Spain has its paradors and Portugal its pousadas. In Mexico, Jalisco tourism officials are hoping Americans who enjoy staying in such grand, historical buildings will be interested in their state's many old haciendas, scattered in the countryside around some of Mexico's most beautiful colonial cities.
"They are priceless experiences," said Juan Alfonso Serrano, sales director of Hacienda Sepulveda, which is part of a group of 22 individually owned Jalisco haciendas, inns and hotels that market themselves under the banner Haciendas y Casonas.
Guests enjoy staying in the homey haciendas because they feel as though they are stepping back in time, according to Serrano, who participated in a Jalisco travel agent event recently in San Francisco. Also, the gracious, Old World-style hospitality makes visitors "feel like they are in a friend's house."
Another side to Mexico
Miguel Gonzalez, Jalisco Tourism Board director, said the state's haciendas are part of the historical and cultural side of Mexico that Americans often overlook because Mexico is associated with beach vacations. But Americans who typically travel to Europe for history and culture would also be attracted to the haciendas and the colonial cities near Mexican resorts.
"We're trying to appeal to a different demographic segment: Americans in their 40s and above who travel for history and culture," he said at the San Francisco event.
Hacienda Sepulveda is one of several old estates near the colonial city of Lagos de Moreno, founded by the Spanish in 1563, in northeastern Jalisco. The closest international airport is located in Leon.
The sprawling estate and ranch lies on the old Camino Real leading to Zacatecas. The hacienda is full of history: It played a role as a meeting place during the Mexican War of Independence and the Mexican Revolution.
Originally founded in 1684 by Don Juan de Sepulveda as a ranch in a fertile area of the country, it was renovated in the last 10 years and opened as a small hotel and spa in 2001. Its original colonial-style architecture remains, with thick adobe walls and high vaulted or wood-beam ceilings.
The 23 rooms are decorated in antiques and traditional Mexican furniture. Seven of the suites were recently added in a restored former stable and barn.
The hacienda, which is a member of Mexico Boutique Hotels, has a cocktail lounge, pool and Jacuzzi in the garden and a spa in a stone-and-brick building that dates from 1890. Meals are served in Mamalena, a dining room that specializes in dishes from original hacienda recipes.
Daytime activities include spa treatments, mountain biking, hiking and horseback riding, or simply relaxing by the pool or exploring the nearby colonial towns.
Haciendas by horseback
Recently, the Hacienda Sepulveda teamed with several other nearby haciendas to offer packages that include horseback trips from hacienda to hacienda.
Included is lunch or dinner with the hacienda owners whose families, in some cases, have owned the properties for 400 years. The experience of dining with the hacienda owner in a centuries-old home is memorable, Serrano said.
The six-night horseback-riding package starts with transfers from Leon Airport to Hotel el Ahito, a working ranch near Lagos de Moreno. Participants familiarize themselves with their horses, take a short ride and have dinner at the hacienda, which is their home for two nights.
The second day includes a ride, lunch at the hacienda and an afternoon ride with cowboys as they work the cattle drive.
The third day features rides to local ranches and then a transfer to Hacienda Sepulveda, which is home for the next four nights.
The remaining days are spent with rides to local haciendas for lunch, helping cowboys as they work with the cattle, roping lessons and visits on horseback to canyons and rock formations. There is also time for spa treatments.
The price for the package is $1,500 per person, double, with single supplements $500 extra. A similar, eight-night horseback-riding program is also available for $2,100 per person, double, with a $550 single supplement.
The shorter package was created with the U.S. market in mind because Americans typically look for shorter vacation options, Serrano said.
For those accompanying a spouse or friend and not wishing to ride horses, the hotel can arrange van transportation between haciendas. Similar hacienda-to-hacienda transportation via mountain bikes can also be arranged, Serrano said.
For more, see www.haciendasepulveda.com.mx and www.haciendasycasonas.com.