Puerto Ángel: Main Town

Under $25

The splendidly isolated Casa de Huéspedes Rincón Sabroso (tel. 958/584-3095, $18 s or d, $20 t room-temperature water, $27 s or d, $30 t hot water) is accessible by stairway from beachfront main street Uribe, about a block west of the town pier. Atop a bay-vista hill, guests enjoy lodgings that open onto a hammock-hung view breezeway adorned by luscious tropical greenery.

Inside, rooms are very clean (but dark), with white walls, tile floors, shiny bathrooms, and natural wood furnishings. Guests have the additional option of good food and each other’s company in an airy café, perched above a heavenly bay and sunset panorama.

$25–50

Puerto Ángel [1]’s most welcoming lodging is the exceptional Casa de Huéspedes Gundi y Tomás (tel. 958/584-3068, gundtoma [at] hotmail [dot] com, www.puertoangel-hotel.com [2], $25–50 depending on room), the life project of personable German-born Gundi Ley and her sons, Bastian and Fabian López. Their homey, rustic-aesthetic complex rambles up a leafy hillside to a breezy bay-view palapa where patrons relax, socialize, and enjoy food and drink from their kitchen. Just above that, guests enjoy a double row of several clean, simply furnished rooms, shaded by a shared hammock-strewn view porch.

Besides all this, they change U.S.-dollar travelers checks, volunteer information about local sights, do laundry, and pick up and drop off guests at the Huatulco [3] airport. In addition, Bastán and Fabián, both accomplished surfers, offer surfing lessons in English, German, or Spanish.

Their accommodations, which include the Almendro tropical-garden posada near the beach downhill, consist of 14 rooms—some shared shower and toilets, some private—and one bungalow (50 percent discount for one week rental), all with fans and a good restaurant. Get there via the lane (see the sign, uphill side) that stair-steps uphill near the west end of Puerto Ángel’s main beachfront street.

Travelers who enjoy being right in the middle of the Puerto Ángel [1] beachfront street scene choose the petite Hotel Villa Florencia (Blv. Virgilio Uribe s/n, tel./fax 958/584-3044, villaserenaoax [at] hotmail [dot] com, $20 s, $30 d, $35 t, add $3 for a/c). Here, in the shady interior lobby-patio, past the good porch-front café, tranquility reigns as soft classic songs and instrumental music play in the background, while guests read and relax on comfortable chairs and couches. Upstairs, the approximately 15 rooms with bath are immaculate and thoughtfully decorated with local art and handicrafts.

Another very worthy Puerto Ángel [1] accommodation is Hotel La Buena Vista (P.O. Box 48, tel./fax 958/584-3104, reservations [at] labuenavista [dot] com, www.labuenavista.com [4], $50–70), tucked on the hillside that rises just west of the mid-town Arroyo de Aguaje bridge. The hotel’s five accommodations levels stair-step artfully (but steeply) up the forested slope. First- and second-level rooms look out onto verdure-framed bay views. On the third level are more rooms and a luxuriously airy restaurant palapa that opens to a picture- perfect bay vista.

The hotel climaxes with several large onyx-tile-floored fourth- and fifth-floor rooms that share an entire private view patio with hammocks. There, owners have provided a luxurious view pool-patio for their guests. All rooms are immaculate, light, and simply but tastefully furnished, with spotless bathrooms. Several of the approximately 20 rooms have private hammock-hung view balconies; all come with fans, mosquito curtains, and good breakfast and supper restaurant, but with room-temperature water only.

Back on the east side of town, find the 1960s motel-style Hotel Soraya (Priv. José Vasconcelos 2A, tel./fax 958/584-3009, hotelsorayadepuertoangel [at] hotmail [dot] com, $30 s or d, $45 t fan only, $50 s, $65 d, $80 with a/c), perched on the bluff above the pier. The well-managed hotel includes a restaurant with an airy bay view, fine for bright morning breakfasts and sunset-glow dinners. Outside, two tiers of spartan but light and comfortable rooms enclose a parking patio. Although some rooms have air conditioning, the fan-only ones may be preferable, since they avoid the air-conditioner noise and oft-associated mildew. Check before moving in. Rent on the upper story for maximum privacy, air, and light.