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Up until five years ago, this sleepy fishing village, three and a half hours south of Phoenix by car, attracted one kind of vacationer: the overheated Arizonan in search of the closest and cheapest ocean beach. Escape-seeking adventurers braved the unpaved roads that zigzagged through trash-strewn barrios for the chance to pitch a tent on the sand, chow down on just-caught shrimp and quaff copious quantities of the local cervezas.
Fast forward to 2005. Not everything has changed in the place gringos call Rocky Point, but much has. Across the bay from the Old Port, the town's social hub, a spate of upscale resort and residential developments have sprung up along Sandy Beach. A small airport that caters mainly to private planes is expanding, while a larger commercial airport is in the works (for now, fly to Phoenix and drive). The showpiece of Sandy Beach is the new Las Palomas Seaside Golf Community, featuring handsome high-rises with million-dollar views of the turquoise Sea of Cortez.
The neighborhood is also home to the region's first eighteen-hole golf course, the Links at Las Palomas, crafted by Phoenix-based architect Forrest Richardson with an assist from his late design partner and mentor, Arthur Jack Snyder. Richardson adhered to Snyder's mantra that "golf should be fun" by sculpting an array of sporty holes that serve up plenty of clever design gambits—drivable par fours, split fairways, partially obscured targets and even a punchbowl green. Views of the sea are squeezed in mainly between the condo towers, but what makes this lay-of-the-land design unique are the massive, forty-foot-high sand dunes that house clusters of holes.
While many visitors opt to rent a house in the seaside neighborhood of Las Conchas or a condo along Sandy Beach, two worthwhile hotels are the Santa Festyle Peñasco Del Sol and the colonial Playa Bonita Resort. Beyond golf, the area's prime attractions are paragliding and deep-sea fishing, as well as the Sonoran Spa Resort, the region's first full-service spa. For dinner, try the upscale Costa Brava in the heart of the Old Port and the slightly off-the-beaten-path Hacienda Las Fuentes, for world-class coconut shrimp, outstanding chiles rellenos and intoxicating Mexican coffee served al fuego—on fire.
A linksy course, great food and a pampering spa all add up to a memorable south-of-the-border experience—a far cry from the experiences once associated with these parts. —Joe Passov
Trip Planner: Puerto Peñasco
The Links at Las Palomas
Yardage: 6,737. Par: 72. Greens Fees: $30$75. ARCHITECTS: Forrest Richardson and
Arthur Jack Snyder. Tee Times: 602-943-2000, thelinksatlaspalomas.com.
WHERE TO STAY
Playa Bonita resort, 888-232-8142. Rooms: $69$110. Suites:
$190$230.
Peñasco del sol, 800-259-6976. Rooms: $80$129.
WHERE TO EAT
Costa Brava (Mexican/Seafood), 011-52/638-383-3631. $$
Hacienda Las Fuentes (New Mexican/Seafood), 011-52/638-388-0056.
$
OTHER ATTRACTIONS
Sonoran Spa Resort 011-52/638-382-8111
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