In the 1950s, 60s, and 70s, Acapulco represented the ultimate in luxury and glamour. Hollywood royalty and “the rich and famous” flocked to its exclusive resorts. Celebrities bought homes and hotels. Everybody who was anybody spent their free time in this tropical paradise.
Acapulco lies on a stretch of rugged cliffs, surrounded by lush jungle with golden sands, calm azure waters, and exceptional weather – exotic and movie-set perfect for a resort area.
The Duke of Windsor – briefly the King of the United Kingdom until he abdicated the throne to marry Wallis Simpson – was the first of the jet setters to discover the beauty of Acapulco in the 1920s. Several decades later it was discovered by Hollywood royalty.
Hollywood royalty discovers Acapulco – a tropical paradise
In 1947, when Australian Errol Flynn first flew down to Acapulco with his buddy Teddy Stauffer – the Swiss musician-turned-hotelier – it was little more than a handful of buildings surrounded by jungle. But Stauffer saw the potential in what he described as “a beautiful tropical paradise”.
Rita Hayworth and her husband Orson Welles came to Acapulco when they starred in the 1947 film The Lady from Shanghai – a film which contains some stunning shots of Acapulco’s beaches. They both became frequent visitors.
Former president of Mexico Miguel Alemán (1946 – 1952) had a special place in his heart for Acapulco and was the driving force behind the construction of the Avenida Costera Miguel Alemán – a six-lane thoroughfare along the ocean which attracted nightclubs and restaurants that now bears his name.
Los Flamingos becomes the first luxury resort for Hollywood elite
In 1954, Bo Roos – a top Hollywood business manager – and his friends John Wayne and Johnny Weissmuller (best known for his starring turn as Tarzan) purchased Hotel Los Flamingos, a cliffside spot with a spectacular view of the open sea. Roos then imported their Hollywood posse including Cary Grant, Fred MacMurray, Errol Flynn, Richard Widmark, and Red Skelton to spend time at the hotel which became a hang-out for the “Hollywood Gang” – a group of macho leading men led by Wayne and Weissmuller.
It is said that Weissmuller invented the bar’s signature drink, the Coco Loco, which was served in a coconut with hibiscus flowers floating on top or festooned with a colorful miniature umbrella hat. After his days of fame and fortune faded, Weissmuller lived out the rest of his life at the hotel which became known as “La Casa de Tarzan.”
Villa Vera and Las Brisas add to the glamour and glitziness of Acapulco
Ten years after his first visit Stauffer opened Villa Vera Hotel and Racquet Club. Its quaint villas and private swimming pools immediately became a popular destination for celebrities. In 1957, Elizabeth Taylor married Mike Todd at the resort. Frank Sinatra hid out at Villa Vera when the mob was after him.
Judy Garland, Dustin Hoffman, Engelbert Humperdinck, George Hamilton, Gina Lollobrigida, Liza Minelli, Ava Gardner, and Brigitte Bardot stayed at the resort. Zsa Zsa Gabor created a stir in the enclave when she plunged into the pool naked. Lana Turner lived at Villa Vera for three years.
The popularity of Villa Vera was quickly followed by Las Brisas, built in 1957, which hosted others from the entertainment industry’s A-list. The resort had the classic elegance of 1950s Hollywood. Constructed on 40 acres of land on the cliffside surrounded by jungle, the resort boasted 250 casitas, each with its own private swimming pools, pink and white jeeps for transportation, and a spectacular full view of the bay.
Las Brisas was the ultimate in luxury. The resort sported its signature “power pink” and a palette of various shades of white throughout including the staff uniforms. From the moment a celebrity was whisked up the hillside in a pink and white jeep (each one named for a celebrity), they were ensconced in elegance. The lawns and gardens were meticulously manicured, the casitas impeccably clean, and fresh hibiscus petals were scattered across the surface of the private pools. Each casita had a Magic Box with latched glass doors inside and outside where staff would leave a steaming pot of coffee and a basket of freshly baked sweet rolls every morning.
Diversions and glitzy parties abound
When you were tired of lounging around your pool, there was the Sunset Bar, or you could go to the swim-up bar in one of their two saltwater pools. For a full breakfast, there was El Tulipán, the resort’s sky-high restaurant with a spectacular view of the bay. For fresh fish and Mexican specialties, you could have dinner at La Concha.
Other attractions included going to La Quebrada to watch death-defying cliff divers plunge from 135-ft cliffs into the Pacific Ocean, or boarding a jeep for a safari to a coconut plantation at Cayaco, a picnic on the beach, or joining burro races or paddle canoes up a jungle river. At night there was the very popular La Perla nightclub or glitzy parties.
One of the hostesses with the most memorable parties was Dolores Olmedo, “The Grand Dame of Acapulco.” Her home, La Casa de los Vientos, hosted Mexico’s largest collection of Diego Rivera paintings. She was Rivera’s muse, and she so admired the artist she built a studio for him adjoining her house. When Frida Kahlo died, Rivera lived his final four years of life in her Acapulco home.
Hollywood becomes infatuated with Acapulco
Elizabeth Taylor honeymooned in Acapulco after seven of her eight marriages (she married Richard Burton twice). Mexican actress Dolores del Rio, who had affairs with both Orson Welles and Errol Flynn, met her future husband American millionaire Lewis A. Riley in Acapulco and built a palatial home at the top of the rocky cliffs as did Orson Welles and Johnny Weissmuller. Jack and Jackie Kennedy honeymooned in Acapulco.
In the 60s and 70s, Las Brisas became the retreat of choice for the rich and famous who wanted exclusivity and privacy attracting luminaries Tom Cruise, Sylvester Stallone, Kevin Costner, Sophia Loren, Johnny Carson, Buzz Aldrin, and Elizabeth Taylor. After their trip to the moon, the Apollo 11 astronauts relaxed there with their families. Lynda Bird Johnson honeymooned at Las Brisas.
Hollywood was infatuated with Acapulco luring a new generation of star power including Robert Wagner, Stephanie Powers, Farah Fawcett Majors, Joan Collins, and bestselling author Harold Robbins.
The 1963 film “Fun in Acapulco” starring Elvis Presley and Ursula Andress introduced a broader audience to the beauty of Acapulco. By the 1970s Acapulco was at its zenith and La Costera was a diamond necklace ringing the bay.
More restaurants and hotels opened. The introduction of discotheques provided another form of entertainment and decadence. The first disco hotspot was Armando’s LeClub. The disco Studio 52, an homage to Studio 54 in New York City, also became a trendy place to dance the night away.
Merle Oberon, who hosted legendary parties, made news worldwide in 1979 when she gave the Shah of Iran – Mohammed Reza Pahlavi – temporary refuge at her home. Howard Hughes spent the last few weeks of his life at a penthouse that encompassed the entire top floor of the Acapulco Princess, an Aztec pyramid-shaped luxury hotel built in 1971. The unofficial photographer of the rich and famous, Slim Aarons, captured iconic poolside images and photos of actors like Kirk Douglas and Ronald Reagan alongside fashion designers Oscar de la Renta and Emilio Pucci. In the 50s, 60s, and 70s everybody who was anybody was seen in Acapulco.
Acapulco begins to lose its luster
By the late 1970s, Acapulco’s glamour began to fade. Like an aging diva, the glamour took on the look of seediness and decadence. The 1980s saw an explosion of high-rise hotels, mass tourism, increased pollution, and crime which drove away the jetsetters. The glamour and glitz of yesteryear ended, leaving behind only legendary stories of what once was. However, the natural beauty of Acapulco persevered, and the resort continued to attract tourists and honeymooners.
The most recent devastation by Hurricane Otis took its toll on the city. Will Acapulco – like a Phoenix rising from the rubble – once again become a glamorous and glitzy destination? With enough government and private investment, the resort can experience a renaissance. It will be exciting to watch as this tropical paradise goes through another transformation.
Sheryl Losser is a former public relations executive, researcher, writer, and editor. She has been writing professionally for 35 years. She moved to Mazatlán in 2021 and works part-time doing freelance research and writing. She can be reached at [email protected]
Very interesting. Hope it comes back even better
Ilene
The last time I visited Acapulco which was my 3rd time I was driving from Taxco and when I got to the toll booth on the freeway near the city it was blocked by many people with masks on who had taken them over. When I pulled up to their barricades they held out a coffee can and I put some spare pesos in and they let me through. The federal police were on the other side just sitting there. I was pretty scared coming up to the barricades thinking it was the cartels. The windows were all broken out and graffiti all over the buildings. I found out later that they had taken them over a few years before and the government just let them do it. While I was there there were several killings and one was a taxi driver that was beheaded. Half of the water front was closed down and a lot of the stores too. So for me that was my last time I will go there. It’s a shame that the government let it go to ruin. It’s such a beautiful setting. The same thing happened the next year coming from Guadalajara to Colima there were students that had taken over the toll booths there.
Like many, I fervently hope Acapulco will recover from this disaster, for the benefit of tens of thousands who need secure employment, stable availability of water and electricity, and safe housing. But the smartest business people and political leadership will also demand dramatic improvements in the city’s crumbling infrastructure and abysmally low standards in even the priciest hotels and restaurants. For example, a training center for employees in the tourist and retail fields would be a boon if businesses required — and paid — their employees to attend. Managers of these businesses must take on a commitment to the highest levels of quality attainable and seek to attract visitors who will value — and pay for — that quality, which should be available in both budget and mid-priced venues as well as at the high end. Accomplishing these things might require a complete change in the government too, it having infamously been unable to support even minor improvement in the city up till now.
We try to visit this beautiful city at least once a year. It has been ashamed to watch this city become so run down. Maybe Otis is a wake up call that this beautiful paradise can be rebuilt and establish itself as The spot to be in all of Mexico. Acapulco is full of hard working people that were born and raised in this beautiful city. It is these people that will take pride upon the city and raise it from the dead. Tourism is their only way to make a living so it will rise to a perfect paradise again. We will continue to visit on an annual basis as long as we are able. We have made many friends there and they need your help and support. The government needs to get off their backsides and help. My money is on ACAPULCO.
Such a beautiful city in the 60;s, 70’s and 80’s. My last visit was very disappointing, the old DINO’s Italian Restaurant was closed, so was the Villa Vera Reaquetball Resort. Many other businesses and restaurants were shuttered. My Acapulco days are over, sadly because of Mexican Government neglect and not improving the infrastructure. Sad for the proud residents of this once idylic resort.
What a wonderful story of what Acapulco was in its heyday!