Confused about adjective placement

[Tina]

Hi all. I've been away for a long time, but I'm still working on my Spanish, albeit slowly!

This has been bugging me for a long time. I know the adjective normally follows the noun it describes, but apparently there are times when it goes before the noun. Below are examples from a word-of-the-day I subscribe to:


1. Los recién casados se hospedaron en un suntuoso hotel en la Riviera Maya.
The newlyweds stayed in a lavish hotel on the Mayan Riviera.

2. El suntuoso Palacio de Versalles fue usado con fines políticos por Luis XIV.
The magnificent Palace of Versailles was used for political purposes by Louis XIV.

In both examples, suntuoso precedes hotel and Palacio de Versalles. In #2 políticos follows fines, which makes sense to me, so why is suntuoso the opposite? They are both adjectives, are they not?

If someone can help me understand this, I will be eternally grateful!