Elite Traveler November-December 2015

EXPLORE URUGUAY

Once a secret paradise where Argentine billionaires collected private vineyards and olive groves, Uruguay has been discovered by the glitterati and is fast becoming the world’s select and secret party capital. Lauren Holmes explains how to do the social season like a local, however long your stay ALL THAT GLITTERS

Touch down in the cozy fishing village of José Ignacio between December 26 and January 10 and you’ll dive into a gallop of glamour – off-duty A-listers, lunches until sunset and private parties past dawn. At just two weeks, the height of Uruguay’s season is alarmingly short – inherited, so the story goes, from the polo set, who still drop by to unwind over Christmas charity games after the high-octane Argentine Open, before flocking to Palm Beach. Word spread that this was a place where Argentine billionaires collected vineyards for private consumption and dabbled in olive groves that rival Italy’s best – in other words, a Hamptons without the hangers-on, or a Tuscany before Berlusconi. Canny moguls soon snapped up property, while chefs and treasured artists set up shop. Yet the secret to José Ignacio’s popularity isn’t its newcomers, but its close-knit locals who help the glitterati remember that life is about the simple pleasures. The intimate atmosphere is preserved by the villagers’ firm heritage, while strict environmental laws protect the golden dunes and ensure the white bungalows, sloping down to the ocean, remain low slung. Meanwhile, beyond the coastal road, blue lagoons edged by pampas (or plains) stretch towards hills and vast estancias, guarded by gauchos on horseback. The natural beauty and laid-back charm is infectious. And it doesn’t disappear when the jet-set do.

Right: Linger over lunch until sunset at La Susana beach club in Uruguay’s party capital, José Ignacio

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