The best surf & design hotels · Puerto Escondido
Casa To
Ludwig Godefroy drew from Istanbul's Basilica Cistern and Aztec pyramids and built nine suites in raw concrete above La Punta Zicatela — a structure of circular apertures cut through the mass of the building, a pool that threads between the arches, outdoor bathtubs, private gardens, natural ventilation through concrete so heavy it doesn't need air conditioning. The building is solar-powered, plastic-free, and composts at source. Glou Glou — the wine bar run by Argentinian chef Luis Pabón and sommelier Gabriela Moreno on the hotel's terrace — opened in 2023 and became the most talked-about table on the Oaxacan coast. Michelin Key 1. Nine suites. The pool is the most photographed in Mexico for reasons that are evident the moment you arrive and irrelevant five minutes after.
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The hotel
Sustainability
The Design
Raw concrete, circular apertures, a pool that threads through the arches. Godefroy called it a contemporary reinterpretation of an Oaxacan temple. The name is the abbreviation.
The circular openings do three things simultaneously: they cool the building through natural ventilation, they frame specific views of the garden and sky, and they make the structure immediately identifiable from any angle. The pool running through the arches is not a design feature — it is the building's logic expressed in water. The cube-shaped sunbeds cut into the terrace wall at Glou Glou were designed for sitting. The distinction from posing is visible.
The Design
Raw concrete, circular apertures, a pool that threads through the arches. Godefroy called it a contemporary reinterpretation of an Oaxacan temple. The name is the abbreviation.
The circular openings do three things simultaneously: they cool the building through natural ventilation, they frame specific views of the garden and sky, and they make the structure immediately identifiable from any angle. The pool running through the arches is not a design feature — it is the building's logic expressed in water. The cube-shaped sunbeds cut into the terrace wall at Glou Glou were designed for sitting. The distinction from posing is visible.
The Food
Glou Glou. The most talked-about table in Puerto Escondido since 2023. An Argentinian chef, a sommelier, a terrace, and Oaxacan seafood revisiting ancestral recipes.
Luis Pabón and Gabriela Moreno cook and pour in the open on the hotel's terrace — small plates, degustation menus, organic wines from small producers, non-alcoholic fermented beverages. Seasonal Oaxacan produce, Pacific seafood, ancestral recipes handled with precision. The name references the French sound of wine being poured. The cooking is not that casual.
The Food
Glou Glou. The most talked-about table in Puerto Escondido since 2023. An Argentinian chef, a sommelier, a terrace, and Oaxacan seafood revisiting ancestral recipes.
Luis Pabón and Gabriela Moreno cook and pour in the open on the hotel's terrace — small plates, degustation menus, organic wines from small producers, non-alcoholic fermented beverages. Seasonal Oaxacan produce, Pacific seafood, ancestral recipes handled with precision. The name references the French sound of wine being poured. The cooking is not that casual.
The Sustainability
Solar-powered. Plastic-free. Naturally ventilated through raw concrete. Built for this climate rather than against it.
The building runs on solar power, uses no plastic, and composts and recycles at source. The circular apertures in the concrete mass create natural cross-ventilation that eliminates the need for air conditioning — sustainability through architecture rather than through programme.
The Sustainability
Solar-powered. Plastic-free. Naturally ventilated through raw concrete. Built for this climate rather than against it.
The building runs on solar power, uses no plastic, and composts and recycles at source. The circular apertures in the concrete mass create natural cross-ventilation that eliminates the need for air conditioning — sustainability through architecture rather than through programme.
