Villa Vera, Storied Hotel, Closes its Doors

(Acapulco, NA 6 June) The hotel Villa Vera, once a famous hideaway for Hollywood stars, and the Golden Zone’s first luxury vacation spot, will close its doors as of June 11, 2011. Truly it is the end of an age.

Raintree Vacation Club made the announcement via the Internet, informing its members that the Villa Vera will be closed. The reasons given were unsurprising: the lack of security, the vast drop in demand for reservations, and the high operating costs of the famous hotel essentially broke the bank. The closure was not characterized as either “permanent” or “temporary,” but rather, “indefinite.”

The hotel and club at Villa Vera were famous during the 1950’s as a rest spot for the jet set. Elizabeth Taylor honeymooned there with Michael Todd. Frank Sinatra and Brigitte Bardot were also famous guests of the Villa Vera. The hotel has been the forum for media events of national reach, like the spectaculars in honor of Lucía Méndez and Isela Vega, two Mexican luminaries whose names were once household words throughout the country.

The Raintree Vacation Club has tried to put the best possible face on the decision to close the hotel, saying that it is to improve the club and its services to all its members. The sad truth is that this Acapulco destination just could not survive the double blow of narcotics lawlessness and a sluggish economy.