Last winter, we traveled to Sayulita to stay in designer Patrizio Fradiani’s latest vacation home stunner–a run-down house and garage he and his partner bought on a vacation-high whim and spent eight months rehabbing (he spent a week every month there, working around the clock). I couldn’t post extensively about it here, because I was on assignment, writing about it for CS Interiors. By the time it came out in print, the weather was spring-like, so I decided to wait until a Mexican getaway felt more relevant. I recently spoke with Patrizio, who said reservations are filling up quickly for the winter months, so if you’re at all interested–it’s perfect; do you hear me, perfect?–I highly recommend making some early travel arrangements. You do not want to miss this.

High in the outdoor living room of the bright orange villa–three floors above ground and 100 above sea level–there’s a soaring view of the Pacific Ocean and verdant mountainous skyline. The tops of houses, palm trees and climbing fuchsia bougainvillea give the distinct feeling of sitting in some sort of luxe tree house. Inside the two structures–which Fradiani connected with a walking bridge–four simple, luminous-white bedrooms are decorated with furniture and textiles from local markets. They are the only rooms with real walls. The rest of the 2,700-square-foot spread is dedicated to the fresh, open air. The kitchen, dining room and living room all sit on the third floor, under a thatched roof, and there’s a small soaking tub up there and a set of hammocks with pinch-yourself vistas of jungle, garden, rooftops, ocean.

At almost any time, day or night, the sounds of the surroundings drift through with the breeze–a drum band, a cacophony of roosters, a truck peddling gas with music and loud-speaker announcements, kids playing soccer nearby. The pool on the ground level, surrounded by one of the most vibrant gardens I’ve ever seen, feels intimate and private, and if you get bored with the endless pleasure cycle of lazing about–nap, pool, eat, hammock, repeat–the town, which is a short walk down the hill, has a laid-back surf vibe and authentic culture that sets this fishing village apart from busier, tonier resort towns. Take a hike through the jungle to reach one of several off-the-beaten-path beaches (the main public beach is pretty busy); the payoff is remote, sprawling and unfathomably gorgeous.

The Details
Four bedrooms with queen beds and in-suite bathrooms. Prices range from $1,850 to $2,950 a week, depending on season. Rent it at casadoschicos.com.

[Photos: All photographs by Bob Coscarelli]