Ready for some Hollywood intrigue in your life? Join our globe-trotting Lori Duran as she jets to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico to learn how Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton coupled in exotic Latin bliss in the 1960s at Casa Kimberly.  

Photography courtesy of Zapwater Communications

After a long pandemic-related travel hiatus, I was more than ready to travel again and relayed my wanderlust to my travel agent who immediately suggested Casa Kimberly, a hotel in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. With a little digging I found out this boutique hotel was once a treasured home for Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. The story of Puerto Vallarta and the hotel is equally as intriguing as the legendary lovers themselves. The presence of those Hollywood stars and moviemaking injected a unique life and substance into that Pacific coast village and I knew that I had to visit.

We all know that when Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton started an affair on the set of Cleopatra in 1961, while they were still married to other people. In 1963, after wrapping the epic film, the one that nearly bankrupted 20^th Century Fox, the duo landed in Puerto Vallarta where Burton was filming Night of the Iguana. Both came to love that enchanting spot along Mexico’s Pacific coast where the green mountains and emerald bay envelop the town.

During the filming, the lovers stayed at John Huston’s villa on a cobblestone street named Casa Kimberly by its builder. Known to be wildly extravagant, Burton bought the residence from film director John Huston and gifted it to Taylor in 1964 for her 32^nd birthday just before their marriage. In a world where pre-marital cohabitation wasn’t accepted, Burton also purchased another house across the street with a swimming pool and had an arched bridge built connecting the upper floors of the two homes. The bridge, named El Puente del Amor, is said to have been built so the lovers could walk over to each other’s house without having to interact with the paparazzi below on the street. The unique bridge remains to this day.

Taylor and Burton used their Puerto Vallarta home together…and later without each other following their divorces. The town was introduced worldwide by the influx of paparazzi that followed the couple. The attention spurred growth and Puerto Vallarta evolved into a popular tourist destination that was even appreciated by Huston. He chose Playa Mismaloya to film his screen adaption of Tennessee Williams’ Night of the Iguana starring Richard Burton, Ava Gardner, Deborah Kerr, and Sue Lyon. Reportedly, Taylor accompanied Burton to keep a territorial eye on Gardner who was known for her film location romances. From its adulterous beginning to its tortured end, Taylor and Burton love story was legendary even by Hollywood standards. Their passionate romance left in its wake headlines that chronicled their lives and coincidentally featured the quaint town of Puerto Vallarta.

The two abodes were forever linked by the bridge and held special memories for them. Taylor mentioned in her book, My Love Affair with Jewelry, that a bejeweled brooch that Burton gave her for the premier of Night of the Iguana, “forever symbolized the early days of our marriage when we lived in Puerto Vallarta…”. Their Casa Kimberly home was also the reputed scene for drinking, relaxing, and endless rounds of Scrabble for the duration of filming. 

When Burton died in 1984, Taylor refused to go back there even though they had been divorced and remarried to others for years. When Taylor died in 2011, the property was sold. Since the passing of the two actors, Casa Kimberly has been thoughtfully renovated into an elegant, comfortable hotel beyond the usual resort on Mexico’s glamorous pacific coast. Today, it has all the modern conveniences and yet remains an inspired labor of love accentuated by old Hollywood glamour. The crystal chandeliers, fountains, magnificent antiques, hand-painted tiles, and luxurious finishes provide an ambiance that is refined yet unpretentious…true Hollywood Regency style.

Onsite amenities include their open-air Iguana Restaurant and Bar which features modern and terly provide top notch hospitality and more information about the hotel is at CasaKimberly.com.

The hotel’s piece de resistance is the Elizabeth Suite, which is a 2500+ square foot sanctuary of tranquil opulence. The wrap-around terrace, completely secluded, has its own pool and Jacuzzi, and offers panoramic views of Banderas Bay and the majestic Sierra Madre mountains. It also boasts a private elevator and still retains the pink heart-shaped bathtub that Taylor commissioned. The other eight suites are equally stunning in their own ways.

With an eye for detail, the concierge and staff of Casa Kimberly provide top notch hospitality and more information about the hotel is at CasaKimberly.com.