Across the bay of Manzanillo, on the Pacific Coast of Mexico, the resort of Las Hadas, a marvellous mixture of Moorish, Mediterranean and Mexican architecture, rises from the jungle.

When Las Hadas opened in 1974, Esquire magazine immediately placed it amongst the eight most luxurious resorts in the world. The Dallas Times Herald referred to it as "the most opulent resort in the world... not even the Aga Khan's complex in Sardinia, nor Charles Ritz Paris bastion, nor the Hollywood-styled MGM Grand in Las Vegas can approach the Las Hadas expenditure per room", Vogue described it as "a delicious dream, ultimate luxury carved from the jungle, the world's ultimate playland". Apparently not content with such worldly accolades, Playboy called it "A better version of heaven".

Situated on the Pacific coast of Mexico, some 1,000 km north of Acapulco, Las Hadas means 'The Fairies' in Spanish, and a fairyland it is indeed. After arriving at Manzanillo Airport three hours south of Los Angeles, a leisurely twenty minute drive along the coastal road takes you past villages, hotels of varying standards and a modern-looking Club Med complex. The road then veers to the right and there, before you, is a world set apart... no more every-day Mexico than Disney World is every-day America.

Perched on the hillside of a small peninsula jutting into the azure Mexican Pacific is a visual masterpiece of resort architecture. The Moorish-Spanish-Arabian towers and villas dazzle as you first see them in the distance, pure white in the Mexican sunshine, in dramatic contrast to the brilliant red and orange flowers and emerald vegetation.