Oaxaca’s artisan-centric hotel transformation is showing no signs of slowing down. With restrained interiors, bold flourishes, and specialized amenities, properties such as mezcal label Gem & Bolt’s atmospheric Hotel Sin Nombre and the brutalist Flavia by Rootstudio are mixing up the scene with idiosyncratic concepts. Then there’s Puerto Escondido’s glow-up.
The surfing capital has welcomed Grupo Habita’s biomorphic all-villa Terrestre Hotel, a stunning brick-and-clay structure designed by architect Alberto Kalach with a meditative bathing pool and sculptural open-air hammam; Casona Sforza, another Kalach project notable for its 11 vaulted suites whose tubular shapes are as breathtaking as they are original; and the 12-room Escondido Oaxaca Hotel, where studio Decada Muebles converted a 19th-century home into a celebration of local handicraft with Sabino-wood furniture and earth-hued ceramics.
The latest to join the party is Casa TO. Like its counterparts, the property exudes a striking organic simplicity. Inspired by two historical hydraulic sites—the Byzantine-era Basilica Cistern beneath Istanbul and London’s Hornsey Wood Reservoir, a now-empty Victorian water storage in Finsbury Park—concrete specialist Ludwig Godefroy has fashioned a sanctuary of cement, steel, clay, and wood. The centerpiece is the infinity pool, whose rectilinear lines recall Le Corbusier, and the adjacent terraced solarium lined with daybeds.
Shoppable custom furniture sourced from regional carpenters, including bamboo pieces by Tiago Solís Van Beuren, and Mexican brand For All Folks’ products based on ancient plants such as calendula are a few of the standout touches guests will encounter in the nine open-air suites. Hyper-eco features include a reusable water treatment plant, solar panels, and a zero-plastics policy. As with many newcomers to arrive in Oaxaca in recent years, Casa TO proves that style and sustainability don’t have to be mutually exclusive.
