Puerto Escondido

Puerto Escondido has become one of Mexico’s most exciting destinations for contemporary architecture without losing the wildness that made it special in the first place. Set between the mountains of Oaxaca and the Pacific, it is a landscape of powerful surf, tropical vegetation and long beaches where life still moves to its own rhythm. In recent years, a remarkable group of Mexican architects has experimented here with concrete, brick, timber, palm and traditional building techniques, creating houses and hotels that respond directly to heat, wind and landscape rather than conventional ideas of tropical luxury.

Food and drink are increasingly part of the reason to come. Puerto Escondido’s fishing heritage and Oaxacan roots meet in a restaurant scene built around exceptional seafood, local produce, corn, chiles and smoke. Simple beach restaurants and taco stands coexist with ambitious chef-led kitchens, while mezcal provides the natural connection back to the villages and agave landscapes of Oaxaca. The atmosphere remains wonderfully informal: some of the most interesting food is served barefoot, outdoors and within earshot of the Pacific.

For DNA Hotels, Puerto Escondido is particularly special. Small architectural retreats, raw concrete hideaways and design-led beach hotels have turned this stretch of coast into an unexpected laboratory for contemporary Mexican hospitality. We curate the places where architecture, craftsmanship, food and the elemental landscape become inseparable—hotels that make Puerto Escondido feel creative and sophisticated without polishing away the rough edges that made it compelling in the first place.