Bungalow Lavanda – Los Guajes

Bungalow Lavanda occupies the ground floor at Casa Los Guajes, a villa of five independent suites in Costa Cumana, a short drive south of Puerto Escondido. The bungalow looks out across the gardens and the pool to the ocean beyond, and the terrace in front of it catches that view whole. Inside, the walls are kept in soft neutral colours, which sets off the green of the jungle that surrounds the property rather than competing with it.

The room holds a king bed positioned so that the outlook from the terrace is the first thing in sight in the morning. There are generous closets, a full private bathroom and warm wood shutters that open to the garden through the day and close to leave only the sound of the surf at night. A refrigerator keeps drinks and provisions to hand, and the terrace has seating for reading or for breakfast outside. Being on the ground floor, the suite opens straight onto the garden path, which puts the pool, the palapas and the beach a short walk away without stairs.

The bungalow is part of a larger property and shares its common areas. At the centre of Casa Los Guajes are open living and dining spaces leading to a modern kitchen, where the villa’s chef cooks and a service team lays the tables, with pool terraces alongside and palapas facing the ocean for shade through the middle of the day. Paths lined with tropical planting and small fountains connect the five bungalows to the common areas, and each suite keeps its own front door. Chef and bar service, airport transfers and daily housekeeping are included in the rate.

Costa Cumana is semi-tropical rather than uniformly green, so palms and bougainvillea grow among cactus and the beach below stays quiet through most of the year. Puerto Escondido is a few kilometres north with the surf at Zicatela, the boats at Puerto Angelito and the restaurants of La Punta, and Puerto Escondido International Airport is a short drive, and the coast road south leads on to Mazunte and Zipolite in under an hour. For two travellers who want a private suite with the run of a larger house, Bungalow Lavanda gives Villa Experience guests a quiet corner of a property built around its own landscape.