Paradero Todos Santos is situated between mountains, farms, desert, and ocean.
Photo: Courtesy of Paradero Hotels
This Minimalist Resort in Mexico Is an Adventure Lover’s Paradise
With mesmerizing views of the ocean, mountains, desert, and stars, Paradero Todos Santos is designed for communing with nature
Although located just an hour from Mexico’s bustling Los Cabos Airport, Paradero Todos Santos is spiritually worlds away. Rising from the earth in a tranquil area surrounded by mountains, ocean, desert, and farms, the 35-suite resort is built around a serpentine natural oasis and garden.
“Mexico’s geographic diversity is a rarely told story, but we believe the country also deserves a place on the global platform of soft adventure,” says Paradero Hotels cofounder Josh Kremer. “We wanted to fill this void, and achieve it without compromising on luxury and sustainability.”
Architects Rubén Valdez and Yashar Yektajo designed the concrete exterior of Paradero Todos Santos to perfectly match the soil. Photo: Courtesy of Paradero Hotels
Up-and-coming architects Rubén Valdez and Yashar Yektajo made “radical decisions” in conceiving the the resort, which features an undulating concrete exterior crafted to perfectly match the soil. “We were very lucky to find this site,” Valdez tells Galerie. “Between the hotel and the Pacific Ocean, there is almost no trace of humanity, just cactus fields. It’s very much connected to nature.”
The team constructed all the rooms along the perimeter of the site so each suite has an unobstructed view of the surroundings, including the sprawling, 107,639-square-feet interior gardens. Ground floor rooms feature private plunge pools while upstairs suites offer a roof terrace and unique star net hammocks that suspend viewer in line with the horizon for a truly breathtaking view. “It was very important for us that the walls and all of the materials would somehow contribute to this experience of embracing the landscape itself,” says Valdez.
The natural oasis meanders through Paradero Todos Santos' verdant gardens. Photo: Courtesy of Paradero Hotels
Cultivating that surreal setting, the landscape design team from Polen built on the site’s natural oasis and pre-existing farm to create a harmonious garden. Many species of plants were preserved at a nursery in Mesquite during construction then returned to the site. “While you walk through the project, you really can experience all the eco-systems of that part of Baja,” says Polen cofounder Ana Julia Carvajal.
Narrow pathways open up to larger vistas filled with plant life, while the natural oasis—a fundamental part of the resort’s spa—is also planted with tropical papaya, mango, and bananas. A towering cacti stands tall in one of the sinuous curve of the waterway.
The dining pavilion at Paradero Todos Santos. Photo: Courtesy of Paradero Hotels
“The plants on the landscape project are what brings these beautiful contrasts to the landscape and to the architecture project,” Carvajal tells Galerie. “The desert species that we have on the project have beautiful red, purple, and white flowers. Also we have a lot of crawling species that have beautiful flowers so when they’re blooming, all the floor turns into this purple or white carpet.”
The landscape designers also planted a variety of herbs as well as guava, fig, lemon, and orange trees that will bear fruit to be used in the on-site restaurant, which is housed in an open-air pavilion. “Everything is exposed so you see the chef working; there is a constant interaction between the staff and the people,” says Yektajo. “Our idea was to feel that you are eating in the boundaries between these two built and non-built environments.”
The serene pool at Paradero Todos Santos. Photo: Courtesy of Paradero Hotels
Guests can enjoy surfing sessions, hiking tours, gardening lessons, or culinary excursions, or retreat to the on-site pool, which is hidden behind a curved wall at the property’s highest point. From the tranquil water, visitors are treated to amazing views of Playa Las Palmas. “We tried to convey luxury not necessarily as a material thing,” says architect Ruben Valdez, “but being there is simply the best luxury you could have.”
Artisan furniture in one of the resort’s guest suites. Photo: Courtesy of Paradero Hotels
In the future, Kremer and Paradero Hotels cofounder Pablo Carmona hope to create other harmonious resorts in other off-the-beaten-path surroundings. “The fundamental believe will always be around extraordinary outdoor experiences that go hand-in-hand with sustainability, community development, and conservation,” Carmona tells Galerie. “We will select destinations that immerse guests in nature and instill reverence toward the land. The goal is to put amazing outdoor experiences in high-design spaces surrounded by unbelievable multiverse ecosystems.”
A version of this article first appeared in print in our 2021 Summer issue. Subscribe to the magazine.
Cover: Paradero Todos Santos is situated between mountains, farms, desert, and ocean.
Photo: Courtesy of Paradero Hotels
