Despite All Its Struggles, Acapulco Still Sparkles Alan Solomon - Chicago Tribune
go to original October 7, 2016

Pedestrians walk past a sign promoting tourism in Acapulco, Mexico. (Brett Gundlock/Bloomberg)

Sorry, but for this story we'll skip the standard references to Elizabeth Taylor's third wedding, JFK's honeymoon and cliff divers.

Acapulco. Gorgeous, still — much of it. But it has problems.

First, the news: Grupo Autofin, already a strong tourism-industry presence here, announced plans this summer to invest $1 billion in new construction and upgrades along the Pacific coastline well south of the heart of the city and its famous bay. Included are high-end hotels, renovation of its 6,000-room Princess Hotel, a golf course, eco-park and other stuff.

For years, development had drifted southward toward and past the airport (also getting a major redo), and now this. In the New Acapulco, condo towers abound, all guarded. The marvelous Banyan Tree Cabo Marques (opened in 2010) is here, too, sequestered on cliffs above Puerto Marques and behind security that rivals Camp David's.

What impact that billion will have on the magical Acapulco — the one with the magnificent bay whose hills have sparkled so romantically at night since the Eisenhower administration — we probably won't know until 2022, Groupo Autofin's target date for completion.

What we know now: Acapulco is struggling.

"Acapulco," said Manuel Barrera, a lifelong native who gives tours when he isn't shooting wedding photos, "was the first and only (beach) destination in Mexico, and it was like this for a long time. Then came Puerto Vallarta, Ixtapa, Cancun, Huatulco — many, many places.

"And unfortunately, the modernization of Acapulco never came."

Read the rest at Chicago Tribune

Related: Construction Begins on New Acapulco Zipline Park (Mexico News Daily)

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