The design of Villa Estrella is a stunning display of the natural beauty of Mexican architecture.

In the villages of Mexico’s Pacific coast, architecture is closer to the earth. Fences are made of sticks, building is predominantly in wood and adobe (sun-dried mud bricks) and the palapa structure, a simple shelter roofed with a thatch of woven palm fronds, endures in a form little changed since pre-Hispanic times. The isolation of the rural environment has produced a timeless vernacular architecture that…. hardly needs any architects.

Even the powerful Mexica or Aztec Empire, which extended as far west as the Pacific, showed little interest in building along this coast as it did in the Valley of Mexico. Yet we know that Montezuma and other great rulers made regular pilgrimages here in search of sun, sea, and recuperation. Perhaps the extravagant beauty seduced the Mexica visitors into a state of euphoria, reducing their usual ambition to build great monuments in stone to a simple desire to enjoy the seductive surroundings.

Not much has changed. When it comes to building along Mexico’s Pacific coast, a different set of rules applies. The monumental elements so prevalent in most contemporary Mexican architecture – the stone-paved courtyards, massive walls, and formal haciendas are willingly discarded.

In their place is a more dreamlike architecture that has no doors, no windows, and very few walls. Angles are replaced by sensuous curves, edges are more rounded, and furniture is forsaken in favor of built-in benches and beds. The line between inside and outside has disappeared. Nature flows seamlessly, invading the house, drawing the occupants to live at one with the seductive and splendid surroundings. Natural rock and plants give the privacy, abundant flowers decorate the space, stunning views and sunshine infuse the house with glory.

The sounds of nature, the sound of wind swaying the palm fronds, the sound of waves surging on the rocks below, the call of birds all immerse the architecture with a symphony of wonder.

The steady sea breeze, warmed by the sun caresses and soothes the skin. The brilliant sun dances like diamonds on the blue ocean. The thick palapa umbrella cone provides the shelter and cool shade from the blazing merciless sun, an ancient design with venting at the top to let the heat escape. You live under and inside a hand crafted, hand woven masterpiece of natural beautiful palm fronds, thousands of them, woven into a simple structure of rustic poles that soothes the soul with its earthy beautiful hand made honesty.

Only natural materials are used. Leather for the furniture, hand woven fabrics, rustic wood, rough stone walls, palm fronds for the roof, clay tiles, and everywhere the plants. Rich, simple, natural textured materials, glorious coloured blossoms, butterflies, hummingbirds, fireflies.

Villa Estrella is the inheritor of these traditions; the antidote to a modern life of tension, technology, hurry and worry. The villa represents the deep felt desire of man to be at one with his natural surroundings, to live as simply as possible, in tune with the deepest rhythms of nature that make the earth turn.

We live with the cycles of the sun, sunrise, sunset, heat of day, cool of night, stunning brightness, velvet darkness. We live with the cycles of the moon and the tides, that infinite cycle, the rising and falling of the seas, the endless mating of sea and shore. The rhythm of the waves; those long deep swells that surge across the oceans in endless powerful rows, surging forever upon the shores below, a thundering drama of explosions on the beach. The cycle of the winds, that rise during the course of the day, only to die in the evenings. The cycles of the seasons that brings rains. The cycles of the pelicans and frigate birds appearing every day. The cycles of the whales appearing and disappearing every year. The cycles of plants that grow and flower. These are the cycles of nature that ground the spirit, bring us peace, comfort, joy and restore the balance of our souls.

This you can expect from Villa Estrella. To see more pictures of our luxury Mexico Villa, visit the Photo Gallery.

With a location as magical and beautiful as Villa Estrella, it is no wonder that we have so many joyous testimonials.

One fun thing we like to do at every visit is to go through the guest book that we keep at Villa Estrella. We eagerly read the comments and testimonials that our guests write into the book. We find it heartwarming and delightful to read about how much our guests have enjoyed their stay at Villa Estrella, how they love the staff, especially Rosa, how they love the food, and how sad they are to have to leave.

We don’t think their comments should languish in a book on the shelf. This kind of joy needs to be shared, and we would like to share it with you. So here you are; below are some of the pages written by our beloved guests during their stays at Villa Estrella in 2010. These are real and wonderful people. During the bookings process I get to know them a bit. These are all unique people with whom we have a lot in common. We all share that deep love of nature, beauty, individuality, ocean and adventure. It’s a very powerful, common bond.

Thank you so much for making our stay so special. None of us want to leave this beautiful place. The staff was awesome!! The food was awesome, everything was perfect. The tranquil environment really enabled us all to re-connect to our spouses in a special way. We all renewed our vows to each other while we were here. We will never forget this place! Thank you! – The Allens, The Gregory’s and The Gallaghers

We had a wonderful time! Very relaxing and great food! Your villa will be remembered and recommended to lots of friends! It was great to have no TV and to enjoy the sounds of the ocean. Surfing & boogie boarding was amazing. – Dan and Tonya Decker p.s. can we take Rosa home to Steamboat Colorado?

Wow what a great piece of paradise. Great food, fun and friends. We will always remember the memories from this vacation. The views, surfing, fishing, boogie boarding, the waterfall, the drive to the waterfall, and of course the great staff! Thanks for everything! – Jeff, Shellyn & Marcy Dillingham
Clark, Colorado

I do not want to leave!! Thank you for sharing your lovely home with our families. We will miss the incredible views, the ocean, the waves, the birds and the sunsets. Profound relaxation in nature is invaluable. We hope to return soon! – Sack-Albert Family, Seattle, WA and Stosur-Hatcher Family, Portland OR

This was our second honeymoon and it was spectacular! Rosa’s cooking was heavenly and we enjoyed a great fishing trip, (we had tuna sashimi for dinner!) and we also enjoyed the jungle cruise- at lunch we were introduced to the most wonderful oysters we ever had. I could go on and on and on. the house was wonderful, sleeping to the sounds of the ocean will be missed and the PURE RELAXATION will be longed for. We will be back! – The Freemans, Texas

We gad a great week here at Villa Estrella! Beautiful house, awesome sunsets, amazing views, and the most fantastic staff works here at Punta el Custodio! We could not have asked for a better place to spend our vacation at. Definitely will be suggesting this to our friends and family. Ulrich and Jackie, thanks to opening your home to us. Rosa, thanks so much for the delicious meals and your smiling face every day! Ismael and the rest of the staff thank you so much for always helping us with whatever we needed. Hope to be back sometime soon! Muchas Gracias para todos! – Sarah & Andy, Gridwood Alaska

The villa was perfect! We loved how the tropical outdoors came right into the interior! We loved the brightness of the sky at night and saw millions of stars every night as we relaxed in the infinity pool to all hours of the night. It was a super place to surf, or at least learn how to surf. We enjoyed the friendly staff. A wonderful and relaxing holiday. – Dr. Ron & Wendy G. & family

This villa was amazing! Rosa and the food couldn’t have been more perfect! What a great way to getaway and relax. Falling asleep to the sound of the ocean is fantastic. Boogie boarding was such a fun experience. We really don’t want to leave Rosa, such a smiling happy person, we will never forget her!! She makes the most unbelievable food. Her keylime pie is to die for. Overall the staff here is amazing, Thanks so much for a wonderful week we loved it! – The Kupchella Family, Minneapolis, MN

This was truly the most wonderful vacation we have ever taken (this includes our honeymoon). We have never been so well taken care of, fed, rested and relaxed. I recommend Villa Estrella to anyone needing a hideaway from the crazy world and time to reconnect to themselves or to those they love. We will be returning in 2011….. and we are trying to find a way to get back this summer. We have tried other vacation spots to no avail and have decided we will make Villa Estrella our annual kid-free vacation. – Cara Vanberg Freeman

To Read More reviews left by our Guests, see our Testimonials.

Villa Estrella's real palapa roof made of interwoven royal palm fronds.

Last November we spent 6 weeks here at Villa Estrella. It’s a lovely time of year, we come every year at this time, the rainy season is just over, and everything is lush green. The heat of the summer has started to wane, and the fresher winter season has not yet arrived, the ocean waters are deliciously warm, the tourists are nowhere in sight. It’s a time of beauty, peace, and for reconnecting with our wonderful friends here in Mexico.

It’s also a great time for us to make sure the Villa is properly spruced up for the upcoming rental season. The power of the summer storms, the huge amounts of wind and rain, the salt spray, all leave their mark. We make sure all the linens and towels are in good shape, replace worn kitchen utensils and do paint touch-ups. Often we take a trip to Guadalajara to restock on fabrics for draperies, get fresh colourful cushions for the banco, and replace tarnished light fixtures. This time we replaced some of the washroom faucets as they were looking tired as well. I think the ceramic tiles in the bathrooms are the next candidate for upgrade. The big item this year was the replacement of the entire palapa roof. The roof was now 12 years old, and the royal palm fronds that are woven into the wood framework were finally starting to crumble. Small bits of daylight were visible, and during the rains….well there would be drips on the floor.

Jackie always does a major garden tune-up. The wild summer storms lash the plants with salt spray which damages many of them. The heavy rains have beaten up all the flowering plants, so they need nursing.

Our new hammock, swaying in the warm breeze with a beautiful view of the ocean, awaits you.

The indoor plants suffer from light deprivation, so they get switched out for fresh ones. There is always a visit to the vivero (nursery) for a fresh supply. Often the little plants we put in years ago have become giants and suddenly there is too much shade, so those have to be pruned. This year I couldn’t get my satellite internet dish to pickup the satellite signal….well you guessed it…the palm fronds had grown up so large, they blocked the satellite dish. Jackie and Jaime our gardener spend endless hours pruning, moving and replacing.

One of my favourite new acquisitions was the hammock. The old one, although lovely finally gave up the ghost as the woven cords finally disintegrated from old age. Hammock is mandatory. The hammock is hung from the big rock wall in a quiet corner behind the kitchen, surrounded by Bougainvilleas, hummingbirds and butterflies. I slip into it with a book, and before you know it am fast asleep. The one we found is an extra wide one, good for two.

Punta el Custodio is on the Riviera Nayarit, near the tiny beach village of Platanitos. Punta means Point, Punta el Custodio is like a small village built on a small peninsula projecting into the sea. We are surrounded on three sides by Pacific ocean, including a fabulous surfing beach. The community is operated by the 19 villa owners and at this time we have 15 lovely villas, each one uniquely different. The property has retained all the original Mexican jungle vegetation and new villas are not permitted to cut trees. This has created the opportunity for living flora to be creatively incorporated into the architecture of some of these stunning homes.

Punta El Custodio is filled with beautifully designed and maintained gardens filled with plant species native to the Nayarit region.

The road through Punta El Custodio is a sweet, narrow cobbled winding affair which twists and turns to miss the trees and huge boulders (see picture). At the very tip of the peninsula is our beautiful common swimming pool, and one of the most amazingly large Mexican chalata trees you will ever see.

In the gardens that fill every inch of space surrounding the villas, we are continually adding diversity to the plant species – seeking plants that are native and unique to this region of Mexico and protecting and re-planting endangered species. We are starting a composting and mulching program to return all fallen organic matter to the soil. We have also been steadily constructing a network of narrow cobbled footpaths throughout the property.

One of our prime objectives is to protect and enhance the natural beauty of the peninsula wherever possible. Many areas in Punta El Custodio have been left in their original condition, especially the very wild tip of the peninsula where the ocean swells break wildly on the “prow” of our point. The natural native Nayarit vegetation at that location consists mainly of cactus and wild fig. At this point the jungle and landscaping has re-grown so quickly and richly, that most of the villas have become almost invisible as the gardens have overgrown and concealed them. Walking the cobbled road and paths of Punta el Custodio is a beautiful experience.

I am heavily involved with the ongoing master planning and evolution of the common areas and landscaping of the property. Today I walked the property with our manager Ismael and we planned out the construction of some new cobbled footpaths through some of the jungle areas. Then, with Valentin the Arquitecto, I supervised the placement of some enormous boulders in one of our common areas because there happened to be a big backhoe here today doing some other work and dozens of these big boulders were just lying around awkwardly. So we arm waved a placement of the rocks that will enhance the next phase of the project, which is to turn the area into a secret garden park.

If you are considering a vacation rental in Mexico on the ocean and beach, you really should consider renting Villa Estrella in Punta El Custodio. Renting our villa is amazingly economical when you consider the large number of bedrooms, and that that the cost could be shared by a group of renters (please CLICK HERE for our weekly rental rates). Also, with the full time maid and meal plan you can save a fortune on expensive restaurants.

If you want to rent a villa in Mexico, we strongly recommend the Riviera Nayarit region, north of Puerto Vallarta. It’s easy to get to from the west coast of North America, has great flight frequencies in and out of Puerto Vallarta International Airport and good air fares are available from all over western US, Canada and Alaska. Fly directly to Puerto Vallarta and have Ismael send the van to pick you up and whisk you to Villa Estrella. It’s that simple.

Villa Estrella's gardens are lush, tropical and meticulously maintained, giving the whole community a dream-like atmosphere.

We woke to exquisite sunshine and blue ocean, clean clear air with crystal clear views of the beach all the way to Punta Mita in one direction, and North to San Blas. A perfect day on the Riviera Nayarit. The dinner party with the young folks at Casa Colibri last night was fun, they cooked up a blizzard of pasta. The dinner was followed by the Mexican train domino tournament, washed down with slightly excessive quantities of vino. Felix the cat trotted back home with us to Villa Estrella and is snuggled up tight by my side on the couch to keep warm.

Jaime, the Punta el Custodio handyman, finally got the new pool heater gas valve in to the Villa from Mexico City. Having a warm pool to float in every night is one of the MAJOR pleasures down here at the villa and we’ve been without it for a week (it even caused minor marital crisis). So it’s finally fixed. We are pouring fortunes of propane gas into the heater to get it cozy for tonight’s marine pleasures under the full moon, looking down at the ocean surf crashing below from our private, negative-edge pool. We love hanging out in the little cliff-side pool for hours, watching shooting stars, identifying the constellations, finding the north star. Tonight the moon is pretty much full and will illuminate the crashing surf below. When we’re not star gazing, the pool is also perfect for aquacise, and working off Rosa’s cooking (not to mention all the margaritas). We marvel at the wonder that is Mexico and at the magic of Villa Estrella and its stunning setting, surrounded by ocean, and nature.

This is an example of one of the many Mexican Tapestries that decorate Villa Estrella.

Rosa is sewing something for Jackie in the kitchen, I think it’s a cotton blouse. Soft jazz is filling the palapa, the sun is shining beautifully, the ocean is a stunning blue, the palm trees are swaying gracefully in the breeze. I hear the waves gently surging on the rocks below. I smell something good cooking from the kitchen – Rosa is cooking Comida (lunch). I’m looking forward to my nap in the hammock afterward, but for now it’s after 12 and time for my first icy Corona of the day.

You should see the lovely new hanging lamps we picked up for the villa on our trip to Guadalajara last week. We bought huge spherical basket lamps that are now hanging from the high palapa, plus some beautiful stars  that are now hanging over the tequila bar in front of the kitchen. The lamps were so huge we barely were able to squeeze them into the Suburban for the 4 hour trip back home. This type of decorating is so Mexican – using big bold elements, high spaces, fabulous dramatic environments. We like to give our renters an amazing villa experience with beautiful Mexican art, Mexico pottery, Mexican ceramics, colors and design.