Mexico's Millionaire Getaways Pummeled by Patricia David Alire Garcia - Reuters
go to original October 27, 2015

Hurricane Patricia: Bill Gates, Gwyneth Paltrow and Cindy Crawford have Mexico mansions destroyed (IBTimes)

Mexico may have dodged a bullet from the fury of Hurricane Patricia, but jet setters like Bill Gates, Gwyneth Paltrow and Cindy Crawford will have to find a new playground for now after the storm ravaged some of the world's most exclusive holiday homes.

Patricia, packing 165 MPH (266 kph) winds, carved a swathe through relatively remote parts of rural Mexico last week, hammering exclusive retreats favored by A-list stars.

While Patricia missed the sunkissed Pacific resort of Puerto Vallarta and key port of Manzanillo, some of its fiercest winds first struck the eight miles (13 km) of private beach at the luxury vacation resort of Costa Careyes, where pop singer Seal married his now ex-wife, model Heidi Klum, a decade ago.

Founded by Italian banker-turned-real estate developer Gian Franco Brignone in 1968, prospective landowners in Careyes must comply with a list of eccentric rules that include "living in the present," one visitor said.

Despite the hefty price tag of the properties, which can rent for up to $12,000 a night, wearing branded clothing and flashiness with money are frowned upon.

Just a week ago, the resort's multi-million dollar villas were enveloped in thick foliage that shrouded them from prying eyes along the coastal highway.

Not anymore.

"It looks like an atomic bomb exploded here," said Gustavo Gomez, head of security at the resort, pointing to hillsides bristling with denuded tree trunks, their foliage sucked off by Patricia's devastating winds.

Read the rest at Reuters.

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