The Wall Street Journal-20080112-WEEKEND JOURNAL- Travel -- South America- The Other Riviera- A remote peninsula tries to hold onto its exclusivity
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WEEKEND JOURNAL; Travel -- South America: The Other Riviera; A remote peninsula tries to hold onto its exclusivity
Special to The Wall Street Journal
Jose Ignacio, Uruguay -- It's easy to miss the sign announcing Jose Ignacio's future. A few hundred yards from the turnoff to this teardrop-shaped peninsula, a black-and-white sign marks the coming arrival of the Setai, a resort from the developer behind the upscale Miami and Manhattan hotel and condominium projects of the same name.
As nearby Punta del Este -- the popular vacation spot on the Uruguayan Riviera -- becomes overrun by a high-rise building boom and hordes of partying teenagers, Jose Ignacio has taken the mantle as one of South America's most exclusive destinations in the December-to- February summer season.
But as the first wave of major developers like the Setai now advance on Jose Ignacio, the former fishing village is starting to struggle with the same problems that larger beach resorts face -- namely, trying to balance economic success brought by wealthy travelers with the small-town identity residents cherish.
Jose Ignacio is known as much for its laid-back atmosphere and natural beauty as for its celebrity guests, which include designer Ralph Lauren, singer Shakira and model Naomi Campbell. With barely 50 hotel rooms, white-sand beaches and an architectural mix of modest ranch houses and modernist vacation boxes, the town's blend of authenticity and exclusivity is drawing more European and American tourists.
The area started becoming more attractive to foreigners in 2002, when the peso devaluation in neighboring Argentina -- which used to provide the bulk of tourists and spending in the area -- drastically cut demand and forced Uruguayan resorts to lower prices.
Buenos Aires advertising agency co-owner Andres Castro, who has vacationed in and around Jose Ignacio for more than a decade, recalls horse-drawn carts delivering water to the residents and visitors as recently as the mid-1990s. "There was no infrastructure," Mr. Castro says. "If you wanted to buy lamb for dinner you had to plan three days ahead."
The town has retained the atmosphere of a bucolic seaside fishing village through tight zoning restrictions. During the area's high season, which runs from late December to late February, visitors wander up from the Atlantic Ocean to the town's temporary wood-slat beach bar where they sip Corona and Quilmes beers, get massages and catch the occasional runway fashion show or live music set.
A handful of laid-back restaurants serve local seafood: The Parador La Huella, a thatch-roofed bungalow, is known for simple dishes like black sea bass barbecued with salt and pepper. Clothing and art galleries dot the sandy streets.
With the dearth of hotels, most visitors opt for rentals. Around 500 houses in the immediate area range from small wooden cottages in the old town to Spanish tile-roofed compounds overlooking the ocean at the foot of the peninsula to small gentleman's farms a few miles inland. Many of the larger homes come with a pool and staff.
Seeing an opportunity to create more accommodation, developers have set their sights on outlying neighborhoods like La Juanita and Arenas de Jose Ignacio, where zoning laws are slightly looser.
Two projects are slated to open in 2009-10. The Setai Group received its final approval in December, despite objections by locals to the government's national director of the environment. Between $110 million and $130 million will be spent on the development, with plans to build a luxury compound including a spa, 10 cabana hotel suites and 40 private houses on the La Juanita beach and in the nearby woods. About a mile up the road, the 300-acre Laguna Escondida project is planning a 70-room hotel and 240 housing lots.
First-time visitors like Tim Hunt, a 50-year-old stock and real- estate investor from Texas, aren't concerned about the impending changes. "It's tranquilo, really laid-back," Mr. Hunt says. "It feels more European than South American, like the Costa del Sol in Spain used to be 10 years ago, before it became so crowded and commercial."
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Trip Planner
Jose Ignacio
-- Where to stay: The 14 rooms in the whitewashed Posada del Faro are clustered around the pool; rates are about $300 to $610 a night in the current season (www.posadadelfaro. com). Rental villas account for the bulk of accommodations. Houses run from $800 to $3,500 a night from late December to mid-January. Prices drop 30% after that and another 20% in February. Local real-estate agent Nacho Ruibal represents some 200 properties (www.ignacioruibal. com).
-- What to do: Galeria de las Misiones sells art from Latin American artists (www. galeriamisiones.com). To get back to the town's roots, Roberto Cabrera offers four-hour, $40 fishing trips each morning (www. elmaestro.uy.tc).
-- Ian Mount
