Nico is a concrete-clad mini-hotel in the Mexican surf town of Sayulita

Designed with Mexico’s tradition of concrete and block infill construction in mind, this villa is a piece of industrial paradise in the midst of the Sayulita jungle.

The micro hotel is a collaboration between the Seattle-based Hybrid Architecture and the Mexico City-based Palma, who worked together to make the most of the steep hillside Nico inhabits.

Unfolding over five levels, the villa uses the gradient to create pockets of enclosed space – including a blue-tiled pool fringed with jungle greenery and outdoor terraces surrounded by trees. Guests enter at ground level and descend into the lower levels of the home, with staircases and breezy living areas left open to the elements.

Five guest rooms are on offer, starting from $840 per night with a 4-night minimum stay, with Nico also available to book as a whole complex. Among its private spaces is a ground floor ‘jungle’ suite with a built-in concrete tub.

Most of Nico’s furnishings and artworks are designed and made by Mexican artists, with wooden bed frames, woven loungers and chairs in pops of colour offsetting the hotel’s concrete beams.

Sayulita is in the Banderas Bay region of Mexico, which boasts some of the Pacific coast’s best beaches along the Riviera Nayarit, backdropped by the Sierra Madre Occidental mountains. The small town is a popular spot with surfers thanks to its strong surf, particularly from March to November.

63728 Sayulita, Nayarit, Mexico