Aerial view of the beach and the hotel among the palms — Playa Viva, Guerrero, Mexico

Playa Viva

Juluchuca, Guerrero · Mexico

Availability

Closed during the rainy season, from August to September.

Per unit

7 treehouses + 8 bungalows + 3 suites + 2 rooms · 2–6 guests

Region

Guerrero

Price range

$$$

Price range

$$$

Per unit

2–6 guests

Type

Boutique hotel

Bed under a mosquito net in a bamboo Manta treehouse, open to the beach
Bamboo treehouses among coconut palms and coastal scrub
Pool facing the Pacific, next to the open-air common area
Thatched umbrellas, loungers and a hammock on the beach
Open-air lounge with sofas under a timber roof, the sea beyond
Pool and main building with a tiled roof, framed by palms
Massage hut thatched with palm, between the palms and the beach
Table set on the sand at sunset, with lanterns
Bamboo treehouse with a sloping roof, raised among the palms
Manta treehouse with its curved roof, above the dune
Mosquito-net bed and armchairs in a Manta treehouse, the sea in the background
View of the beach from the bed of a Manta treehouse
Bamboo bathroom of a Manta treehouse, with a stone washbasin
Shared balcony of the Deluxe Suites with sofas and armchairs
Deluxe Suite bathroom with earthen walls and a wooden door
Deluxe Suite with two mosquito-net beds under a thatched roof
Thatched building on stilts that houses the Deluxe Suites and Studios
Bedroom of the Infinity Casita with a window onto the dunes and the sea
Open-air bathroom of the Infinity Casita, walled with bamboo poles
Painted hut of the La Tortuga Viva sea turtle camp on Playa Icacos
Nests in the hatchery, each marked with the name of its sponsor
Hatchlings crawling to the sea, leaving tracks in the sand
Hatchlings crossing the beach at dawn, watched from a distance
Yoga class in an open-air pavilion facing the sea
Beach volleyball on the sand in front of the hotel
Bodyboarding in the waves at dawn
Kayaks on the calm water of a lagoon
Snorkellers in clear turquoise water off a forested coast

Playa Viva

Juluchuca, Guerrero

Boutique hotel · $$$

7 treehouses + 8 bungalows + 3 suites + 2 rooms · Closed during the rainy season, from August to September.

  • Off-grid on 100% solar power
  • 2% of every stay goes to a local NGO
  • 8-hectare permaculture farm for the kitchen
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Welcome to Playa Viva

Regenesis Group, a firm that works on regenerative design, drew up the plan for Playa Viva, and the hotel holds two MICHELIN Keys.

All 20 units face the ocean. The 7 bamboo treehouses stand among the palms, most of them raised on living palm trunks. Six were added later by the studio Nomadic Resorts, and most take their shape from the manta rays that leap from the water in front of the hotel. The rest are a tower suite, casitas, suites and studios. A Deluxe Suite and a Studio can be booked together as a Two-Bedroom Suite, for up to 6 guests.
Three meals a day are included, made with produce from the farm and the surrounding villages. Yoga classes run every morning in open-air pavilions facing the sea, and massages take place in thatched huts on the beach. There is also a pool.

The hotel stands between the Pacific and the foothills of the Sierra Madre del Sur, the mountain range that runs along this coast, next to the village of Juluchuca. Its 1.3 km of beach runs between two estuaries, and its land of about 80 hectares takes in coastal forest, mangrove, a lagoon and an archaeological site. From late December to March, whales can be seen offshore.

B Corp certifiedSolar poweredFarm-to-table kitchenSustainable architecture

Accommodation

7 treehouses + 8 bungalows + 3 suites + 2 rooms

Capacity

2–6 guests per unit

Availability

Closed during the rainy season, from August to September.

Price range

$$$

Amenities

Pool · Spa · Restaurant · Wi-Fi · Wheelchair accessible

Included

Three meals a day and snacks · Daily morning yoga · Airport transfer for stays of 3 nights or more · Taxes and tips

Good to know

  • All units are open to the air and cooled by the sea breeze. The Infinity Casita is the only one with air conditioning.

  • The beach faces the open Pacific and currents can be strong.

  • Children of all ages are welcome, and pets are accepted for a fee.

  • One King EcoCasita has ramp access and flat floors, except at the shower. The rest of the property is not adapted for wheelchairs.

Why it's a Positive Escape

An off-grid beach hotel in Guerrero, with bamboo treehouses among the palms and a share of every stay going to the village.

Wildlife

  • A community sea turtle camp

    Playa Viva supports La Tortuga Viva, run by 14 volunteers from Juluchuca, many of them former egg collectors. In the 2024-2025 season they moved 376 nests to a protected hatchery and released 28,021 hatchlings

  • Amber lighting for nesting turtles

    all lighting is LED and amber only, so it does not disturb the turtles that come to nest on the beach

Community

  • 2% of every stay for ReSiMar

    collected through the Regenerative Trust and passed to ReSiMar, now an independent Mexican NGO working on education, farming, water and marine conservation around Juluchuca

  • English classes and school scholarships

    ReSiMar teaches English in the local schools and funds schooling for village students through guest-funded scholarships

  • A local team

    most of the team comes from Juluchuca and the surrounding villages

Energy

  • Off-grid, 100% solar

    solar panels with lithium and lead-acid battery banks and a gas generator as backup. Hot water comes from solar water heaters

  • Cooled by the breeze

    the buildings are designed for natural ventilation instead of air conditioning

Water

  • Grey water for the gardens

    the hotel says water from sinks and showers irrigates the gardens, and toilet waste water is treated on site

Food

  • An 8-hectare permaculture farm

    vegetables, greens and fruit for the kitchen. Salt, eggs, milk, cheese, coffee and cacao are bought directly from farmers in the surrounding villages

Materials & Construction

  • Bamboo, palm and clay from the land

    the hotel builds as much as it can with bamboo and palm fronds grown on site, and clay from the site colours the walls. Fixtures are made by local artisans

Transparency

  • Certified B Corporation, score 110

    independent assessment by B Lab since January 2023, where 80 points are needed to qualify

  • An impact report every season

    reports since 2018, with nest, egg and hatchling counts for the turtle camp, shortfalls included

Travel mindfully

  • The hotel's excursion list includes sport fishing trips from Zihuatanejo and Barra de Potosí, run by a local operator. Fishing for sport adds pressure on the fish that local small-scale fishers depend on. We'd leave it out.

Getting there

Bus station · 46 km

Zihuatanejo bus station

Long-distance buses from Mexico City take 10 to 11 hours. From the station, the hotel is 55 minutes by road.

Airport · 38 km

Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo International Airport (ZIH)

About 45 minutes by road.

Photos · Courtesy of Playa Viva

Last verified: October 2026

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