When photos of Casa Rosada starting going around a group chat, I knew it wasn’t just any Airbnb.
Glowy in head-to-toe peach, and sitting right on the beach in Sayulita—the small town in Nayarit, Mexico, known for its surf vibes and post-session bars—this rental looked more liked a magazine cover-worthy boutique hotel than your standard keypad-entry Airbnb. The decor, done by Chicago-based interior designer and owner Summer Thornton, is immaculate: an open-air foyer is studded with sculptural terra-cotta vases; rattan furniture and lush plants lend to the indoor-outdoor feel; and sage-green scalloped pool umbrellas feel straight out of a Gray Malin poolside shoot. The services, like an on-site staff, chef and bartenders for hire, and a daily cleaning crew, meant we could stretch out, unwind, and really be on vacation—no divvying up meal duties on this trip. We were headed on a bachelorette to celebrate my friend Taylor, and we wanted to simply enjoy our time together.
We hit book.
I arrived a day later than most of our 11-person group, and the FOMO began the moment my friends’ photos started hitting social media. It looked expansive, with a spacious open-air living room that led out to an infinity pool and seemed to spill into the Pacific Ocean beyond. I wondered if I’d misunderstood. Surely that wasn’t all for us?
It was.
When I pulled up in my Lyft from the Puerto Vallarta airport, a uniformed staff member opened the wooden door of the Sayulita Airbnb to greet me, before I stepped in to find my friends splayed on the patio’s lounge chairs and daybeds. Some were in the pool, sun shining down and drinks, just pulled from the fridge stocked before our arrival, in hand. (Should we order more Modelos? someone wondered. A quick message to the host and we were told they’d be in the kitchen and chilled by that evening.) As I glanced around at a woven wicker bench topped in colorful textiles, and rolled my suitcase toward an outdoor staircase, reminiscent of the Jaipur stepwell, I felt as though I’d stepped into someone’s AI incarnation of an aesthetic girl’s trip. The flood of DMs I received after posting just one photo of the home confirmed it was what others dream of, too.
The house is a roughly 15 minute walk along the beach to the town, where beginner-friendly waves are loaded with foamie surfboards, massage tables sit on the sand beckoning customers, and the margaritas are always flowing. We went into town for a couple meals—fish tacos and ceviche, at the delicious Tacos Gaby; and a tequila-fueled night at reggaeton-bumping bars I’ll never know the names of—but the house itself felt like the main destination. When we weren’t poolside (we often were), we were on the roof, which has panoramic views and yoga mats (with blocks) to borrow—ideal, if you’re traveling with someone like my friend Betsy who was game to lead a yoga class for us one morning, though I’m sure there is no shortage of local yoga teachers to bring in. Or we were out front, on the quiet beach within steps of the house, bobbing in bathtub-warm water, and walking down the shore past sea turtle nesting sites and jagged rock formations. When we wanted to stay in, we simply asked our host for a local chef to come cook dinner—and frankly, the white fish crudo and garlicky octopus he made were among my favorite meals of the long weekend.
By the end of the trip, I found myself starting to panic that I hadn’t documented enough of the house—like the outdoor shower in our room, or the ceramic dishes in the kitchen that I was desperate to source for my apartment back in New York. But ultimately, the house’s beauty—which still inspires messages from people I barely know, desperate to know where it is—was simply the perfect backdrop to fond memories of laughing in the hot tub during a tropical rainstorm, or sharing the morning breakfast spread (yes, it’s included) and coffee with friends I don’t get to see as much as I’d like. It’s pricey for an Airbnb, comparable with some of the region’s beachside resorts, but the feeling of total privacy and hotel-like amenities is definitely worth it for the right group trip.
