We had heard of "the unknown little hotel," the 24-room El Hotelito Desconocido, which has no electricity, though it is, in almost all respects, a luxury hotel. We decided a little impulsively to check it out. For us that meant two hours of driving using the hotel's own service, but it is also possible to book a cab at the airport.

From the airport we cut through Puerta Vallarta's noisy downtown, straight south on highway 200. Half an hour later the highway turned inland and we were surrounded by a rain forest, complete with ceiba trees with aerial roots, vines and creepers. Multicolored birds flashed in and out of the terraced green of the canopy. A canopy ride attraction, with suspended chairs swinging on a thick cable, skimmed along the trees.

Our previous visits to Puerto Vallarta had involved collapsing on a beach with a big urban mall behind it, so this was a shockingly new way to start our holiday. The trip continued for another hour and a half, with occasional views of jungle rivers and here and there a far glimpse of the ocean.

A road sign at last announced Cruz de Loreto, a fishing village, and the sign for Hotelito Desconocido hung right underneath.

A drivable but challenging dirt road led west toward the beach. Cruz de Loreto is one of those Mexican villages that is still non-commercial. Not far beyond it, gated, with a manned entrance post that checked the vehicles, rose the hotelito itself.

The hotel does have generators and batteries in order to provide iced drinks, keep the milk for the morning coffee from spoiling and run fans when necessary. What visitors see right away, however, is the unspoiled face of this place.

We arrived at a reception area that is open to the wild trees. In fact, the counter was still wet from the last rain shower. The hotel is made up of a settlement of beach bungalows, some on stilts above little lagoons converging toward the ocean. The dining room is a cantina that is open on all sides, with everything in it totally Mexican and folkloric, from the furniture to the local tequila brands, to the people themselves.

A rowboat (with rower provided) took us across a lagoon to our room and brought us back over for dinner. For room service, we hung a little flag outside our bungalow window. Service also arrives by rowboat.

Talk about getting away from civilization and the rat race! Even the Mexican guests' cell phones won't work here. The hotel does, however, provide battery-powered phones for emergencies.

But what it lacks in modern conveniences it makes up for with giant crabs striding across the footpaths, fabulous exotic birds perching naturally in the trees, sunset views that are breathtaking, delicious native food that includes lobster caught that morning, and ceiling fans rotating everywhere to create a breeze. If you give in to the heat and humidity, you'll be in paradise. If you fuss, it's not for you. In deep fall and spring, the heat is not an issue. In fact, it's almost cool at night.

Mauro Valencia, the manager of the hotel and a native of Mexico City, told us that he had some trouble adapting to the high humidity that wafts in from the ocean and all the little lagoons hidden among the trees.

Valencia knows the local flora and fauna like a botanist and advises guests about rowing the lagoons under the stars, riding horses in jungle thickness or fishing for their own dinner.

The hotel's spa - another hidden luxury - never runs out of hot water or skilled masseurs, but one of the highest points is the food and drink. We depleted through swimming and sunbathing only to replete with three good meals. We ate and drank better than we ever had in such a hot climate. The chef, known only as Kiki, seemed like a movie character. He bought the fresh catch every day himself in the nearby village.

This gem is not inexpensive at upward of $400 per night. But it is absolutely worth trying.

After our more remote getaway, we headed for the Four Seasons Punta Mita, which is north of Puerto Vallarta. It was more expensive, but it had air conditioning 24 hours a day, three restaurants, a wide selection of free DVDs, and Haagen-Dazs ice cream and iced towels served on the beach.

The place is crawling with wild birds and iguanas, butterflies and, again, giant crabs (this peninsula is their reproduction area, we soon found out). More importantly, despite the paved main roads, the villages around the Four Seasons have not yet been ruined by the tourist intrusion. The hotel even keeps engineering data on hand to make sure its practices don't erode the virgin peninsula on which it is built.

At Sayulita or Anclote, charming nearby beach villages, we switched from pavement to dirt road and then to the sand of the beach. Then we ate delicious fish and lobster in native cocinas, with the shop's own pet dogs sprawled under our table. One new presence in all of these villages is the Internet cafe.

Mexico competes with Hawaii for American tourists, and they are doing a good job. In golf courses, they are fiercely competitive. Their interest in environmental issues goes all the way up to the president. Travelers can enjoy the birds, flowers and animals with the reassurance that their presence is a lifeline to the region and not its doom.

IF YOU GO

Puerto Vallarta's Web site is www.puertovallarta.net. For more information about Hotelito Desconocido, visit www.hotelito.com. For the Four Seasons Punta Mita, visit www.fourseasons.com/puntamita.

Petru Popescu and Iris Friedman are freelance travel writers.

Visit Copley News Service at www.copleynews.com.