Azul Nomeolvides

Bacalar lies in southern Quintana Roo, near Chetumal. Its freshwater lagoon, known as the Lagoon of Seven Colors, changes hue through the day with the light and the depth. It is a place for staying rather than touring: swimming slowly, reading on a terrace, watching the water at sunset.

Azul Nomeolvides’ Bacalar trip-planning guide (in Spanish) (opens the official website in a new tab)

Six A-frame cabins on a slope that runs down to the lagoon, each one different and with its own view: two facing the water, two with a partial view and two looking onto the garden. The architecture is bioclimatic: the cabins rest on stilts to let wildlife and air pass beneath, and their 60-degree roofs ventilate through openings at the peak, like a chimney. According to the project, it was built on 5% of the land and the existing trees were kept.

According to the project, the house runs off the grid: it generates its electricity with solar panels, treats and reuses its water and composts its organic waste.

Samantha Calzada, an architect specializing in bioclimatic design, and Bernardo “Berni” Buendía, a documentary photographer, are from Tabasco and have lived in different parts of Mexico. They planned to build cabins in Oaxaca, but discovered Bacalar on a trip, moved there in 2017 and opened Azul Nomeolvides in 2018. Samantha designed the cabins, and the two of them present them as their home. The team comes from nearby communities.

• Swim and spend the day by the lagoon, from your cabin’s terrace.
• Plan outings around Bacalar and the south with the house’s guide: how to get there, when to go and what to see.

• i-escape: Selected (opens the source in a new tab)
• ArchDaily: Project feature · 2020 (opens the source in a new tab)
• Time Out: Sustainable design hotels · 2022 (opens the source in a new tab)

• Minimum stay of two nights; three from December 20 to January 5.
• Children under 13 are not accepted.
• Wi-Fi is available only in the shared dining room; speakers and high-consumption appliances, such as hair dryers or irons, are not allowed.
• The team speaks Spanish and has limited English.
• Parking on the property.

Azul Nomeolvides cabins and conditions (in Spanish) (opens the official website in a new tab)