I’d be lying if I said that Puerto Escondido wasn’t the place I was most looking forward to visiting when I began planning my Mexico trip. Set on the Oaxacan coast, the port town is home to golden sand beaches, delicious Baja-style fish tacos, laid-back vibes and the world famous Mexican pipeline, making it a popular go-to for surfers. Though I am perhaps the furthest thing from a surfer, R&R is always top of my priority list for a holiday, and you'd be hard pushed to find a more beautiful setting for it than Puerto Escondido.
Travelling down from our first stop at the rich cultural hub of Mexico City to the well established food capital of Oaxaca, we planned sunny Puerto Escondido as the final part of our brief 10-day tour of Mexico. Knowing we'd be craving some quality time to reset and escape the bustle, Puerto Escondido more than fit the bill on this front.
Casa TO
Catching the overnight bus from Oaxaca to the coast, we successfully flagged down a taxi with a friendly local surfer using our best broken Spanish and made it to Casa TO following a short 15 minute drive from the bus station.
Nestled in unassuming side streets, entering the hotel lobby you're immediately transported to the most strikingly intimate oasis. Beyond being a spot for great surf, Puerto Escondido has become something of an art and architecture hub in recent years, and Casa TO is a testament to this. Designed as a contemporary interpretation of a Oaxacan temple, the space seamlessly draws together organic brutalist styles with its natural surroundings, intertwining nature with high design.
The hotel's communal area leads into an elegant, long pool, with its centre and sides marked by simple yet dramatic circular tunnel-esque openings. Truly, I don’t think it’s possible to take a bad photo here and even simply playing post-dinner card games in the lobby felt like an occasion given the blissful design of Ludwig Godefroy.
Welcomed in true Oaxacan spirit with mezcal waiting in our room, we were immeasurably pleased to have been granted an early check-in, dropping our belongings before heading straight to the beach to explore our home for the next three days, and perhaps indulge in a nap on the shore.
With Casa TO a short 10-minute walk from the main restaurant and shop area, its location means you can enjoy conveniences without having to be in the midst of the busier centre. In evenings we'd go out to try every possible iteration of the aforementioned fish tacos, but afterwards found ourselves drawn back to Casa TO, with the underground ambience of the rooms and personal terrace providing the perfect place to unwind and gaze at the stars after a long day of beaching.
Also included in your stay is breakfast each day at Glou Glou, the incalculably cool restaurant that sits above Casa TO's lobby. Most mornings we'd set ourselves up on the raised concrete platforms that make up stylish additional seating in the restaurant, opting for fresh fruit followed by either their ricotta avocado toast or pesto grilled cheese, both of which live on rent free in my mind. Given that Glou Glou is a destination in itself for many visiting the area, it felt like even more of a treat to get to enjoy the space in the earlier hours amongst fewer guests.
Casona Sforza
After four short days spent sunning ourselves and resetting our mental batteries at Casa TO, we caught a cab to spend our final full day in Puerto Escondido at the equally luxe setting of Casona Sforza.
Elegant, tranquil and charming, Casona Sforza has its own distinct aesthetic that feels elevated yet bohemian, with much of its interior featuring Mexican artisan crafts from across the country. Clean lines, arches and terracotta tones work in harmony for the ultimate final effect, with its striking circular salt water pool being enticing enough to lure us away from our room's own private pool.
Purpose built for relaxation, the boutique hotel is an adults only resort with just 11 rooms offering unpretentious peak exclusivity and luxury. Beyond being an utterly stunning setting in itself, what really stood out to us was the hospitality we experienced during our brief stay.
Every fine detail had been considered, from the incredibly warm welcome we received to the expertly blended cocktails brought to us by the pool to the idyllic secluded beachfront that only guests have access to. The attention to detail was apparent in every interaction we had, nothing was too much trouble and all the staff made us feel at complete ease, which I can't often say I am.
After arriving at Casona Sforza we settled in at the restaurant, soaking up the seascape while enjoying our breakfast. This is by no means your average breakfast setup, with guests being able to choose from several freshly prepared dishes each day as part of their stay. By this point in the trip we had firmly established chilaquiles (a Mexican breakfast dish made with tortilla chips simmered in sauce) as our favourite morning go-to, and lucky for us Casona Sforza's chilaquiles roja was perhaps the best we tried on the trip.
In the evening we enjoyed the sunset from beach loungers before filling up on more delicious food – the ceviche is a must – and rounded off the day watching an achingly beautiful thunderstorm unfold.
Though we stayed at Casona Sforza for just one night, it was genuinely restorative and the perfect way to round off what had been a busy trip. While I'm not typically one to visit the same place twice, I'd be willing to make an exception for this one of a kind gem.
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