Great estate escapes

Tired of "luxury hotels" that all blur together? The owners of these unique estates, from Mexico to Italy, are now welcoming guests. So you can (temporarily) call these luxurious spots your own.

1. Cuixmala
1. Cuixmala
Luxury and ecology meet at Cuixmala, a 25,000-acre preserve on Mexico's "virgin coast," where jaguar and puma are not just brand names. The estate--a 2 1/2-hour drive south of Puerto Vallarta--was built in the '80s as a tropical hideaway for British billionaire and environmentalist Sir James Goldsmith. After Goldsmith's death in 1997, his daughter Alix Goldsmith Marcaccini opened up the property to guests.

My father "wanted a place to do organic farming and also to have his family around him," says Marcaccini. "Having guests seemed like a way to keep the place used and healthy and alive." Once you arrive, you need never leave the estate: Spend the day exploring the ecological preserve (home to mangroves, zebras, gazelles, and organic farmland) and the evening enjoying fiestas with mariachi bands or quiet, moonlit lagoon rides.

"Luxury is space, and there could not be more of that here," says Anthony Lassman, founder of the Nota Bene guidebooks. "Alix and her husband understand how to make a holiday special. Their nonformulaic approach is rare--they arrange picnics and parties on a whim." And if you tire of eating locally grown blueberries on the expansive white beaches? Head to a lecture from one of the biologists at the eco-preserve.

Costalegre, Mexico
13 rooms, from $350 to $15,000 a night
cuixmala.com

Cuixmala

Son Net

St. Clerans

Dunton Hot Springs

Villa Machiavelli
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Most stock quote data provided by BATS. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices © S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates.