~ Recent Accolades ~
National Geographic Traveler
Featured in the first-ever, annual “Stay List.”
April 2008
Fodor's Choice Award
2006, 2007, 2008
AAA Four Diamond Award - 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003
Hacienda Rehab
A plantation renaissance is transforming remote country estates into
luxury spas
Hacienda renaissance is well underway. One of the best is Hacienda
de los Santos (rates from $325.00 with meals, tucked away in the Sierra Madre
Occidental mountains of Northwestern Mexico, near the
silver-rush city of Alamos. It’s a seven-acre 17th century
estate that once included a sugar mill—now the resort’s
spa, which is reached by crossing one of the property’s
many stone paths and then up and over a bridge that spans
an arroyo running through the property. The treatments
can be given inside or on the semi-enclosed patio.The spa
menu runs the gamut from standard massage to facial and
body treatments .Especially good is
the deep-tissue massage,which goes right for the spine and
the muscles attached to it—certainly the most basic
but
also a most effective kind of treatment.
Angeleno Magazine, April, 2008
For Lovers of Luxury Travel
“This jaw-droppingly gorgeous property is the finest example of Spanish Colonial architecture that we have experienced…”
The Sybarite’s Journal, 2006
“The 25 rooms, all individually designed, have antiques, fireplaces, original artwork and tile floors topped with thick carpets, and they all front courtyards lush with fountains, small swimming pools and leafy guanacaste trees ”
New York Times, December, 2005
Click here to read entire article

"My pleasure in getting to know the homeowners we have featured in this magazine has never been greater than with Jim and Nancy Swickard, who slowly and meticulously built the Hacienda de los Santos in Alamos,
Sonora, Mexico”
Tucson Lifestyle Home & Garden Magazine,
September/October 2007
Click here to read entire article
This past summer, the town of Alamos became one of 21 "Magical
Pueblos," a list that includes places like Tequila
in Jalisco state and San Miguel de Allende.
"...An enclave of Spanish Colonial architecture set
in a lush landscape of pools, fountains, Moorish gateways
and wildly decadent foliage... The pristine beauty of this
isolated town in the Sierra Madre Occidental - feels almost
surreal. Alamos shimmers in bas-relief like a luminous jewel
set into foothills of green chenille
-- Architectural Digest / January, 2005
"A telltale sign that you have arrived at a true oasis is when the employees gently but firmly take charge of you."
-- Outside Traveler / Winter, 2005