Mostly set on tropical rainforest-covered hills, overlooking the waters of Banderas Bay, Puerto Vallarta’s upmarket neighborhood of Conchas Chinas has a lush, exotic setting and is renowned for its ocean views. A stone’s throw from hip spots in the old town, it is close to the action, yet retains its tranquil and sophisticated vibe.
The boundaries
Located at the southern edge of Banderas Bay, its northern tip is the start of Playa Los Muertos, Puerto Vallarta’s most famous beach. Banderas Bay lies to the west and the Sierra Madres Occidental Mountains are located to the east and the south.
Conchas Chinas has two main parts. Upper Conchas Chinas lies in the hills above the Conchas Chinas beach and Lower Conchas Chinas is positioned at the bottom by the beach. The two areas are divided by Barra de Navidad highway.
Price range
Unsurprisingly, beachfront homes in Lower Conchas command the highest prices in the town.
Santa Barbara, a street in Lower Conchas, is known as millionaires’ row, according to Wayne Franklin of Tropicasa Realty. "Prices have risen so much that billionaires’ row is more accurate now," he said.
Mr. Franklin noted that houses cost more in Lower Conchas. They range from $2.5 million to $15 million (real estate in Mexico is sold in U.S. dollars), he said. "Properties in Upper Conchas are more affordable, with prices starting from $800,000 for a small house and rising to the $3 million mark."
Graciela Zamudio Conde, general manager and broker at Guadalajara Sotheby´s International Realty in Mexico, gives a slightly different estimate for Conchas Chinas prices. "Homes start from $6 million and rise to $20 million, and apartments cost between $500,000 and $2million."
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Housing stock
The picturesque neighborhood of Conchas Chinas has whitewashed houses, with terracotta-tiled roofs and walled gardens overhung with purple bougainvillea. The houses wind their way down rocky slopes to the sea.
The homes and condo blocks positioned north of the Barra de Navidad highway on the jungle-covered steep cliffs have outstanding views of the bay. The wide, cobbled streets are lined with trees and set among forests of palms trees and lush tropical vegetation.
An established area with homes dating from the 1940s, most properties in Conchas Chinas have traditional colonial-style architecture. More than half of them date from the 1950s and 1960s. Those are intermingled with more modern-style homes, and a few contemporary ones.
Most residences are large and many homes have 15 to 20 bedrooms, according to Mr. Franklin. Most come with gardens and swimming pools while some have tennis courts and a maid’s quarters. Most households in the area employ domestic staff, such as driver, a maid and groundsman.
However, homes typically come with relatively small plots of land, ranging from 600 square meters (0.14 acres) to 1,000 square meters (0.2 acres). The houses themselves are built into the slopes of the hills, are three to four stories and range from 4,000 square feet to 10,000 square feet, according to Mr. Franklin.
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Some homes are occupied full time, but most are used as holiday homes. The area commands some of Puerto Vallarta’s highest rents. Some homes have facilities akin to a boutique hotel and can cost tens of thousands of dollars per night.
A number of new homes have just been launched to the market and there are more in the pipeline. Sayan Beach on Santa Barbara is a new deluxe development, with 36 one-, two-, three- and four-plus bedroom condos, as well as a cantilevered pool over the beach. Only three condos remain at the building, which was built about four years ago.
New-build condo buildings are being constructed on existing plots as new land is in short supply. Homes dating from the 1940s and 1950s were demolished to make way for the condos, much to the chagrin of some local residents, Mr. Franklin said.
However, he notes that new beachfront developments are increasing the area’s desirability. "They are popular because they appeal to a wider market," he said. "Not everyone has $5 million to spend on a house but lots of people want to invest in the area."
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Luxe amenities
Conchas Chinas, whose name refers to a type of sea shell found only on the area’s sandy coves, is a residential-only area.The best restaurants and shops are mostly found in the old town, known as the Romantic Zone, and in the downtown Puerto Vallarta area.
Elegant dining spots include Café des Artistes, an iconic upmarket restaurant with a lounge bar and a beautiful, palm tree-filled terrace; Trio, a restaurant with a bar and cafe that mostly serves Mediterranean cuisine, is known for its good service; and the Asian-inspired restaurant Archie’s Wok.
A colonial town built in the 19th century, the Romantic Zone feels more like a village, with cobblestone streets, quaint buildings and open-air markets. It has small boutiques, such as Huaracheria Fabiola, which sells handmade huaraches or leather-thonged sandals; bookshops, such as the cafe/bookstore A Page in the Sun; and art galleries, including Galleria Dante.
The flea market on the island of Cuale at the northern end of the Romantic Zone sells many artisan products such as glazed clay pots. Galeria Vallarta, a shopping mall at the northern end of Puerto Vallarta, offers shops such as Pepe Jeans, Levi’s and Lacoste.
Top schools include the American School of Puerto Vallarta, a popular and well-regarded school for children aged 2 to 18, and the British American School, a bilingual Spanish/English school for children of all ages.
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What makes it unique
Dubbed the Beverly Hills of Puerto Vallarta, Conchas Chinas is a picture-postcard upmarket neighborhood in the coastal resort of Puerto Vallarta, one of Mexico’s most popular holiday destinations.
A former fishing village, it became popular with artists and other creative types from America during the 1950s. But it was the 1964 film ‘The Night of the Iguana" that officially put Puerto Vallarta on the map.
The film’s director, John Huston, who had a life-long love affair with Mexico, visited the village many times before he decided to produce the film there, which famously starred Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton (it was based on a Tennessee Williams play). Taylor and Burton fell in love with the place and bought a home there, Casa Kimberly, which has since been turned into a boutique hotel.
Backed by the jungle, set beneath Sierra Madres Occidental Mountains and overlooking the calm waters of Banderas Bay, Puerto Vallarta’s surroundings are an exotic paradise.
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Built on rocky cliffs covered in lush rainforest vegetation, home to birds of paradise and diverse plant life, with sweeping views of the bay and the old town and its own beach, the location of Conchas Chinas is hard to beat.
The main appeal of the area, Mr. Franklin said, is that it is within close proximity of the old town but it is not in the thick of it and "you can easily return to the tranquillity and comfort of your own home."
The beach, a series of sandy coves with rocky outcrops, is not accessible via the town’s main beach, which means there is less foot traffic, so it is less crowded and there are fewer street vendors.
A popular sailing destination, many people in Conchas Chinas own motor boats and yachts, which they moor at the town’s marina.
The weather is warm all year round and the resort is known for its beautiful sunsets. Whales visit the bay from January to March to give birth. Sport fishing is popular as are water sports, and people take boats out in search for whales, turtles and manta rays, and secluded coves.
The Marietas Islands, a few miles off the north coast of Banderas Bay, are popular with day trippers. The main attraction is Playa del Amor, a hidden beach located at the centre of a crater made by the military.
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Who lives there
The resort town of Puerto Vallarta is hugely appealing to Canadians and Americans looking for a second home.
In fact, 80% of homeowners are foreigners and the rest are Mexican, according to Ms. Zamudio Conde. About 80% of those expats are American and Canadian; the rest are a mix of English, French, Italian, Belgian and Austrian.
She said most Mexicans residents are from Monterrey, Mexico City and Guadalajara. Puerto Vallarta is such a popular destination with first- and second-homeowners from Mexico because of its location and easy access. Guadalajara is three-and-a-half hours away by car (a new highway is set to cut the journey down by an hour) and just a 20-minute flight away. Mexico City is a 45-minute flight away.
Americans and Canadians like it for the same reason. It’s just a three-to-four hour flight from most parts of the U.S. and Canada, Mr. Franklin said. Most Americans come from New York, Texas, California and Florida.
"Some are fully retired; others come for their holidays," Mr. Franklin said. "It is usually business executives with families who come for a few weeks of the year. They are often second, third or fourth homes."
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Notable residents
As one of the most upmarket parts of the town, it has, unsurprisingly, attracted a number of famous residents. The Mexican artist and sculptor Sergio Bustamante reportedly has a home here.
"Independence Day" director Roland Emmerich bought a villa on Conchas Chinas beach in 1996 and renovated it from top to bottom. (Decorated in a colorful, eclectic style, the eight-bedroom house, known as Casa Septiembre, can be rented for around $2,900 per night through Airbnb.)
The outlook
The area has changed dramatically over the past 20 years and it’s become an established tourist destination, according to Ms. Zamudio Conde. "Values in Puerto Vallarta have increased by 25% over the past year," she said.
"The single-family home market suffered following the 2008 global crisis. People wanted condos instead of houses because they were cheaper. As a result, prices started to fall," Mr. Frederick said. "Prices became so affordable that they started to look attractive again to buyers."
But demand picked up and the market began to recover around 2010, he said. Now, "there is constant demand for the area."