The Former Amuleto Hotel is Now a Private Villa

In 2022, we were looking for a getaway, but prices were outrageous! A friend and travel editor suggested a hidden gem in Zihuantanejo. It is called Amuleto, and when we stayed, it was a boutique hotel that felt like a private residence.  They are currently in the process of changing their business model and the villa will in fact be available for rent as an entire property—which makes a lot of sense! I reached out to the owner and got all the details!

There is a 5 day minimum stay to book Villa Amuleto. It sleeps 12 people (6 private suites). Rates during high season (Jan 6th to May 31st) are $2595.00 plus taxes per night. Low season (June 1st to Oct 15th) per night $1795.00 per night plus taxes, Holiday Season (Dec 21st to Jan 5th) per night $3395.00 per night plus taxes. Amenities include concierge services, complimentary breakfast, infinity pool with view of Zihuatanejo bay, 2 kitchens, bar, library and lounge room, garden area with daybed, organic toiletries, on site gourmet food and beverages (upon request), well equipped gym, on site yoga and massage (upon request), airport transfers (upon request).

Read on for our experience when it was a boutique hotel, and if you’re looking for a luxury villa rental for friends and family, I highly recommend Amuleto!

Getting to Zihuatanejo from Los Angeles

Zihuantanejo is a three and a half hour flight from LAX nonstop. The Amuleto hotel is a 22 minute drive from the airport. I arranged car service ahead of time through our hotel just to be on the safe side. Taxis are easily available, but our hotel warned against people claiming to give free rides to the hotel saying they work with the hotel (they do not). I decided I didn’t want to take the risk of having a “Taken” situation. Besides, the roundtrip cost of the private car was 2500 pesos or $123.00 = worth it.

Where to Stay in Zihuatanejo

Most people I know who have been to Zihuatanejo stayed at The Thompson. It is located at sea level, whereas the Amuleto and Casa Que Canta (another popular choice) are located high up. Casa Que Canta was booked, so it made our choice easy. While I would recommend Casa Que Canta for dinner one night (scroll down for photos), I prefer the secluded and exclusive feel of Amuleto. For us, three nights was the perfect amount of time.

Amuleto Hotel, A Very Stylish Stay

What I Loved: With only six rooms, this boutique hotel feels like your own private villa with a full staff rather than a hotel. It is independently owned by a couple who lives in town, and every detail feels personal. Although there isn’t a spa, you can book an in-room massage for $50 (USD). Highly recommend!

Something to Know: All of the bathrooms in this hotel are “open air,” a fancy way of saying outside except for Room #6 (the shower is outside, but the toilet and vanity are inside). Unlike our luxury hotel in Tulum, you can flush the toilet paper in the toilet though, whew! This hotel is adults only—something a few friends asked about on Instagram.

Suite Dreams: We loved our room, which you will see below and after visiting room #3 and room #6, I would be happy with any of them. If you really want an indoor bathroom, book room #6. Each night at turn down service, we came back to rose petals configured in new ways on our very comfortable bed.

Stylish Sips: The margaritas were the best we have had anywhere, but we didn’t love the ceviche, which we learned is the style they serve in Zihuatanejo. It’s cooked (at least it seemed cooked) in a very heavy sauce unlike what we’re used to in LA and other parts of Mexico.  All other meals are served at the hotel, including a 3-course dinner each night, which was very good. We only left the hotel one time for dinner.

Cool Factor: The hotel is located high above sea level, so the views from the infinity pool are breath taking with tons of boats down below. You can do an all day boat tour, which we decided would be most fun to do if we went back with friends.

Hero Shot:  In front of the infinity pool from any angle.

We stayed in Room #5 pictured above. Our bathroom was open air, which I loved during the day, but didn’t love at night. Even though it felt safe and secluded, there was something about having to go outside to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night that felt a little scary to me. Luckily we had no bugs. We did have a tiny little gecko that didn’t bother me at all.

Above is the open air bathroom in Room #3. During the day, you can slide open all your doors in the bedroom too, but at night they do close and lock.

Plunge pools always looks so enticing, don’t they? But why are they always filled with water from the Arctic?!

The second night, we took a taxi to Casa Que Canta for dinner. While Zihuatanejo was put on the map by the movie “The Shawshank Redemption,” this particular hotel was made famous by the movie “When a Man Loves a Woman.” While our dinner was lovely, and would definitely recommend it, Zihuatanejo does not have the thriving culinary scene that Tulum has. We did not get the sense that we were missing anything by not trying other local spots—except for maybe coming home with a parasite (me on our last trip to Cabo). (Dave still didn’t feel great for about a week or so after we got home from this trip, so still be very careful with the water.)

You should arrive at Casa Que Canta at least an hour before sunset, so you can take photos and enjoy the boats coming into shore. If you time it just right, the sun will set just as your entree arrives.

Perfecto!

The post Villa Amuleto, A Luxury Villa in Zihuatanejo (Updated May 2024) appeared first on The Sought After.

The two questions in the headline above have been debated for years, and the queries keep coming as new high-res cameras continue to be introduced with no apparent slowdown in sight. There’s no one correct answer to either question, because it all depends upon the type of photos you shoot, how you typically use them, and a number of other key considerations.

There are several very helpful guidelines for those anticipating the purchase of a new camera, as you’ll see in this 13-minute video from the Adorama TV YouTube channel. This revealing discussion was prompted by a question posted on the Ask David Bergman website where anyone can pose a common topic and often receive an answer by this highly acclaimed NY-based photographer.

In this episode Bergman applies his 30 years of experience to take a deep dive on this subject, tackling everything one needs to know about resolution, image quality, display characteristics, and much more. Keep in mind that your specific genre of photography factors into the equation—be it landscapes, portraiture, action sports, or something else.

Another key consideration has to do with the ultimate use of your work. Do you make oversized prints for display, submit images for publication, or just share them online via social media platforms? Bergman begins with an overview of the concept of megapixels and how they affect a photo. He then applies the above criteria to provide suggestions for choosing a camera with a level of resolution that best suits your needs.

Bergman also explains why a super hi-res camera may be the wrong choice for a variety of reasons, even if you’re not worried about cost. Maybe your computer isn’t sufficiently powerful to handle huge image files, and/or you don’t want to invest in the high-capacity storage devices required for backing up this type of work.

Another pertinent issue involve how you typically frame up your shots; namely, whether you prefer to crop in the camera or shoot “loose” and do your cropping during post processing. And what about low-light performance and other essential factors that affect image-quality?

Bergman also discusses the ramifications and necessary resolution for optimum print quality in various sizes, whether you output imagery on a home printer or order prints from a local lab or through an online service bureau.  

As you can see, a lot goes into answering the questions posed at the onset, and it’s important to resist the temptation  to follow the trend toward super high-res cameras unless that’s really what you need. What you want is a totally different matter and may not serve you well.

There are many more thought-provoking videos on the popular Adorama TV YouTube channel. And feel free to visit the Ask David Bergman website and post questions of your own.

If you’re a regular visitor to the Shutterbug website you know that there are a variety of methods for color grading landscape images—some more effective than others. This tutorial from the popular PHLOG Photography YouTube channel demonstrate a very powerful technique that’s easy to accomplish and delivers spectacular results.

German pro Christian Mohrle says this method great contributes to his stunning imagery. In this 12-minute episode you’ll learn why and how he employs Lightroom’s White Balance tools to achieve perfect colors in his photos.  Keep watching if you’re a Photoshop user because the method you’ll learn works equally well with this software too.

Before clicking the “play” button it’s a good idea to download Mohrle’s Raw file with the link beneath the video so that you can follow along and make the adjustments yourself as they’re explained. He’s working with an HDR image and you’ll see how that affects the process.

The value of this particular technique, according to Mohrle, is that it enables you to create a specific mood by modifying the warmth or coolness of a shot. He always begins with a few basic global enhancements to improve the original photo as much as possible, so that the selective adjustments that follow are easier to accomplish.

Mohrle’s goal for this drab lakeside photo is to give it a very vibrant sunset effect, and he begins by changing the profile from Adobe Color to Adobe landscape which immediately boosts base saturation. He explains that starting with a balanced exposure is extremely important for optimum White Balance adjustments. Mohrle makes few quick adjustments to get the light right in the blown-out sky and the crushed shadows in the trees on the horizon.

He then refines composition with a simple crop and then turn to the meat of this lesson; namely the White Balance adjustments that are necessary for creating the sunset look he desires. When that task is complete Mohrle improves the image further with a bit of masking—walking you through every step in the process.

Mohrle concludes the impressive transformation with straightforward tweaks to color and a bit of careful sharpening. You can use this powerful edit to enhance just about any photograph that you shoot in the great outdoors. Be sure to visit Mohrle’s robust YouTube channel for more powerful lessons like this one.

And don’t miss the tutorial we posted recently from another post-processing expert who demonstrates a “hidden” Photoshop hack for spectacular edits of landscape photographs in five simple steps.