When translated into English, the Spanish word, Escondido, means hidden – like its name, the properties in Oaxaca are regarded by its founders as a hidden gem
An addition to Grupo Habita
Humans have always held onto tangible spaces as a means to give meaning to life. People, places, spaces, and creative endeavors have allowed us to ease into our daily routines. It has also given us space to yearn and dream about the possibilities of one day experiencing them.
Before the global pandemic washed us into a state of solitude in 2020, the vernacular in which we conducted our lives was skewed. The primary focus of our daily lives was simply this – ‘working is of the utmost priority’. It was only during the pandemic and while we were in prolonged lockdowns that we actively began dreaming of the possibilities of being free once more, yearning to connect with the people and places around us.
While we resorted to future plans to placate the collective boredom that we shared, our time spent during the pandemic was mostly spent looking backward. As a collective, we delved into art, film, television, and music that was created the year prior. After all, creative endeavors, like everything else, came to a halt due to social distancing and lockdowns, and nothing ‘new’ was being produced for an extended period of time.
Escondido Oaxaca by Carlos Couturier and Moisés Micha
This included congregational spaces as well. It was only when lockdown restrictions were lifted months later, however, we saw the formation of new spaces that were hybridized and curated to meet the needs of its consumers. But it seemed that everything created in 2019 has had a lasting impact on our collective society, some even making an impact still, today.
An example of that would include Escondido Oaxaca. Erected in 2019 by renowned hoteliers Carlos Couturier and Moisés Micha – the owners of Grupo Habita – one might confuse Escondido Oaxaca with its contemporary twin, Hotel Escondido. While both properties share similarities in name, location, and ownership, the allure and design of the hotels could not be more jarringly different.
Grupo Habita
Known for its flare in offering an take on hospitality, highlighting the locations in which it inhabits, and casting architectural ideas into a reality, Grupo Habita’s hotels have become a revered player in the hotel business.
The idea for the parent company, however, was not at the forefront of the owner’s plans. In an interview with Ben Pundole, the founder of A Hotel Life, Couturier remarks that both his business partner and he came from finance backgrounds. Having dabbled in farming for a brief period in their lives, the two co-founders collated their ardor for architecture and founded Grupo Habita.
Intending on developing a «unique» space to highlight the robust diversity of 90s Mexico, the duo settled on curating a hotel. Whilst averse to the term ‘boutique hotel’, Couturier and his partner can be credited for sprouting the phenomenon across Mexico.
Since formatting Grupo Habita, Couturier and Micha have erected a total of fifteen hotels, fourteen of which are scattered across Mexico and one standing in Chicago and working with architects and the likes of India Mahdavi. No stranger to creating spots across Oaxaca, Grupo Habita has established itself into the minds and lives of holidaymakers far and wide. In Oaxaca alone, Grupo Habita has affixed itself in three properties. These include Hotel Escondido, which was established in 2014, Escondido Oaxaca in 2019, and Terrestre which was completed in 2022.
Twins to a family of sisters – hotels of Grupo Habita under Design Hotels
When translated into the English language, the Spanish word, Escondido, means hidden. And like its name, the properties in Oaxaca are regarded widely by its founders and patrons as a hidden gem to the locale.
Hotel Escondido
The first location that was formatted in 2014 – Hotel Escondido – sits along the coastline of Puerto Escondido, managed under the Design Hotel group. Situated approximately twenty-seven kilometers away from the airport and city center, Hotel Escondido boasts an accouterment of offerings to capture even the most typical holiday goer.
In Grupo Habita fashion, the property, consisting of sixteen cabanas, reflects the typicalities and robust cultures that envelop Mexico. Being located along the beaches of Puerto Escondido, one that’s typically known to be Mexico’s surf mecca, plays in favor of its guests by providing picturesque views of both the land and sea that surrounds the property.
As with its other sister hotels, Hotel Escondido was brought to life through the design visions and guidelines of an architect selected by Couturier and Moisés. In the case of Hotel Escondido, Federico Rivera Rio was employed. Prior to taking on the role as the chief architect of the project, Rio mainly spent his time designing and erecting beach houses that featured indigenous thatch-roofed palapas.
Design at Hotel Escondido
Strolling around the property, one is presented with walkways and rooms – structurally sound and planted firmly by concrete while juxtaposed with its straw roofs. Like its sister hotels under Grupo Habita, Hotel Escondido was completed using materials sourced from the periphery.
Scattered across the property are mid century modern furniture pieces that contrast with the beachy vibe that the architecture of the hotel has affixed to the property. Elements of stone – that have been sourced from the locale – stucco walls and Central American hardwood mesh in rusticity to the retro beach shack allure planted across the hotel.
What stands out at Hotel Escondido is its fifty-meter-long pool planted in the beach’s sand facing the coast, creating the effect of being on the beach without being washed by the waves of the Pacific Ocean. This in addition to the private pools attached to the sixteen individual cabanas makes the whole of Hotel Escondido a sought-after holiday destination. Considered a ‘home away from home’, Hotel Escondido boasts a restaurant sourcing food from the locale that creates dishes representing the periphery in which they inhibit, a beach bar, an underground bar for private events, and a spa for patrons to unwind after a day’s worth of sunbathing.
Escondido Oaxaca – a twin situated not so far away
In contrast to the Puerto Escondido property hotel by Grupo Habita – Hotel Escondido – Escondido Oaxaca, located in Avenida María Morelos highlights the local artistry of Oaxaca.
Brought to life by architect Alberto Kalach, a renowned Mexican architect known for his amalgamation in designs featuring brutalism and Frank Llyod Wright-esque modernism, we are presented with Escondido Oaxaca. Planted alongside the historic Aztec ruins by the Monte Albán site or colonial cathedrals, Escondido Oaxaca emphasizes itself in the local area by employing traits sourced from artisans and its natural surroundings.
Furniture and textile coincide gracefully in the former 19th-century traditional house. Varied from its twin by location, Escondido Oaxaca affirms itself as a destination for tourists through its surroundings and the interior design of the hotel. In the absence of the Pacific Ocean, Escondido Oaxaca presents itself with a brutalist-style exterior that, for the untrained eye, would go unnoticed with its unassuming entrance.
The twelve rooms that the property hosts hold both past and present. While furniture of this era lives across the hotel, the cracks on the walls – retained with intention – urge its patrons to remember the history of the building. Elements of wood, palm, cement, and brick hold the property together, invoking a bucolic feeling. On the property are a Culture room, a restaurant, and a rooftop pool that features a pergola that shades sunbathers as they overlook the city below them.
Escondido Oaxaca
Avenida María Morelos #401, Centro, Ruta Independencia, CP 68000, Oaxaca. Located in the city of Oaxaca in a brutalist building, history, and future coincide with each other under the roof of Escondido Oaxaca. Set in a restored traditional house by hoteliers Grupo Habita, Escondido Oaxaca boasts a gastronomical experience in their in-house restaurant.
Pravin Nair
