Atellier

Down a paved hill road, a kilometer above Playa Hermosa, the jungle closes in on both sides and then gives way to the ocean. The walls slide open. After that, there's no clear line left between inside and out, only the Pacific below and green on every side.

Inside, the house is built around light and shadow. Rooms are spare and polished, and the roof carries its own garden of jungle planting, so the canopy seems to continue overhead. Three bedrooms each have their own bathroom and air conditioning. The living space and kitchen open onto a garden terrace and an infinity pool that looks straight out to sea.

The villa is one of a small group that shares a wider set of facilities: a massage spa, a sauna with cold plunge, a fitness center, a water slide, and an indoor playroom children tend to disappear into for hours. Privacy at the villa itself stays intact. A villa manager is on call, with guards and maintenance staff on site.

This is a quiet place, and it's meant to stay that way. The neighborhood keeps quiet hours from 9 pm, and it isn't a house for parties or loud music. Hot water runs on solar, so it can take five to ten minutes to warm up and may come through lukewarm after a stretch of grey weather. The jungle here is genuinely open, too. Beds are draped in mosquito nets and insects are part of the arrangement. For guests who came for the sound of the forest at night, it's an easy trade.