Cuixmala: Introduction: Why Go Now

A recent visitor compared arriving at the private landing strip at Cuixmala, the former estate of the late British billionaire, Sir James Goldsmith, as akin to landing on Fantasy Island. It’s an apt metaphor because of the property’s spectacular private playland possibilities and how it came to be. The 25,000-acre ranch could only be created by a man of seemingly limitless passions and equal means; it was Sir James Goldsmith’s great labor of love. He started with an extraordinary slice of property (see Green/Eco) and then put his taste and resources behind creating a family seat unlike any other. The property that he fashioned with the help of 2,000 workers—from engineers, botanists and wildlife experts to the famous French architect Robert Couturier—now belongs to his children, who rent some of its houses to guests, so you can experience the fantasy temporarily. And as with so many experiences, it’s better to be king or queen for a day than never at all.