Sunday, May 11, 2014

Hacienda las Trancas

Located in the State of Guanajuato and approximately thirty minutes or so from Delores Hidalgo is a step back in time to the days of haciendas.

Hacienda las Trancas is 450 years old.  It was built on the Camino Real which was the Royal Road for the transfer of gold and silver from Zacatecas, Guanajuato and other producing towns and villages that needed to send these precious metals to Mexico City for assaying and then on to ship to Europe via Veracruz.

My involvement with this hacienda goes back to when I first moved to San Miguel.  A group of new friends wanted to drive out to see the property since a mutual friend had purchased it for a pittance and was living on the grounds.

One of my passions in life is architectural restoration.  I hopped on the chance to go to see the hacienda.

Somewhere, and who knows where, I have a ton of photos of the hacienda as it appeared that day and on subsequent visits prior to its restoration.

I spent a couple of hours yesterday looking for those photos and gave up.  Darn, I know they'll show up when I least expect it.  Our friend was living in one of the rooms of this huge property with no proper bathroom facilities at the time.  He wasn't quite sure what his intentions were now that he owned it.

It made my heart beat fast.  I had clients in Arizona that, if I could convince them to invest in Mexico, could have a fabulous destination resort.  I had just a few years before finished a historical upgrade of their property in Tucson called Hacienda del Sol to rousing accolades.

However, the Hacienda, in my mind and my client's mind due to the location and their desire to have an extremely exclusive resort similar to Cibola Creek Ranch in Texas, felt that a private landing strip would be necessary.  They were hesitant to invest the millions necessary to restore and upgrade the property plus the landing strip.

Then I heard that there was a buyer.  I had tons of design books on historic restoration and the new owner came to borrow some from me.  One couple restoring a hacienda.  A herculean task, to put it mildly.

I've been back to visit the hacienda in the intervening years.  One evening I was lucky enough to be present for a wine tasting along with a sit down meal prepared by the vineyard owners and their chefs from Baja.  What a memorable evening!

I noted at the time the progress the couple were making in transforming the hacienda into a wedding and events destination as a historic B&B.  A little bit at a time.

The village that surrounds the hacienda provided the labor.  The owners provided much of the training for the village people to become the staff at the B&B for the events.  It was truly a lovely thing to see.

Fast forward to last week when I saw that Hacienda las Trancas is for sale.  The property now has eleven guest rooms and an equal if not more bathrooms.  Also stables, a spa and a state of the art workout facility.
Oh did I mention the lovely pool that looks out over the countryside......or the magnificent meals that have been touted by several publications?  The owners are to be commended for their perseverance and dedication to returning this hacienda to its former glory........and then some.

If you internet search using the words Hacienda las Trancas, you will see many articles.  The site I liked the most was the one showing the hacienda and the village.  The site is www.haciendalastrancas.com/Trancas_Community.html    In addition, TripAdvisor has glowing comments about the weddings and accommodations there.

The property is ready for someone to step in and utilize all the work of the current owners to move forward and maintain the glory as a destination resort, wedding and events location.  If you have $3.8 million dollars, it's yours.

If you ARE interested in this property, contact me and I'll connect you with the realtor who is handling this.
He is someone I've known for many years.


9 comments:

Steve Cotton said...

It may be what I need to keep me in Mexico. Especially, if I am going to get my citizenship.

Lizita said...

Is that the property that Aldo once owned?

Babs said...

Yes, Lizita

Retired Teacher said...

I hope that a buyer is found. It would be a shame for it to be abandoned once again.

Babs said...

I'm sure a buyer will be found since it is a viable well known resort now as well as a historical hacienda. Hope you took time to look at photos of the interior now.

Babs said...

Steve, I don't even know what to say to that comment.

Marilyn Krichman said...

Wow, I want to plan a group trip! You mentioned this hacienda when we met in the Jardin on Friday, and now you've devoted a whole blog page to it! Any chance that you would like to go out there with me one day?

Babs said...

Sure Marilyn, that would be fun. We'll need to call ahead of time to make sure that it is ok and that the whole hacienda hasn't been rented for an event, which happens often, I think.

Marilyn Krichman said...

We'll meet up in the Jardin soon!