­Hacienda de los Santos in Alamos is a legend. Over the course of 18 years owners Jim and Nancy Swickard seamlessly connected three 17th century haciendas plus an old sugar factory, lovingly restoring and converting them into a 25 room luxury hotel where mod-cons mingle with museum-worthy antiques and religious art that took 40 years to amass.

In less skilled hands Hacienda de los Santos, located in the Mexican state of Sonora, could have easily ended up looking and feeling like a patchwork quilt of fancy storage areas cobbled together willy-nilly to house a stranger’s massive collection. Instead, the Swickards have infused the place (a AAA four-diamond award winning hotel) with meticulous attention to detail and ample personal passion to create an environment in which visitors feel...