Villamor Hotel in Mexico’s Nayarit Hotspot

Twenty years ago, Sayulita, Mexico was a quiet, sleeping beachside village with a handful of ex-pat surfers and several dozen local familias. These days it’s been flooded by tourists, ex-pats and yearlong residents who’ve fallen in love with the place and you’ll find organic coffee, high-end art and boutique clothing stores. Even so, there’s still lots of hippie charm to seduce you into hanging out past your planned week-long vacation and lots of well-developed options for staying short and long term there.

Villamor is a cluster of beachside villas that climbs up the left side of Sayulita’s tiny bay. The villas are a condominium complex whose owners pay the hotel management to rent out their homes to vacationers and who come down anywhere from a few weeks to a few months themselves to enjoy Mexico’s beautiful pacific beaches.

The 26 villas vary in size in and amenities, ranging from studios to a 5-bedrooms villa high on the hill that hosts beachside weddings almost every weekend. Every one of them has a lovely view of the bay below and the décor is beachy-kitsch laced in luxury. Prices range from US$120 to over a $1,000 a night, and depending on which villa you choose, you may have a full or half kitchen, open-air patio or plunge pool. On site is a large common swimming pool shared by all the guests and a ground floor restaurant (run separately from the hotel). Tucked into the property is a handful of other condos, separate from Villamor and managed by a separate hotel group called Hotel Sayulita Central. Anyone with mobility issues or a general dislike of stairs might want to think twice about Villamor only because there are hundreds of stairs everywhere you go, even though a main road through the property can be taken by golf cart.

The property is managed by a former New Yorker who fell in love with Sayulita 10 years ago and took over management of the property from its original owners. The complex is just steps from the center of town, easily manageable walking or via golf cart. There is a tiny private (rocky) beach just in front of the hotel and several better, larger beaches within 15 minutes walking distance. The town itself is definitely a touristy, in particular during the local holidays and

summer vacation, but Villamor’s spot above the fray on the hillside makes it feel consistently mellow and relaxing. Management staff speak perfect English and can help you arrange anything you might need during your trip.

If you take a liking to the place and decide you just can’t leave, six of the villas are currently for sale as of this writing. Prices ranges from US$350,000 to $718,000. Owners make around 10% of the sale cost year in revenue and all the dirty work is taken care of by the management team.

Sayulita is easily reachable from Puerto Vallarta either by taxi (about US$50) or bus (about US$4) and flights in and out of Puerto Vallarta connect to most major American cities. If you are looking for an investment opportunity or just a place to relax for a few days, Villamor is a good place to start exploring Mexico’s Pacific coast.

You can book your stay directly on the hotel website or try searching for them through Booking.com.