After two days on planes and one night in an overly air-freshened airport hotel room, I finally arrived at Loreto’s postage stamp-sized airport (I came from New York City, which required stops in Atlanta and L.A. before the hop to Mexico; East Coasters should note, however, that Continental will soon start direct service from Houston to Loreto). The complimentary shuttle ride to the Village at Loreto Bay—essentially a straight line down a dirt road—lasted roughly a song and a half on my iPod. But when I stepped out of the white van after it pulled in front of the Inn at Loreto Bay, all the travel hangovers dissolved. The air itself, so clean and fresh, made my first breath transformative, and I became awash with a post-yoga type calm, simultaneously rejuvenated and relaxed.

Built in 2002, the inn, one of the best accommodations in the area, has undergone a recent renovation that’s raised it to five-star status. The structure is influenced by New Mexican architecture, with 155 luxurious sea-view rooms extending in two long arms out from a central outdoor plaza. A heated outdoor pool with a hot tub and a swim-up bar, beachfront palapas, three restaurants, and a gym are just some of the hotel’s amenities; soft beds and futuristic bathrooms are standard issue.

For a more intimate, and creative, accommodation, consider Pasoda de las Flores, a boutique hotel built around a courtyard with a hotel rooftop pool with a glass bottom which doubles as the courtyard’s ceiling. Even if you don’t stay there, consider dropping in for evening cocktails before strolling through the quiet town, peeking into the impressive Misión de Nuestra Señora de Loreto or browsing through shops of handmade jewelry. Even the village shrubbery has a special quality, much of it creatively manicured in a surreal, Edward Scissorhands-lite variety.

As for sustenance, in truth, the three dining rooms at the Inn at Loreto Bay offer better food than most restaurants town, which are mostly be an odd mix that reflects the town’s intriguing attachment to both Argentinean and Italian cuisine. My one in-town meal at Pachamama’s was a bizarre mix of ravioli and something resembling an oversized chicken nugget. The inn’s fare is all concocted out of locally grown, organic ingredients, and the fish tacos are some of the most delectable I’ve ever consumed. The best of the three, Salvatierra, offers beachside dining in the open air. Under an onyx blanket of night sky, crisp air against one’s skin, satiated by a meal of fresh food and perhaps soothed by a couple glasses of Cabernet, one can breathe deep, stare into the velvet blanket of water, and feel a change set in. That change, my friends, is called being “Loreto-ized.” And watch out: Once you’re here, it’s nearly impossible to avoid.