Playa Zipolite — Maquil Resort

The best for last? We spent our last eight precious nights in Zipolite at Maquil Resort ($129/night and up). The property is owned and impeccably operated by the same folks that run Red Tree House in Mexico City. The right-sized vibe is relaxed, upscale resort with a spectacular outdoor dining room. And they co-own adjacent Casa Sol allowing guests from each to use all facilities. Breakfast and happy hour included. Casa Sol has a special clothing-optional pool with direct access to a delightful private beach.

Playa Zipolite — Aikia Hotel

Transformation jackpot! Villa Aikia ($200/night) is a gem. Great staff, food, views and rooms are impeccably finished. Artwork throughout. Direct access to a small beach. Clothing optional pool. Adults. Straight-friendly, gay-owned and operated.

Playa Zipolite — Casa Mixteca Boutique Hotel

Loved this spot so much during our 2022 visit we decided to come again to Casa Mixteca for two different one-week long visits this time. It’s a great value spot right across the street from the beach for under $100. Like a homestay, it has only five rooms, most with kitchen facilities. Our room, Sabina, has a king size bed (small fridge only, no kitchen) and a sweet little outdoor patio sitting area. It’s adjacent to a restaurant playing evening music. Earplugs helpful. No breakfast provided. Really wonderful, friendly staff!

Playa Zipolite — Heven Residence

We stayed last year at Heven Residence ($142/night - cash price) and could not wait to come back. It’s a special place! There are many devoted return customers, many of whom make their reservations a year in advance. We lucked out to get the San Miguel room that has an east-facing view of the entire Zipolite beach.

Playa Zipolite — Budamar Hotel

After a busy-ish three weeks touring the highlands we settled once again into the sleepy winter beach scene of Zipolite. When we arrived last winter we flew into nearby Puerto Escondido but this year we drove into town by taxi from Oaxaca City, a five hour drive in the mountains. We arranged our reservations in town so as to split our time between beach stays, village stays and cliff stays. It’s worth noting that from the top of the cliff, down across the entire beach and back is only a three mile hike. This place is really right-sized. The beach, and several resorts, are clothing optional. We’ll stay about two months. Here’s what we did…

Beach: Budamar Hotel ($115/night - cash price) - 4 weeks

Town: Mixteca Boutique Hotel ($75/night)- 2 weeks

Cliff: Heven Residence ($142/night - cash price) - 10 nights & Maquil Resort ($129/night) - 1 week. Villa Aikia - [attended weekend wellness retreat package] (room rates range: $200-300/night)

Scroll to see the detail for each place.

Budamar Hotel
It has the advantage of being mid-beach, has a small pool, is clothing optional allowing you to walk out of your hotel room onto the naked beach. During our stay it was in the throes of significant hotel management transition creating some rough spots. But overall reasonable value for being right on the beach. Breakfast included.

Oaxaca City — Casa De Sierra Azul, Zona Centro

Before settling into the Oaxaca beach scene in Zipolite for two months, we completed our central highlands visit in Oaxaca City to enjoy exquisite regional cuisine and unique cultural offerings. We stayed four nights at Casa De Sierra Azul (website, $134 /night). Great, convenient location. Charming old house. We enjoyed our stay but would try something else if we ever come back. And we hope we do. The Museum of Cultures of Oaxaca, Santo Domingo is stunning as the collection is being housed in an old nunnery adjacent to Templo de Santo Domingo de Guzmán. You’ll find art everywhere. Great food. We loved it here overall! Our hotel choice we just liked.

Mexico City — Red Tree House, La Condesa

The Red Tree House Bed & Breakfast in the La Condesa neighborhood of Mexico City was our base for a five-night, first-time visit to Mexico City (website, $161 /night). Beautifully remodeled old home, fabulous artwork throughout and exquisite staff. Beautifully designed and really a pleasure to enjoy. Great lighting! Very nicely done breakfast. Stylist apartments available too. We opted for among their least expensive rooms and it was adequate for five nights. Next time definitely will try another room or apartment. TOP HOTEL GUY RECOMMENDATION. Mexico City is fun! Green, wide boulevards, easy to get around. Enjoy epic cultural options like Museo Nacional de Antropología, Templo Mayor Museum and Sitio Arqueológico de Teotihuacán.

San Miguel de Allende — Correo 19, Zona Centro

An easy and convenient point-to-point taxi transfer from Guanajuato to San Miguel is just an hour and half drive. We stayed four nights (La Pajarera, at the Jardin, $171/night). We opted for an Airbnb stay in a perfectly central location. Around town, be prepared for exquisite Spanish baroque architecture, fanciful street decor, a wealth of really good art galleries and great food options and experiences. Do not miss Fabrica la Aurora for art. Restaurants: Tostévere and Inside Cafe.

Guanajuato — Plaza de San Fernando

We rented an extraordinary house on Airbnb (House in Historic Center, $181/night) right after Christmas and stayed through a New Year 2023 celebration that did not disappoint with fireworks we viewed from our enchanting rooftop terrace. We did, however, both test positive for Covid-19 (our first time! 🎉). That part was less fun. We lost several days in quarantine and stayed inside but managed to see the sights on our last two days. So glad we stayed a week. We needed it to get well. Plaza de San Fernando was always teeming with charm and activity!

The house was previously owned by the artistic director of the local opera company and, well, the pictures speak for themselves. A slice of history and an epic memory — a covid cultural quarantine! The art and mysteriousness of the house was a welcomed distraction from being ill. Basically, we were living inside the Gabriel García Márquez novel 100 Years of Solitude!

Guanajuato was the perfect first stop on our colonial highlands visit to Mexico. We’ve included some pics around town in the slideshow below the house pics.