Casa Kimberly Boutique Hotel

Two Houses Joined by a Pink Bridge Over Zaragoza

Burton bought the house on Calle Zaragoza for Taylor while The Night of the Iguana was being filmed down the coast, then took the house opposite for himself and had a covered bridge thrown across the street between them. The Puente del Amor is still there, pink and arched above the cobbles, and the two houses now work as one hotel of nine suites. The names on the doors are hers: Cleopatra, Velvet, Sandpiper, Flora, The V.I.P.s, alongside the Elizabeth Taylor Suite and the Richard Burton. Even the lozenge shaped pool has been put back to the shape it had when they used it.

Why It Works

A hotel built on a celebrity story usually trades on the story and stops there. This one restored the fabric instead, the bridge, the pool, the terraces and the tilework, and then put a serious kitchen and a spa inside it. Nine suites, adults only, a heated salt water pool open all year, and a pet policy on top, which in a historic house in a Mexican old town is not the obvious choice. Story, building and service all point the same way, which is rarer than it sounds.

Why This Location

Calle Zaragoza climbs from the seafront into the old town, and the house sits high enough on it that the terrace looks across tiled roofs to Banderas Bay on one side and the Sierra Madre on the other. Everything in old Puerto Vallarta is a walk from the door: the Malecon and its sculptures, the crowned tower of the church of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the market on the Rio Cuale, and the Zona Romantica beyond it. The cobbles are steep, which is worth knowing in advance and worth choosing for the view.

Fast Facts

• Price: Luxury

• Vibe: Old town, cinematic, adults only, terraced

• Rooms: nine suites, individually designed, each named for a Taylor film or role

• Best For: couples with a small dog, film history travellers, long weekends in the old town

• Our Favorite Thing About the Hotel: the Puente del Amor, the covered pink bridge Burton built across the street

• Dining: The Iguana Restaurant and Tequila Bar on the terrace, room service, breakfast in the room, live music and themed dinner nights

• Amenities: heated salt water pool open all year, CK Spa and massage, garden and sun terrace, concierge, private check in, 24 hour reception, airport shuttle, car hire, laundry and dry cleaning, adults only, pets allowed

• Attractions: the Malecon, the church of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the Zona Romantica, the Rio Cuale market, Banderas Bay

Nine Suites, Each With a Name

The suites are named rather than numbered: Cleopatra, Velvet, Katharina, Virginia, Sandpiper, Flora, The V.I.P.s, and the two that carry the principals. Being two houses knitted together, no two rooms share a shape, and the upper floors take the bay. Air conditioning throughout, breakfast can be brought to the room, and a house of nine keys means the front desk knows a guest and a guest’s dog by the second morning.

The Iguana, the Pool and the Spa

The Iguana Restaurant and Tequila Bar occupies the terrace, open air, with the lights of the old town below and mariachi on some evenings; there are themed dinner nights and a cooking class for anyone who wants the recipes rather than the meal. The pool is salt water and heated all year, set on the terrace between the two houses. CK Spa handles massage and wellness treatments. Walking tours, cycling, snorkelling and fishing are arranged from the desk.

Travelling Here With a Dog

Pets are accepted, and in a nine suite house on a cobbled hill it is small dogs that do best: the streets around are steep and paved in river stone, and the building has stairs rather than long flat corridors. The garden and the terraces give an animal somewhere to sit out of the sun, and the concierge can point to the shaded walks along the Rio Cuale instead of the hot sand. Parking is not listed among the facilities, so ask the house about it along with the airport shuttle, and confirm size and numbers when booking.