16-05-2025
Remote Resort Magic Awaits in Careyes, Mexico
In Careyes, I spend an entire afternoon staring out at the ocean, watching pelicans dip and dive into the cool, blue Pacific. The birds are riveting in their precision— gliding above the waves, cutting a sharp right angle as they plunge beak-first into the water, scooping up fish in their sun-yellow gular pouches. I am hypnotized by these magnificent creatures, mesmerized by their wide, white-and-black wingspan against the backdrop of a cloudless, azure sky. I have been to Careyes many times, this remote slip of dry jungle along the coastal edge of Jalisco, Mexico. Discovered in 1968 by Italian banking scion Gian Franco Brignone, who passed away in 2022, Careyes is paradise found, a beachy, Bohemian collective of candy-colored casitas and sprawling oceanfront castles perched across a 25,000-acre estate. There are no hotels in Careyes–you can rent a condo, casita or villa–and to get there you've got to fly into Manzanillo (an hour-and-15-minute drive) or Puerto Vallarta (a three-hour trek). Once you arrive, with its sun-dappled waters and ragged expanse of lush, tropical gardens, you will wonder why you ever vacationed anywhere else. This time I have brought my 16-year-old daughter to Careyes. We are staying in a beachfront suite at El Careyes Club & Residences, a study in simplicity and luxury combined: white-washed bedrooms, a sea shell's throw from the property's five infinity pools overlooking the ocean. Our mission: to do as little as humanly possible. To do nothing, as if it were a sport. But this is no easy task. I am a workhorse, wired for professional productivity. My kid is likewise buckling under the strain and stress of school. The bleak aftermath of the Eaton Fire in Pasadena, where we live, has left us both utterly exhausted.
For six days, my daughter and I rotate between the beach, pools and La Duna Restaurant & Bar, El Careyes's on-site eatery serving everything from freshly-made guacamole and tortilla chips to red snapper tacos garnished with homemade salsa. I channel my inner amphibian: I lay on the sand, tilting my head toward the sun. Then I dive (granted, not as elegantly as the pelicans) into the crisp, teal blue ocean. I follow this up by swimming laps. I read an entire book, a pleasure rarely afforded since my days as an English major in college. Rosenfeld by Maya Kessler, you are the ultimate vacation read. There are only a handful of restaurants in Careyes, but they are some of my favorites, both for their delicious culinary fare and their spectacular scenic views. Playa Rosa Restaurant, steps from the sand and surf and decorated with pops of hot pink, features the most perfectly seasoned Caesar salad and tuna tartare. For authentic Italian-style pizza–baked in a specialized oven flown over from Napoli–no place does it better than Lilo Beach Club, Careyes's newest eatery. Set on Careyitos beach, Lilo blends high-end Mexican and Mediterranean gastronomy with a casual hippy vibe. But truth be told, my favorite Italian spot in Careyes will always be Punto Como. Perched in the quaint cobblestone-paved Plaza de los Caballeros del Sol, Careyes' tiny, quaint "town square," Punto Como offers a chalkboard menu of pastas, pizzas, salad, tacos and hamburgers. It's my kids' favorite go-to eatery. On this trip, my daughter and I ate there twice. Shio Sushi, with its motto 'from sea to table,' will ruin you for any other sushi spot. The seaside sushi bar perched on the El Careyes property serves a delectable 15-course Omakase, with a Sunomono salad and Robalo sashimi. The Akami, Kamatoro and Otoro Nigiri are as soft as fresh whipped butter. My daughter, a budding sushi aficionado in her own right, gave Shio this starred review: 'It's as if the fish swam straight from the ocean and jumped onto my plate.' After this meal in Careyes, we may never go to Nobu again.
