, and fishing excursions, guided desert hikes, and visits to local ranches, led by a resident marine biologist.

Costa Palmas and the East Cape

Amanvari is part of Costa Palmas, a 1,500-acre (607 hectares) private resort community that has been under development since the mid-2010s. The community already includes the Four Seasons Resort Los Cabos, which opened in 2019 with 118 rooms and 13 dining concepts, among them estiatorio Milos, the Mediterranean seafood restaurant, and Mozza Baja from James Beard Award winner Nancy Silverton. Costa Palmas also has a Robert Trent Jones II-designed 18-hole championship golf course, a deep-water marina that can handle yachts up to 250 feet (76 metres), 18 acres (7 hectares) of organic orchards and farms, and three miles (4.8 km) of swimmable beach.

The Marina Village functions as the community’s social hub, with boutiques, a nightclub called Chiki, a cafe-boutique hybrid called Casena that serves Baja-roasted coffee, and Casa Blake, a condominium hotel that acts as the heart of village life. For expats and long-stay visitors, Costa Palmas operates more like a self-contained town than a resort. You can dock a boat, play 18 holes, eat at a dozen restaurants, and shop for local goods without ever leaving the property. The addition of Amanvari gives the community a second world-class hotel brand and cements the East Cape’s position as a genuine alternative to the more developed corridors around Cabo San Lucas, about 60 miles (97 km) to the southwest.

Find out more on the official Aman website at www.aman.com/resorts/amanvari.

Photo: Vagamood Sundaze / Unsplash

International flights to Puerto Vallarta have resumed after a two-day shutdown triggered by cartel violence across Jalisco state. The disruption followed a Mexican military operation on February 22 that killed Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, known as El Mencho, the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG). 

Cartel members responded by torching buses and vehicles, setting up roadblocks, and firing weapons in cities across the state, including Puerto Vallarta and Guadalajara. The fallout grounded flights from carriers in the United States, Canada, and beyond, and left thousands of tourists stranded in resorts and hotels with limited access to food and transportation.

For the estimated 1.6 million American citizens living in Mexico and the large communities of Canadian, British, and Australian expats concentrated along the Pacific coast, the episode was a sharp reminder that security conditions can shift overnight. The U.S. State Department, Global Affairs Canada, and foreign ministries in the U.K., Australia, France, New Zealand, and Indonesia all issued shelter-in-place advisories during the crisis. While those emergency orders have since been lifted, Jalisco remains under a Level 3 “Reconsider Travel” advisory from Washington, and travel safety experts are urging all foreign nationals to exercise caution in the weeks ahead.

What happened on the ground

The military operation took place in the mountain town of Tapalpa, roughly 180 miles (290 km) east of Puerto Vallarta, in the early hours of February 22. El Mencho and six other CJNG members were killed during the raid; three died at the scene and four, including Oseguera Cervantes, died during air transfer to Mexico City. 

Within hours, CJNG operatives launched coordinated retaliation across 22 Mexican states. In Puerto Vallarta, motorcycle riders threw incendiary devices into parked buses, taxis, and storefronts. Plumes of black smoke rose over the Marina Vallarta neighborhood. A restaurant on the ground floor of a building housing foreign residents was set ablaze. The Guadalajara metro system shut down, toll roads closed across multiple states, and more than 1,000 visitors were stranded overnight at the Guadalajara Zoo.

Authorities later confirmed that CJNG also ran an online propaganda campaign to amplify the chaos. Reuters reported that false claims circulated on social media, including fabricated reports that Guadalajara’s airport had been overrun and that downtown Puerto Vallarta was engulfed in flames. State officials said several widely shared images of airport attacks and burning buildings were AI-generated fakes. Twenty-five members of Mexico’s National Guard were killed in six separate attacks in Jalisco following the operation, and more than 70 people died in total across the country. No tourists were reported among the dead. 

What it means for expats and visitors

By February 25, shelter-in-place orders had been rescinded, and the U.S. Embassy declared a transition to a recovery phase. Major carriers, including Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, American Airlines, Southwest Airlines, Alaska Airlines, Air Canada, WestJet, Air Transat, and Porter Airlines, had restored scheduled service to Puerto Vallarta, with most offering fee-free rebooking through early March. Air Canada deployed larger Boeing 787-9 Dreamlineraircraft from Toronto and Montreal to add 258 seats per flight and move stranded passengers’ home faster. 

But the resumption of flights does not mean the situation is fully resolved. U.S. government staff in Guadalajara, Puerto Vallarta, and Ciudad Guzman remain under nighttime curfew and cannot travel outside their metro areas. Jalisco sits at Level 3 on the State Department’s advisory scale, one step below “Do Not Travel.”

Long-term expats in the area have largely taken the disruption in stride. Several American residents told NBC News that while the violence was alarming, it was directed at infrastructure rather than people, and that no foreign nationals were harmed. One year-round resident in a beachside development outside the city described the cartel’s actions as retaliatory posturing rather than a sustained threat to daily life. 

That said, travel insurance providers and safety consultants are advising all foreign nationals to review their coverage, confirm that policies include medical evacuation and trip interruption benefits, and register with their home country’s consular notification system before traveling. With spring break approaching and roughly 1.5 million American visitors expected in Mexico during March, the consensus among experts is clear: go if you want, but keep your plans flexible, stay within well-secured areas, and monitor government advisories daily.

Photos: Nobu Hotel Los Cabos

Mexico has long been a favorite getaway for the rich and the famous… especially those connected to Hollywood. But where exactly do these A-listers like to spend their downtime?

Three luxury destinations in particular stand out for their reputations as the country’s top celebrity magnets: Los Cabos, Punta Mita, and Tulum. Each offer something a little different, but all share a common thread of privacy, world-class accommodation, and the kind of service that keeps the famous coming back.

But the appeal is as practical as much as it is scenic. Los Cabos is an easy (especially by private jet) two-and-a-half-hour flight from Los Angeles. Punta Mita, on the Riviera Nayarit coast, offers gated seclusion on a 1,500-acre peninsula. And Tulum, once a backpacker stop on the Yucatan Peninsula, has reinvented itself as a barefoot-luxury destination in the Riviera Maya with a penchant for eco-friendly design that’s especially appealing to younger generations of celebrity visitors.

Los Cabos: The Original Celebrity Playground

Celebrity tourism here predates the region’s international airport, which only opened in 1977. In the 1950s, actress Lucille Bremer and her husband opened the 15-room Las Cruces Palmilla, now the One&Only Palmilla. Jennifer Aniston visits so often locals call her the “Queen of Cabo.” 

And George Clooney and Rande Gerber built neighbouring beachfront homes in 2009, naming the compound Casamigos and later launching the tequila brand of the same name (it sold for roughly $1 billion).

The Nobu Hotel Los Cabos, co-founded by Robert De Niro, has hosted Justin Bieber and Leonardo DiCaprio. Tiger Woods owns a home at Diamante in Cabo San Lucas, where he has designed two golf courses with a third in development. For nightlife, Cabo Wabo Cantina, founded by Van Halen frontman Sammy Hagar, draws musicians like Kenny Chesney.

Punta Mita: The Gated Pacific Hideaway

About 30 miles (48 kilometers) from Puerto Vallarta, Punta Mita occupies a peninsula with water on three sides and a guarded gate on the fourth. The community is home to the Four Seasons Resort Punta Mita, The St. Regis Punta Mita Resort, and two Jack Nicklaus Signature golf courses. 

Gwyneth Paltrow, Bill Gates, Tom Cruise, and Beyonce have all been spotted here. For greater seclusion, the Imanta Resort’s Tree House villa sits on a mountainside above a private beach, while nearby Marietas Islands offer snorkelling excursions to the famous Playa Amor (Hidden Beach).

Tulum: Barefoot Luxury on the Caribbean

Tulum’s appeal is different. The emphasis here is on eco-conscious design, wellness retreats, and a bohemian atmosphere. Reese Witherspoon, Demi Moore, and Drew Barrymore have all been spotted along the beachfront. Azulik, an adults-only resort of treehouse villas with no Wi-Fi or electricity, is a regular celebrity pick. 

Habitas Tulum, where Paris Hilton has stayed, takes a similar sustainable approach. For dining, Hartwood, the open-fire restaurant on the beach road that accepts no reservations and has no freezer, remains one of the most talked-about tables on the Riviera Maya.

So… what are you waiting for? Get out there and do some celebrity spotting.