Casa Palapa, Tulum Beach Zone

Casa Palapa suits a party of ten who came for the Tulum beach zone but want to sleep in something built the way this coast was built. The house is palapa construction in wood and stone, thatched and open, so the living areas read as one continuous space that runs from the kitchen out through the terrace to the sand.

Five bedrooms take five couples or a family with older children. Each has its own bathroom. The principal room has a king bed and a private terrace facing the ocean; the other four are configured across king and queen beds, so nobody is negotiating over who gets the good room.

The day has a fixed shape here. Coffee on the sun terrace at the table that looks straight out to sea, a swim in the infinity pool set among the palms and tropical planting, then the private stretch of beach past the garden. Treatments and yoga are run at the house itself rather than booked elsewhere, which is the practical advantage of architecture that is already open to the air. Evenings can be catered on request; otherwise the fully equipped kitchen and the outdoor table carry dinner.

Security, housekeeping, air-conditioning and Wi-Fi are the baseline. What the house adds to that is the material: high ceilings, natural finishes, large openings that let the sea breeze through every room.

For guests choosing between a boutique hotel on the beach road and a private house, Casa Palapa is the private house that still feels like the beach road. Enquire for availability.