Ánimas Bajas, Mexico

Photo: Acre Hotel & Restaurant

Last night was quite a night. You started the evening with a tasting of small-batch mezcals—tequila’s smokier sibling—from Oaxaca. A seven-course tasting menu, complete with wine pairings, followed as the sun set. Oysters. Scallop ceviche with a spicy ají amarillo sauce. A black bean tamale smothered in chocolatey mole negro. Charred octopus with crispy pork belly. Crazy pea agnolotti. Blackened, tataki-style catch-of-the-day. Plus tres leches with poached strawberries. Then you moved out to the fire pit.

With a full belly, you eventually stumbled through the lush gardens back to your treehouse. That’s not an impaired statement. You really did sleep in a stilted treehouse. From a distance, it looked like a huge bird’s nest. Up close, you could see the treehouse’s thatched walls. They’re made from local palo de arco trees. It has a concrete ceiling, a wood floor, and a little terrace. There’s even an outdoor shower up there. So you climbed the steel staircase and immediately fell asleep on the king-size bed.

This magical evening is courtesy of Acre. Two Canadians began developing the 25-acre property as an organic farm. They added a restaurant and a bar, both serving produce from the farm, in 2015. Late last year, they added a design hotel, as well. The 12 treehouses, which sit in a palm grove, are jungle oases. They offer a rustic-chic vibe with boutique-hotel frills, including curated minibars and high-speed Internet. Acre wouldn’t look out-of-place in Tulum. It’s actually on the other side of Mexico, though.

Photo: Acre Hotel & Restaurant

Acre is in Ánimas Bajas. You’ve probably never heard of the tiny town. But it’s right across the Río San José from San José del Cabo, a resort town whose name you certainly know. Ánimas Bajas and San José del Cabo are part of Los Cabos, the southern tip of the Baja California Peninsula. It was a remote part of Baja California Sur, Mexico’s second-smallest state, until it started being developed for tourism in the late-20th century. The sunny spot—it receives more than 320 days of sunshine each year—is now a popular escape for Americans. New hotels are currently being built up and down Los Cabos Corridor. You opted to go glamping instead of staying at one of the new luxury resorts.

Despite your late night, you’re up bright and early this morning. It’s hard to sleep in with sunlight creeping through the thatched walls, birds happily chirping on the terrace, and a rooster crowing somewhere nearby. You don’t rush to get out of bed, though. You lazily enjoy the Baja breeze blowing through the palms and the warm sun streaming across the room.

Ultimately, you’ll make your way down to the yoga session in the mango orchard. A two-course breakfast, back in the open-air restaurant, will follow. So will a nap by the infinity pool or a massage in the poolside treatment room. Playing badminton, visiting the Nigerian Dwarf goats at the farm, and even taking the shuttle to a nearby beach club will have to wait. You’re moving a little slow this morning. It’s proof of a what a great time you had last night.

Advertisement

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Log Out /  Change )

Twitter picture

You are commenting using your Twitter account. Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. Log Out /  Change )

Connecting to %s

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.