A magical experience. Our son was married on the beach and the staff did a first rate job of decorating and coordinating. The entire staff was friendly, helpful and made everyone staying there and visiting for the wedding feel comfortable and welcomed. I would recommend this facility to others for weddings and special events or to anyone looking for a relaxing vacation away from the constant din of everyday life. Also a great place for couples to reconnect with one another . The accomodations were wonderful. One can not help but leave feeling relaxed and rejuvinated. The spa services were excellent. We will definately be returning in the future.

I stayed here for four days of my honeymoon after staying at Costa Azul just north of here in San Francisco. I was happy we did it in that order, because although Costa Azul was comfortable and pretty fun, this place is amazing. I booked based on the reviews here, and they were very accurate. Besides the stunning location, the owners have great taste and every little detail is well thought out. The landscaping is impeccably maintained, there are friendly dogs and pet birds, and the music in the restaurant area is great and eclectic (no Matchbox 20 and Santana on constant repeat, thank god), We stayed in the love nest, which is private and has a great view, but we'd probably stay down closer to the beach next time we come, mostly because the love nest tends to attract more large beetles and spiders than the others (i didn't have too much of a problem but my wife gets a little creeped out....the bug netting around the beds works well though).

The restaurant is decent. Breakfast is absolutely fantastic and it's cheap, and lunches are simple and good. Dinner is a $25 price fix affair and in my opinion you can get better food in town for far, far less.

If this is the type of place you are looking for, stop looking. Very affordable, and your expectations will be exceeded.

My husband and I stayed at Playa Escondida from August 21-28. We booked at the last minute -- we were originally going to Jamaica but then the hurricane hit -- but we felt we ended up with a better vacation than the one we'd originally planned! Playa Escondida is not for everyone -- there is a definite rustic element to staying there that some people wouldn't like -- but we found it the most relaxing vacation we've ever taken. Usually we like to take a lot of day trips and explore the region we're in. This time, while we considered a few excursions, we ended up leaving the property only once to explore town and get some provisions. We didn't want to leave!

As an earlier review mentioned, there is a lot of variation among accommodations at Playa Escondida. I recommend either all beach or a jungle/beach combo like we did. We spent the first 3 nights in the Rocasa Studio, which is in the jungle on the side of the mountain. It is really unique -- the entire bathroom is out in the open on a small balcony, although it is still fairly private. In fact, one of the fiercest thunder storms I've ever experienced hit one night while we were there and I'll never forget waking up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom and watching the jungle and ocean (in the distance) light up like Times Square!

Rocasa Studio is very charming -- it looks like a hobbitt house -- but it is small. Also, there is no glass or screens in the windows, so it is open to whatever happens by. This included the resort cat, which was fun, and some of these strange-looking white-clawed crab things, which were sort of scary -- especially the one that took up residence in my hat! Remember to keep all your clothes in your suitcase and to keep the suitcase zipped. One of my best memories of the Studio was playing cards on the balcony one night during another fierce electrical storm, while drinking mango smoothies with rum that we made up with provisions we bought in town and the blender that was included in the small kitchen. No tv, no clocks, no phones -- this is the kind of place that makes you remember how fun it is to do something like play rummy all night long.

Downsides: Hot water in the shower was not a regular thing. We lost power one night for several hours (which was actually kind of fun). The mosquito netting over the bed was exotic and fun, but it was also necessary -- there are some bugs. The pillows were hard and the bed linens smelled kind of musty (although this might be because we were there in the hottest and most humid part of the year). Also, the Studio is above the Rocasa House. The first 2 nights we were there, the house was empty, but on the last night, several young women moved in downstairs and we could hear every word they said. We dealt with it for one night (mostly by playing music), but it would be kind of annoying for an entire vacation.

We spent the last four nights in Beach Villa 2. It was directly above the shore line and it was wonderful! We could literally open the doors and lay on our king-sized bed and watch the sun set right outside. Also, all these rather charming dogs came to visit every night around sunset (including one who came into our room and tried to pee on the bed post, but that's another story!) The Villa is cooler and less buggy than the Studio because it gets a steady breeze being so close to the water. The room is large and round -- it feels newer and more airy than the Studio. The bathroom is inside, which was sort of sad but probably more practical. Again, the windows have no glass or screens. And no cd player in the room, which we missed after having one in the Studio.

The kitchen area is communal among the 4 Beach Villas. I think some of the other Villas were occupied at least some of the time we were in Villa 2, but we rarely saw anyone else over there and never heard anyone, even though the Villas are also on top of each other (2 on the ground and 2 a short flight of steps up). Actually, it would be a lot of fun to go with 4 couples so that each one could have one of the Villas. But even going alone, we felt we had privacy. No blender in the communal kitchen though, and when we asked about getting one, we were basically told "no."

The beach at Playa Escondida is very pretty, much more so than in Sayulita. I'm a good and fairly confident swimmer, but the rip tide was fierce and made me a little nervous. The shelling isn't great, but improves as you walk up the beach a ways to the left.

The restaurant on site is good. Breakfast includes a couple of Mexican dishes, which are great. We didn't really do lunch, although I highly recommend the "snack" of guac and chips. Dinner is 4 courses for $25. There were always four choices of entree, which changed every night. It was always good, sometimes very good, but there wasn't really anything Mexican on the menu, which was disappointing. We only ate dinner in town one time, but should probably have gone at least another time, as the 4 course thing got monotonous after a while. The problem is that you get where you don't want to leave the resort -- relax on beach all day, back to room to shower, eat long, leisurely dinner, back to room to collapse, repeat!

This review is becoming a novel, but I wanted to include stuff I wish I'd known before I went. August is the lowest of the low season, so it's cheaper, but it's hot and muggy. Don't fight the need to sweat and you'll be fine. On-site massages were great. We also did a reasonably priced pre-sunset horseback ride on the beach. Dress code at the restaurant is ultra-casual. Shorts, flip flops, sundresses are ok, even for dinner. I didn't feel the need to put on make-up or blow dry my hair once all week.

Playa Escondida is beautiful, but also quirky. Parrots give you a wolf whistle when you walk by. A rooster sometimes strolls around the restaurant area. A few times, I saw a ferret walking around (by himself!) wearing a rhinestone collar. As I already mentioned, assorted dogs come by to visit at sunset. If that sounds like fun to you (which it was to me), you're going to love this place!

We recently stayed 3 days based on other reviews here and we absolutely loved the place. It is not a 4 star, full service hotel. If you require those amenities head for Punta de Mita and the Four Seasons. What you get is a cluster of unique bungalows that are open to the sea breeze. The jungle dominates the property that spills down the side of a mountain and onto a spectaular beach. It is a fun 1 mile walk down the beach and up a bluff to town.

The infinity pool, waterfall, bar and restaurant are beautifully laid out. We had grand plans to explore Sayulita and San Pancho but ended returning to Playa Escondida after two hours because it was so comfortable and relaxing. Nova, the resident manager from Canada is very accessable and the entire staff is professional and friendly. The restaurant is consistant with a small menu that features daily specials. One afternoon the chef paraded around the pool area with a whole fish he had just purchased, his way to advertise the special of the night.

We stayed in the Love Nest, which is perched on a cliff 60 feet directly above the beach. It is very cozy, almost too small, but we spent all our time by the pool or on the beach anyway. You can see the waves and sunset from the bead or on one of the two shaded hammocks on the small porch. There are mosquito nets that are romantic but not needed as we had no problems with any bugs or scorpions. The open air, two peson shower was also fun. Watching small lizards scamper up the hillside while showering is unique. We enjoyed a fierce thunderstorm one night that washed out the dirt roads in the area. When we woke up the next morning the staff was already quietly repairing the trails and walkways and cleaning up fallen branches. By mid day you could not tell there had even been a storm the night before.

I travel extensively for business and pleasure and always seek unique, out of the way places and Playa Escondida is one of if not the best experiences I have ever had. While it is great for a romantic getaway, a family with two small children seemed to enjoy themselves thoroughly. This place rocks!