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The fantastic Las Alamandas resort, part of the Mexico Boutique Hotels group, does romantic well. Here is a photo of our villa, Casa del Sol (aka the presidential suite). We’re sure some presidents have stayed here and we know a number of Hollywood celebs have. Our oceanfront villa had 2,500 sq feet  and two bedrooms— almost four times the size of our old NYC apartment.

The Las Alamamdas resort is on 1,500 acres and has four private beaches that stretch as far as the eye can see.  There are only six villas and a max of 30 guests, and the service is fantastic.

Worth it if you can afford it.

Our villa at the Las Alamandas resort.

Karen horseback riding on the beautiful Soledad beach, one of four private beaches at Las Alamandas.

The beach in front of Las Alamandas’ villas. Part of a whopping five miles of beach on the vast and pristine 1,500 acre property.

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After El Tamarindo our next stop was El Careyes Beach Resort, another member of the Mexico Boutique Hotels group.  A bit more conventional and much more affordable than the extremely exclusive El Tamarindo.

All of the guests in the hotel, except for us, were there as part of a wedding party celebrating the marriage of  a girl from Guadalajara and a boy from Switzerland. Worried that we would be troubled by the music they planned to play around the pool until 4am, they simply  (and graciously) invited us to the wedding – our first Mexican wedding! The funniest part was the first few songs after the 1st dance – Beatles, Stones… then Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Sweet Home Alabama” with everyone singing along with the lyrics perfectly. Are we still in Mexico?

Our oceanfront room at El Careyes Beach Resort had a jacuzzi in the living room.

Sunset at El Careyes Beach Resort.

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WOW is an apt reaction when you first lay eyes on the exclusive  El Tamarindo Resort both in regard to the beauty of the property and its price tag.  If you really want to splurge there are stunning four bedroom residences where French President Sarkozy stayed last month and subsequently created a bit of an stir back home for the reported $63,000 price tag for a weekend.

We stayed in a still-very-over-the-top casita with stunning open-air architecture and a private plunge pool.

Our wonderful casita at the El Tamarindo Resort.

The sliding casita walls at El Tamarindo allow you to completely open up your room onto your giant palapa-covered patio and personal plunge pool. The total living area of the casitas is 1,500 sq feet, twice the size of our old NYC apartment.

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The wonderful village of Comala, 10 miles outside of Colima, lies in the shadow of the active Volcán de Colima.

In the afternoon we enjoyed one of the bars around the town square in Comala noted for their endless tasty tapas that come free with (pricey) drinks. There we met Raphael and his siblings who were visiting their hometown from the US where they now live. They insisted that we HAD to experience Leche Caliente with them early the following morning and it all sounded too good to pass up so we crashed on their mother's floor that night.

Early the next morning our new friends took us for Leche Caliente as promised. At dawn we drove to a small nearby dairy farm armed with the necessary ingredients: alcohol (clearly only the most generic kind will do), and a mix of ground up chocolate and sugar. Only one thing was missing…

… the final ingredient, udderly fresh milk. This was the first time we had ever had (unpasturized) milk straight from the cow (though it's common in Mexico) and it was great. Breakfast of champions!

We drove to Nevado de Colima National Park and climbed to over 12,200 feet to the top which afforded this view of the nearby, very active Volcan de Colima. From here we drove more than three hours down to the coast, descending over 12,000 feet which is the biggest one day drop in elevation we've ever had. Out of the ice chest and into the frying pan.

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An interesting relative newcomer to the Costalegre resort scene is Boca de Iguanas just north of the village of Melaque. They may have some work to do to really qualify as an eco-resort, as they boast, however it is an interesting melding of homes, condos and charmingly designed hotel rooms, some with outdoor bathrooms, enormous upstairs terraces and delightful sunken bathtubs. And the location simply can’t be beat.

Located down a meandering dirt road, Boca de Iguanas is right on a fine white sand beach that arcs elegantly and has surf that’s gentle and swimable. For even gentler surf the resort has one of the most beautiful pools we’ve seen.

The gorgeous blue-tiled pool at Boca de Iguanas is a meandering, infinity-edge design that seems to wander right down the beach to the water's edge.

The resort isn't called Boca de Iguanas for nothing.

The beach at Boca de Iguanas.

Warning signs!

Those warning signs aren't up simply because they're cute. This is just one of the crocodiles that live in the area.