From Night of the Iguana to Titanic, some of Hollywood's most memorable movies have been filmed south of the border. Take a tour of the top spots.
By: Joe YogerstRosarito Beach
Oscar-winning director James Cameron constructed a large movie studio along the Baja coast to make the epic Titanic. The complex included the world’s biggest filming tanks and a massive scale model that was nearly as large as the movie’s namesake and original ship.
Other action or adventure blockbusters were later filmed here including Master & Commander starring Russell Crowe and the James Bond movie Tomorrow Never Dies. Now called Baja Film Studios, the complex continues to make American and Mexican movies, TV shows and commercials. About an hour’s drive south of San Diego, this stretch of Baja coast is also home to the Guadalupe Valley wine country.
Paint your own portrait of Baja romance at the eight-suite Casa Natalie, a chic boutique on the coast between pretty Rosarito Beach and Ensenada. Guest rooms are decked out with four-poster beds and modern wicker furniture, with balconies or patios overlooking the sea. Bathrooms feature large showers or soaking tubs that are easily ample enough for two people. The couples’ massage is the signature treatment at Natalie’s small but pleasing spa. Lucca, the on-site restaurant, specializes in nouvelle Baja dishes like sea scallop ceviche with strawberries, ginger and capers or swordfish in a white wine, citrus and habañero chili sauce (room rates start at $285 a night and include breakfast; hotelcasanatalie.com).
Durango
More Hollywood movies have been shot in and around the northern city of Durango than any other Mexican location. Upwards of 100 Westerns including classics like The Wild Bunch, The Magnificent Seven and the original True Grit were filmed here during the heyday of the Chupaderos film studio during the 1950s and ’60s. Visitors can tour the old Wild West film sets (complete with stores, churches, saloons and a cemetery) in the desert about eight miles north of Durango off Highway 45. The Museo del Cine (Cinema Museum) at the ICED cultural complex in downtown Durango spins local movie history through old posters, photos, cameras and props.
In a story worthy of its own movie, the 99-room Hotel Gobernador was once the city jail. And a gorgeous lockup it must have been — the hacienda-style buildings surround a leafy central courtyard with fountains and a swimming pool. (The latter are more recent additions). Decor is a modern Mexican style and rooms feature WiFi and garden-view balconies. Caldillo durangueño (beef stew) and mixiote barbecue are regional specialties served at La Hacienda Restaurant, which offers chamber music three nights a week (room rates start at $92 a night; hotel-gobernador.com.mx).
Acapulco
Photo courtesy of Las Brisas, Acapulco
Elvis was at his bare-chested best in Fun in Acapulco, a 1963 musical romance that also featured Swiss starlet Ursula Andress (fresh off her famous role as Honey Ryder in Dr. No). Although the cliff diving and beach parties may seem a bit cliché to some today, at the time they were the epitome of tropical holiday hip. The movie brought Acapulco to the attention of other stars — Frank Sinatra, Elizabeth Taylor, Cary Grant and John Wayne — who flocked here for fun-in-the-sun vacations.
Stay where the superstars always slept at the swank Las Brisas Acapulco, a bluff-top hotel famous for its panoramas of the bay, hibiscus flower-filled swimming pools and fleet of pink-and-white Jeeps. The hotel’s 263 luxury casitas are scattered amid 40 acres of tropical gardens, each of them with its own or a shared plunge pool. The mini-malist decor is complemented by thick stone walls and whitewashed door-and-window shutters, and exudes a breezy retro vibe. The cuisine at Bellavista restaurant is another star (especially the lobster), although couples can also opt for romantic gourmet dining on the patio of their own casita (room rates start at $215 a night and include breakfast; lasbrisascollection.com).
