Hotelito Desconocido

Mr & Mrs Smith have just got back from a review trip to this boutique hotel in Jalisco, and just as soon as they’ve unpacked their bags, a full account of their stay in Mexico will be with you. In the meantime, just to whet your wanderlust, here’s a quick post card from Hotelito Desconocido.

‘Remote’ isn’t the half of it; if you’re looking for a boutique hotel on Mexico’s Jalisco and want to duck out of civilisation for a while, Hotelito Desconcido has a beach-shack bolt-hole with your name on it. ‘Desconocido’ means’ hidden’ and they couldn’t have opted for a more appropriate moniker – you can only reach the hotel via a little dirt road from the one-horse, one-shop pueblo of La Cruz de Loreto, through the lush green landscapes to the untainted beaches of the estuary. The hotel’s 24 electricity-free thatched palapa huts are scattered around a coastal lagoon, some on the beach and some on the other side of the water, which is crossed by a little boat taxi which rows back and forth as each guest requires (some suites come with a private rowing boat if you fancy sticking your own oar in). Decor in the rooms, restaurants and communal areas is Mexican rustic, with pastel-painted wooden walls, bright tiles and traditional equipales – wood and leather bar-type stools that originated in the region’s cattle ranches. Being solar-powered, eco-friendly, and located in soul-soothing isolation means that Hotelito Desconocido is not a destination for BlackBerry addicts or techno-dependents, but if you don’t mind rowing to your lunch, want ‘do not disturb’ signs made from hand-painted coconuts, a flag-based room service system, and lungfuls of clean ocean air, it’s boutique-hotel dream come true.