CostaBaja Golf Club and Resort in Mexico: Build it, and they will come

LA PAZ, Mexico – As globetrotter Gary Player yesterday officially opened his first golf course design in Latin America – CostaBaja Golf Club – one thing appears certain: There doesn’t apear to be any shortage of Americans, Canadians or Mexicans willing to visit or buy second homes here.

Tourism officials in Mexico will certainly tell you that the barrage of reports detailing the killings in the border cities has had its effect on tourism in Mexico, but I can tell you that my flight to Los Cabos on the Baja Peninsula was full, and the excitement surrounding one of the newest resort communities in Mexico – the CostaBaja Resort and Marina – is genuine.

Located on the Sea of Cortez two hours or so north of Los Cabos, million-dollar yachts fill the slips. And sales, according to resort officials, of luxury condos and villas that cost up to $1.2 million are going well.

Now this all-inclusive resort, which also has weathered a bad economy, has its own golf course, a Player design that overlooks the sea and resort with dramatic elevation changes. The resort’s hotel underwent a complete renovation as well, and the property offers plenty of good restaurants, a medical facility, a beach club, workout facilities and a spa.

Couple that with the claim that La Paz might be the safest city in Mexico, the people are extremely friendly and accommodating, and you’ve got a destination that should continue to draw from the north.