The long, windy drive up to the entrance of Estancia Vik Jose Ignacio, Uruguay’s most exclusive private retreat, is one of wonder. Sitting on top of a high plain is a magnificent Spanish colonial structure with white adobe walls and a red tin roof. The vast property surrounding the structure is over 4,000 acres, open and rugged. Horses scatter about in the distance and a river meanders through the property. It is truly a magical place and one where the owners, Carrie and Alex Vik, took great time, thought and energy to make it feel like a home away from home.

The best thing about Estancia Vik is that once you are there you are immediately immersed in the culture of Uruguay. You find yourself doing things that you never have before...

You may take your first polo lesson here, or find your self inexplicably indulging in dulce de leche at every meal and sunning by the pool with cows only yards away. Dinner at night is an experience in itself as the Uruguayan barbecues serve up more than five types of meats, and for the vegetarian, there is an endless array of edibles that might have even been hand picked by the guest that morning. Best of all the staff on hand, led by the handsome and gracious Agustin, make your stay magical.

Estancia Vik was designed with guests in mind down to every little detail, but it also was designed to preserve the untouched beauty of its natural surroundings. The property operates in an environmentally sensitive manner through its use of natural resources, solar energy, innovative design and water collection, that maximizes natural resources to heat, cool, ventilate and irrigate. With the addition of three new windmills, Estancia Vik has also become the first luxury resort of its kind to have the capability to operate entirely off the grid.

If you can pry yourself away from Estancia Vik, they have a new property, Playa Vik, only 10 miles away. Now you can soak in the countryside for a few days and then move to this fabulous beach location that showcases a cantilevered pool that juts out toward the ocean and is surrounded by six green-roofed casitas.