When Hollywood Came to Hide: The Untold Glamour of Zihuatanejo

Team StayPV
Aug 7
4 min read

Long before social media made every vacation public and paparazzi swarmed the beaches of Tulum and Saint-Tropez, the true Hollywood elite had a different kind of destination in mind—one that didn’t need to be seen to be legendary.

Welcome to Zihuatanejo. The secret sanctuary of stars, artists, and icons who craved something far rarer than fame: peace.

The Quiet Escape of a Golden Era

In the golden age of the 1950s, when cinema glittered in black and white and stars like Ava Gardner, Orson Welles, and John Wayne ruled the screen, Zihuatanejo quietly emerged as a hidden jewel on Mexico’s Pacific Coast.

While nearby Acapulco became a playground for press and parties, Zihuatanejo remained unpaved, untouched, and utterly unbothered. That’s precisely what made it irresistible to those who had everything—except solitude.

During this era, producers, directors, and leading men and women would slip away from the chaos of Los Angeles—not to be seen, but to disappear. In Zihuatanejo, they sipped mezcal on deserted beaches, dined on fresh-caught red snapper, and sailed across the bay without a single flashbulb in sight. There were no velvet ropes—just fishing boats, palm trees, and jungle-covered hills.

This wasn’t a place for headlines. It was a place to exhale.

A Hidden Legacy of Luxury

The legacy of retreat didn’t end with the 1950s. By the 1970s and ’80s, the next generation of cultural icons had discovered Zihuatanejo too.

Studio 54 regulars like Elizabeth Taylor, Andy Warhol, and Truman Capote—along with their ever-changing constellation of famous friends—flocked to Zihuatanejo’s beachfront villas for a different kind of indulgence: stillness, sea air, and soul-deep restoration. Here, indulgence meant privacy. It meant waking to birdsong, not camera shutters. It meant being able to think, to breathe, to be—without needing to perform.

Although few official records exist (and even fewer photos), locals still tell stories passed down through generations: of impromptu dinners under the stars, of artists sketching by candlelight, of laughter carried on ocean breezes from villas hidden in the hills.

In the 1970s, it also drew souls who came for the nature, the quiet, and the depth of life here—and never left. Among them was Owen Lee—an underwater diver, naturalist, writer, and former cameraman with Captain Jacques Cousteau. Lee was one of the first Americans to settle in Zihuatanejo, living for over 50 years on Playa Las Gatas. A legendary figure in local lore, Owen Lee’s life as a filmmaker, author, ecologist, and spiritual observer added another kind of richness to this coastline: one rooted not in fame, but in reverence.

Zihuatanejo became a whispered destination—a place spoken of quietly, between the lines of scripts and across white-linen tablecloths. It wasn’t about being seen. It was about returning to yourself.

On the Silver Screen (Just Once in a While)

Though fiercely private, Zihuatanejo’s allure couldn’t stay entirely off-screen. It earned a beloved place in film history when it was immortalized in The Shawshank Redemption (1994), as the dream destination where Andy Dufresne and Red reunite in freedom and peace.

That same year, Zihuatanejo also served as a filming location for When a Man Loves a Woman, starring Meg Ryan and Andy Garcia. Against the backdrop of Playa La Ropa and the surrounding bay, the film quietly showcased what so many insiders already knew: this town held a kind of cinematic magic that couldn’t be staged.

Still a Sanctuary for the Select Few

Zihuatanejo’s legacy of discretion lives on. Every now and then, a celebrity will post a glimpse of their time here—a fleeting story or an untagged photo on the grid. But for those in the know, there are far more posts without location pins, shared quietly, like a whisper. And still, we recognize it. The curve of the bay. The softness of the light. The unmistakable stillness of our little village when it appears—unspoken—in someone’s reel.

A-list actors like Matthew McConaughey, Goldie Hawn, and Kurt Russell are known to visit and post—drawn by the same quiet elegance that captivated generations before them. Even billionaires have taken note. Carlos Slim, one of the world’s wealthiest men, often anchors his mega-yacht Ostar in the bay, choosing Zihuatanejo as a preferred port of calm in an increasingly noisy world.

And because real estate in Mexico is held in trust for foreign owners, the list of celebrity homeowners in Zihuatanejo is far more extensive than public records suggest. Many prefer it that way—quietly holding paradise without ever putting their name on the gate.

This isn’t nostalgia. It’s continuity. The spirit of Zihuatanejo remains intact: exclusive, authentic, and respectfully under the radar.

Why Zihuatanejo Still Matters

Today, Zihuatanejo is one of the few destinations that has resisted commercialization without sacrificing comfort. No mega-resorts. No crowds. Just golden light, rolling waves, and handcrafted villas tucked into the hillside.

At Pacific Vacation | StayPV, we honor that heritage. Our private, oceanfront estate was designed for travelers who value experience over excess. Our own list of notable guests remains a secret—because that’s exactly why people come to Zihuatanejo. For those who understand that some destinations aren’t booked—they’re passed down, whispered from one discerning soul to another. Not to be seen. But to feel free.